Daily Record (Baltimore, MD) articles from October 2004

Daily Record (Baltimore, MD) archives from October 2004

Delta Dental marketing alliance.
October 1, 2004... Byline: Staff and Wire Reports Delta Dental of Pennsylvania, a unit of the nation's largest dental benefits administrator, unveiled a marketing alliance targeted at small business owners in Maryland, Pennsylvania, Delaware, New York, West...

Royal Ahold NV to pay $10M to avoid criminal charges.
October 1, 2004... Byline: Staff and Wire Reports Food retailer Royal Ahold NV said yesterday it agreed to pay $10 million to avoid criminal charges by the Dutch public prosecutor over a 2003 bookkeeping scandal. The Netherlands-based company had been under...

Gov. Ehrlich announces appointment of new port commissioners.
October 1, 2004... Byline: Staff and Wire Reports Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. yesterday announced the appointment of John G. Gary, of Anne Arundel County, and Michael G. Martino, of Harford County, to the Maryland Port Commission. Gary, a Republican, was the...

Firms to pay treble damages for overbilling IRS.
October 1, 2004... Byline: Peter Geier The U.S. Attorney's Office in Maryland won triple damages and penalties of $1,506,708 in False Claims Act litigation against a Virginia couple and two companies they controlled, which overbilled the Internal Revenue...

MD Legal Briefs October 1, 2004.
October 1, 2004... Byline: Staff and Wire Reports Furloughs on the horizon Felicia C. Cannon, clerk of the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, said the court anticipates 10 furlough days among clerk's office staff to help make up a budget...

Corp. Office Properties Trust acquires Virginia office building.
October 1, 2004... Byline: Staff and Wire Reports Corporate Office Properties Trust, of Columbia, a real estate investment trust that owns suburban office properties in the mid-Atlantic, announced it acquired 14280 Park Meadow Drive, a four-story, Class A...

A Cook's Table held in contempt over wheelchair ramp, parking space.
October 1, 2004... Byline: Peter Geier A Cook's Table in Baltimore's Federal Hill was held in civil contempt yesterday for disregarding a court order to add a ramp and wheelchair-accessible parking space. Baltimore City Circuit Judge Joseph P. McCurdy...

Higher ed, health care top Greater Baltimore Committee's agenda.
October 1, 2004... Byline: Andrea Cecil The rosy economic forecast presented at the Greater Baltimore Committee's 2005 Business Outlook Conference has spurred some optimism over the city's potential for growth and prosperity. Yesterday's conference,...

Arbitrator lacked authority to revise alimony award, appeals court holds.
October 1, 2004... Byline: Ann Parks An arbitrator correctly concluded that he lacked authority to revise an alimony award, even though the husband had, two months after the award, boosted his earning potential by becoming chief executive of a major French...

Federal judge allows suit against collection agency to continue.
October 1, 2004... Byline: Alisa Bralove A driver who racked up more than $5,000 in repair costs after being in an accident in a rental car can continue his federal lawsuit against the collections agency he claims has been harassing him, a federal judge in...

MD Stadium Authority fears loss due to D.C.'s new baseball team.
October 1, 2004... Byline: Sofia Kosmetatos The Maryland Stadium Authority said it stands to lose millions of dollars next year as baseball fans flock to see the new Washington team instead of Baltimore Orioles' games, but sports analysts had mixed opinions...

BWI Airport remains leasing hot spot.
October 1, 2004... Byline: Ezra Fieser Defense contractors accumulating in the area of the Baltimore-Washington International Airport were the lone bright spot in an otherwise stagnant third quarter that left the Baltimore-area commercial real estate market...

Economy Viewpoint - Leading Index slips in July.
October 1, 2004... Byline: John Hopkins The RESI Maryland Leading Index fell by 0.3 percent in July, the first monthly decline registered since February. While the index dropped over the most recent month for which data are available, July's performance...

Megaplexes dominating movie theater industry.
October 1, 2004... Byline: Kara Kridler For a movie lover, a night at the movies is filled with choices all of which can be decided a few minutes before show time. No reason to check out listings and show times in the newspaper. No reason to go online to...

Commentary: Raising the Bar - Does your argument make sense?
October 1, 2004... Byline: Paul Sandler There are a host of elements that contribute to winning arguments, but there is no more important test of your case than that imposed by logical reasoning. Second-guessing your logic as you prepare for trial is...

Commentary: Retiree health insurance: In need of critical care?
October 1, 2004... Byline: Alan Lyles During the Great Depression almost no retirees had health insurance, nor did more than 90 percent of working Americans. A federal health benefits program seemed critical to protect some of society's most vulnerable...

Commentary: Charitable Giving - Strategic planning: Part one.
October 1, 2004... Byline: Betsy Nelson In today's highly competitive business environment, companies have to go beyond budget-oriented planning in order to survive and prosper. They have to engage in strategic planning that analyzes internal and...

'CSI without the glory' plays out in an Annapolis business.
October 1, 2004... Byline: Sofia Kosmetatos Glen F. Reuschling once thought he would never use math and physics beyond high school. But he uses the skills he learned as a reluctant teen-ager every day as a crash scene investigator, figuring out angles,...

Final piece of puzzle is downtown shopping district.
October 1, 2004... Byline: Ezra Fieser By early next year, the facelift of shopping in Baltimore will begin its final phase. A joint venture developing what city officials have called "a city within the city" east of the Inner Harbor has received final...

Family foundations set example for children's giving.
October 1, 2004... Byline: Kara Kridler When Mary Wieler and her husband, Scott, came into a significant amount of money through the sale of a company, the two decided to get involved in philanthropy and start a family foundation. "After the sale of a...

Commentary: Running out of room for housing?
October 1, 2004... Byline: Joe Nathanson We're running out of land for new homes. At least that has been the recurring refrain in recent years from some prominent voices among residential developers operating in the Baltimore housing market. The combination...

Commentary: FTC suggests paying bounties to nab spammers.
October 1, 2004... Byline: Larry Fiorino Congress recently asked the Federal Trade Commission to investigate new ways to identify and stop spammers from clogging our inboxes with unwanted and frequently fraudulent e-mails. The FTC responded with a plan...

U of MD president: A decade of stability for urban university.
October 1, 2004... Byline: Nancy Kercheval David Ramsay, the president of University of Maryland, Baltimore, wants to be remembered as the man who brought stability to an institution which witnessed nine presidents in 10 years before he arrived on campus....

Nancy Lynn enjoys the risk in job as aerobatic pilot.
October 1, 2004... Byline: Kathleen Johnston Jarboe Pete Lynn is the sensible one in the family, his mother says. The tall 16-year-old gives the instructions on using the parachute as his mother preps for flight. If the plane gets in trouble, she'll...

Commentary: Bahrain: The rule of law shines brightly in the Arabian gulf.
October 1, 2004... Byline: John Hermina The Arabic word "Bahrain" means the two seas. It refers to two bodies of water: one is its wealth of fresh water springs, which have been its most important assets, and the other the salty sea that surrounds its...

Commentary: On the docket of the U.S. Supreme Court.
October 1, 2004... Byline: Lawrence Hurley There seems to be a touch of Laurel and Hardy about the Supreme Court at the moment. This follows the court's decision in Blakely v. Washington earlier this year, a case about sentencing guidelines in Washington...

As they say, one man's junk is The Asset Store's treasure.
October 1, 2004... Byline: Andrea Cecil Dan Shuman and Brad Bondroff are making a business out of selling stuff that most others don't want everything from wall safes and marble countertops to confessional rooms. Eight months ago, the two lifelong...

Commentary: Can you reach me now?
October 1, 2004... Byline: Donna West "I didn't authorize that!" a customer says emphatically. And you're left with your mouth hanging wide open, knowing full well that the job you did in good faith, and billed, was authorized by your client. But you...

Commentary: Personal use of the Internet concerns consumers and civil liberties groups.
October 1, 2004... Byline: Alan Dessoff While whiling away what should be valuable workday hours, most people have spent a least a little time paying bills online, booking a vacation or having flowers sent to dear old mom. As more and more people are...

Commentary: Hiring monopoly.
October 1, 2004... Byline: Shelly Schwartz Two of Maryland's largest industries are sending mixed signals about employment opportunities for state workers, as the so-called jobless recovery gives way to sustainable economic growth. According to insiders,...

Chestertown-based co-op ushers in a new generation of bread-making, farming.
October 1, 2004... Byline: Mary E. Medland Joseph Bauer, director of operations for the Chesapeake Fields Institute, likens the company's hybrid food cultivars to the color green. "Our products are pure green there is no commingling of blue and yellow to...

Commentary: Designing a training program to accommodate different learning styles.
October 1, 2004... Byline: Ginny Stibolt Depending upon your situation, designing a training program is difficult, and during this process, you may need to bring in an outside group to look at your situation and help figure out how much training can be put...

Commentary: Work smarter, not harder.
October 1, 2004... Byline: Hollis Thomases Ah, the wonderful world of the Web. Not only can you find out almost any information on a person, place or thing, but how about sites, too? With these tools such as Amazon's Alexa and Google's toolbar, you can...

Greater Baltimore Technology Council interviews CEO and co-founder of South River Technologies.
October 1, 2004... Byline: Special to The Daily Record The Greater Baltimore Technology Council (GBTC) recently sat down with Michael Ryan, CEO and co-founder of South River Technologies LLC (www.southrivertech.com), to discuss his company in greater detail....

Commentary: Domestic labs, businesses go international for talent to cultivate innovations.
October 1, 2004... Byline: Arlene Karadis Howard County is on a major economic mission to boost technology in the Baltimore/Washington Corridor. So when labs, universities and private businesses in the region can't find the talent they need in their own...

Commentary: Proper policies on conflicts of interest are key to tech transfer.
October 1, 2004... Byline: Chuck Morton A recent spate of publicity regarding alleged conflicts of interest at the National Institutes of Health highlights the need for institutions to review carefully the way their technology commercialization efforts are...

Fells Point Fun Festival closes streets.
October 2, 2004... Byline: Staff and Wire Reports Because of the Fells Point Fun Festival, the 400 and 500 blocks of Broadway are closed until 10:00 p.m. tomorrow, the Baltimore City Department of Transportation said. Also, all streets south of Aliceanna...

Giant Food introducing organic products.
October 2, 2004... Byline: Staff and Wire Reports Landover-based Giant Food is introducing "Nature's Promise," an exclusive line of organic and natural food products, at all of its 200 stores. Initially, 25 Nature's Promise products in the dairy and grocery...

Mount Vernon Cultural District hosting open house.
October 2, 2004... Byline: Staff and Wire Reports Downtown residents and visitors can find out what's happening in the Mount Vernon community, while enjoying complimentary hors d'oeuvres from area restaurants and a cash bar, as the Mount Vernon Cultural...

CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield present check to American Cancer Society.
October 2, 2004... Byline: Staff and Wire Reports With a pledge to donate $25 to the American Cancer Society's "Healthy Kids" program every time a Baltimore Orioles pitcher struck out an opposing batter during this baseball season, CareFirst BlueCross...

NASA, National Federation of the Blind collaborate on camp.
October 2, 2004... Byline: Nancy Kercheval The concept was fairly simple: Run a NASA camp to teach students to put together a payload for a rocket that would be launched. Along the way, they would figure out the telemetry, put the rocket together and run the...

Commentary: It's a Gimme - Sink more putts.
October 2, 2004... Byline: Joe Rahnis If there's one way to ensure lower golf scores, it's to play better golf! And a picture perfect swing and long straight drives don't help you at all if you can get the ball in the hole when you're on the putting green....

Unique pendant to be presented to Orioles' MVP.
October 2, 2004... Byline: Staff and Wire Reports Speaking of baseball, a one-of-a-kind pendant is to be presented to the Orioles' most valuable player tomorrow before the team's final game against the Boston Red Sox. The unique jewelry piece, designed like...

Hispanic businesses aim to keep the thrive alive.
October 4, 2004... Byline: Andrea Cecil When Baltimore hosted the first statewide Hispanic Business Conference two years ago, the community was just beginning to flourish. This year's forum is more focused on remaining successful and being inclusive. ...

Commentary: Planning Ahead - Life insurance for at-home parents.
October 4, 2004... Byline: Dena Frenkel If you belong to one of the 19.6 million American families with children where both parents are working, buying life insurance for both breadwinners is an obvious "must." However, if you are one of the 5.3 million...

Property owner wants office, not condo, tower.
October 4, 2004... Byline: Ezra Fieser In a lawsuit likely to affect the future of one of downtown Baltimore's most delayed towers, the owners of land under a parking structure have sued to force developers to build an office building atop the garage. ...

New sewers are relief for Mount Washington.
October 4, 2004... Byline: Kara Kridler Mount Washington residents and merchants can finally breathe a sigh of relief without holding their noses. Construction of the neighborhood's new sanitary sewer line is complete after nearly two years, Baltimore...

Studying dot-com dinosaurs' at U of MD.
October 4, 2004... Byline: Robyn Lamb After more than two years of collecting the remnants of a bygone dot-com era, Maryland researchers have unearthed privacy and copyright issues unique to the digital domain. Now with a $480,000 grant and help from...

Rude neighbor was not a nuisance, CSA holds.
October 4, 2004... Byline: Lawrence Hurley Shouting abuse and making crude gestures to your neighbors may be rude, but it doesn't make you a nuisance in the eyes of the law, the Court of Special Appeals has held. Thanks to the court's decision Friday,...

MD Legal Briefs October 4, 2004.
October 4, 2004... Byline: Staff Reports Life without parole Arthur Joseph Royal, 19, of Lanham, was sentenced on Friday in Prince George's County Circuit Court to life in prison without parole for the murder of Dr. Thomas A. Gay, a physician who was...

Contract between pig breeder, buyer cannot be enforced, CSA says.
October 4, 2004... Byline: Alisa Bralove One little piggy went to market, but was it supposed to be 300 little piggies? That was the question left unanswered in the contract between a pig breeder and a pork buyer in Washington County and means the contract...

Prince George's to consider limit on rural construction.
October 4, 2004... Byline: Sofia Kosmetatos Citing too much development too fast in a region designated for slow growth, three Prince George's County Council members will propose legislation tomorrow to limit the number of building permits that may be issued...

Corvis Corp. changing name to Broadwind Corp.
October 4, 2004... Byline: Kathleen Johnston Jarboe Last week, Columbia-based Corvis Corp. became the latest company to announce it is discarding its old name. Did I say Corvis? I mean Broadwing Corp. It's getting tricky to keep track of all the...

Federal Employers Liability Act verdict of $1.5M affirmed on appeal.
October 4, 2004... Byline: Ann Parks A railroad worker who said that years of walking on too-large rocks in the train yard took a toll on his knees will get to keep the $1.5 million a jury awarded in his favor last year, the Court of Special Appeals held...

MedImmune granted license by GenPat77.
October 4, 2004... Byline: Staff and Wire Reports MedImmune Inc., of Gaithersburg, a biotechnology company focused on researching, developing and commercializing products to prevent or treat infectious disease, autoimmune disease and cancer, said it has been...

General Physics Corp. to develop operations plan for Glades County, Fla. courthouse.
October 4, 2004... Byline: Staff and Wire Reports General Physics Corp., of Elkridge, a provider of training, e-learning, management consulting and engineering services, was selected by Glades County, Fla., to develop a Courthouse Facility Continuity of...

English's Family Restaurants closes all but two stores.
October 4, 2004... Byline: Staff and Wire Reports English's Family Restaurants, of Salisbury, a regional restaurant chain that had 22 stores from Delaware to Baltimore, has shrunk to just two, one in Salisbury and one in Ocean City. English's closed its...

Susquehanna Bancshares restructures.
October 4, 2004... Byline: Staff and Wire Reports Susquehanna Bancshares Inc., of Lititz, Pa., a financial services holding company, has opted to combine its eight banking subsidiaries in Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and West Virginia into three...

Reznick Fedder & Silverman changes name.
October 4, 2004... Byline: Staff and Wire Reports Reznick Fedder & Silverman, of Rockville, an accounting and business advisory services firm, is changing its name to the Reznick Group, in recognition of the diversity of its group of professionals with...

3e Technologies to participate in Army's $2.1M pilot wireless program.
October 5, 2004... Byline: Staff and Wire Reports 3e Technologies International Inc., of Rockville, a technology company focusing on computer networking, wireless communications and smart sensor systems, was selected by the Army National Guard to participate...

Calvert adds two value funds to equity funds line-up.
October 5, 2004... Byline: Staff and Wire Reports Calvert, of Bethesda, one of the nations' largest families of socially responsible mutual funds, added two new value funds to its equity funds line-up: the Calvert Small Cap Value and the Calvert Mid Cap...

Flu shots available.
October 5, 2004... Byline: Staff and Wire Reports Community Health Charities, the largest federation of health-related agencies in Maryland, said it has contracted with Maxim Health Systems, of Columbia, to administer flu vaccinations at local businesses...

Sinclair Broadcast Group revises forecast.
October 5, 2004... Byline: Staff and Wire Reports Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc., of Baltimore, a diversified broadcasting company that owns or programs 61 television stations in 40 markets, said because of reductions in auto advertising spending and...

$19M in tax credits unclaimed by Baltimore City residents.
October 5, 2004... Byline: Staff and Wire Reports Baltimore City residents did not claim more than $19 million in federal and state Earned Income Tax Credits due to them, according to a study commissioned by the Baltimore Cash Campaign through the University...

InforMedix Holdings forms alliance with McKesson Bio Services.
October 5, 2004... Byline: Staff and Wire Reports InforMedix Holdings Inc., of Rockville, which markets real-time patient information through telemedicine technologies that electronically link patients and health care professionals, formed an alliance with...

Community College of Baltimore County names Warschawski Public Relations as agency of record.
October 5, 2004... Byline: Staff and Wire Reports Warschawski Public Relations, of Baltimore, a full-service public relations, marketing and branding firm, was selected by the Community College of Baltimore County as the national public relations agency of...

CompuDyne Corp. awarded $4.7M military project.
October 5, 2004... Byline: Staff and Wire Reports CompuDyne Corp., of Annapolis, a provider of products and technology for the public security market, announced a $4.7 million award for a major security integration project for the U.S. military. The contract...

Supreme Court revisits sentencing guidelines.
October 5, 2004... Byline: Lawrence Hurley The Supreme Court got straight to business when it opened its October 2004 term yesterday by taking the first steps to resolve the confusion over federal sentencing guidelines it ignited with its Blakely v....

Crosby Marketing to create plan for Coalition for Cancer Survivorship.
October 5, 2004... Byline: Staff and Wire Reports Crosby Marketing Communications, of Annapolis, a provider of advertising, public relations, direct-response, interactive development and graphic design services, was selected to create a three-year marketing...

Bluefire Security Technology moves to Tide Point.
October 5, 2004... Byline: Staff and Wire Reports Bluefire Security Technology Inc., of Baltimore, which develops security software to protect handheld devices and data, relocated into approximately 5,000 square feet at Tide Point, an office development in...

Attempted fourth-degree burglary conviction reversed.
October 5, 2004... Byline: Alisa Bralove There is no such crime as an attempt to commit a crime "in the nature of an attempt," the Court of Special Appeals has said, reversing a Baltimore County man's conviction on attempted fourth-degree burglary. ...

Hagerstown hospital backers want state OK quickly.
October 5, 2004... Byline: Debra Siedt As support for a new hospital in Hagerstown continues to grow, the Maryland Health Care Commission is considering the hospital's application in the first step of what may be a long approval process. The commission...

MD Legal Briefs October 5, 2004.
October 5, 2004... Byline: Staff Reports Kagan at Walters Elena Kagan, dean of the Harvard Law School, will speak on "Presidential Administration: Driving Agency Action and Policy from the Oval Office," at the Francis D. Murnaghan Jr. Appellate Advocacy...

Supreme Court denies certiorari in sexual harassment suit.
October 5, 2004... Byline: Ann Parks The Supreme Court has denied certiorari in the case of Dominique Gantt, the Lanham security guard who is attempting to sue her former employer for intentional infliction of emotional distress and sexual harassment after...

Auto, engineering executives honored for business and civic leadership.
October 5, 2004... Byline: Tim Lemke A car salesman with a love of horses and a past Baltimore County Chamber of Commerce chairman involved in some of Maryland's largest restoration projects tonight will be inducted into the chamber's Business Hall of Fame....

Job growth in Washington area slipping.
October 5, 2004... Byline: Kara Kridler The Washington region lead the country in year-over-year job increases for the 12 months ending in August, but growth slipped from earlier in the year, according to a new report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. ...

Annapolis firm brings home handheld language translator for military.
October 5, 2004... Byline: Robyn Lamb Hoping to tap the civilian market as well as the military, Annapolis-based VoxTec Inc. is testing the handheld language translator it developed for U.S. soldiers with law enforcement and health care workers on the home...

Pitney Bowes buys Ancora Capital, including Baltimore shop.
October 5, 2004... Byline: Kathleen Johnston Jarboe Mail giant Pitney Bowes Inc. yesterday said it agreed to buy the mail presorting and processing firm Ancora Capital & Management Group LLC, which has a mail facility in Baltimore. The Stamford,...

Maryland retailers get help from RepeatRewards program.
October 5, 2004... Byline: Andrea Cecil Maryland consumers who shop at independent retailers could soon reap more rewards for their spending. For the first time, the Maryland Retailers Association recommended a marketing service to its members, straying...

Century Engineering awarded tax credit.
October 6, 2004... Byline: Staff and Wire Reports The Maryland Energy Administration awarded Century Engineering Inc. an initial Green Building Tax Credit of $456,000 for its new headquarters building in Hunt Valley. The 50,000-square-foot building will be...

MD State Board of Public Accountancy rejects request to investigate jockey club.
October 6, 2004... Byline: Staff and Wire Reports The Maryland State Board of Public Accountancy yesterday rejected a request by the Maryland Tax Education Foundation to investigate the Maryland Jockey Club's financial audits. The foundation had claimed the...

Optimus Corp. gains EPA nod.
October 6, 2004... Byline: Staff and Wire Reports Optimus Corp., of Silver Spring, which offers products and technology geared to the public safety sector, was awarded a $16 million, five-year contract to provide comprehensive services under the...

Thomson Prometric, Educational Testing Service announce contract extension.
October 6, 2004... Byline: Staff and Wire Reports Thomson Prometric, of Baltimore, a provider of educational testing and assessment services, and Educational Testing Service, of Princeton, N.J., announced a contract extension, worth more than $1 billion over...

Visual Analytics supplies S. Korea's Financial Supervisory Service with database.
October 6, 2004... Byline: Staff and Wire Reports Visual Analytics Inc., of Poolesville, a developer of visual data mining software, supplied South Korea's Financial Supervisory Service, a government agency that regulates the country's financial industry,...