Baltimore Business Journal articles from April 1994

Baltimore Business Journal archives from April 1994

GBBR resignation stirs debate. (resignation of Greater Baltimore Board of Realtors' Executive Vice President Fletcher Hall)
April 22, 1994... Special meeting set to examine Hall's departure The departure of the Greater Baltimore Board of Realtors' longtime executive vice president has caused such a stir in the real estate community that a special meeting of past presidents has been...

Keyes' show going national. (WCBM-AM radio host Alan Keyes)
April 22, 1994... Conservative radio host to be syndicated Topic of the day: racial hiring quotas. In favor: an anonymous caller who thinks the lack of such job set-asides is why many African-American neighborhoods are mired in poverty and stricken with...

Baltimore: home of race's major issues. (gubernatorial elections in Baltimore, Maryland)
April 22, 1994... So this is the year of the suburbs. Finally, after more than a century in exile, those citizens of Maryland from beyond the psychological borders of Baltimore are reportedly primed to elect a champion to battle the big city. Don't count on...

Growth at BWI means car crunch. (Baltimore/Washington International Airport)
April 22, 1994... The passenger traffic boom at Baltimore/Washington International Airport has created a squeeze for parking spaces, forcing business travelers to park far away from the terminal or in more expensive lots than they would ordinarily choose....

Neighborhood banks head back into the communities. (includes related article)
April 22, 1994... Federal regs force thrifts to find untapped markets Two years ago, federal regulators told 11 small Baltimore thrifts they needed to lend more money to low- and moderate-income families. Until then, the Office of Thrift Supervision would...

Uncertain IPO market touches Md. firms. (Maryland; initial public offering)
April 22, 1994... Wary investors look more closely at new public companies With biotechnology stocks selling off quickly in a shaky stock market, a Baltimore firm waits nervously to issue its stock for the first time. Guilford Pharmaceuticals is set to make...

Up against a wall, Penn Advertising fights back. (Penn Advertising Inc.)
April 22, 1994... Billboard agency sees ordinances as threat After winning a reprieve last month from a citywide ban on outdoor alcohol advertising, Penn Advertising has asked a federal judge to issue a similar preliminary injunction against Baltimore's ban on...

Detox clinic hopes outpatient trend continues. (Independence clinic)
April 22, 1994... Independence banking on trend to cut cost of care Taking advantage of a cost-cutting trend in substance abuse treatment, a new downtown clinic is offering detox and rehabilitation services entirely on an outpatient basis. The opening of...

Miracle lady 'hits the lottery' with success. (Miracle Services Inc. President Dorothy White) (Special Report: Small Business Week)
April 22, 1994... White overcomes odds with $12 million cleaning business They call her the "Miracle Lady." And now that her once small house-cleaning business has grown into a $12 million operation, they also call her Maryland's Small Business Person of...

South drives Towne Park to new levels. (Towne Park Ltd. Persident Jerry South) (Special Report: Small Business Week)
April 22, 1994... Perhaps you recognize the name Towne Park if you park in garages and lots in the Annapolis area. The company manages several facilities there and reaped more than $1 million in sales last year. But what's intriguing is that the man who...

Sparks State Bank. (Proxy Report Excerpts) (Company Profile)
April 22, 1994... Corporate Profile: Sparks State Bank, headquartered in the northern Baltimore County town named for its founding family, reported record earnings of almost $2.5 million last year, up 12.2 percent from 1992. The 78-year-old bank's deposits...

Harford National Bank. (Proxy Report Excerpts) (Company Profile)
April 22, 1994... Corporate Profile Aberdeen-based Harford National Bank, one of the smaller financial institutions in the Baltimore area, had a successful 1993, with earnings reaching a record increase of 25.5 percent. The company's earnings reached a record...

Homeowners' rights a battleground. (includes related article) (Real Estate Monthly)
April 22, 1994... As associations spread, groups vie over how best to represent them Evan McKenzie says two types of people join homeowner association boards of directors. The first, said McKenzie, a political scientist and author of the fo2rthcoming book...

Restaurant in a pickle as rivals go after prime space. (Duke Zeibert's restaurant) (Real Estate Monthly)
April 22, 1994... There's a high-stakes poker game being played between one of Washington, D.C.'s, largest developers and venerable Duke Zeibert's restaurant over prime retail space in the District. For years Duke's has been the place where power lunchers in...

Larger brokerage firms thriving during tough years. (Real Estate Monthly)
April 22, 1994... While the early 1990s marked a time of fervent merging, reorganization and restructuring for the commercial real estate industry as many companies tried to stay afloat, the area's largest brokerage reported banner years. When a lack of...

Target stores zero in on region. (Target Stores)
April 15, 1994... Target Stores, the nation's third largest discount retailer, is apparently setting its sights on the Baltimore-Washington market, with plans to open about 40 stores in the region during the next several years. A spokeswoman for Target, a...

Schaefer era could leave large deficit. (William Donald Schaefer, governor of Maryland)
April 15, 1994... William Donald Schaefer said there was something for everyone to "feel good about" in his final budget as the General Assembly adjourned for the last time in his role as governor. What he didn't say is that a looming deficit probably...

The worst is over, says Ryland CEO. (R. Chad Dreier, chief executive officer of Ryland Group Inc.)
April 15, 1994... The year 1993 was not the Ryland Group Inc.'s best. First its stock fell from a first-quarter high of $24.50 per share to a third-quarter low of $16. Then, the nation's third largest home builder watched land values plummet in its largest...

More mergers on the horizon for area banks.
April 15, 1994... While everyone was off watching to see who would take the rather large for-sale sign off $2.2 billion Baltimore Bancorp, a Pennsylvania bank was quietly looking over the area's offerings and settling on three attractive Baltimore-area...

Cabinet firm gets off the Merry-Go-Round. (J.K. Cabinet Inc.; Merry-Go-Round Enterprises Inc.)
April 15, 1994... Under a plastic wrapping on the third floor of a warehouse in Canton, the teal benches and trendy fixtures are piled like a scrap heap. They are remnants of a Boogie's Diner in Los Angeles, recently closed by Merry-Go-Round Enterprises...

Provident asks court to throw out Sterling suit. (Provident Bankshares Corp. ; Sterling Bancshares Corp.)
April 15, 1994... Provident Bankshares Corp. has asked a Baltimore City Court to throw out a lawsuit by Sterling Bancorp. that would force Provident to merge with the small private bank. Provident, a locally owned bank with $1.7 billion in assets, filed a...

Schaefer fishes for new ways to further agenda. (William Donald Schaefer, governor of Maryland) (1994 General Assembly: Welfare)
April 15, 1994... Standing before the General Assembly that treated his final agenda so roughly, Gov. William Donald Schaefer hefted a fishing rod legislators gave him in an exaggerated pantomime of an obscene gesture. "I know where you'd like to put it...

Willing providers forced to wait another year. (Maryland votes down bill requiring health maintenance organizations to pay doctors willing to match their rates)(includes related article) (1994 General Assembly: Health)
April 15, 1994... HMOs fight off attempt to ease restrictions on doctors who want to join In a battle that went right down to the wire, health maintenance organizations won their biggest fight in the state legislature earlier this week and defeated a bill...

Ryland Group Inc. (Proxy Report Excerpts) (Company Profile)
April 15, 1994... Corporate Profile: The nation's third larges homebuilder underwent a transition period in 1993. Longtime chairman Roger Schipke departed and was replaced by board member Andrew W. Brewster. R. Chad Dreier took over as president and chief...

A reel Baltimore treasure: director returns to his watering hole. (John Waters)
April 8, 1994... Thirty years ago, John Waters stood on the roof of his parents' Lutherville house making an 8mm film about a "Hag in Black Leather Jacket" on a budget of about $80. The film grossed about 50 bucks after Waters passed a hat around in a local...

State regulators taking closer look at derivatives.
April 8, 1994... First came risky loans to third world countries and then real estate developers. Now, all eyes -- including those of Maryland and federal regulators -- are turning to the once obscure financial derivatives market as the next possible...

Time Warner nears deal in White Marsh. (Warner Bros Inc. Worldwide Retail)
April 8, 1994... Sources say site tops competition It appears White Marsh has won the Warner Bros. sweepstakes. According to real estate sources, Warner Bros. Worldwide Retail, the marketing arm of Time Warner Entertainment Co., is close to signing a deal...

Hawkins Point incinerator recovering from harsh winter.
April 8, 1994... The troubled Medical Waste Associates incinerator at Hawkins Point is recovering from a disastrous winter that froze water pipes, crippled trucks and forced one of its largest customers to incinerate its own waste. Johns Hopkins Hospital was...

Most Gazelles won't raise prices soon, survey finds. (fastest-growing US companies)
April 8, 1994... A decisive majority -- 76 percent -- of America's fastest-growing companies will not raise prices for their products or services in the near future, despite a more robust economy and heightened inflation fears, according to poll results...

Banks' commercial loans drop. (Industry Overview)
April 8, 1994... 5 percent decline blamed on state's stagnant economy Maryland banks loaned $246 million less in commercial and industrial loans in 1993 compared with the previous year -- a 4.8 percent decrease officials attribute to a still stagnant economy....

Continental starves for Southwest's attention. (Continental Airlines Inc.; Southwest Airlines Co.)
April 8, 1994... Rob Curtis wants a little respect. The regional marketing director for Continental Airlines keeps reading news reports about phenomenal traffic growth at Baltimore/Washington International Airport, but Continental never makes the headlines....

Hopkins forums to feature talk on Baltimore's model. (John Hopkins University; waterfront development) (Commercial Real Estate) (Column)
April 8, 1994... When talking about downtown revivals, few cities can match Baltimore's dramatic waterfront redevelopment in the 1970s and 1980s. And Martin L. Millspaugh -- former president of Charles Center/Inner Harbor Management -- was right in the...

State could use Metro expansion as leverage for teams. (railway system)
April 8, 1994... Rising demand for mass transit in neighboring Washington, D.C., and Virginia might help Maryland win the bidding war to keep Abe Pollin's professional basketball and hockey teams in Prince George's County. The state could use its support for...

Mt. Washington Pediatric seeks out space for patients.
April 8, 1994... Winter forces issue on care of children Mt. Washington Pediatric Hospital is trying to find space to take care of about 30 developmentally disabled children after a rough winter damaged the original location beyond repair. The hospital was...

City to seek share of new $3.5 billion HUD program. (Baltimore, Maryland)(Housing and Urban Development) (Business and Politics) (Column)
April 8, 1994... Galvanized by Baltimore's campaign for designation as one of six empowerment zones in the nation, a group of public officials, business leaders and community activists has drafted an ambitious plan to rebuild the city's poorest neighborhoods....

Md., Va. officials get together on commuter rail plans. (Maryland; Virginia)
April 8, 1994... 'Seamless' service goal of efforts Virginia and Maryland railway officials hope to develop "seamless" service in the near future for commuters riding trains between the District of Columbia, its surrounding jurisdictions and even the...

Ex-First Union workers plan to sue over lost jobs. (First Union Corp.)
April 8, 1994... Some 200 D.C. area workers whose jobs were eliminated by First Union Corp. after it bought First American Bank plan to bring a $100 million-plus lawsuit against the Charlotte-based financial giant for racial and age discrimination. First...

Region strives to discover next generation of leadership. (Maryland) (Special Report: 50 Most Powerful)
April 8, 1994... Power has a will of its own in Maryland and eludes the firm grasp of even the most adept student of Machiavelli. With so many hands grabbing from different directions, it's not possible for any princes' alliance or commercial confederation to...

Run for the money: Preakness Celebration touts marketing impact to sponsors. (Special Report: Business of Sports)
April 8, 1994... With a new executive director, new logo and new attitude, the revitalized Preakness Celebration hopes to cash in on the annual flurry of attention that surrounds Baltimore every third Saturday in May. Organizers of the week of parades,...

March Madness to bring economic windfall to area. (National Collegiate Athletic Association Division 1 basketball championship) (Special Report: Business of Sports) (Directory)
April 8, 1994... NCAA rounds expected to net at least $3 million March Madness is history for this year, but the hoopla is coming to Baltimore in 1995. Next year, the road to the Final Four will begin at the Baltimore Arena for eight teams of the 64-school...

Pepsico faces hurdles as it tries to bring new fast-food franchise to Greenbelt. (Pepsico Inc.'s All 'N One restaurant plans to open franchises in Greenbelt, Maryland)
April 8, 1994... Despite Greenbelt's thumbs-down vote last week against Pepsico's proposed All 'N One restaurant, the new fast food franchise may still be approved for operation. The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission is expected to...

Entrepreneur's success in the palm of her hand. (Nadina's Cremes founder Jill Nadine Clements/Thompson)
April 8, 1994... Catch a whiff of this. In 1989, Jill Nadine Clements/Thompson started with the money in her back pocket and the "lab" she created in her mother's kitchen. Nadina's Cremes has since moved out of the kitchen and into its own factory in...

Penalizing staff for half-days off may change status. (Small Business Advisor: Employment Law) (Column)
April 8, 1994... Many employers are unwittingly violating the overtime requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act with respect to their white collar employees by not complying with rules regarding payment on a salary basis to exempt employees. The fair...

Those computer-driven letters may be sending bad messages. (Small Business Advisor) (Column)
April 8, 1994... The personal computer can be a two-edged sword. It lends itself to a variety of labor and time-saving applications, including word processing, data entry and office management. But it also cuts both ways. The problem isn't the hardware. It...

White men still wield most power. (Editor's Notebook) (Editorial)
April 8, 1994... We asked but two questions when we began work on this week's special report on the top 50 most powerful people in the region. Who has power, and how does that power work? While the questions might be simple, the answers are not. The...

Volunteer services should be tax deductible. (Guest Opinion) (Column)
April 8, 1994... There is universal agreement about the educational, personal and financial value of volunteers in schools. However, present law and regulations do not permit the value of donated services to be deductible for purposes of individual income...

Time to end employer-paid health premiums. (Another Viewpoint) (Column)
April 8, 1994... Not since President Richard Nixon was in the White House has the health care dialogue reached the epic level that exists in the national rhetoric. The posturing concerns costs containment, access, and portability from one job to another of...

Virtual ads: coming soon to a TV near you.
April 1, 1994... Orioles may be first to use controversial technology The Baltimore Orioles may become the first major sports franchise to implement "virtual advertising" -- a new, but already controversial television advertising technology with the potential...

Local office workers dive into the company pools. (sports betting)
April 1, 1994... Office betting pools debuted long before the 35-second clock and the Fab Five. They preceded the three-pointer, the 45-second clock and the 64-team draw. And, though no records are kept on such things, it's likely office pools date back at...

BG&E nabs Beth Steel for 10 years. (Baltimore Gas and Electric Co.; Bethlehem Steel Corp.)
April 1, 1994... Contract significant in new era of competition Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. has locked up its biggest industrial customer for the next 10 years by signing a new rate contract with Bethlehem Steel Corp. The agreement, filed with the state...

Cracks show in lobbyists' stronghold. (anti-smoking debate)
April 1, 1994... An 8-to-1 defeat, suffered by anti-smoking advocates in the current legislative session, would appear a blowout by most observers. The only bill that made it past the House Judiciary Committee would penalize those who sell cigarettes to...

Neighbors moan over another planned nightclub; ex-lumber company site may see ship-shaped restaurant-bar by May. (East Baltimore)
April 1, 1994... East Baltimore community groups would welcome almost any attempts to revitalize the fading South Central Avenue Corridor -- the industrial zone-turned-wasteland that has earned such nicknames as "dead man's land" and "the hole in the doughnut."...

Turning swords into scalpels gets boost from feds. (defense technology to be used for medical equipment business)
April 1, 1994... As defense spending continues to shrink, Maryland's defense-based firms will try to turn their technology to medical uses with the help of a new association, organized by the state and funded by a grant from the federal government. The...

After the sale, Hale reflects on the year's events. (Edwin F. Hale, Sr.)
April 1, 1994... Edwin F. Hale Sr. isn't ready to let go of banking. The self-confessed nonbanker said this week he's been asked to stay on the board of directors at Baltimore Bancorp after the sale to First Fidelity Bancorp, a Newark, N.J., bank, has been...

Mental health firm goes after day-treatment niche. (American Day Treatment Centers Inc.)
April 1, 1994... An Anne Arundel company is carving a place for itself in a relatively new health care niche -- day treatment centers for patients who need psychiatric care but don't have to be in the hospital full time. American Day Treatment Centers opened...

Youth Services has something different to sell. (Youth Services International Inc.)
April 1, 1994... With juvenile crime rising at an alarming rate, W. James Hindman sees the country's tolerance for young criminals quickly evaporating. And, as part of that growing impatience with governments' handling of the problem, the chairman of Youth...

Krispy Kreme to open doughnut franchises in area. (Baltimore, Maryland)
April 1, 1994... Krispy Kreme Doughnut Co., with its trademark hot doughnuts fresh out of the oven, is planning to open franchises in Baltimore, possibly as soon as early next year. The 57-year-old company based in Winston-Salem, N.C., is looking for...

What is a rating point, anyway? A guide to understanding the importance of being no. 1. (television ratings) (Special Report: Media & Advertising)
April 1, 1994... David Zurawik had it easy when he began covering the competition for news ratings among local television stations for the Baltimore Sun four years ago. "I was struck by how stable the market was," said Zurawik, the Sun's television critic....

Free-lancing gives partners opportunity to be creative. (Chuck Thompson and John Guidera) (Special Report: Media & Advertising)
April 1, 1994... When Chuck Thompson and John Guidera had to come up with a name for their free-lance advertising agency, they were hard pressed to create something that would stand out. After free-lancing for several years without an alias, Thompson and...

City hopes investment in homes now pays off later; other cities say auctions help revitalize properties. (Baltimore, Maryland)
April 1, 1994... Baltimore officials know they probably will lose money on their auction this month of 175 abandoned houses. But they are more than happy to foot some of the initial bill if homeowners will move back into the city. "We expect to lose money...

Pair transform trips into an art as well as a business. (Annette Romanoff and Henne Rapkin)
April 1, 1994... For those businesspeople who need a mini-vacation, but who find the work of reserving a Metroliner seat, trying to get tickets to a Broadway show and making sure there is enough spare change for taxis and food more of a headache than the...

The best in Baltimore construction: 1993. (Special Advertising Supplement)
April 1, 1994... The Baltimore Metropolitan Chapter of Associated Builders & Contractors, Inc. Defining Outstanding: How the General Contractor Winners Are Selected Judging a competition to honor the best in Baltimore area construction is not an easy task....