Baltimore Business Journal articles from April 1997

Baltimore Business Journal archives from April 1997

Hospitals challenge Md. (Maryland hospitals want postponement of new rate-setting formula)
April 25, 1997... Coalition wants to stop rate plan Leaders of about 30 Maryland hospitals are challenging the state commission that sets hospital rates - and they've hired a top Baltimore law firm to back them up. The group, including such heavyweights as...

Designers ready to light fire under game industry. (Firaxis Games)(Company Profile)
April 25, 1997... For the fledgling computer games industry, it was the equivalent of Babe Ruth leaving the Yankees. "Sid Meier leaves MicroProse" screamed a headline on an online news service last spring, setting off a chain reaction of whispers and gossip...

Tech council claims turf. (Suburban Maryland High Technology Council changes name to High Technology Council of Maryland)
April 25, 1997... In a move that some say could step up the rivalry between Baltimore and Washington, a Rockville-based technology business group has changed its name to signify a more regional focus. The Suburban Maryland High Technology Council, a...

Banks find an older audience. (branch banks located in continuing-care facilities in Baltimore, MD)(includes related article on First Union National Bank of Maryland)
April 25, 1997... Retirement homes carving out space for new branches As part of her job with First Union National Bank of Maryland, Virginia Lee Cook makes house calls. She also helps a blind woman read her mail and patiently shepherds customers through...

Doing things the old-fashioned way at Mercantile. (Mercantile Bankshares Corp.)(Company Profile)
April 25, 1997... More of the same would be just fine with H. Furlong Baldwin, chairman of Mercantile Bankshares Corp. With the financial services industry in constant turmoil, Mercantile remains a conservatively managed, efficient and decentralized...

Leaving the comforts of home. (relocating home-based business into office buildings)
April 25, 1997... For owners of growing businesses, home isn't always where the heart is First of two parts. When building a new house, there are so many questions that pop up: What's the most convenient location? How many windows should there be? What...

Hosting seminars consumes time, creates clients.
April 25, 1997... Dear Business Doctor: I have heard that sponsoring seminars is an effective way to market your business. Is this true? If it is true, how do I put a seminar together that results in a successful program as well as cultivates business for my...

Shop talk: how do you keep your employees current on the latest technologies, trends in your industry?(Panel Discussion)
April 25, 1997... Shellie A. Curry * President * Shellie A. Curry III, AIA, Architects * Lutherville Shellie A. Curry III, AIA was founded in 1991 and provides architectural services for residential, commercial and institutional clients. We have...

Provident revving up to grow its business. (Provident Bankshares Corp.)
April 25, 1997... Growth seems to be the theme for Provident Bankshares Corp., which is preparing to swallow a Gaithersburg thrift and which last week reported a first-quarter earnings jump of 23 percent over the same period last year. Net income for the...

Intellectual pursuits. (intellectual-property lawyers George Pappas and James Carbine)(Special Report: Technology)
April 25, 1997... Baltimore lawyers set out to claim a piece of the Information Age's new gold mine At first glance, Baltimore attorneys George Pappas and James Carbine don t have much in common. Pappas runs a 24-attorney intellectual property division at...

CD creation expected to fuel firm's growth. (CMC Computers Systems)(Special Report: Technology)(Company Profile)
April 25, 1997... Greg Maier often feels like a kid in a candy store. In 1992, Maier started CMC Computers Inc. - which custom-builds computers, networks and intranet systems - with a $50,000 bank loan and a small group of customers, he had gathered from...

Jurisdiction issue could hamper 'Net. (Internet)(Special Report: Technology)
April 25, 1997... The issue is basic to maintaining a viable judicial system: When can one party require another party, which is in a different state or country, to come and defend itself before the court of the suing party? The Internet has complicated the...

Rapid advances push cybercasts near reality. (conference calls)(Special Report: Technology)
April 25, 1997... Efforts to improve that bane of the workplace - the conference call have been going on for years. In many businesses, the solution is still getting a bunch of people in one room to shout into a telephone set, struggling to interpret the squawks...

Memo to job applicants: first, you must show up.
April 25, 1997... OK, it's probably not a trend. Not yet, anyhow. But within the last few weeks, I've heard several remarkable stories about job applicants who just don't show up for the interview. Late is one thing - even calling and canceling a job...

City's power structure is just a memory. (Baltimore, MD)
April 25, 1997... Thirty years ago, a half-dozen iron-willed men dominated Baltimore's power structure and five local banks formed the centerpiece of the city's economic life. Today, the men are dead or gone and only one of the banks remains under local...

Firm owners defy hazards of starting out and press on.(Small Business Handbook)
April 25, 1997... Starting a company is fraught with traps, and inexperienced entrepreneurs can be sure they'll get caught in at least one of them. The Business Journal asked some local business owners to describe their biggest mistakes and how they fixed...

State contracts, fertile source of income, require patience. (Maryland)(Small Business Handbook)
April 25, 1997... When a customer asked about returning a computer cart bought recently from Sue-Ann's Office Supply Inc., its owner reluctantly decided to take it back. The cart was what the customer had ordered and there was nothing defective about it, but...

Dot all your i's before asking for a loan.(Small Business Handbook)
April 25, 1997... Nearly every thriving business at one time or another needs additional capital - for facility enhancement, upgrading equipment, inventory expansion and a myriad of other reasons. Turning to a bank for financial support is often perceived by...

Owner of family firm must avoid potholes.(Small Business Handbook)
April 25, 1997... Business is about balance. Owners who sustain their businesses over longer periods of time are able to balance conflicting needs: those of the business; those of its shareholders; and those of the financial markets that provide capital. When...

The proper equipment can track your costs.(Small Business Handbook)
April 25, 1997... In the movie "Jerry Maguire," the phrase, "Show me the money!" is used to convey urgency and enthusiasm in attempting to find a big financial payoff. Starting with the move from a manual or archaic record-keeping system to a system providing...

Take careful steps when planning new office space.(Small Business Handbook)
April 25, 1997... The '90s have been a dynamic time for American businesses. Competition is no longer local or even regional. Today, competition comes from other continents. To meet this challenge, American businesses have taken a hard look at all expenses. For...

State sweet-talking Domino. (Maryland offers Domino Sugar Corp. $4 million in subsidies and low-interest loans to keep its sugar refinery in Baltimore)
April 18, 1997... $4 million needed to keep firm here Determined not to let the famous Domino Sugar Corp. sign over the Inner Harbor flicker out, state and city officials want to pour nearly $4 million into the company's coffers to help pay for a $12.5...

Helix jobs to disappear. (Helix Health System to lay off 500 employees in 1997 and 1998)(includes related article on downsizing plan)
April 18, 1997... Workforce to shrink by 400 Helix Health System - owner of five Baltimore-area hospitals - will shrink its workforce by about 400 or 500 positions in the next two years through attrition. The cutbacks, confirmed by a Helix official, reflect...

State technology job short-circuited. (Maryland foregoes hiring a 'technology coordinator')(includes related article on technology coordinator's functions)
April 18, 1997... Maryland won't get a "technology coordinator" for at least another year. In the last week of the 1997 General Assembly session, a state Senate committee killed a controversial proposal to hire a new economic development specialist who would...

Health chief vows no more delays for Medicaid program. (Martin P. Wasserman, Maryland's secretary of health)
April 18, 1997... The state's top health official, Martin P. Wasserman, wants to assure everyone that Maryland's plan to move 330,000 Medicaid recipients into managed care plans is on schedule for a June launch. Wasserman, clearly frustrated at having to do...

Other voices, other news. (Baltimore-area black-oriented mass media companies)
April 18, 1997... Growing base of black-oriented media companies here are discovering an untapped market Our World News has not yet hit the newsstands, but publisher Donald L. Miller is already receiving subscription orders. The national black weekly...

Area tech stocks take a bumpy ride. (Baltimore, MD)
April 18, 1997... Some manage to avoid market jitters Some local companies are trading at lower-than-expected prices as technology stocks ride the roller coaster this spring, but others have been able to maintain their equilibrium. Since late January, the...

Invasion of the body snatchers. (Baltimore-area independent restaurateurs compete with national restaurant chains for customers)
April 18, 1997... Local restaurateurs say battle far from over with Olive Gardens of the world After President Bill Clinton addressed the Maryland General Assembly in Annapolis in February, he stopped in for a bite to eat at the Little Campus Inn on Maryland...

Busy execs meet docs in new Hopkins day program. (Johns Hopkins Executive Health Program)(Special Report: Health Care)
April 18, 1997... The Johns Hopkins Executive Health Program aims for speed and convenience. That's why Kosta Adamopoulos was ordering lunch at just after 8 a.m. on a recent Tuesday. At lunchtime, his food - a roast breast of turkey sandwich with...

Firms, hospital team up for healthy workforce. (Anne Arundel Medical Center's Business Health Services)(includes related article on employee bonuses)(Special Report: Health Care)
April 18, 1997... After becoming executive director of the Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts in Annapolis last June, Linnell Bowen decided she and her staff needed to get on equal footing. So she planned a one-day staff retreat through Anne Arundel Medical...

New growth sectors stimulate Baltimore area economy.(Baltimore Economic Digest)
April 18, 1997... It is still unlikely, however, that the regional economy's growth will match that of the national or state economies in the coming year. During the past six years, the Baltimore area's economy grew much more slowly than the national economy...

Baltimore Metro leading index growth remains modest. (Baltimore Metro Index of Leading Economic Indicators)(Baltimore Economic Digest)
April 18, 1997... The Regional Economic Studies Institute's Baltimore Metro Index of Leading Economic Indicators showed a modest 0.2% increase in the fourth quarter, which followed a 0.2% decline in the third quarter. This slow growth indicates that employment...

Small firms assess Alex. Brown deal. (Alex. Brown and Sons Inc. to merge with Bankers Trust Co.)
April 11, 1997... Banks may tread into securities business First Mariner Bancorp's chief executive officer, Edwin F. Hale Sr., says if a brokerage firm wanted to talk about hooking up with his bank, he'd certainly listen. But he's not really interested in...

Business leaders like new view of economic issues in Annapolis. (Maryland General Assembly's 1997 session)
April 11, 1997... Some observers cite 'election' politics, but many see progress Maryland's business climate became a lot sunnier and warmer over the past three months. That's the general mood of the state's business leaders in the wake of the 1997 General...

A day in the life. (political lobbyist Joseph A. Schwartz III)
April 11, 1997... 'The craziest things can happen in the last days. Time is the enemy of a bill in the last week.' Considering the crush of bills that soon will squeeze through the Maryland General Assembly, Jay Schwartz doesn't have much to do today....

Builders try to steel home. (steel-framed houses)(Special Report: Real Estate & Construction)
April 11, 1997... Using steel instead of lumber to build homes is catching on - albeit slowly Like the three little pigs, home builders are debating whether lumber, steel or a combination will dominate home construction over the next several years. Using...

With state's new CD-ROM, map research takes a few hours, not days. (Maryland State's MdProperty View)(Special Report: Real Estate & Construction)
April 11, 1997... When officials in Howard County's public works department wanted to build a bike path from Lake Elkhorn to Savage, they had to identify and notify all of the more than 300 property owners next to the path. So they turned to Roselle George,...

Md. exports drop; transportation fuels first drop in decade. (Maryland's transportation exports)
April 4, 1997... Transportation exports in Maryland plummeted by $500 million in 1996, causing total statewide exports to drop 7 percent and taking state officials by surprise. After a decade of steady growth, the value of Maryland exports sank to $5.8...

Insurance loophole closing up. (professional employer organization)
April 4, 1997... A fast-growing industry that critics warn could pose a threat to the state's vaunted small business health insurance program could get slapped with new limits imposed by state lawmakers. The target is the professional employer organization...

Cabinet firm hammers out zone training plan.
April 4, 1997... Talk about your customized project. GD Laminates Ltd., a Baltimore cabinet manufacturer, has managed to nail together an unusual training proposal that will bring at least 10 Empowerment Zone residents up to speed in the cabinet industry....

Trigen, boiling over BGE plans, files suit. (Trigen-Baltimore Energy Corp.; Baltimore Gas and Electric Co.)
April 4, 1997... Trigen-Baltimore Energy Corp. is steamed, and so it's taking Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. to court. The dispute all boils down to the regulation of hot water. Trigen competes directly with a BGE subsidiary, Comfort Link. Both offer heating...

April hearings may start phones ringing; after years of false starts, local telephone competition may finally reach customers.
April 4, 1997... After years of false starts, local telephone competition may finally reach customers It's crunch time for the Maryland Public Service Commission and the telephone companies it regulates. Nearly three years after Maryland began the process...

Korean car maker drives into town; nine Baltimore outlets to sell Kia Motors' two automotive products. (Kia Motors Corp.)
April 4, 1997... A Korean automobile manufacturer is driving into town this week, opening 11 dealerships in the Washington area and nine in Baltimore. Kia Motors Corp. has attracted a mix of dealers, big and small, to sell its two products, the Sephia and...

Firms find TV spotlight does wonders for sales. (home shopping channel QVC sponsors trade show)
April 4, 1997... Maryland businesses that can convince judges they've got fantastic products will get a crack at a national television market this summer. At least 250 businesses are expected to show their wares at the Barn at Catonsville Community College...

Hospitals, independents scrap over deregulation.
April 4, 1997... A major change in the way the state regulates outpatient health care prices would give everyone equal footing in the market. That's the theory, anyway. Right now everybody is crying foul. At stake are lucrative services such as eye and...

Employers cut back benefits for families.
April 4, 1997... American workers are increasingly finding their employers shying away from providing family health insurance coverage. Approximately 29 million workers, or almost 25 percent of the work force, are employed by companies that do not offer group...

Lawyer chooses 900 line over billable hours. (David R. Burke)
April 4, 1997... The phone isn't ringing off the hook. In fact, most of the day it's silent. But David R. Burke, a Baltimore attorney, is not discouraged. He still believes that he has a useful and unusual service for potential clients: Legal advice...

Savvy job seekers should check firm's references.(Column)
April 4, 1997... Employment specialists have long advised researching a potential employer before accepting a job offer. Your investigation into the desirability of joining a company should take into consideration a number of factors, including: (1) How...

When leaders leave, firms carry on. (Small Business Workshop)
April 4, 1997... At Atlantic Builders Group Inc., board members and managers had been trying to create a management succession plan for several years. But when the company's then-president, Weldon Lee, resigned in March last year, the plan's details -...

Caterers don new hats; tasty food alone won't cut it in the race to win clients.(Special Report: Hospitality)
April 4, 1997... When you think of catering companies, you probably envision the people who pass around hors d'oeuvres on shiny platters or stand behind the chafing dishes at the buffet table. But how about this picture: Those same people ordering your...

Valet parking: everybody's doing it.(Special Report: Hospitality)
April 4, 1997... What could the Walters Gallery and Mercy Medical Center possibly have in common? Since both are located downtown - an area where the search for a parking space close to your destination can range from slightly annoying to downright...

$150,000 to offer coffee? Fact of life, hoteliers say.(Special Report: Hospitality)
April 4, 1997... Savvy travelers are demanding more amenities at hotels, and area hotels are forking out the extra bucks to accommodate those needs. The Renaissance Harborplace Hotel spends about $100,000 a year to maintain its health club and indoor, heated...

Omni, limo firm go for team approach to drive in clients.(Special Report: Hospitality)
April 4, 1997... In their efforts to accommodate guests, local hotel operators are finding they can offer more services through joint ventures. For example, the Omni Inner Harbor Hotel is giving space at its concierge desk to a private limousine service....

Boosting tourism - as easy as dialing a phone?(Special Report: Hospitality)
April 4, 1997... Maryland tourism officials are trying to make planning a visit to Maryland as easy as one toll-free phone call. They've created a 24-hour phone service - 1-800-MDISFUN - through which callers can request information on hotels and motels,...

Restaurant group tries luring customers online.(Special Report: Hospitality)
April 4, 1997... Every week, the Restaurant Association of Maryland gets a few calls from people requesting information about various eateries around the state. Since September, however, the association's Internet dining guide has received about 23,000 hits...