Baltimore Business Journal articles from April 2000

Baltimore Business Journal archives from April 2000

Hampton Inn eyes downtown.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 7, 2000... Hotelier in talks for former USF&G site Hampton Inn, a subsidiary of Hilton Hotels Corp., is negotiating to purchase the old USF&G Corp. building and its annex on Redwood and Calvert streets for a new downtown hotel, Hilton officials...

Towson U. think tank in tempest.(Statistical Data Included)
April 7, 2000... Towson University's Regional Economic Studies Institute is under siege. Once the toast of the university's business school, the economic research group today is at the center of a $5.3 million lawsuit that former director Michael Conte has...

Family affair.
April 7, 2000... Blood is thick in area tech companies Jeffrey Palmer doesn't worry about his son's future that much anymore -- at least not as a father. Since June 1999, the father of three who spent 30 years in the medical equipment industry has been...

Howard complex nabs AT&T as tenant.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 7, 2000... AT&T Corp. has leased nearly 60,000 square feet of space in the Renaissance at Columbia Gateway, leaving no vacancies in the building. The telecommunications company has signed a five-year lease for 58,300 square feet of space at 7125...

Creditrust files federal lawsuit.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 7, 2000... Baltimore-based Creditrust Corp. filed a $520 million federal lawsuit against bond insurer Enhanced Financial Services. Creditrust, which acquires and collects delinquent debt, alleges that Enhanced Financial -- through a vice president -...

Earthshell to sell stock.(Brief Article)
April 7, 2000... Earthshell Corp., an Annapolis Junction company that makes biodegradable food containers, has filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission to sell an aggregate of 5 million shares of its common stock.

Comcast could get competition.(Brief Article)
April 7, 2000... American Broadband fled an-application with Baltimore County to provide cable television and other communications services in the county. If approved, county residents would for the first time have a choice in cable service providers....

Rosemore extends offer for Crown.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 7, 2000... Rosemore Inc., a Maryland corporation that owns about 49 percent of Crown Central Petroleum's Class A common stock and 11 percent of Crown's Class B common stock, has offered to buy the company's outstanding common stock for $8.35 per share....

Harvey's closes doors.(Brief Article)
April 7, 2000... Heather Harlan, Scott Graham, Craig S. Ey and Joanna Sullivan Harvey's Restaurant, home of the quintessential Baltimore County power lunch, and the adjacent Harvey's Kitchen have closed their doors. The Green Spring Station eatery and...

First down?(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 7, 2000... Heather Harlan, Scott Graham, Craig S. Ey and Joanna Sullivan The television networks continue to one up themselves when it comes to advertising their-major sponsors during sports telecasts. First, there was the halftime report,...

The joke's on Norm.(Norman P. Blake Jr.)(Brief Article)
April 7, 2000... Heather Harlan, Scott Graham, Craig S. Ey and Joanna Sullivan Norman P. Blake Jr.'s appointment as CEO of the U.S. Olympic Committee apparently started the jokes rolling. The man known for laying off 2,000 employees at the former USF&G...

Lawyers on the court.(League Championship)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 7, 2000... Heather Harlan, Scott Graham, Craig S. Ey and Joanna Sullivan In a game that proved a bit more exciting than Michigan State's romp of University of Florida, Whiteford, Taylor & Preston LLP narrowly defeated Piper, Marbury, Rudnick & Wolfe...

Gainers & Losers.(Brief Article)
April 7, 2000... We would love to be a fly on the wall in the board room at Crown Central Petroleum. We'll have to settle for the intrigue at Microsoft. Kathleen T. Snyder Consumers might not be too happy, but the Maryland Chamber of Commerce president...

Inner Harbor's only movie theater closes.(Statistical Data Included)
April 7, 2000... United Artists has closed Baltimore's only Inner Harbor movie theater and is trying to terminate the long-term lease for its space at Harbor Park. The movie company abruptly shut down the struggling theater complex at the corner of Lombard...

MedStar to cut physicians' group, lay off staff.(Statistical Data Included)
April 7, 2000... In an attempt to ease the pain of its rising expenses and declining reimbursements, one of the region's largest health systems is undergoing a restructuring that will eliminate more than hail of its physician practice partnerships and...

Diliberto wins $10M deal.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 7, 2000... Just getting started in the ad business? How would you like your firm's billings to jump from $3 million to $13 million with a single account? It happened this month for four-year-old Diliberto Inc. (www.diliberto.com), a Baltimore firm...

Firm gets two accounts.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 7, 2000... MarketWorks, an Owings Mills strategic marketing firm, announced that it was named the agency of record for Marsh USA-Maryland of Baltimore. MarketWorks (www.mktwks.com) will be responsible for public relations, strategic marketing, consulting...

Eisner wins account.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 7, 2000... General Electric subsidiary Middle River Aircraft Systems announced March 31 that it has selected Eisner Communications of Baltimore as its agency for advertising, marketing and communications. Billings for the account were undetermined at the...

Legg Mason taps Gilden.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 7, 2000... Gilden Advertising announced that it has been retained by Baltimore brokerage Legg Mason Wood Walker Inc. to handle marketing communications for Legg Mason Funds. Gilden (www.gilden.com) will produce print and direct mail campaigns and...

Vying far awards.(Brief Article)
April 7, 2000... Two Baltimore agencies are finalists m the competition for the Advertising Agency of America's 2000 O'Toole Awards. Richardson Myers & Donofrio (www.rmd.com) and Eisner Communications are among 16 finalists whose pro bono ads and commercials...

Stover captures Tellies.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 7, 2000... George A. Stover III, a tour-time Emmy winner and former WMAR-TV producer recently won 3 "Telly" awards. Tellies are given out annually in recognition of excellent non-network and cable TV programming. Stover, who owns Baltimore-based George...

Maryland Public Television.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 7, 2000... Who said anything about a digital divide? Maryland Public Television officially took its plunge into the high-quality digital age of broadcasting last Thursday as it beamed out its first digital signal from its Annapolis/Crownsville...

National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship.(Tamara Hunter wins 'Young Entrepreneur of the Year')(Brief Article)
April 7, 2000... A young Baltimore native could be on her way to becoming a publishing heavyweight Tamara Hunter, 18, of Baltimore City, won the "Young Entrepreneur of the Year" award from the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship for her creation...

Provident proxy tiff costly for dissidents.(Provident Bank shareholder proxy vote to cost $100,000)(Brief Article)
April 7, 2000... The South Carolina investor group that wants Provident Bank (www.provbank.com) to sell itself to the highest bidder estimates that it will spend about $100,000 to hold a shareholder proxy vote on its proposal at the bank's annual meeting April...

MIA, comptroller team up.(Maryland Insurance Administration makes it easier for consumers to file insurance complaints)(Brief Article)
April 7, 2000... The state of Maryland is going to make it easier for consumers to either file a complaint against an insurance company or have an insurance regulator look over their insurance policy. On March 28, state Comptroller William Donald Schaefer...

Creditrust growth in peril.(Brief Article)
April 7, 2000... Creditrust's woes are continuing. The company (www.creditrust.com) said in its 1999 annual report that a loan for $55 million had fallen through. When the company announced earnings in February; it had announced that it was entering into final...

Shareholders not so lucky.(T. Rowe Price Associates Inc. mutual fund shareholders' case thrown out)(Brief Article)
April 7, 2000... On March 20 a U.S. District Court judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by two T. Rowe Price Associates Inc. mutual fund shareholders against the Baltimore-based mutual fund company. U.S. District Judge Andre M. Davis granted T. Rowe Price a...

Peters Pour House to expand on Water St.(Brief Article)
April 7, 2000... Peters Pour House, the popular bar and restaurant at the corner of Water and Grant streets, is growing. Peter Kimos, owner of the downtown establishment has leased roughly 5,000 square feet of space next door, where Water Street Exchange...

Cafe Hon's carting it out.(opening new snack cart at the Rotunda)(Brief Article)
April 7, 2000... And, just to set me record straight, Cafe Hon in Hampden is not leaving its popular West 36th Street locale. A message on the marquis at the Rotunda, the 40th Street shopping mall, says, "Cafe Hon Express Coming April 2000." Next week,...

Trying to lure retailers.(to downtown Baltimore)(Brief Article)
April 7, 2000... Downtown Partnership of Baltimore Inc. is plugging along with its plans to sell the city to big-name retailers. The quasi-economic development organization has already created marketing material to distribute at the International Council of...

Office space still tight.(Brief Article)
April 7, 2000... The Greater Metropolitan Baltimore office market continues to be tight -- with overall vacancy rates settling around 10 percent, according to a first quarter study by the Trammell Crow Co. (www.trammellcrow.com). Baltimore City showed a...

RWD subsidiary taps into e-business needs.(RWD Technologies Inc. forms Latitude360 subsidiary)(Brief Article)
April 7, 2000... RWD Technologies Inc., expanding its reach into electronic commerce and online educational services, has launched a new dot-com company to harness these growing areas of Internet business. The subsidiary, which will be called Latitude360,...

Ergonomics plan might hurt small business.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 7, 2000... Rep. Cass Ballenger, R-N.C., did not need a lobbyist to convince him that OSHA's proposed ergonomics regulation would hurt small businesses. "As a small manufacturer myself, I can understand the problems and costs small manufacturers will...

In a day's work.(the stress of nursing is made greater by a shortage of nurses)
April 7, 2000... For local nurses, shortage spells more patients, extra shifts Sharon King remembers when being a nurse was a labor of love and caring, not just labor. King, a nurse of 13 years at Mercy Medical Center, remembers when nurses were...

Market Facts.(opening day attendance figures for the American League baseball division)(Brief Article)
April 7, 2000... Sports is on the minds of Baltimoreans right now, with the Orioles' opening day at Oriole Park at Camden Yards still fresh in our memories. Our opening day, as can be seen below, brought 46,902 fans to Baltimore's downtown baseball stadium...

Largest health systems in the Baltimore area.(Illustration)(Statistical Data Included)
April 7, 2000... Largest health systems in the Baltimore area (Ranked by gross revenue) Rank/ Name Fiscal 1999 last Address gross health...

Doctors use technology to avoid drug snafus.(Physician Prescription and Referral Information Service)(Brief Article)(Column)
April 7, 2000... Lewis Stone retells the story like a fairy tale, but he insists it's true. A little old lady sees her doctor on a Friday and is diagnosed with bronchitis. Her doctor gives her a prescription for Amoxicillin, which her insurance used to...

A Conversation With [ldots] Dr. Georges Benjamin.(Interview)
April 7, 2000... Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene Dr. Georges C. Benjamin will mark his first full year as Maryland's Secretary of Health and Mental Hygiene in May. A vigorous advocate on behalf of the medical needs of children,...

Devising ways to cut the nursing shortage.(Brief Article)
April 7, 2000... While no one is sure what it will take to end arguably the state's worst nursing shortage, people linked to the profession have a slew of ideas about how to get the ball rolling in the right direction. Whether it involves changing the...

Elder care law myths, realities and legalities.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)(Column)
April 7, 2000... When I began practicing in the field of estates and trusts, my focus was on pre-crisis planning for the eventual death of my client Tax planning and the orderly disposition of a client's assets from one generation to the next was my priority....

Revisiting the 8/80 rule drawbacks and perks.(overtime)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 7, 2000... Health care employers in Maryland who are looking to reduce overtime expenses have long wondered whether the 8/80 rule in the Fair Labor Standards Act (ELSA) may help them. Under the 8/80 rule, hospitals, nursing homes and other health care...

Hopkins working with Israel on biomedicine.
April 7, 2000... Johns Hopkins University's announced collaborative biomedical research and engineering effort with Technion-Israel Institute of Technology is the first of its, kind between the two institutions, according to Murray Sachs, Ph.D., director of...

Aetna acquires Intelihealth.(Brief Article)
April 7, 2000... The same day InteliHealth announced it had ended its relationship with Johns Hopkins University, the online health information company was acquired by Aetna U.S. Healthcare in its effort to broaden its Internet strategy. InteliHealth...

Martek adds Abbott Labs.(Martek Biosciences Corp.)(Brief Article)
April 7, 2000... Martek Biosciences Corp., a Columbia-based manufacturer and provider of microalgae products, signed a non-exclusive license agreement with Abbott Laboratories for Martek's technology relating to the use of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids...

Defending your license.(License Protection Services Inc.)(Brief Article)
April 7, 2000... A Severna Park lawyer started a Web site devoted, to providing prepaid legal service to licensed professionals, particularly doctors who are defending their license against malpractice suits. The Web site company, License Protection...

Surgi-Vision Inc.(Brief Article)
April 7, 2000... Surgi-Vision Inc., a technology company based in Columbia, has received clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (www.fda.gov) for its newest internal esophageal MRI coil called the Stylet. Developed in coordination with...

HealthOnline.(Brief Article)
April 7, 2000... Columbia-based HealthOnline (www.healthonline.com) and Caredata. com of Atlanta announced a strategic co-branding and licensing agreement that will offer Cardata.com's products and information to health care organizations and consumers via...

The Wilmer Eye Institute.(Brief Article)
April 7, 2000... Mark your calendars. Former Johns Hopkins patients Hugh Downs and Sen. John Glenn will be in attendance when Hopkins celebrates the 75th anniversary of The Wilmer Eye Institute later this month. Downs, a former anchorman for ABC News'...

Renaissance man.(Edwin F. Bale Sr.)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 7, 2000... It sounds a bit funny to hear Edwin F. Bale Sr., the rough-and-tumble banker, talk about proper teller etiquette. After all, he was the man who waged a fierce proxy fight to take control of Bank of Baltimore and spearheaded a hostile, yet...

A city of silver.(Kirk-Stieff Co. factory closes)(Brief Article)
April 7, 2000... When the Kirk-Stieff factory lights were turned off for the last time in January 1999, Baltimore's long run as a center of the silver industry came to an abrupt end. From an economic development standpoint, the closing wasn't a major blow...

Taking Stock.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 7, 2000... Taking Stock The BBJ Index [*] of 76 stocks closed at 1510.23 on 4/5/00. Weekly Gainers & Losers ...

RWD Technologies Inc.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 7, 2000... 10480 Little Patuxent Parkway / Columbia, 21044 /(410) 730-4377/ www.rwd.com Corporate Profile Columbia-based RWD Technologies Inc. provides a range of technology solutions to business problems facing Fortune 500 companies. The...

Base your decisions on facts.(Brief Article)
April 7, 2000... Dear Business Doctor: I want to expand my company. I can either broaden my product line -- and at the same time enlarge my current retail outlet -- or I can continue offering my current product line and open a second and similar retail outlet...

In memoriam.(Judith Antisdel started firm in honor of her late sister)(Statistical Data Included)
April 7, 2000... Antisdel started firm in honor of her late sister Judith Antisdel is finally starting to enjoy the success her company is experiencing. Started in 1987, Anne-Tisdale & Associates Inc., a list brokerage and mail shop located in Towson,...

How do you curtail employee theft?(Brief Article)
April 7, 2000... Don C. Grauel President; L.E. Goldsborough & Sons Inc. / Towson "Employee theft is often the result of an individual facing financial problems. Otherwise good people are driven to steal due to gambling debts, medical expenses, drug...

Largest engineering firms in the Baltimore area.(Directory)(Illustration)
April 7, 2000... Largest engineering firms in the Baltimore area (Ranked by annual engineering billings fromBaltimore-area offices) Rank/ Name last Address year Phone/Fax/Internet 1 URS Greiner Woodward Clyde 1 4 North Park...

Aether in national spotlight.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 7, 2000... Coming off a successful second offering, Owings Mills-based Aether Systems Inc. decided to spend $15 million on a national advertising campaign -- with print advertisements and a 30-second television commercial that began airing last week. ...

Professional Web surfing.(from Scherer Cyberian Services)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 7, 2000... One's relationship with a particular search engine is a dysfunctional one at best. The primary problem is based on the fact that each search engine brings up different results for the same key words. This has a lot to do with the...

Canton firm lands capital.(Web-On-Site Inc.)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 7, 2000... Web-On-Site Inc., the tech company that provides free Internet access in public places, secured $250,000 in venture capital last week from The Delaware Innovation Fund. Company officials are quick to point out that, although the funding...

Do-it-yourself Web design.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 7, 2000... Web designers scoff at the idea, but the fact is: Small business owners like to save money when it comes to designing their Web sites. Pikesville-based Hanover Digital has introduced a new product that allows businesses to create a Web site...

King of software sues 'pirates'.(Microsoft, Maryland computer distributors)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 7, 2000... Maryland tech companies say Microsoft lawsuit is 'a mistake' It's a case of mistaken identity, claim officials with Baltimore-based Micromatix Net. "Microsoft has the wrong company," said one Micromatax executive, who would not give...

Smalloffice.
April 7, 2000... www.smalloffice.com For all the resources available to small business owners, there are still quite a few obstacles each must overcome in order to succeed. With this Web site, a partnership between SCORE -- a group of retired business...

Eric F. Womack.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 7, 2000... ForSalesPeople.com BBJ: Where did you get the idea for your business? Womack: ForSalesPeople.com was created to provide a direct response to the daily needs of our clients and candidates in our recruiting business...

People.(Brief Article)
April 7, 2000... * Accounting Carl F. Miller has rejoined Ellin & Tucker, Chartered as co-chairman of the business valuation, litigation and dispute resolution services group. * Banking First Mariner Bank hired James A. Gast as senior vice...

Access Associates Inc.(acquired by Chuck Curlett)(Brief Article)
April 7, 2000... Chuck Curlett recently purchased Access Associates Inc., an executive and management recruitment firm in Towson. He formerly was a vice president at PHH Vehicle Management Services.

Sheraton Inner Harbor Hotel.
April 7, 2000... The Sheraton Inner Harbor Hotel won the Special Event Award at the Maryland Hotel & Motel Association's 10th annual Stars of the Industry awards banquet. The hotel's human resources director, K. C. Jones, was honored as Administrative Employee...

O'Conor, Piper and Flynn ERA.
April 7, 2000... Diana Hirschhorn, a sales associate with O'Conor, Piper and Flynn ERA, was named top selling agent for January in the company's Bel Air/Forest Hill office with sales of $1.1 million.

Hood College.
April 7, 2000... Hood College in Frederick won an award of excellence for "Social Viewbook," the college's 28-page admissions publication in the 1999 Graphic Communications Competition sponsored by Printing Industries of Virginia.

Child Welfare League of America.
April 7, 2000... Rep. Benjamin L. Cardin received the Congressional Advocate of the Year Award from the Child Welfare League of America for his sponsorship of the Foster Care Independence Act.

Outsider good pick for police.(Ronald L. Daniel)
April 7, 2000... A recent gathering at the Center Club celebrating the arrival of Baltimore's Police Commissioner Ronald L. Daniel drew many of the city's top businesspeople. The irreparable damage in the relationship between Daniel and Mayor Martin...

Safety rules go too far.(Occupational Safety and Health Administration to propose workplace ergonomic regulations)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 7, 2000... Workplace safety is a serious issue, and federal government oversight has undoubtedly saved lives over the years. But as we all know, the government can go too far in trying to protect us. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration...

Fascination with the mob goes beyond the Godfather.
April 7, 2000... Even in the small, somewhat grainy photograph in the Philadelphia Inquirer, I easily recognized those dark, bushy eyebrows and prominent forehead. More than 25 years have passed, but I immediately could picture this now 35-year-old man in...

Letters.(Letter to the Editor)(Statistical Data Included)
April 7, 2000... 'Sale sign' on bank not good for shareholders Editor: Your editorial "Board should decide fate," in the March 17th issue of the Baltimore Business Journal, addressed a proposal by Mid-Atlantic Investors, one of Provident Bankshares'...

Web firm readies for Wall St.(RewardsPlus of America initial public offering)(Brief Article)
April 14, 2000... City's RewardsPlus picking underwriter Another local technology company -- market willing -- is heading to Wall Street in the not-too-distant future. RewardsPlus of America, a Baltimore company that provides employee benefits via the...

In the trenches.(WarRoom Research developing Internet search software for corporate security)(Brief Article)
April 14, 2000... WarRoom uses Net for corporate spying Business is war. So Mark Gembicki and Steve Shaker, backed by years of experience in the nation's top two intelligence agencies, want to give businesses the ammunition they need to survive. ...

B&D gets heat for CEO pay.(Black & Decker CEO Nolan D. Archibald put on list of overpayed executives)(Brief Article)
April 14, 2000... Black & Decker Corp. Chief Executive Officer Nolan D. Archibald is under fire from one of the world's largest labor unions. The AFL-CIO (www.aflcio.org), which represents 13 million workers in the United States, blasted Archibald this month...

Tobacco cash to hit hospitals.(Brief Article)
April 14, 2000... After pleading for months for a piece of the tobacco settlement pie, officials of the state's community-based hospitals can vouch for the notion that it is, better to receive good news late than to never receive it at all. Among the...

Correction.(Brief Article)(Correction Notice)
April 14, 2000... Due to incorrect information supplied to the Business Journal, the list of "Largest engineering firms in the Baltimore area" [Vol. 17, April 7-13, Page 34] did not include Whitman, Requardt and Associates LLP. They would have been No.3, with...

Fans flock to the Yard.(Camden Yards baseball stadium)(Brief Article)
April 14, 2000... Not low pre-season expectations nor frigid evening temperatures kept Oriole fans away from Camden Yards for opening week. With the birds logging in some decisive wins and as Cal Ripken approaches 3,000 hits, phones in the Orioles' ticket office...

Gainers & Losers.(Brief Article)
April 14, 2000... What next for Gov. Glendening? How about "smart" tax relief. * General Motors The Detroit automaker cuts back a shift at its Baltimore assembly plant, leaving more than 1,000 people out of work What happened to the mini-van craze? ...

Local names few on latest Fortune 500 list.(few Baltimore area businesses on the list of 500 largest companies in the US)(Brief Article)
April 14, 2000... Baltimore is often called a "branch office town." This year's Fortune 500 list -- released this week -- seems to confirm the label. Only three companies in the Baltimore metropolitan area made Fortune (www.fortune.com) magazine's...

Backers hope to add steam to Maglev project.(plan to link Baltimore and Washington D.C. with magnetic levitation train line)(Brief Article)
April 14, 2000... The Maglev transportation project has reached the point of no return. Unfortunately for its organizers, they still are not sure if the magnetic levitation project that is planned to link Baltimore and Washington, D.C., by cutting-edge rail...

U.M. Medical System sells bonds for growth.(University of Maryland)(Brief Article)
April 14, 2000... The University of Maryland Medical System sold $123 million worth of revenue bonds last week in an effort to help finance its planned growth, according to the university system's chief financial officer. Robert Chrencik said that after...

Developers win big on the demise of septic bill.(attempt at tighter regulations for septic tanks)(Brief Article)
April 14, 2000... The National Rifle Association's loss in Annapolis may have ended up being a gain for real estate groups. Maryland Gov. Parris Glendening garnered some mighty big headlines and national attention in getting his smart-guns measure passed...