Baltimore Business Journal articles from August 2000

Baltimore Business Journal archives from August 2000

Wild card.(Video gambling)(Brief Article)
August 4, 2000... Video gambling goes unchecked in city Call it Baltimore's dirty little gambling secret. In a state where the governor is adamantly opposed to casino gambling and in a city where the mayor has declared a "zero tolerance" policy on...

Top fund manager takes hit.(Bill Miller of Legg Mason)(Brief Article)
August 4, 2000... You know the stock market is in a slump when Bill Miller -- Legg Mason's brilliant stock picker -- is losing money. Through the end of last year, Miller's $12 billion Value Trust mutual fund had beaten the S&P 500 Index for nine consecutive...

Angelos considers old McCormick site.(Peter Angelos)(Brief Article)
August 4, 2000... Orioles owner Peter Angelos is eyeing the former downtown home of spice giant McCormick & Co. -- long a vacant lot -- for a possible development deal, according to real estate executives and city officials. The nearly two-acre site,...

Lacrosse lovers lure franchise.(Brief Article)
August 4, 2000... Two area businessmen have made a large enough down payment to convince Major League Lacrosse to launch a team in Baltimore -- a year after the city's indoor lacrosse team bolted for Pittsburgh. Christopher Hutchins, the owner of Bacharach...

Lighting up Vanity Fair.(Maryland Match Corp.)(Brief Article)
August 4, 2000... For Baltimore's Maryland Match Corp., it only took a spark to put them in the pages of Vanity Fair's July 2000 issue. That spark -- a passion for matchbook collecting -- came when a reporter from the national magazine decided to take a look at...

Gainers & Losers.(Corvis Corp.)(Brief Article)
August 4, 2000... We'll miss you B.j., Mike and Charles, but we won't miss those sorry games. Corvis Corp. This once little-known telecommunications company put Maryland on the map with an outrageous Wall Street debut. Dr. Robert H. Elkins After months...

Speculative projects may get state boost.(Maryland)(Brief Article)
August 4, 2000... The explosion of Maryland's technology sector has the state considering an incentive plan that would reward developers who build speculative office space in areas such as downtown Baltimore and the Interstate-95 corridor. Growing tech...

State trying to help ailing Super Pride chain.(Brief Article)
August 4, 2000... The Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development has approved a $15,000 grant to help keep the troubled Super Pride Markets supermarket chain afloat. Two months after the chain said it was closing three of its stores in...

Columbia firm wins VC money.(Brief Article)
August 4, 2000... Codeon Corp., a Columbia manufacturer of electronic components, has raised $17.1 million in venture capital financing. The company, which makes fiber optic components that allow for high-speed data transmission, plans to use the money to...

Hackerman considers new city skyscraper.(Brief Article)
August 4, 2000... Willard Hackerman, the CEO of Whiting-Turner Contracting Co., may build a new skyscraper above a downtown power station. The executive of the Towson-based company is trying to secure the air rights for the substation at Pratt and Concord...

State targets airport, roads with $1.6 billion.(Brief Article)
August 4, 2000... The state plans to spend nearly $1.6 billion to improve transportation in the Baltimore area. That figure includes about $1.4 billion that will go toward improving passenger access to Baltimore Washington International Airport. Gov. Parris...

Area laser eye centers buy latest technology.(Brief Article)
August 4, 2000... The newest technology in laser vision correction has hit Baltimore. On July 18, the Baltimore office of TLC Laser Eye Centers became the first eye surgery center in the state to offer LadarVision, a technology developed by Autonomous...

Unfinished Marriott hotel signing up guests.(Brief Article)
August 4, 2000... The Baltimore Marriott Waterfront Hotel under construction at Inner Harbor East is only about 45 percent complete. But hotel management is already booking individual rooms and blocks of rooms for convention guests through the year 2005,...

Online reservations.(Brief Article)
August 4, 2000... Nine restaurants in Baltimore and Annapolis have been wired to accept reservations over the Internet via San Francisco-based OpenTable.com's online reservation network, and the company is searching for more. Aldo's Restaurant, Atlantic,...

Conventioneers on the Net.(I)(Brief Article)
August 4, 2000... If your company is a regular exhibitor at trade shows or conventions, you might want to consider making the Internet a larger slice of your marketing mix. So says a report released by the Incomm Center for Research and Sales Training in Chicago...

National Aquarium in Baltimore.(Brief Article)
August 4, 2000... * On Aug. 8, the National Aquarium in Baltimore will kick-off a year-long string of events leading up to its 20th anniversary Aug. 8, 2001.

Choice Hotels International.(Brief Article)
August 4, 2000... * Choice Hotels International is offering some new incentives for franchise development of its Sleep Inn and Sleep Inn & Suites brands. The Silver Spring-based company is offering a $20,000 rebate and cash payment of $60,000 to Sleep brand...

Ferris, Baker loses another research director.(Brief Article)
August 4, 2000... Ferris, Baker Watts Inc. (www.fbw.com) has lost its director of research, again. Susan Betso, who was elevated by the company to head the firm's research department last fall, has left the company to take a job with a horse veterinarian,...

Tucker recruits by video.(Brief Article)
August 4, 2000... Tucker Anthony is now using video to lure top-notch brokers. It claims to be first in the nation to do so. Pop a CD-ROM into your computer and what you basically get is a slick online version of the company's print recruiting materials,...

York Federal Bank.(Brief Article)
August 4, 2000... * York Federal Bank, which has branches in Harford and Washington counties, believes it is headed in the right direction with a name change. After the bank merges with Harris Savings Bank by the end of the year, the new combined bank will...

Lap of luxury.(Brief Article)
August 4, 2000... Contractors, agents enjoy economy's home-building boom Pat Hagan's glass is half full. And you know what? The other half is full too. Yes, it's a good time to be a luxury-home builder in Baltimore. "There is clearly an abundance of...

Market Facts.(Brief Article)
August 4, 2000... According to the National Foundation for Women Business Owners (www.nfwbo.org), woman-owned businesses in Baltimore are growing faster than all others combined. Between 1992 and 1999, woman-owned businesses experienced an average growth of 44...

Janet Marie Smith.(Interview)(Statistical Data Included)
August 4, 2000... Struever Bros. Eccles & Rouse Inc. What Janet Marie Smith did for baseball in Baltimore, she now hopes to do for high technology. In her former job as vice president of planning and development for the Orioles, she made the dream of...

Bethesda rents hitting $40 per square foot.(Brief Article)
August 4, 2000... Chalk another one up to the rolling U.S. economy. Despite high rents in downtown Bethesda, there's no shortage of companies waiting to get in. In fact, on average two companies are trying to find a spot in the hot city for every one that...

A true visionary.(James W. Rouse)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
August 4, 2000... The term "vision" is a bit overused these days. It has become one of those catch-all phrases to describe just about any manager with a decent enough plan for his or her company. But there is no better word in the English language to...

A senior business.(Erickson Retirement Communities)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
August 4, 2000... It took Erickson Retirement Communities about 10 years, but the Catonsville-based senior living company has figured out that if you build it, they will come. As a result, Erickson, a relative newcomer to moderate-income senior living, has...

Institute moves into vacant Jos. A. Bank space.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
August 4, 2000... The Maryland Institute -- College of Art is gulping up land around Bolton Hill. Based on Mount Royal Avenue, the college just purchased the nearby Jos. A. Bank Clothiers Inc. manufacturing plant at 113-131 W. North Ave. that has been...

Mid-Atlantic Realty Trust.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
August 4, 2000... * Mid-Atlantic Realty Trust of Lutherville (www.martriet.com) has begun to redevelop its 80,000-square-foot Security Square Shopping Center at Rolling Road and Security Boulevard in Baltimore County. The center will be anchored by a...

Kranzco Realty Trust.(merges with CV Reit to form Kramont Realty Trust)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
August 4, 2000... * Two shopping center real estate investment trusts, Kranzco Realty Trust and CV Reit, recently merged. The new entity is called Kramont Realty Trust and is based in Plymouth Meeting, Pa. Kramont (www.kramont .com) will own and operate 84...

Robert Half International.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
August 4, 2000... * Robert Half International, a placement firm, is expanding and plans to take more than 10,000 square feet in the World Trade Center on Pratt Street. The company (www.roberthalf.com) is now located at 100 E. Pratt St.

Corporate Office Properties Trust.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
August 4, 2000... * Corporate Office Properties Trust announced a 7.4 percent increase -- to $9.3 million -- in funds from operations for the second Quarter 2000. The Columbia-based REIT also reported a 4.3 percent growth in adjusted funds from operations in the...

Baltimore County.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
August 4, 2000... * Baltimore County has acquired three properties -- The Main Event, Ensor Bros. Ice House and Don's Crabhouse buildings -- in an effort to promote neighborhood renewal and revitalization programs in the Essex-Middle River area The plan also...

Carrollton Bank.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
August 4, 2000... Carrollton Bank 15 Charles Plaza / Suite 200 / Baltimore, 21201 Corporate profile Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan is no friend of Carrollton Bancorp. The bank said chat first quarter earnings, which were down 16.1...

People.
August 4, 2000... The People section publicizes management-level hirings and promotions of area business people. We also publicize elections to nonprofit and charitable organizations. We do not run professional certifications or designations. Send announcements...

Sequoia makes the grade.(Sequoia Software partners with Cap Gemini Ernst & Young)(Brief Article)
August 4, 2000... Sequoia Software Corp. passed the test -- so to speak. The Columbia-based developer of Web-enabled software applications for businesses partnered with international consulting firm Cap Gemini Ernst & Young US as a result of the company's...

Sylvan invests $7M.(in ClubMom Inc.)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
August 4, 2000... Baltimore-based Sylvan Ventures, the venture capital and incubator arm of Sylvan Learning Systems Inc., invested $7 million in New York-based ClubMom Inc. (www.clubmom.com). Sylvan Ventures' investment is part of a $36 million round of...

'One bill' concept takes off.(Bundling services, telecommunications)(Brief Article)
August 4, 2000... Large telecom firms set to package major services together Editor's note: Technology reporter Roger Hughlett is on assignment in the cradle of the country's technology revolution -- Silicon Valley. He filed this dispatch from our sister...

Jennifer Kennedy.(Bionic Box Inc.)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
August 4, 2000... BBJ: Where did you get the idea for your business? Bionic Box Inc. Kennedy: I was already in the industry but felt that my previous organization had lost its creative edge and customer needs were an afterthought. Because of the high...

Outsourcing.(Human resource management)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
August 4, 2000... Small businesses turn to PEOs to handle their HR tasks When Todd Burgess founded his multimedia design firm in Baltimore three years ago, he had some pretty strong thoughts on the matter of human resource administration. "I knew that...

How do you reward good work?(StaffMax Corp., Mortgage Consultants comment)(Brief Article)
August 4, 2000... Jerry Waller President & COO, StaffMax Corp. / Hunt Volley "One way to reward good work is to give people the opportunity to do good work We have put tremendous effort into creating an environment that is professional and sends the...

State needs uniform liquor laws.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
August 4, 2000... If you don't believe that Maryland's liquor laws are too complex and confusing, just have a look at the state's annotated code. The various rules, regulations and prohibitions that cover the sale of alcoholic beverages fill 495 separate...

Gilchrest wrong on C&D Canal.(Chesapeake & Delaware Canal)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
August 4, 2000... U.S. Rep. Wayne Gilchrest is a "common man" politician in the mold of Harry S. Truman. And his independent approach to issues makes him an asset to his district and to Maryland. But the five-term Eastern Shore Republican is wrong in frying...

What's in a name? These days not even real words.(Verizon Communications)
August 4, 2000... The commercials are eye-catching. The song stays in my brain for way too long. Then there's that name. Verizon. Hmmm. Say it a couple times, hear the commercial a dozen or so times and it begins to stick. What happened to that company we...

From the Editor.
August 4, 2000... Last summer, the technology community experienced a bit of a shake-up when Carly Fiorina -- of Lucent Technologies fame -- took over as CEO of Hewlett-Packard. Around the country, people questioned how a woman would handle the stress and strain...

Leveling the playing field.
August 4, 2000... Women find gender barriers fall in tech field As a computer systems consultant, Jennifer Stadtler used to raise eyebrows. "When you are in your mid-20s, 5-foot-4 and a woman, you walk into a place, to fix their computers and they look...

The barriers.(Sherry Bellamy of Bell Atlantic Maryland)(Brief Article)
August 4, 2000... A litigator who's both a woman and a minority, Sherry Bellamy rose to occupy the top position for Bell Atlantic Maryland. Along the way she's faced her share of obstacles. "[The barriers] are hard to pinpoint because you deal with them...

Judith A. Britz.
August 4, 2000... Judith A. Britz, president and CEO of Cylex Inc. in Columbia, owes her astonishing career to a broken-down car. A native of Baltimore who studied chemistry at Goucher College and biology at MIT, Britz spent years studying in the world of...

Shirley Collier.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
August 4, 2000... When Shirley Collier learned in 1995 that school-aged girls in Howard County were taking elective computer classes at a much lower rate than boys, she knew she wanted to do something about it The Howard County Board of Education was reporting...

Francine Tucker Diggs.(Brief Article)
August 4, 2000... Francine Tucker Diggs has a vision that VSI Group Inc. will be the premier meter reading company in the nation. Nobody could convince her otherwise. "I am constantly working, constantly thinking of better and new ways to align the company...

Louise Sengupta.
August 4, 2000... Louise Sengupta is racing the clock A former electrical engineer for the Anny Research Labs, Sengupta is working to bring the company she founded in 1998 to develop, manufacture and commercialize electronically tunable RE components and...

We need more girls to study IT.
August 4, 2000... The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the information technology industry will need more than 1.3 million workers by 2006. There is no conceivable way for us to meet that demand if we don't encourage more women to pursue degrees and...

All citizens should have access to technology.
August 4, 2000... Technology is transforming Maryland -- and re-energizing Baltimore. We're calling the changed face of the city the "Digital Harbor." Today, the old American Can factory is a cyber-factory. It's now a high-tech business center, where small...

Internet and e-mail are vital to business.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
August 4, 2000... Columbia-based inSITE's dependence on technology hit home recently when communication came to a halt. "Our e-mail has been down all morning," said inSITE owner Susan Porter at the time. "Were not panicking yet, but it has made us realize...

Finding funding for your technology startup.(Brief Article)
August 4, 2000... If you are an early-stage technology company, and you are looking for money to jumpstart your business, the first place you will turn to probably won't be a traditional bank. There are many sources for technology funding in this...

A Conversation With Sue Carlson, Lynda Flanagan, Newt Fowler & Kathleen Weiss.(Panel Discussion)(Interview)
August 4, 2000... Sue Carlson President, Baltimore Chapter of Association for Information Technology Professionals (AITP); Analyst, BGE Lynda Flanagan Business Development Manager, Productivity Partners; board member, AITP; committee member GBTC...

Wealthiest ZIP codes in the Baltimore area.
August 4, 2000... [TABLE HAS BEEN CLIPPED]

Largest woman-owned businesses in the Baltimore area.
August 4, 2000... [TABLE HAS BEEN CLIPPED]

IHS founder and CEO steps down.(Integrated Health Services Inc., chief)(executive officer)(Brief Article)
August 4, 2000... Robert N. Elkins, the founder of Integrated Health Services Inc., announced that he will step down from his position as chairman, CEO and president of the Sparks-based health service company. Joseph A. Bondi, of Alvarez & Marsal Inc., a...

Farmers Insurance cuts 117 jobs.(Brief Article)
August 4, 2000... Farmers Insurance Group, a Los Angeles-based insurance company with three Baltimore-area locations, plans to eliminate 117 jobs at its Timonium office as part of a corporate restructuring, said Carol Siegfried, president of group distribution....

Harbor Bank names new president.(Lester Johnson)(Brief Article)
August 4, 2000... Joseph Haskins Jr. is relinquishing his role as president of Harbor Bank of Maryland so he has more time to develop the banks subsidiaries, bank officials said this week. The bank named Lester Johnson, currently chief operating officer, as its...

Taking Stock.
August 4, 2000... [TABLE HAS BEEN CLIPPPED]

www.wageweb.com.(Brief Article)
August 4, 2000... Wageweb may very well be the ugliest site you'll ever vist. But it contains a ton of useful information about salaries in various industries, including finance, health care, manufacturing and others. And unlike other salary-related sites,...

MIE to build airport tech park.(Brief Article)
August 11, 2000... MIE Properties Inc. has acquired 100 acres near Baltimore/Washington International Airport to build a $40 million technology business park. MIE (www.mieproperties.com) plans to convert the property at the intersection of the...

Food fight.(Brief Article)
August 11, 2000... Net grocers struggle in tight market Several Internet grocery retailers are eyeing the Baltimore market, making the area potential proving ground for companies in this sink-or-swim industry. But many players in the food "e-tail" and...

Newly rich Corvis to expand in Howard.(Brief Article)
August 11, 2000... Corvis Corp., the Columbia fiber-optics equipment manufacturer that recently made. Maryland history with its record-breaking initial public offering, is expanding its presence in Howard County. The powerhouse tech company, founded by former...

City tech efforts get a Catalyst.(Brief Article)
August 11, 2000... Non-profit firm; trains; untapped work force Officials with Boston-based CitySoft Inc. knew they wanted to expand into the mid-Atlantic, but they weren't sure which city or how they would land qualified workers. That all changed when...

Annapolis firm raises $80 million.(Brief Article)
August 11, 2000... Telecommunication Systems Inc., a developer of wireless technologies in Annapolis, raised $79.9 million with its initial public offering on Aug. 8. The company priced 4.7 million shares at $17 per share, the top end of its expected range of $15...

Essex Corp. reports 2Q losses.(Brief Article)
August 11, 2000... Columbia-based Essex Corp., a developer of technologies for the telecommunications industry, reported a net loss of $176,000, or 4 cents a share, for the second quarter ended June 25, compared to a net income of $19,000 for the same period last...

Web-On-Site snags T.G.I. Friday's.(Brief Article)
August 11, 2000... Baltimore-based Web-On-Site Inc., a provider of free Internet access in public places, signed a deal with The Bistro Group to put eight kiosks in T.G.I. Friday's restaurants in Cincinnati. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed. Bob...

Opportunity strikes.(Brief Article)
August 11, 2000... Striking workers are a pain for Verizon Communications, but some of its smaller competitors are enjoying an uptick in their directory assistance calls thanks to the picket lines. The ongoing strike of more than 87,000 workers in 12 states...

TidePoint gets namesake.(Brief Article)
August 11, 2000... B2B Communications was just too generic a name for a local tech firm. So the company's four founders borrowed the name of one of the most talked-about developments in recent years - TidePoint. The company, now called TidePoint is not...

[Upside down question mark]No habla espanol?(Brief Article)
August 11, 2000... Seems that several members of the Baltimore Orioles have followed the lead of Albert Belle by not speaking to the media. The way they're playing, maybe they have reason not to. Still, several members of the press don't know who's not talking...

Gainers & Losers.(Brief Article)
August 11, 2000... Sure, you can't get an operator on the phone, but at least the Verizon strikers are making that downtown lunch hour more interesting. * Walter Orlinsky After spending time in the pokey for a truly detestable crime against the public trust,...

Aether, Micros link up on bill-paying system.(Brief Article)
August 11, 2000... About 40 years ago, credit cards made it possible to go your favorite restaurant and walk out stuffed without carrying one cent of cash. In the 1990s, debit cards were an extension of the same concept. Now, two Baltimore-area...

Aberdeen behind in count on sponsor deals.(Brief Article)
August 11, 2000... After missing a July 15 construction deadline, organizers of the Ripken Stadium project in Aberdeen are scrambling to sign enough corporate sponsorship deals to begin the project by Aug. 15: -- the day contractors say construction should begin...

Creditrust asks federal court to take lawsuits.(Brief Article)
August 11, 2000... Creditrust Corp. wants a group of seven lawsuits that were filed against it in Baltimore City Circuit Court in June to be tried by a federal court. The lawsuits, which seek a total of $7.17 million for alleged violations of consumer...

Tech firm partnership is dissolved.(Brief Article)
August 11, 2000... After only two years in business, the principals in a local application-development and dot-com incubation partnership have parted ways. Millersville-based CreativeTechConcepts -- created through a partnership between Visual Servers Inc....

Wholesale food giant to double Hanford site.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
August 11, 2000... The third-largest food wholesaler in the United States has plans to double the size of its staff and distribution center in Aberdeen, according to town officials. C&S Wholesale Grocers Inc., food distributor to grocery chains and...

Flight attendants fight for OSHA safety rules.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
August 11, 2000... OSHA will begin boarding the nation's, airlines next year. The Occupational Safety Health Administration (www.osha.gov) plans to take jurisdiction over, the working conditions of fight attendants from the Federal Aviation Administration,...

Spreading the green.(Brief Article)
August 11, 2000... The Small Business Administration (www.sba.gov) will expand a pilot program that offers technical assistance as well as loans to companies in low-income areas. The Community Express loan program started with nine banks in 20 locations but...

Little Italy group to fight retail project.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
August 11, 2000... The Little Italy Community Organization is fighting a Baltimore developer's plan to build a parking garage and retail center on the edge of the popular restaurant district. Mendel Friedman has proposed a 254-space garage with 17,000 square...

Bigger digs for Manekin.(commercial real estate company )(Brief Article)
August 11, 2000... Manekin Corp. is shifting its Columbia headquarters to a larger, nearby location. The commercial real estate company (www.manekin.com) is expected this month to move into a new 30,000-square-foot building it developed at the corner of...

Merritt Properties LLC.(Brief Article)
August 11, 2000... Merritt Properties LLC has purchased 2 and 10 Loveton Circle in Sparks for $4.5 million. The 18-acre property includes a 42,000-square-foot flex building. Merritt plans to develop the lot, which fronts York Road and Loveton Circle, with...

Staffers leave Sun for greener tech pastures.(Brief Article)
August 11, 2000... In this age of flourishing mass media, opportunities for journalists abound. For editors and publishers, however, holding on to experienced writers is now more a chore than ever. Case in point: the Baltimore Sun. The area's largest daily...