Baltimore Business Journal articles from December 1998

Baltimore Business Journal archives from December 1998

Parks goes on block.(Parks Sausage Co.)
December 4, 1998... After struggling through another year, the once-bankrupt Parks Sausage Co. is up for sale, according to several employees at the company. Owners of the Baltimore sausage maker told employees last month that they are shopping the company...

Clarke project unsure.(J.J. Clarke Enterprises Inc.)
December 4, 1998... One Light Street still has no tenant Plans for developing a massive new office tower on Light Street are being put on hold until an anchor tenant is found, according to the project's developers. One Light Street is slated to open in...

Few options left for Doctors Health.(Doctors Health Inc.)
December 4, 1998... Doctors Health Inc. is still trying to arrange a bailout of its tattered finances, but a recent securities filing indicates that the bankrupt company may be running out of options. In Doctors Health's first quarter, ended Sept. 30, the...

Helix signals changes in Jan. strategic plan.(Medlantic/Helix Health Care System; 1999)
December 4, 1998... Medlantic/Helix Health Care System will unveil its strategic plan next month, including a new name and its designs on other area hospitals. The company, the result of a merger earlier this year of Washington-based Medlantic Healthcare...

Huntington taking on Sylvan at home.(Huntington Learning Corp.; Sylvan Learning Systems)
December 4, 1998... A New Jersey-based education company is moving in on Sylvan Learning Systems' home turf. Huntington Learning Corp. opened four new tutoring centers in the Baltimore area in the past four weeks. "We've really stepped it up the past...

Olympic organizer: stay focused on 2012.(Washington-Baltimore Regional 2012 Coalition)
December 4, 1998... On Nov. 6, Dan Knise became president and CEO of the Washington-Baltimore Regional 2012 Coalition, the group charged with bringing the 2012 Olympic Games to the region. The group must submit a bid for the 2012 Summer Games to the U.S....

Ga. firm testing treatment at U. Md. hospital.(Novoste Corp.)
December 4, 1998... Surgeons at the University of Maryland Medical Center say a new way to treat blocked arteries could dramatically reduce the number of patients who need bypass surgery and save the U.S. health care industry $1 billion each year. The...

Firm has slick idea to clean crude oil tanks.(ARD Environmental Inc.)
December 4, 1998... Eugene Silverman is comfortable placing the future of his company in the hands of a robot named Otis. Silverman's ARD Environmental Inc., an 18-year-old company based in Laurel, completed development in 1996 of a robot that cleans and...

A new frontier: Gr8 movess to the cutting edge of Baltimore's tech community.(Special Report: Technology Quarterly)
December 4, 1998... Gr8 is clearly a small-business success story in a city desperately trying to become a hub for small companies with big ideas. So how come this 15-year-old company with the funky name remains virtually anonymous in Baltimore? After all, Gr8...

A conversation with ... Barbara Perrier-Dreyer: Chairwoman, Greater Baltimore Committee Technology Council.(Interview)
December 4, 1998... Technology. It's the buzz word of the late 1990s. It's where the money is. And nearly every metropolitan area in the country is vying for a piece of the multibillion dollar technology pie. That's the main goal of Greater Baltimore...

Hot venture market greets new tech firms.(venture capital market)
December 4, 1998... Ben Lilienthal developed software that allows remote access to e-mail using a cellular phone. It's a product the 25-year-old president of Reston, Va.-based Nascent Technologies Inc. thought was quite marketable. However, Lilienthal did not...

Insuring success: firm looks to help customers grow.(The Mathers Cos.)
December 4, 1998... As a company that services other businesses' accounts, The Mather Cos. has figured out a sure-fire way to grow: It helps its clients - insurance brokers - make sales. The 15-year-old company has quadrupled its premiums under management in...

Assessing Parks' woes.(Parks Sausage Co. goes bankrupt)
December 11, 1998... Potential loss of minority owners, HQ would be yet another blow Struggling Parks Sausage Co. is considering selling its operation to an out-of-town company, raising the possibility of Baltimore losing another headquarters and one of its...

Kravco project shaky.
December 11, 1998... Another major downtown office and hotel tower project might be delayed until major tenants are found. Officials at Philadelphia-base Kravco Co. said this week that the firm will not begin construction on prime downtown land owned by the...

Brown owners: here comes the cash.(BT Alex. Brown Inc. executives to receive huge amount after parent company Bankers Trust Corp. is acquired by Deutsche Bank AG)
December 11, 1998... Mayo A. Shattuck III will soon be receiving what is likely to be the largest check of his life. The Bankers Trust Corp. vice chairman, who works out of the Baltimore headquarters of its subsidiary BT Alex. Brown Inc., will collect a cool...

Entrepreneur takes a fall, gets up with idea.(Antibody Inc. co-founder Phillip L. Gilliam)
December 11, 1998... Phillip L. Gilliam is trying to make the best of an old injury. Gilliam, a defensive back at Morgan State University until he graduated in 1981, tore tendons in his left shoulder when be fell awkwardly in a game of touch football in...

Firms moving to incubator.(small technology firms move to Emerging Technology Center in Baltimore, Maryland)
December 11, 1998... James Mitchell and Mark Debinski are packing their bags and moving to the city. Mitchell and Debinski, who head separate companies, have signed agreements to occupy space in the Can Company's Emerging Technology Center, an incubator in...

Service crazy: caterer's main course is its people.(restaurant franchise operator Classic Catering People)
December 11, 1998... At his last job, Jeff Fisher worked his way up from waiter to manager. His boss made big promises about further raises and promotions - rewards for Fisher's dedication and professional expertise. Those rewards never materialized, so Fisher...

Coming of age: Maryland's thriving antiques industry changes with times.
December 11, 1998... Mark Connolly was wondering aloud about the Mormons on a recent Monday morning as he scampered around his shop, Antiques Folly in New Market. "I haven't seen them for a long lime - their missionaries, I mean - and I was thinking it might...

A conversation with... Michael A. Gaines Sr.(interview with Harborplace and The Gallery general manager)(Interview)
December 11, 1998... As general manager of downtown's Harborplace & The Gallery, Michael A. Gaines Sr. has taken on more responsibility than the average mall manager. Besides overseeing a multimillion renovation project of The Rouse Co.'s flagship properties,...

Assessing Parks' woes.(Parks Sausage Co. goes bankrupt)
December 11, 1998... Potential loss of minority owners, HQ would be yet another blow Struggling Parks Sausage Co. is considering selling its operation to an out-of-town company, raising the possibility of Baltimore losing another headquarters and one of its...

Brown owners: here comes the cash.(BT Alex. Brown Inc. executives to receive huge amount after parent company Bankers Trust Corp. is acquired by Deutsche Bank AG)
December 11, 1998... Mayo A. Shattuck III will soon be receiving what is likely to be the largest check of his life. The Bankers Trust Corp. vice chairman, who works out of the Baltimore headquarters of its subsidiary BT Alex. Brown Inc., will collect a cool...

Entrepreneur takes a fall, gets up with idea.(Antibody Inc. co-founder Phillip L. Gilliam)
December 11, 1998... Phillip L. Gilliam is trying to make the best of an old injury. Gilliam, a defensive back at Morgan State University until he graduated in 1981, tore tendons in his left shoulder when be fell awkwardly in a game of touch football in...

Firms moving to incubator.(small technology firms move to Emerging Technology Center in Baltimore, Maryland)
December 11, 1998... James Mitchell and Mark Debinski are packing their bags and moving to the city. Mitchell and Debinski, who head separate companies, have signed agreements to occupy space in the Can Company's Emerging Technology Center, an incubator in...

Service crazy: caterer's main course is its people.(restaurant franchise operator Classic Catering People)
December 11, 1998... At his last job, Jeff Fisher worked his way up from waiter to manager. His boss made big promises about further raises and promotions - rewards for Fisher's dedication and professional expertise. Those rewards never materialized, so Fisher...

Coming of age: Maryland's thriving antiques industry changes with times.
December 11, 1998... Mark Connolly was wondering aloud about the Mormons on a recent Monday morning as he scampered around his shop, Antiques Folly in New Market. "I haven't seen them for a long lime - their missionaries, I mean - and I was thinking it might...

A conversation with... Michael A. Gaines Sr.(interview with Harborplace and The Gallery general manager)(Interview)
December 11, 1998... As general manager of downtown's Harborplace & The Gallery, Michael A. Gaines Sr. has taken on more responsibility than the average mall manager. Besides overseeing a multimillion renovation project of The Rouse Co.'s flagship properties,...

Bramble realigns ranks: Keating named First Maryland president and likely next CEO.(First Maryland Bancorp CEO Frank P. Bramble's appointment of Susan C. Keating as president)
December 18, 1998... First Maryland Bancorp CEO Frank P. Bramble realigned the company's top management this week, naming longtime colleague Susan C. Keating as the company's new president. Keating will also likely assume Bramble's CEO role at the bank, which...

Manekin starts on new spec.(Manekin Corp.'s construction of a speculative warehouse at the Troy Hill Commerce Center in Howard County, Baltimore)
December 18, 1998... Troy Hill warehouse helped by investor The Manekin Corp. has embarked on construction of a 310,000-square-foot speculative warehouse in a Howard County business park, the second phase of a $30 million project. Manekin officials say...

Two CEOs in search of successor.(management succession at Legg Mason Inc. and Mercantile Bankshares Corp.)
December 18, 1998... At Legg Mason Inc. and Mercantile Bankshares Corp., the issue of CEO succession is beginning to loom like a long-overdue visit to the dentist. At Legg Mason, Raymond A. "Chip" Mason has been searching for two years for someone to succeed...

Rookie League team scouts for investors.(initial public offering for the Baltimore basketball team Blaze)
December 18, 1998... A Baltimore basketball team scheduled to play in a fledgling professional league this summer hopes to begin selling stock this month to get the team off the ground. The National Rookie League is hoping to emerge as a feeder league for the...

Doctors Health Inc. creditors can only wait.(motion filed by Cumberland Valley Medical Group's physician groups to collect their receivables from Doctors Health)
December 18, 1998... For the creditors of Doctors Health Inc., the process of salvaging even a portion of their investments has been reduced to a waiting game. The first formal dispute over who gets what occurred Dec. 8, when five Cumberland doctors claimed in...

A race against time: Baltimore firms gear up for the millennium.(year 2000 date conversion crisis; Maryland)
December 18, 1998... How serious is the Year 2000 threat? How bad would it be, really, if the electronic wizardry driving modern corporations started confusing 2000 with 1900? Don Lee says it would be the industrial equivalent of Armageddon. "We would be...

A conversation with ... Mark Frautschi: principal, Shakespeare and Tao Consulting.(interview)(Interview)
December 18, 1998... Mark Frautschi has yet to start stockpiling canned goods or withdrawing money from his bank account in anticipation of the new century. But Frautschi, a theoretical physicist and Year 2000 "coach" and risk-management consultant, is one of...

FCNB Corp.(proxy report excerpts)
December 18, 1998... Corporate profile FCNB Corp made several key acquisitions in 1998, significantly expanding its reach in both the Baltimore and Washington markets and boosting its insurance operations. In June, the Frederick-based bank company closed its...

Bramble realigns ranks: Keating named First Maryland president and likely next CEO.(First Maryland Bancorp CEO Frank P. Bramble's appointment of Susan C. Keating as president)
December 18, 1998... First Maryland Bancorp CEO Frank P. Bramble realigned the company's top management this week, naming longtime colleague Susan C. Keating as the company's new president. Keating will also likely assume Bramble's CEO role at the bank, which...

Manekin starts on new spec.(Manekin Corp.'s construction of a speculative warehouse at the Troy Hill Commerce Center in Howard County, Baltimore)
December 18, 1998... Troy Hill warehouse helped by investor The Manekin Corp. has embarked on construction of a 310,000-square-foot speculative warehouse in a Howard County business park, the second phase of a $30 million project. Manekin officials say...

Two CEOs in search of successor.(management succession at Legg Mason Inc. and Mercantile Bankshares Corp.)
December 18, 1998... At Legg Mason Inc. and Mercantile Bankshares Corp., the issue of CEO succession is beginning to loom like a long-overdue visit to the dentist. At Legg Mason, Raymond A. "Chip" Mason has been searching for two years for someone to succeed...

Rookie League team scouts for investors.(initial public offering for the Baltimore basketball team Blaze)
December 18, 1998... A Baltimore basketball team scheduled to play in a fledgling professional league this summer hopes to begin selling stock this month to get the team off the ground. The National Rookie League is hoping to emerge as a feeder league for the...

Doctors Health Inc. creditors can only wait.(motion filed by Cumberland Valley Medical Group's physician groups to collect their receivables from Doctors Health)
December 18, 1998... For the creditors of Doctors Health Inc., the process of salvaging even a portion of their investments has been reduced to a waiting game. The first formal dispute over who gets what occurred Dec. 8, when five Cumberland doctors claimed in...

A race against time: Baltimore firms gear up for the millennium.(year 2000 date conversion crisis; Maryland)
December 18, 1998... How serious is the Year 2000 threat? How bad would it be, really, if the electronic wizardry driving modern corporations started confusing 2000 with 1900? Don Lee says it would be the industrial equivalent of Armageddon. "We would be...

A conversation with ... Mark Frautschi: principal, Shakespeare and Tao Consulting.(interview)(Interview)
December 18, 1998... Mark Frautschi has yet to start stockpiling canned goods or withdrawing money from his bank account in anticipation of the new century. But Frautschi, a theoretical physicist and Year 2000 "coach" and risk-management consultant, is one of...

FCNB Corp.(proxy report excerpts)
December 18, 1998... Corporate profile FCNB Corp made several key acquisitions in 1998, significantly expanding its reach in both the Baltimore and Washington markets and boosting its insurance operations. In June, the Frederick-based bank company closed its...

Plowing for profits: suburban farmers face challenges.(Baltimore, Maryland)
December 18, 1998... Holdouts While the number of Baltimore-area farms has shrunk in recent decades, many still remain. County No. of farms (1992) Anne Arundel ...

AmEx changes face of region's CPA firms.(American Express Tax and Business Services Inc.; certified public accountant)
December 25, 1998... American Express Tax and Business Services Inc., which has been gobbling up accounting firms in the Baltimore-Washington corridor for more than a year, acquired three more Washington-area firms earlier this month. The firms acquired by the...

Lanes for big ships will cost millions long-term.(shipping lanes)
December 25, 1998... The upper Chesapeake Bay's deep shipping lanes could end up being the deciding factor in any deal to bring a huge terminal for Sea Land Service Inc. and Maersk Inc. to Baltimore. The Port of Baltimore's shipping channels, located north of...

New CEO changing strategy at E.spire.(Anthony J. Pompliano; E.spire Communications Inc.)
December 25, 1998... Less than a month after appointing a new CEO, E.spire Communications Inc. is shifting strategy. The Annapolis Junction-based competitive local exchange carrier announced Dec. 14 that it will no longer resell local dial-tone access. E.spire...

Nebraska Internet firm leases space downtown.(Level 3 Communications)
December 25, 1998... An aggressive Nebraska phone service and Internet company has leased office space downtown and plans to move to Baltimore in about six months, according to leasing agents for the deal. Level 3 Communications has signed a lease for...

Concierge wants to be employee benefit.(Charm City Concierge)
December 25, 1998... Charm City Concierge is getting personal. The five-year-old concierge service, which has ordered hundreds of gift baskets, had thousands of shirts dry-cleaned, and booked dozens of limousine rides for Baltimore executives, is now willing to...

The education of Doug Becker.(includes a brief profile of Becker)(1998 Businessperson of the Year awardee)(Cover Story)
December 25, 1998... Douglas L. Becker can only wonder what it's like to lead a boring life. Part of him wants that no surprises, no crises, no dramatic events to complicate his life. And, at 32, having already accomplished more than most CEOs do in a lifetime,...

Labor of love: small theaters vie for patrons in Baltimore.(Special Report: The Arts)(Maryland)
December 25, 1998... The sign on the door said it all. "Please Don't Let These Doors Close." The year was 1966 and Center Stage, now Baltimore's top regional theater, was on the brink of insolvency. The fledgling theater, then located in an old North...

Baltimore Gas and Electric Co.(Proxy Report Excerpts)(Company Profile)
December 25, 1998... PROXY CORNER A weekly analysis of Baltimore-area public companies Corporate Profile One year ago this week. Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. officials announced its proposed merger with Potomac Electric Co. was off. The merger would...