Baltimore Business Journal articles from December 1999

Baltimore Business Journal archives from December 1999

'New economy' transforms area.(Brief Article)
December 31, 1999... As coveralls and the old factory line jobs become rarities in Greater Baltimore, these jobs -- one-time staples of any healthy economy -- are, increasingly being replaced by corporate casual dress and mousepad-filled offices. Though...

Fresh faces.(People in the news.)(Brief Article)
December 31, 1999... Developer Duane Taylor, nine others hope to make news in 2000 Editor's Note: By the time many of you read this (barring any Y2K meltdowns), the new year will have begun. With the new century comes not only a new dateline, but also new...

Stevedore company to expand in county.(The Terminal Corp. expands.)(Brief Article)
December 31, 1999... Responding to increased demand at the fast-growing Port of Baltimore, The Terminal Corp. -- a century-old warehouse and distribution company headquartered in Timonium -- is expanding into Sparrows Point. The outfit, which specializes in...

Securities division bans Coleman.(Brief Article)
December 31, 1999... The Maryland Division of Securities revoked the license of Monica Coleman, the founder of the now defunct Coleman, Craten LLC, and permanently barred her from securities and investment advisory businesses in the state. Coleman, accused of...

IHS applies for OTC trading.(Brief Article)
December 31, 1999... Sparks-based Integrated Health Services Inc. has filed an application to trade its common stock with the National Association of Securities Dealers OTC Bulletin Board Service. The embattled company which was delisted from the New York Stock...

Condor to sell software division.(Brief Article)
December 31, 1999... Condor Technology Solutions Inc. retained an investment bank, RCW Mirus Inc. of Boston, to shop its software division to buyers. Annapolis-based Condor announced earlier this year that it planned to focus on its core business of consulting...

CORRECTION.(Brief Article)
December 31, 1999... Naden/Lean LLC was inadvertently omitted from the "Largest accounting firms in the Baltimore area" List [Book of Lists 2000, Page 131. The company would have been ranked No. 17. The Business Journal regrets the error.

Gainers & Losers of 1999.(Mayor is evaluated by townspeople.)(Brief Article)
December 31, 1999... As a new mayor sweeps into office, businesspeople throughout the Greater Baltimore area have never seemed more optimistic. But will he still be up next year? * Martin O'Malley He should write a book How to move from relatively obscure...

Pennsylvania firm buys Lee Electric Co.(Brief Article)
December 31, 1999... Lee Electric Co. of Baltimore City, a 92-year-old electrical equipment distributor, this month sold its assets to Sonepar Distribution USA, the Reading, Pa.-based arm of Paris-based Sonepar, for an undisclosed sum. Company officials said...

Web site that sells cars chooses CMSI software.(Brief Article)
December 31, 1999... Online loan processing technology developed by Credit Management Solutions Inc. of Annapolis Junction will be used by the CarsDirect.com Web site starting in January. The Culver City, Calif.-based Web site will use CMSI's...

Glen Burnie Bancorp announces stack split.(Brief Article)
December 31, 1999... Glen Burnie Bancorp will pay out one share of stock to shareholders for every five they hold in a 20 percent stock split to take place Jan. 11, officials announced this week. Shareholders will receive the dividend on the shares that they held...

Harford agribusiness expected to grow.(Brief Article)
December 31, 1999... Harford County agribusiness is expected to grow in the coming year, with a 19 percent employment hike predicted, a recent survey shows. The job forecast resulted from a strong desire to maintain active farming in Harford County, according...

Staubach Co. extends its reach into Europe.(Brief Article)
December 31, 1999... The Staubach Co., a Dallas-based real estate company owned by former Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach, has formed a joint venture with DTZ Debenham Tie Leung, a real estate conglomerate covering Europe and Asia The outfit, called DTZ...

Wellsford Commercial Properties Trust.(Brief Article)
December 31, 1999... Wellsford Commercial Properties Trust has acquired Oakland Ridge, a 143,000-square-foot, one-story office/flex building in Columbia. The company plans to invest in the facility, which is currently 40 percent vacant, with a new exterior...

Westfield America Inc.(4th qtr. dividend)(Brief Article)
December 31, 1999... The Board of Directors for Westfield America Inc. declared a fourth-quarter dividend of $0.3625 per share of common stock or $1.45 on an annual basis. Westfield America, a REIT, owns regional shopping centers across the country, including the...

Summit Properties Inc.(Brief Article)
December 31, 1999... The board of directors for Summit Properties Inc., of Charlotte, N.C., declared a fourth-quarter dividend of $0.4175 per share or $1.67 on an annual basis. Summit operates, develops and acquires luxury apartment communities.

Glendening pushing for new dental school site.(Maryland Gov. Parris N. Glendening seeks funding for University of Maryland Dental School building)(Brief Article)
December 31, 1999... Gov. Parris N. Glendening has proposed spending $94 million to construct a new building to house the University of Maryland Dental School, the nation's first dental school. The dental school, which was first chartered by the General...

Md. hospital costs near nationwide statistics.(Brief Article)
December 31, 1999... Newly released hospital cost data, compiled by the American Hospital Association, shows Maryland hospital costs were just one-tenth of a percent above the national average. Maryland's hospital regulators had been estimating the state's...

Largest corporate philanthropists in the Baltimore area.
December 31, 1999... Largest corporate philanthropists in the Baltimore area (Ranked by 1999 Baltimore-area donations) Name 1999 donations: Rank Address ...

A thin line.(museums and controversial art)
December 31, 1999... Museums try to balance controversy community Imagine a museum boycotting the paintings of Edouard Manet, Claude Monet, Berthe Morisot or Pierre Augusts Renoir. It happened. In the late 19th century, this group of artists was denied...

A Conversation With Michael Harrison.(Baltimore Opera Co. general director)(Interview)
December 31, 1999... Plopped down on the living room floor in front of the radio, two-year-old Michael Harrison fell in love with the sounds of the Metropolitan Opera. That early passion only became more fierce as Harrison grew up. Though he tried his hand...

Largest arts organizations in the Baltimore area.(Brief Article)
December 31, 1999... Largest arts organizations in the Baltimore area (Ranked by 1998 budget) Name 1998 Rank Address ...

With the times.(D&H Distributing Co. successfully diversifies)(Brief Article)
December 31, 1999... 91-year-old firm learns diversity can lead to longevity Talk about rolling with the punches. When D&H Distributing Co. came into being in 1918, the Lancaster, Pa.-based company sold automobile parts. By the 1950s, the firm had evoked...

What is your company's New Year's resolution?(from Kelly & Associates Insurance Group and Business Integrated Technology Solutions)(Brief Article)
December 31, 1999... Frank Kelly III President / Kelly & Associates Insurance Group, Baltimore "Our primary New Year's resolution is to stay true to our corporate mission; a mission that desires to honor and glorify God, serve our customers with...

Budeke's paints protects business by diversifying.(Brief Article)
December 31, 1999... Budeke's Paints Inc. has come a long way since its early days of being a tiny shop that sold pigments, lead; dryers and thinners to contractors who mixed their paint in the field. Founded by George H. Budeke in a 20-foot by 15foot space...

Local engraver not thwarted by digital era.(Brief Article)
December 31, 1999... It's hard to be an stationery engraver in these electronic days. And George Ward, president of Baltimore-based Bethesda Engravers, is feeling the crunch. "I'm now making half of what I was in 1990," said Ward, 46. Since the early 1990s,...

TAKING STOCK.(local company stock price movements)(Brief Article)
December 31, 1999... TAKING STOCK Corporation Price 12/29/99 % Change Weekly Gainers 1. Noise Cancellation Technologies (NCTI) $0.14 20.83 2. GTS Duratek (DRTK) ...

Constellation Energy Group Inc.(Brief Article)(Company Profile)
December 31, 1999... Corporate Profile Two years ago, Baltimore Gas & Electric Co. was set to merge with Potomac Electric Power Co. of Washington, D.C., to create Constellation -- a Baltimore-Washington super-utility. However, regulatory hurdles caused the...

You could've done better, Santa.(wishlist for computer and software improvements)(Brief Article)
December 31, 1999... Dear Santa Claus: We don't meah to sound ungrateful Santa, but frankly, we small-business owners didn't get much this year besides some Y2K patches and a new pocket organizer. We have other computer needs, Santa, and now we have...

TEDCO launches new Website for tech firms.(Brief Article)
December 31, 1999... The Maryland Science, Engineering and Technology Development Corp. (TEDCO) launched a new Web site designed to help high-tech companies in the state. The site (www.MDTECH.org) allows entrepreneurs and emerging tech firms a vehicle to...

University laboratory spawns first start-up.(Brief Article)
December 31, 1999... The Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in North Laurel created its first start-up company, Systonics LLC, earlier this month to commercialize work done in the research and test facilities. "The establishment of Systonics LLC is a...

WorldWideAngler.com.(Brief Article)
December 31, 1999... WorldWideAngler.com, an Easton online resource for recreational fishing information, announced that the company is continuing its regional strategy by debuting for new regions on its Web site. The company now offers information to the...

Condor Technology Solutions Inc.(Brief Article)
December 31, 1999... Condor Technology Solutions Inc. of Annapolis announced that the company has retained RCW MIRUS Inc., of Boston, to identify buyers for its Safari Solutions Division, formerly known as Interactive Software Systems Inc. The division...

PEOPLE.(Brief Article)
December 31, 1999... ARCHITECTURE David Lee Guth was named a senior associate of at the Baltimore office of Colimore/Clarke Associates Architects. He joined the firm in September 1999 as an interior architecture projects manager. Bignell Watkins Hasser...

Reform outdated liquor laws.(Brief Article)
December 31, 1999... Liquor laws have a way of sticking around even when they no longer serve a useful purpose. Take Anne Arundel County, for example. As the Business Journal reported last week, the county's liquor licensing laws restrict chain restaurants...

West side is a good bet.(Brief Article)
December 31, 1999... We are heartened that Mayor Martin O'Malley seems to share the same enthusiasm for revitalizing downtown Baltimore's west side as his predecessor. Last week, O'Malley kept the momentum going by selecting Banc of America Community...

Like her boss, Lt. Gov. heads for the tall grass.(Brief Article)
December 31, 1999... Pity poor Kathleen Kennedy Townsend. The Glendening administration's fog machine believes that swift action absolves it of any accountability for the errors of its ways. Strike swiftly, claim responsibility by blaming someone else,...

Stephen Bisciotti.(Brief Article)
December 31, 1999... Stephen Bisciotti may not want to be in the spotlight, but his soon-to-be-approved minority purchase of the Baltimore Ravens puts him there--like it or not. The 39-year-old founder of Hanoverbased Aerotek Inc. paid $275 million for 49...

Richard C. Faint.(Brief Article)
December 31, 1999... Hometown guy Richard C. Faint Jr., CEO of Sequoia Software Corp., has big plans for the Columbiabased software developer in 2000. Although he declined to discuss the details, Faint acknowledged the company's plans to go public. The $33...

Susan C. Keating.(Brief Article)
December 31, 1999... The big banks are only getting bigger these days, and many more mergers are expected after the New Year if fears of a Y2K financial meltdown subside. That's why the coming year will be so important for Allfirst Financial Inc.,...

Calvin M. Pierson.(Brief Article)
December 31, 1999... When the General Assembly convenes in January, health care issues promise to again attract a lot of debate. Calvin M. Pierson, president of MHA: The Association of Maryland Hospitals and Health Systems will be one of the speakers to listen...

Syd Rubin.(Brief Article)
December 31, 1999... As if the last year of the millennium wasn't busy enough, Syd Rubin is expecting 2000 to be one of his and his company's best years. The founder and president of Baltimore-based e.magination network llc, Rubin is leading his company in...

Dr. Steven Sharfstein.(Brief Article)
December 31, 1999... Dr. Steven S. Sharfstein is one of the few hospital heads in the Baltimore area that is able to continue expanding his system at a time most hospitals are struggling to cling to what has already been built. As the president, medical...

Phillip A. Singerman.(Brief Article)
December 31, 1999... State officials made quite the fuss when they lured a top federal official to head the Maryland Science, Engineering and Technology Development Corp. last year. Since Phillip A. Singerman left his position as assistant secretary for...

George P. Stamas.(Brief Article)
December 31, 1999... If any major mergers or public offerings occur in Baltimore or Washington, D.C., over the next year, look for George P. Stamas's fingerprints on them. Stamas, 48, left the law firm of Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering of Washington, D.C. Nov....

Michele L. Whelley.(Brief Article)
December 31, 1999... Michele L. Whelley, a former senior official with the Baltimore Development Corp., has easily slipped into the president's seat at the Downtown Partnership. Although recently picked as the organization's executive vice president, Whelley...

O'Malley selects west side team.(Mayor Martin O'Malley)(Brief Article)
December 24, 1999... Mayor Martin O'Malley selected Banc of America Community Development Corp. and the Harold Dawson Co., an Atlanta-based real estate firm, to redevelop the block across from the Hippodrome Theater on North Eutaw Street. The planned $54 million...

Creditrust looking for options.(has hired Goldman Sachs & Co)(Brief Article)
December 24, 1999... Woodlawn-based Creditrust Corp. has hired Goldman Sachs & Co. to advise it on "strategic alternatives," including selling the business or seeking a partner to purchase a significant equity stake. Since going public in July 1998, Creditrust...

U.S. Foodservice buys Parkway.(Parkway Food Service)(Brief Article)
December 24, 1999... U.S. Foodservice, the Columbia-based food distribution giant, announced its acquisition of Parkway Food Service, of Greensburg, Pa. Parkway serves the western Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia and Ohio markets, and posted approximately...

Chromatix bought by Entegrity.(Entegrity Solutions Corp.)(Brief Article)
December 24, 1999... Columbia-based Chromatix, a provider of secured directory products and services, was acquired by San Jose, Calif.-based Entegrity Solutions Corp., a provider of secured application solutions for business-to-business e-commerce. Chromatix's...

Pink slips as presents.(Raytheon Co.'s Towson plant)(Brief Article)
December 24, 1999... A week before Christmas, when many employees around Baltimore, and the nation, receive bonuses with their paychecks, 47 employees at Raytheon Co.'s Towson plant were handed pink slips. Now they face the grim prospect they will be turned out...

Happy holidays, John.(John Moag)(Brief Article)
December 24, 1999... Never count John Moag out. That's one lesson we all should have learned from the Cleveland Browns' move to Baltimore, when Moag, as chairman of the Maryland Stadium Authority, pulled the ultimate rabbit out of the hat. A few months...

Buying Baltimore.(Baltimore shoppers are spending more on holiday gifts this year, 1999)(Brief Article)
December 24, 1999... Baltimore shoppers are spending more on holiday gifts this year. So much more, in fact, the metropolitan area is leading the country in the growth of holiday-related retail sales. That's according to TeleCheck Services Inc., a Houston...

IHS de-listed.(Brief Article)
December 24, 1999... After taking a pounding for 1999, and really being driven into the ground during the last two months, Integrated Health Services Inc. announced on Dec. 17 that its stock was being delisted by the New York Stock Exchange. IHS stock was...

BWI on line to break its passenger record.(Southwest Airlines; Baltimore/Washington International Airport)
December 24, 1999... Southwest Airlines, which touts itself as "symbol of freedom" in its logo, has quickly become a symbol of Baltimore/Washington International Airport's steady growth. In August, the airport set an all-time passenger record when nearly...

Arundel trying to change county liquor laws.(Anne Arundel County Pizza Huts)
December 24, 1999... Economic development officials say restrictions keep chain restaurants out Pizza and beer sounds like a natural duo. But at most Anne Arundel County Pizza Huts, cool suds are not just left off the menus, they are against the law. ...

Largest commercial property owners in the Baltimore area.
December 24, 1999... Largest commercial property owners in the Baltimore area (Ranked by assessed value of property) [*] Rank Purchaser Assessed Address ...

Herget beats cancer, rejoins consultant firm.
December 24, 1999... Charles E. "Ted" Herget Jr. has successfully battled cancer and is back doing what he enjoys most -- helping institutions manage their pension and endowment money. Herget, founder of benefits and investment consultant Herget and Co. of...

Bank purchases third insurance company.(Maryland Permanent Bank & Trust Co acquires Calvert Insurance & Bonding Co)(Brief Article)
December 24, 1999... Maryland Permanent Bank & Trust Co. of Owing Mills has added acquired a third insurance company, adding to its insurance subsidiary, the Maryland Permanent Insurance Group of Odenton. The bank acquired Calvert Insurance & Bonding Co. of...

Ball Group helps with Treasury Dept. sales.
December 24, 1999... The Ball Group of Baltimore and Lancaster, Pa., has helped the U.S. Department of Treasury boost sales of U.S. Savings Bonds, according to company officials. Sales of the bonds are up 7 percent this year over last year after a six-month...

Leeds Federal increases its quarterly dividend.(Brief Article)
December 24, 1999... Leeds Federal Bankshares Inc. increased its quarterly dividend to 16 cents per share. The dividend will be paid Jan. 19 to holders of record as of Jan. 5. The $330.3-million-asset company reported net income of $3.5 million, or 69 cents...

T. Rowe Price Associates Inc.(Brief Article)
December 24, 1999... T. Rowe Price Associates Inc., a Baltimore-based mutual fund company, announced a quarterly dividend of 13 cents per share, payable on Jan. 12 to stockholders on record as of Dec. 28.

Baltimore group gets $ 1 million from Feds.
December 24, 1999... The U.S. Department of Labor awarded a nearly $1 million grant to the Baltimore Regional Healthcare Training Partnership -- a coalition of state and local agencies, area hospitals and labor unions. The partnership is designed to help...

Mercy to pay $10,000 for employee referrals.(Brief Article)
December 24, 1999... After reviewing the results of an October 1998 survey of Maryland nurses, Mercy Medical Center's top administrators concluded benefits and word-of-mouth referrals are most effective in attracting new nurses. While benefits can be...

Vaccinations rate not linked to cash penalty.(Brief Article)
December 24, 1999... Researchers at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health say a Maryland program of financially penalizing parents for failing to have their children vaccinated is ineffective. Maryland levies welfare sanctions against parents who don't...

Businessperson of the Year.
December 24, 1999... David Cordish: Leaving his mark on the city's landscape At the breakfast table, as he eat his cereal and drinks his juice, David Cordish scans more than a dozen daily newspapers in search new ideas. When a story about a real estate...

Waiting for the road.
December 24, 1999... Developers, politicians hope Route 43 can revitalize the county's east side For 25 years, John Gross Sr. owned the Bird River Deli, a quiet store where homemade baked goods are a staple and longtime residents of the White Marsh area...

Struever redevelops historic Wilmington.
December 24, 1999... Struever Bros. Eccles & Rouse has unveiled plans to transform a historic section of Wilmington, Del., into apartments and boutiques. The $24 million project on Market Street in the city's Ships Tavern District is expected to begin in the...

Arts wing underway at John Carroll School.
December 24, 1999... Using more than $1 million from its first capital campaign, the John Carroll School in Bel Air has begun work on a fine arts wing. The 11,000-square-foot addition, designed by Bel Air-based Frederick Ward Associates, will provide room for...

Struever Bros. Eccles and Rouse's.
December 24, 1999... Anyone who is anyone attended Struever Bros. Eccles and Rouse's holiday bash at the Tide Point, the former Procter & Gamble complex on Locust Point that the Baltimore company is redeveloping. Thousands of people took a pre-construction peek...

Baltimore County Department of Social Services.
December 24, 1999... The Baltimore County Department of Social Services has leased 13,500 square feet of space in the Chartley Park Center in Reisterstown. The upcoming office -- on the corner of Chartley Park Drive and Reisterstown Road -- is expected to open in...

Atlantic Builders Group Inc.(Brief Article)
December 24, 1999... The town of Aberdeen has awarded the contract to construct a new municipal building to Owings Mills-based Atlantic Builders Group Inc. The 27,800-square-foot, two-story facility will create more for administrators and police.

Maryland Historical Trust.(Brief Article)
December 24, 1999... The Maryland Historical Trust, the state's leading historic preservation agency, is accepting nominations for the annual Maryland Preservation Awards until Jan. 7.

David Ward.
December 24, 1999... With offices in Timonium and Chevy Chase and 12 brokers out pounding the pavement; H&R Retail is a leading player in the Baltimore-Washington retail world. The firm represents more than 50 tenants and over 6 million square feet of retail...

Video chain keeps opening new stores.
December 24, 1999... Blockbuster Inc. has added nine video stores in underserved pockets of the Baltimore area, a move that is reflective of the company's national three-year expansion push. The entertainment giant recently signed nine leases for 2,000- to...

When everyone knows your name.
December 24, 1999... Legislators debate constitutionality of Internet anonymity A lawyer and software executive compares the Internet to such historic forms of communication as Thomas Paine's "Common Sense" in a controversial paper recently published by the...

University takes marketing to Web.
December 24, 1999... The University of Maryland University College created a new business to market its online degree programs. University officials said this is the first time a public university has embarked on such a venture. The private company, UMUC...

Ciena Corp. makes technology advance.(Brief Article)
December 24, 1999... Linthicum-based Ciena Corp. has improved its advanced telecommunications system to send even more information over high-speed data lines. Company officials said this is the first time equipment information at a super-high speed -- 10...

Radio firm teams with a competitor.(Brief Article)
December 24, 1999... USA Digital Radio of Columbia and Digital Radio Express of Milpitas, Calif., have entered into a strategic alliance to assist in the CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE firms' roll-out plans, company officials announced last week. Both companies will...

Consulting company dips into wastewater.(Brief Article)
December 24, 1999... Condor Technology Solutions Inc., the Annapolis-based information technology consulting firm, installed a new software system designed to help a New Jersey county's water and sewer system become more efficient The software, known as SAP...

Oldest emblem-maker alive and well.(Brief Article)(Company Profile)
December 24, 1999... It is hard to imagine an America without thinking of the patches and emblems that symbolize the many elements of Americana. Boy Scout patches, NASA patches, the Texaco star and the Super Bowl patch are all part of our national uniform. ...

Bank rethinks tradition.(Brief Article)(Company Profile)
December 24, 1999... Harbor Bank was born in 1982 as a bold effort to help an African-American community that had been shut out of many traditional banks. Today, with $180 million in assets, the financial institution has become a player in Baltimore's...

Most popular tourist attractions in the Baltimore area.(Brief Article)
December 24, 1999... Most popular tourist attractions in the Baltimore area (Ranked by 1998 attendance) Rank/ Name Attendence last Address ...

Holiday spirit.(Brief Article)
December 24, 1999... Merchants lure in customers with Christmas gimmicks Chestnuts roasting on an open fire. Reindeer penned up in the parking lot. Santa on a Harley Davidson. Ah, Christmas. As Baltimoreans ring in the festive Yuletide season this...