Baltimore Business Journal articles from December 2000

Baltimore Business Journal archives from December 2000

Market batters funds.(Nasdaq)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
December 29, 2000... Mutual investors get hit in tech stock fall The carnage is plain to see. The T. Rowe Price Science & Technology Fund, which returned 101 percent in 1999 under the watch of hot-shot portfolio manager Charles A. "Chip" Morris, has lost...

Telecom to lay off 127 employee.(TeleSpectrum Worldwide Inc.)(Brief Article)
December 29, 2000... A Pennsylvania-based technology and telecommunications company with offices throughout Maryland plans to close its Stevensville call center, a move that leaves 127 employees without work and strips Queen Anne's County of one of its largest...

American dreams.(Company Profile)
December 29, 2000... Immigrants find opportunity in Maryland Maryland is sometimes known as America-in-miniature, so it's only appropriate that the state's business climate reflect its moniker. In the Greater Baltimore area you can drop by the popular...

eSylvan signs with MightyView.(Brief Article)
December 29, 2000... Sylvan Learning Systems Inc. subsidiary eSylvan signed a deal with IT infrastructure and software provider MightyView. Greenbelt's MightyView agreed to provide eSylvan with its suite of e-commerce, network and security software for use in the...

Aether gets wireless deal.(Brief Article)
December 29, 2000... Aether Systems Inc. in Owings Mills was hired to provide wireless data services to WebLink Wireless. Aether will provide wireless data transmission and two-way wireless communications to the company through its subsidiary, RTS Wireless Inc....

Nonprofit gives loan to ad firm.(Brief Article)
December 29, 2000... An Ellicott City-based advertising and publications firm was on the receiving end of a $100,000 incentive loan from JREF, a Columbia nonprofit organization committed to creating jobs and assisting small and emerging businesses in Howard...

SK Constructors nabs state contract.(Brief Article)
December 29, 2000... Columbia-based SK Constructors has been awarded a general contract to build a 15,000-square-foot office and warehouse facility in Glendale for Concrete Technology Services Inc.

Columbia Bancorp increases dividend.(Brief Article)
December 29, 2000... The board of directors of Columbia Bancorp increased its quarterly dividend from 9 cents to 10 cents. The dividend will be paid on Jan. 24 to stockholders of record as of Jan. 10. The company's stock closed Dec. 26 at $10.88.

Prime Retail sells off outlet centers.(Brief Article)
December 29, 2000... Prime Retail Inc., the Baltimore real estate investment trust, announced that it has sold four of its outlet centers in Gilroy, Calif., Michigan City, Ind., Waterloo, N.Y., and Kittery, Maine. The company also closed on a $90 million...

Provident keeping TBC.(Provident Bank of Maryland and Trahan, Burden and Charles Inc.)(Brief Article)
December 29, 2000... Provident Bank of Maryland Inc. is retaining Trahan Burden & Charles Inc. as its agency of record for its $2 million advertising account. Provident made the decision Dec. 22 after a five agency review that began in October. The length of the...

Searching for an owner.(National Women's Football League)(Brief Article)
December 29, 2000... Calling all Greater Baltimore business owners. The fledgling National Women's Football League is seeking an owner for its Baltimore team and there are just two prerequisites. "They have to know how to own a business and love...

Rouse faces the music.(Baltimore store blames landlord for water damage)(Brief Article)
December 29, 2000... Some folks have to make a statement on their way out. So it goes with The Music Box, a soon-to-be-former tenant in the. Pratt Street Pavilion in Baltimore's Harborplace. The store lost a few thousand dollars in merchandise to water...

Ravens tackle the Orioles.(Baltimore Ravens)(Brief Article)
December 29, 2000... Need more proof the Ravens (www.ravenszone.net) are beginning to win the popularity contest against their baseball counterparts, the Orioles (www.theorioles.com)? A survey conducted by ESIPN Sports Poll found that Baltimore sports fans...

Gainers & Losers.(Baltimore, Maryland)(Brief Article)
December 29, 2000... Baltimore's New Year's celebration could come well before the ball drops. Go Ravens! Savvy shoppers Retail sales are off for stores big and small, so once again: the consumer wins. Why settle for 20 percent off that new coat when you can...

Health care publisher plans e-health launch.(Physician's Practice Inc.)
December 29, 2000... A growing area health care publishing company is searching for as much as $3 million to support new business developments, including a Web initiative that is scheduled to be launched in the first quarter of 2001. The hunt for a second...

City, Historic Trust near west side agreement.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
December 29, 2000... Baltimore City and the Maryland Historical Trust are close to signing a deal that could change the tone of the redevelopment of downtown Baltimore's west side. Rodney little, director of the Maryland Historical Trust...

Knife firm embroiled in lawsuit.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
December 29, 2000... The maker of a sword-featured in a grisly animated film says a Baltimore company has counterfeited the weapon and is selling it illegally. In a lawsuit filed Dec. 19 in U.S. District Court in Baltimore, United Cutlery Inc. of...

High note.(Brief Article)
December 29, 2000... Cultural tourism benefits from BSO conductor When Yuri Temirkanov first took the stage as guest conductor of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra five years ago, he probably never figured he would be to the local arts community what a...

Doris Hillian Ligon.(Brief Article)
December 29, 2000... African Art Museum of Maryland The African Art Museum of Maryland in Columbia is preparing to open a facility in Baltimore, and much of the success of that expansion will depend on the efforts of the museum's curator and founder Doris...

Largest building maintenance companies in the Baltimore area.(Statistical Data Included)(Brief Article)
December 29, 2000... Largest building maintenance companies in the Baltimore area (Ranked by square feet serviced in the Baltimore area in 1999) Name Total square Rank Address ...

Wireless breaking into health care field.(Brief Article)
December 29, 2000... Some area physicians, nurses are utilizing handheld devices in treatment of patients It will not be long before physicians trade in their clipboards for Palm Pilots and pharmacists use wireless phones to deliver medication to patients....

Jon P. Byrd.(Brief Article)
December 29, 2000... The Seva Group Inc. BBJ: Where did you get the idea for your business? Byrd: After working the equivalent of 10 years in a seven-year period with Andersen Consulting, I was ready for a change. I left looking for an opportunity to...

People.(Brief Article)
December 29, 2000... * Accounting Ellin & Tucker Chartered promoted David Schriver to supervisor in the firm's audit, accounting and consulting department. * Advertising Mullin/Ashley Associates Inc. promoted Charlotte Zang to public relations...

SITEL Corp.(Brief Article)
December 29, 2000... Ill S. Calvert St, Suite 1900/ Baltimore, MD 21202/(410)246-1505 /www.sitel.com Corporate profile Sitel Corp., a provider of outsourced customer relationship management (CRM) solutions, plans to make changes over the next year in an...

Region needs to give more.(Brief Article)
December 29, 2000... It's the season of giving. But despite the many examples of generosity in Greater Baltimore -- and at this time of year you will find many -- the region is apparently a bit stingy. A new report by the region's top economic...

Reality check for pro sports.(Brief Article)
December 29, 2000... In professional sports, you bid for talent against your dumbest competitor. Whatever that moron wants to pay for talent is the market price. Orioles owner Peter Angelos has taken some heat from fans for declining to participate in the...

Language barriers aren't enough to stop the dream.(Brief Article)
December 29, 2000... Ah, the American dream. A person leaves their home country behind, for whatever reason -- economics, political strife, even love, and sets up shop in some American town and successfully makes a life. To me, a first-generation American who...

www.impact247.com.(Brief Article)
December 29, 2000... Getting the in on the urban entertainment industry Produced by New York's Vanguarde Neomedia Inc., Impact247.com is a resource for the latest breaking news in the radio, Internet and urban entertainment industries. The site and its...

Ciena to acquire California tech firm.(Ciena Corp. buying Cyras Systems Inc.)(Brief Article)
December 22, 2000... Ciena Corp., a leading player in fiber-optic systems, has agreed to acquire Cyras Systems Inc. of Fremont, Calif., for $2.6 billion in stock and assumed debt. Privately-held Cyras is developing optical switching systems for metropolitan area...

Rosemore to take Crown private.(Rosemore Inc. buying Crown Central Petroleum Corp.)(Brief Article)
December 22, 2000... Crown Central Petroleum Corp. announced that it has entered into an agreement to be acquired by Rosemore Inc., a private corporation controlled by the family of Crown CEO Henry Rosenberg. Rosemore will pay S10.50 a share for all of the...

Columbia nabs U.K. company.(Bookham Technology moving North American headquarters to Columbia, Maryland)(Brief Article)
December 22, 2000... Bookham Technology, a maker of fiber-optic equipment, plans to move its North American headquarters to Columbia. The company, which is based in Oxfordshire, United Kingdom, will lease 150,000 square feet in the Oakland Ridge Industrial Park...

Sylvan Ventures invests in iLearning.(iLearning Inc. gets $7.5 million)(Brief Article)
December 22, 2000... Baltimore-based Sylvan Ventures, the venture capital arm of Sylvan Learning Systems Inc., invested $7.5 million in iLearning Inc., a provider of Web-based training and education to businesses and organizations. The funding will enable the...

Novavax lands $25 million financing.(from King Pharmaceuticals)(Brief Article)
December 22, 2000... Columbia-based Novavax Inc., a biopharmaceutical drug-delivery firm, will receive $25 million from King Pharmaceuticals in a convertible debenture investment Novavax used a portion of the funds to complete its acquisition of St. Louis-based...

Correction.(to issue of December 15-21)(Brief Article)(Correction Notice)
December 22, 2000... The story "555-NEED lays off 175 employees" [Vol. 18, Dec. 15-21, Page 1] contained incorrect information about Hanover-based Nexus Communications Inc.'s call center in Clintwood, Va. The call center is still being operated with a reduced...

Bowling for bonuses.(most firms do not offer holiday bonuses)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
December 22, 2000... The traditional holiday bonus is quickly becoming a thing of the past, according to research conducted by Lincolnshire, I11.-based Hewitt Associates Inc., a global consulting firm. A survey of 452 companies by Hewitt (www.hewitt.com)...

Tufton eyes Arizona firm.(Tufton Sports Management buying Schulte Marketing.)(Brief Article)
December 22, 2000... Tufton Sports Management, a Baltimore-based company that has been devoted solely to handling the off-field endeavors of Oriole legend Cal Ripken Jr., is close to a deal to acquire baseball marketing and licensing company Schulte Marketing....

Banking and baking.(Midstate Federal Savings and Loan builds miniature village of cookies)(Brief Article)
December 22, 2000... Midstate Federal Savings and Loan (www.midstatefed.com) built a new bank earlier this month. In the interest of full disclosure, though, we should tell you that this new Baltimore County financial institution was made out of cookie...

Gainers & Losers.
December 22, 2000... The British are coming! The British are coming! This is actually a good thing these days. Howard County British Bookham Technology is bringing its American headquarters to Columbia. Ciena Forget the rumors about Cisco -- at least for...

Baltimore developers take on Texas project.(to develop a complex of buildings owned by Montgomery Ward)(Brief Article)
December 22, 2000... Himmelrich, Tufaro team again on Wards deal Two Baltimore partners who are redeveloping the former Montgomery Ward catalog house in the city now have a massive Ward complex west of downtown Fort Worth, Texas, under contract. Wards...

Online retailer closes after financing dries up.(CycleShark.com, retailer of motorcycle parts shuts down)(Brief Article)
December 22, 2000... CycleShark.com, a Baltimore online retailer of motorcycle parts, has closed its doors because of its failure to secure another round of financing. The year-old company shut down its Web site and operations a few weeks ago, according to...

State sued by doctor for $11M.(Maryland)(Brief Article)
December 22, 2000... A Philippine-born doctor who worked for the state of Maryland for 22 years is suing the state for $11 million, claiming that his boss harassed him so much that he had to quit. In a civil lawsuit field Dec. 4 in federal court, Dr. Eusebio...

Johns Hopkins creates biomedical institute.(Institute for Basic Biomedical Sciences)(Brief Article)
December 22, 2000... The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine has decided to consolidate its biomedical research and teaching under an umbrella group -- the Institute for Basic Biomedical Sciences. The consolidation, sparked by a $30 million investment...

Johns Hopkins University and Health System.(Definity Health contract)(Brief Article)
December 22, 2000... Johns Hopkins University and Health System have signed an agreement with Minneapolis-based Definity Health (www.definityhealth.com) to provide the e-health company's members with access to the academic center's consumer health and wellness...

United Therapeutics Corp.(buying Cooke Pharma Inc.)(Brief Article)
December 22, 2000... Silver Spring-based biotech United Therapeutics Corp. announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Unither Pharmaceuticals Inc., is acquiring Cooke Pharma Inc., the exclusive maker of a food that treats angina and other cardiovascular...

Veterans thrift shop shuttered.(Nonprofit Disabled American Veterans closes two stores)(Brief Article)
December 22, 2000... Nonprofit Disabled American Veterans has shut down its thrift store operation in the Baltimore area, permanently. The closure leaves the stores' 30 fulltime and 20 part-time employees out of work. The organization (www.dav.org), which...

Manor Menswear.(Brief Article)
December 22, 2000... Manor Menswear, a Belair Road big and tall menswear shop is going out of business. George Leslie, owner of the store refused to comment on details of the closing. However, an employee at the company said the store would close by...

Gourmet Group.(Fancy Foods Gourmet Club)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
December 22, 2000... Buda, Texas-based Gourmet Group said it plans to acquire Fancy Foods Gourmet Club, a gourmet food catalog and Internet-based mail order house. Financial terms weren't disclosed. Rockville-based Fancy Foods Gourmet Club (www.ffgc.com) was...

Goodwill Industries.(new store)(Brief Article)
December 22, 2000... Goodwill Industries opened a new retail thrift store on Padonia Road in Baltimore County December 16. The 10,700 square-foot store is Goodwill's 15th in the area and will employ 12 people.

Giant Hopkins combines land operations.(Johns Hopkins University and Johns Hopkins Health System)(Brief Article)
December 22, 2000... Johns Hopkins University and Johns Hopkins Health System are consolidating their real estate operations into one organization. Previously, the university (hopkinsmedicine.org) ran a separate real estate office, while the health system had...

What is Class A?(definition of office space quality)(Brief Article)
December 22, 2000... It seems that a few commercial real estate companies throughout Baltimore are using different standards in determining what "Class A" office space really is. Some say it means buildings with amazing architecture and elegant lobbies. ...

'New' owners at BCI.
December 22, 2000... Eight employees of Baltimore Contractors Inc., an area construction firm, have acquired ownership and management of the company. The company's founder, Victor Frenkil, who was a 100 percent owner, died last year. It was his wish that an...

Hogg Construction.
December 22, 2000... Hogg Construction of Towson is finishing the New Song Community Learning Center and Academy in the Sandtown-Winchester area of Baltimore. The three-story, $4.2 million building will serve as the new home for a charter school and community...

Zipkin Acquisition.(Ross Village Shopping Center)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
December 22, 2000... Zipkin Acquisition has purchased the Ross Village Shopping Center at 8767 Philadelphia Road in Baltimore for $1.85 million. The center, which is 100 percent leased, features 12 merchants, including High's and Heritage Savings Association....

Harbor master.(Carl W. "Bill" Struever, Baltimore's hot-shot developer)
December 22, 2000... A rumpled, yet determined Bill Struever remaking Baltimore Clad in khaki pants and a brown suede jacket, Carl W. "Bill" Struever, Baltimore's hot-shot developer, winced in pain as he stepped into his yellow kayak and began paddling across...

PharmaKinetics Laboratories Inc.(Brief Article)
December 22, 2000... Corporate profile Pharmaceutical testing company PharmaKinetics Laboratories Inc. had a hard-knock fiscal year 2000. In fact, company President and CEO James M.Wilkinson II, hired in January to bring the company back from the brink,...

Former Legg exec launches investment firm.
December 22, 2000... Legg Mason Inc.'s former research director has opened up a new investment advisory firm on Calvert Street, and the company's first product is a unit investment trust that will put money in wireless technology and "wired" real estate. ...

Buy stocks at the gym.
December 22, 2000... Peremel & Co. (www.peremel.com) has come up with an solution for all of those people who come up with a great stock idea running on the treadmill but can't place a trade without leaving the gym. The Pikesville discount brokerage has put an...

State revises revenues.
December 22, 2000... State officials are revising revenue projections for the state's general fund, which is largely fed by personal income taxes. The Board of Revenue Estimates said that general fund revenue for the fiscal year 2001 will be $9.64 billion, an...

Adams to buy stock.
December 22, 2000... The board of directors of Baltimore-based Adams Express Co. (www.adamsexpress.com) have decided to renew a stock repurchase program initiated in November of last year. Adams Express is a closed-end investment company, which is similar to a...

Rugged PCs for a hard job.
December 22, 2000... A cop's job is pretty rough -- and a cop's computer needs to be just as tough as the men and women on the beat. That's where Baltimore-based Pelican-Mobile Computers Inc., a computer reseller specializing in customized mobile hardware,...

Web on the Shore.
December 22, 2000... Denver-based IP Services, a provider of local and long-distance voice and data services, signed a three-year deal with Denton-based Choptank Electric Cooperative (choptankelectric.com) to provide advanced telephone service and Internet access...

Feds give TEDCO grant.
December 22, 2000... The Maryland Technology Development Corp. (www.marylandtedco.com) received a $100,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce to fund an e-commerce assessment study in the state's economically disadvantaged communities. The economic...

'Traditional' ISPs go country.
December 22, 2000... Smaller service providers capture underserved, rural market It may not be as sexy as high-speed Internet access, but traditional dial-up service is all some folks in rural Maryland can expect -- at least for the time being. With...

Web Site of the Week: www.radiowallstreet.com.
December 22, 2000... Get the inside track on those conference calls This site, which is run by Investor Broadcast Network provides real-time coverage of a public company's quarterly conference calls. Users can log on and listen to the remarks made by the...

What the doctor ordered.
December 22, 2000... Biotech firms deliver boost to medicine and local economy After seven years of tying dormant on Wall Street, biotechnology is back. Biotech firms that went public in the early 1990s are beginning to deliver on expectations. Also,...

Making your biz take off.
December 22, 2000... Building a business is a lot like an airplane taking off. To get a jet airplane off the ground you need to build momentum. That takes 110 percent power. Once you're off the ground and up at about 500 to 1,500 feet, the engines cut back...

Do-it-yourself.
December 22, 2000... Businesses wrangle with how to market themselves Craig Toland has been a sharp businessman all his life, literally. In fact, His family's industrial cutting tools business was in operation long before his birth. But Toland, who now...

Shop Talk: How do you like to receive resumes?
December 22, 2000... Carol McCown Director, Arden Courts / Towson "I prefer to have a copy mailed to me. I like to see the prospective employee's choice of paper, font and format. I appreciate the effort taken to put together a professional package. It...

People.
December 22, 2000... * Advertising Azzam Jordan Inc. hired Sandra Haussler as account executive. Prior to joining the Towson-based ad agency, Haussler worked for Noble Steed Associates Inc. in Hunt Valley. Trahan Burden & Charles Inc. hired Tom "T.W."...

Downturn brings chances.
December 22, 2000... It was hard not to miss them -- the ads were everywhere. Bright billboards, banner plane ads, radio commercials, all touting the latest in telephone directory assistance. For a while, it seemed 555-NEED would usurp the old standard 411 by...

City Hall spain.
December 22, 2000... E-mail spam from politicians! Run for the hills. Among the cynical set, that may be the first reaction to news of Mayor Martin O'Malley's effort to keep neighborhood groups and business leaders informed ok city issues through two electronic...

A look behind the scenes of Miller/Bromwell scuffle.
December 22, 2000... For the most part, the Maryland Senate has been liberated. Sen. Thomas L Bromwell has a beef, all right. But it's with Gov. Parris N. Glendening and not with Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller. Begin at the beginning. When...

Largest laser eye surgery practices in the Baltimore area.
December 22, 2000... [TABLE HAS BEEN CLIPPED]

SBA lender slashes area loans.(Bank of America, Small Business Association)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
December 15, 2000... BofA cutbacks affect local small business Once a leading U.S. Small Business Administration lender in Greater Baltimore, Bank of America this year nearly cut in half its government-backed loans in the region. The drop by the...

Counter cultures.(computer technological workers' preferences of city vs. suburban life)
December 15, 2000... Techies debate suburban, city living When Jeff Curley isn't programming video games at his Hunt Valley office, he usually can be found at home -- or at the mall. The 31-year-old computer programmer said that when he's outside the...

555-NEED lays off 175 employees.(Nexus Communications Inc.)(Brief Article)
December 15, 2000... The local company that once had plans to revolutionize the directory assistance industry has fired 175 employees -- two-thirds of its work force -- and is pulling back its expansion plans, company officials said. Hanover-based Nexus...

Glendening seeks UM union power.(Governor Parris N. Glendening, University of Maryland)(Brief Article)
December 15, 2000... The University System of Maryland is next in line for Gov. Parris N. Glendening's pro-labor agenda, and state higher education officials are bracing for the hit. Michael Morrill, a Glendening spokesman, confirmed that the state's...

Iannucci named DBED secretary.
December 15, 2000... Gov. Parris Glendening promoted David Iannucci to secretary of Business & Economic Development Iannucci was deputy secretary under Mike Lewin, who resigned last month. Iannucci will be responsible for 340 employees and an annual budget of...

Legg to buy N.Y. money manager.(Legg Mason Inc. to acquire Barrett Associates Inc.)(Brief Article)
December 15, 2000... Continuing its buying spree of money management firms, Baltimore-based Legg Mason Inc. announced it has signed an agreement to buy Barrett Associates Inc., a New York City money manager for individuals and institutions with high net worth....

Aether to buy wireless company.(Aether Systems Inc. to acquire RTS Wireless Inc.)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
December 15, 2000... Owings Mills-based Aether Systems Inc., a provider of wireless data services, agreed to pay $26 million and 1.3 million shares of stock for Plainview, N.Y-based RTS Wireless Inc., a developer of software that connect the Internet to wireless...

Corrections.
December 15, 2000... The List of Largest Commercial Property Owners in the Baltimore Area [Vol. 18, Dec. 8-14, Page 23] contained incorrect information provided to the Business Journal concerning Hill Management Services Inc. The company owns 4,221,320 square...

Md. tops East's growth.(Demographics Daily report projects Maryland economic growth)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
December 15, 2000... Its critics claim it has high taxes, an anti-business attitude and outmoded, liberal political ideals. But Maryland will be the "Growth Center of the East" during the next few years, according to a new study. Demographics Daily, a...

Meet me in Sardinia.(Italy-America Chamber of Commerce of Washington D.C. and Baltimore to host bioscience industry conference)(Brief Article)
December 15, 2000... While local biotechnology companies have developed a unique rapport with Scotland, Italian business officials are interested in finding out if they would like to do business with them. The Italy-America Chamber of Commerce of Washington...

Warfield cuts back.(LocalBusiness.com, lay offs announced)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
December 15, 2000... Fort Lauderdale-based LocalBusiness.com, an online Web publication started by former Daily Record publisher Edwin Warfield, laid off 34 people, 27 percent of its work force, according to a story on the company's Web site. The company employed...