Baltimore Business Journal articles from June 1995

Baltimore Business Journal archives from June 1995

Battle begins for new beds: 30 hospitals vie for coveted prizes. (Maryland)
June 2, 1995... Thirty Maryland hospitals have given state regulators - and each other - a peek at their cards in a high-stakes game to win approval to serve patients less expensively. All 30 have filed letters of intent with the state Health Resources...

Law without 100 partners: area specialty firms learning highs, lows. (Baltimore, Maryland area full-service and boutique law firms)
June 2, 1995... The law library at Piper & Marbury fills nearly an entire floor at 36 S. Charles St. The law library at Smith & Downey consists of five compact discs. That, explained Henry Smith, illustrates one of the major differences between full-service...

Chapter 7 filing Steeltown's last gasp.
June 2, 1995... A liquidation filing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Baltimore last week appears to signal the last gasp for a troubled East Baltimore bar and dance hall, and a last attempt by the owners to hold onto their valuable liquor license. The chapter 7...

NationsBank set to slash 200 posts. (NationsBank Corp.)
June 2, 1995... NationsBank Corp. will eliminate another 200 jobs in the Maryland, Washington, D.C., and Northern Virginia region as it continues to try to streamline its Mid-Atlantic operations, a spokesman confirmed this week. "It's part of an ongoing...

Tough bond market scares off Md. officials: interest rates slash number of deals sought. (Maryland)
June 2, 1995... Maryland governments have cut nearly in half the amount of public financing deals brought to market so far this year, following a national trend that's seen dramatic drops in new municipal bonds. For the first five months of this year, Maryland...

Maryland magazine's new owners plan to boost staff, add radio show.
June 2, 1995... Maryland magazine has again changed hands, just three years after the state turned it over to the private sector. Attorney and media developer Michael C. Hodes and health care professional Charles J. Nabit bought the four-color glossy magazine...

Area counties getting creative.
June 2, 1995... Harford County will come to market this year to raise at least $14 million for school construction, an expanded library and sewer and water projects. It will be the first time the county has gone to the bond market since 1993, when Harford had...

Love at First Sight fails in second year. (computer dating service)
June 2, 1995... Lonely hearts around Columbia will have to find another high-tech forum to use in seeking that perfect match. Love at First Sight Inc., a Columbia-based computer dating service that offered an on-line service, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy...

Nightclub owner eyes Power Plant. (John Giorgilli)
June 2, 1995... A young Baltimore businessman wants to resurrect the nightclub scene at the Inner Harbor. John Giorgilli, a former general manager at Hammerjacks, has pitched to Mayor Kurt Schmoke a plan to reopen the Power Plant as a upscale nightclub,...

Evening Sun's closing affects jobs, but stock market appears unfazed.
June 2, 1995... The decision to close the Evening Sun caused ripples through the publishing world but did not reward Times Mirror Co. shareholders during the first week following the announcement. Wall Street's traders left the stock at roughly $23. That is...

$3.5M Harford ice rink may ease Kaye's quest. (Harford County, Maryland; Ice Partners I's Tobias Kaye)
June 2, 1995... Now maybe Tobias Kaye will finally learn to ice skate. After hitting a few roadblocks in an ongoing effort to bring more skating rinks to the region, Kaye's group, Ice Partners I, is inches away from breaking ground on what would be the first...

Biosys picked Maryland when Calif. came up short.
June 2, 1995... Biosys, a small biotechnology company based in Palo Alto, confirmed its decision to move to Maryland in September hinged on its failure to obtain a critical loan from the state of California. Company officials said they were lured east after...

Retirement home back from bankruptcy, growing. (Glen Meadows Retirement Community)
June 2, 1995... A little more than two years after its current owner took over for a bankrupt investment group, Glen Meadows Retirement Community is now almost full and is about to add a new wing for more of its frailer residents. Presbyterian Senior Services...

Rebirth of Park Heights. (Baltimore, Maryland)
June 9, 1995... Community working to rebuild itself Ironic, isn't it? Even as a city official and a local newspaper columnist are publicly sparring over who's to blame for the demise of Park Heights, the long-neglected community is quietly trying to...

DEED shakeup to begin. (Department of Economic and Employment Development)
June 9, 1995... As part of the overhaul of Maryland's economic development department, the state's International Division will vacate its high-profile offices in the World Trade Center and return to the fold in the department's Redwood Street headquarters. In...

S&L debate delays bank, thrift merger. (savings and loans)
June 9, 1995... A national debate over who should pay off the bill for the savings and loan crisis is keeping Maryland's banks and thrifts apart. The Maryland Bankers Association has decided to delay its planned takeover of the Maryland League of Financial...

Home buyers skip the cash at Carroll bank. (Carroll County Bank and Trust Co.)
June 9, 1995... Eager to capture a larger share of the shrinking home lending market, one local mortgage lender has come up with a creative - and some say dangerous - plan to lure first-time home buyers: The no-down-payment home loan. Carroll County Bank &...

Threat of Medicaid cut pushes waiver effort. (Maryland)
June 9, 1995... State Sen. Paula Hollinger expected about 300 people to show up for a seminar to kick off Maryland's quest for federal approval to provide health care more cheaply to the poor. Instead, when she stood at the podium at the Omni Inner Harbor...

Restaurateurs fight to lift liquor license lid. (Maryland)
June 9, 1995... Jim Coulter looked across Anne Arundel County and saw a few viable business prospects. Commercial areas like Odenton or Glen Burnie might be good places to expand his Italian Oven eatery from its one Severna Park location, he reasoned. But...

Plans laid in advance pay off - in a big way. (Stouffer Renaissance Harborplace Hotel)
June 9, 1995... Last winter, Stouffer Renaissance Harborplace Hotel dropped a few dollars on showing meeting planners a good time. This week, that paid off when the downtown waterfront hotel hosted a conference that brought nine governors, the president of the...

Federal budget ax could land on Fort McHenry.
June 9, 1995... Fort McHenry - Baltimore's most visited tourist attraction - is on a list of 200 national parks that could be closed because of Congressional budget cuts. National Park Service officials said a proposed 10 percent cut in the agency's budget...

Doctor training costs pose Md. dilemma. (Maryland)
June 9, 1995... A state commission has less than six months to come up with a way to balance the cost of training future doctors with the push by insurers to save money. So far, Johns Hopkins Hospital and Maryland's 13 other teaching medical institutions...

Industry wants Maryland to sell itself better.
June 9, 1995... Maryland is for crabs? America in miniature? Maryland: The NFL doesn't like us? The Free State needs an identity, a catchy slogan that makes people want to visit here and check out the attractions, according to James Lloyd, executive vice...

Controversy arises over payment of insurance premiums.
June 9, 1995... Key Federal Savings Bank would pay $400,000 more in insurance premiums than neighboring commercial banks in Owings Mills if a national proposal to cut bank premiums goes into effect. David H. Wells Jr., president of the $200 million Baltimore...

Alex. Brown Inc. (proxy report excerpts)(Company Profile)
June 9, 1995... Corporate Profile With a down market and the Federal Reserve raising interest rates six times in 1994, Alex. Brown's revenues were off from the previous year. Although the firm's revenue dropped about 4 percent, the Baltimore-based investment...

Movies star in builders' plans: more than 80 screens coming to Baltimore to fill flick 'void.' (Baltimore, Maryland)
June 23, 1995... Roll 'em. Sticking to the notion that the region is woefully under-screened, another top theater developer has committed to opening a multi-screen theater in Greater Baltimore. United Artists, the Denver-based developer of more than 430...

Sparks bank vote imperiled. (acquisition of Sparks State Bank by Mercantile Bankshares Corp.)
June 23, 1995... Shareholders, complaining that they're not getting enough bang for their buck, want a judge to call off next month's scheduled vote on the sale of Sparks State Bank to Mercantile Bankshares Corp. The group, which earlier filed a class-action...

1st Fidelity, Household move forward. (First Fidelity Bancorp.'s plan to close Household Credit Services' branches)
June 23, 1995... The First Fidelity Bancorp name soon will be history, but not soon enough for Household Bank's Maryland branches. First Fidelity, which this week announced it will become part of First Union Corp. in a history-making deal, is expected to buy...

Edgewood facelift may mean 200 jobs. (Harford County as part of Maryland's Enterprise Zone program)
June 23, 1995... A major Edgewood area revitalization plan, which includes a new business park, could mean up to 200 new jobs for the aging U.S. Route 40 corridor. The development plan got a major boost late last week when state economic development officials...

New Jersey firm plans Baltimore City expansion. (American Distribution Resources; Baltimore, Maryland)
June 23, 1995... About 75 workers expected to be hired A fast-growing New Jersey company that serves office supply dealers will expand into South Baltimore later this summer, providing dozens of new jobs for inner city residents. American Distribution...

Employers hiring welfare recipients to get credit. (Maryland)
June 23, 1995... Maryland businesses soon will get some financial help from the state if they hire people off the welfare rolls. As of July 1, employers will be eligible for up to $3,600 in tax credits for each person on public assistance that they hire....

No easy road to retirement: owners, residents finally appear ready to compromise.
June 23, 1995... A two-year battle between retirement community owners and residents may end this summer with a compromise on how much influence residents should have over management of the complexes. By August, an advisory committee of representatives from...

Area firms ready if Congress wants to open door. (Baltimore, Maryland)
June 23, 1995... If the Senate's wide-sweeping action to deregulate the telecommunications industry eventually becomes law, analysts and local executives say Baltimore-area consumers aren't likely to see dramatic, immediate changes in prices or services. "As...

Now, there's good pr. (1995 Public Relations Society of America's annual Best in Maryland event)
June 23, 1995... One of Sarah Pick's more unusual tactics in trying to get publicity for a client - a plumber - was sending a copy of an advertisement featuring retired General Norman Schwartzkopf to an editor at Inc. Magazine. The ad showcased a generally...

One-screen Charles making a comeback. (The Charles Theatre)
June 23, 1995... Using new features, owners find way to compete This Sunday morning, about 200 people are expected to show up at the Charles Theatre to munch bagels, drink coffee and watch an offbeat film with guest speaker Max Weiss from Baltimore Magazine....

Integrated Health Services Inc. (Proxy Report Excerpts)(Company Profile)
June 23, 1995... A weekly analysis of Baltimore-area public companies Corporate Profile Integrated Health Services Inc. continued to explode during 1994, with revenue jumping by 143 percent as IHS became one of the 10 largest public companies in the...

Strong tenant activity dictates strong retail development.(1995 Baltimore Area Mid-Year Market Profile)(Industry Overview)
June 23, 1995... There is an air of optimism for Baltimore's retail market based on increasing retail development and a continuing upward trend in retail sales. Existing product vacancies are low and strong retailers are actively seeking sites. This demand...

Corridor industrial real estate sets record year. (Baltimore, Maryland; Washington, DC)(1995 Baltimore Area Mid-Year Market Profile)(Industry Overview)
June 23, 1995... The Baltimore Washington Corridor's industrial market had a record year in 1994 with 3.2 million square feet of leasing transactions. This year started off slowly but is quickly turning into another strong year. Estimated leasing numbers are...

City office rental rates highly competitive. (Baltimore, Maryaland)(1995 Baltimore Area Mid-Year Market Profile)(Industry Overview)
June 23, 1995... Despite signs of improvement early in the year for the Baltimore office market, announcements by First Fidelity Bank, Signet Bank, USF&G and Semmes, Bowen & Semmes that they will relinquish large blocks of office space negatively impacting both A...

Changing sources of capital markets.(1995 Baltimore Area Mid-Year Market Profile)(Industry Overview)
June 23, 1995... During the past year, on the equity side of capital markets there was an increase in the velocity of commercial real estate investment accompanied by a shift in sources of capital. Rising interest rates, a primary culprit for the change in...