Baltimore Business Journal articles from June 1998

Baltimore Business Journal archives from June 1998

After Six creditors paid back. (defunct manufacturer and distributor of men's formal wear)
June 5, 1998... Defunct men's formal wear manufacturer and distributor After Six Ltd. is paying back almost all of the nearly $3 million it owed creditors from its 1996 bankruptcy filing. After Six counsel Lawrence J. Yumkas, of Baltimore law firm Rosenberg,...

Banks scurry for ATM sites. (automated teller machines)
June 5, 1998... Enticed by a steady flow of fees, local banks are scrambling to get their automated teller machines in uncharted territory. Carrollton Bank this week cashed in on a business relationship with Timonium Fairgrounds and was given the exclusive...

CEO calls for calm after YSI stock drop. (Youth Services International CEO Timothy P. Cole)
June 5, 1998... A day after Youth Services International Inc.'s stock dove 54 percent amid forecasts of poor second-quarter earnings, Chief Executive Officer Timothy P. Cole stood before shareholders and urged them not to panic. Cole, facing a pensive crowd...

Private-label grocery chain set to expand. (Sav-A-Lot Ltd.)
June 5, 1998... It may be difficult to find Maxwell House Coffee or Tropicana Orange Juice at a Save-A-Lot store. But if customers are searching for discount versions, such as McDaniel's Coffee or Crisp Orange Juice, they're in luck. Save-A-Lot, the St....

Crestar starts up development corporation. (Crestar Financial Corp.'s Community Development Corp.)
June 5, 1998... Crestar Financial Corp. is pledging to lend and invest up to $11 million by the end of 1998 to families and programs in the Mid-Atlantic's economically strapped areas. Crestar's new Community Development Corp. expects to settle between $5...

The middle of it all: Howard County is luring tech firms who want to be near both Baltimore and D.C.(Special Report: Focus on Howard County)
June 5, 1998... Howard County is luring tech firms who want to be near both Baltimore and D.C. Howard County is benefiting from the cardinal rule of real estate - location, location, location. The once-rural county has become a destination for technology...

Survey: tech firms find Howard the place to be. (Howard County, Maryland)(Special Report: Focus on Howard County)
June 5, 1998... Henry "Pete" Linsert and Bill Bialick have completely different stories about why and how their respective technology companies ended up in Howard County. "But the executives have one thing in common: Linsert, chief executive of Martek...

Audience growing for voice-recognition gear.(Special Report: Focus on Howard County)
June 5, 1998... It's been 30 years since the all-knowing HAL 9000 in "2001: A Space Odyssey" opened the eyes of sci-fi movie fans to the possibilities of voice recognition computers. The evil HAL was a diabolical example of technology run amok. Today,...

Jos. A. Bank Clothiers Inc. (Proxy reports excerpt)(Company Profile)
June 5, 1998... Corporate Profile Hampstead-based clothing retailer and manufacturer Jos. A. Bank Clothiers Inc. reports that it met and surpassed each of its corporate goals for the 1997 fiscal year. The company earned 36 cents ??? 1997 versus 10 cents per...

Waverly buyer pulls back. (Waverly Inc.; E. Magruder Passano Jr.)
June 19, 1998... The man who led the former Waverly Inc.'s community involvement efforts will lose his job in a mass layoff at the textbook publishing company this fall. E. Magruder "Mac" Passano Jr. - the company's vice chairman, secretary and designated "man...

Encore performance: senior living outfit lures back founder. (Senior Campus Living founder John Erickson)
June 19, 1998... Retirement was short for John Erickson. After starting Senior Campus Living in 1981, Erickson, 54, decided to call it quits two years ago and let his management team take over the company. After the team had trouble obtaining financing for new...

Cosmetic's CEO likes to buy, too. (Cosmetic Center Inc.'s CEO Betsy Burton)
June 19, 1998... Cosmetic Center Inc.'s new chief executive, Betsy Burton, is a turnaround artist with a history of buying large chunks of the companies she leads. If history repeats itself, industry watchers say Burton could acquire a major stake in the...

IHS paring $3.3 billion debt. (Integrated Health Services Inc.)
June 19, 1998... Integrated Health Services Inc., after a decade of stunning growth, has embarked on a strategy to sell off assets to decrease a $3.3 billion debt and strengthen its balance sheet. The sale is part Owing Mills-based Integrated's plan to reduce...

Wyndham operator puts on a good face. (Wyndham Hotels Company Ltd.)
June 19, 1998... After a bruising year obtaining approval to build a controversial convention headquarters hotel at Inner Harbor East, officials from the company running the new facility are trying to build some good karma in Charm City. Officials from...

Blues official's pay package changed. (Blue Cross Blue Shield of the National Capital Area)
June 19, 1998... Severance pact altered prior to insurer merger Blue Cross Blue Shield of the National Capital Area altered the terms of its chief executive officer's contract last year, guaranteeing Larry C. Glasscock $2.8 million if he left the health insurer...

Hot Gateway hums in strong Howard locale. (Gateway Business Park in Howard County, Maryland)(Howard County Real Estate)
June 19, 1998... Columbia's premier business park has come back with a vengeance. Eight years after major real estate deals came to a virtual standstill, the 600-acre Gateway Business Park - owned by the Rouse Co., the developer that literally put Columbia on...

Building owners fret over Year 2000 problem.(Howard County Real Estate)
June 19, 1998... Picture this: You stumble into work following the New Years bash of the century - it's now the year 2000, after all - but you must have arrived the wrong day of the week. In your office, the lights are dim, the air chilly and the elevators don't...

Striving to succeed. (Strive Baltimore job-training program)
June 26, 1998... Job-skills bootcamp moves to Baltimore If Todd Hazelton learned anything from Strive Baltimore, it's that he can go far with a firm handshake, punctuality and the right attitude. But to learn those three things, Hazelton first had to make it...

Banks move on growing Harford Co. (Maryland Permanent Bank & Trust Co.)
June 26, 1998... Maryland Permanent Bank & Trust Co. president John S. Mazzocchi Jr. can boil down what he likes about Harford County to One word. "Growth," he said in a booming voice. "all, a combination of business, industrial and consumer growth." That...

Travel agents hit by changes. (Baltimore, Maryland)
June 26, 1998... With commissions dropping and the industry becoming more competitive, local travel agencies are being forced to reinvent themselves. Nine travel agencies in Maryland and 580 nationwide shut down since last September, when airlines slashed the...

Leasing slowdown arrives. (commercial leases in Maryland)
June 26, 1998... The companies signing big commercial leases downtown in the last two years have unpacked their boxes and settled in, prompting brokers to ask where the next big deal will come from. "Right now, there really aren't any major [potential tenants]...

Equipment supplier makes 2 acquisitions. (Advanced Business Systems)
June 26, 1998... After acquiring two branch offices from a national competitor, Advance Business Systems is ready to focus on internal growth and on servicing its newly expanded client base. The office equipment supplier announced June 22 its purchase of the...

Kiddie Academy sues New York franchisee. (Kiddie Academy International Inc.; Child Development Systems Ltd.)
June 26, 1998... Child-care center franchiser Kiddie Academy International Inc. filed suit against a New York franchisee to recoup some of the unpaid bills that Kiddie Academy claims led it into bankruptcy. According to court papers, Kiddie Academy and one of...

New nursing school to supply growing need. (Maryland)
June 26, 1998... With nurses in hot demand, the University of Maryland School of Nursing is hoping its expansion plans will allow it to accommodate more students. The University of Maryland laid a cornerstone for the School of Nursing's new $38 million...

Middle river thrusting forward under GE. (Middle River Aircraft Systems Inc.; General Electric Co.)
June 26, 1998... Formerly retired GM hires 500 more staff, wants 1,400 by 2003 On the verge of collapse just three years ago, Middle River Aircraft Systems Inc. has created hundreds of jobs for an area of Baltimore County in need of revitalization. Slow...

Small thrift draws interest from big inventors.
June 26, 1998... Two New York investment firms have taken large stakes in a small Baltimore County thrift, a move that puzzled both the thrift's management and industry analysts. According to documents filed last week with the U.S. Securities and Exchange...

Designer lashing back in law software case. (NB Informatics Inc.'s shareholder Steven Siebert sues Technology Group Inc.)
June 26, 1998... A New York man has turned around and sued the Baltimore firm that accused him of stealing a software program that assists. lawyers in preparing for cases. Steven Siebert, major shareholder of NB Informatics Inc., claims he developed the...