Baltimore Business Journal articles from March 1995

Baltimore Business Journal archives from March 1995

Sylvan nears deal on harbor project. (Sylvan Learning Systems Inc.)
March 3, 1995... New building site in empowerment zone Sylvan Learning Systems Inc. is close to striking a deal with developer John Paterakis to build the company's new corporate headquarters on the waterfront in East Baltimore. The $10 million to $15...

Parking pains: city to look at issue's role in decisions to leave downtown.
March 3, 1995... Worried that growing numbers of companies may leave the city because their workers can't find a place to park, city officials plan an intensive study of the city's parking woes in the next few months. Baltimore Development Corp. President...

Smoking ban stirs new pleas.
March 3, 1995... Businesses that oppose Maryland's smoking ban, especially those that sell alcohol, are making last-ditch efforts to preserve the right to allow smoking in their establishments. Gov. Parris N. Glendening was expected to announce yesterday that...

Firm's distress call gets state attention. (Maryland; Coastal Marine Sciences Inc.)
March 3, 1995... After threatening to move his business and up to 40 jobs to Virginia, the president of an Annapolis-based marine engineering company said help from Maryland officials has convinced him to stay. John Keenan, president of Coastal Marine Sciences...

Bankers, Muller take different interstate routes. (Maryland Bankers Association; Bank Commissioner Margie H. Muller)
March 3, 1995... The Maryland Bankers Association feared its biggest piece of legislation this year - a bill to break down all barriers to banking across state lines - would never make it to the 1995 General Assembly. By early February, the trade group hadn't...

Doctors seek control of their destinies.
March 3, 1995... New health care firm buys into strategy of physician ownership Two dozen Baltimore doctors have merged their practices to create one of the first physician-owned health care companies in the area, encompassing the city, Baltimore and Harford...

Alex. Brown's records on Lanham credit union subpoenaed. (Alex. Brown and Sons Inc.; Capital Corporate Credit Union; Lanham, Maryland)
March 3, 1995... Federal regulators have asked Alex. Brown & Sons Inc. to produce documents and other information on its dealings with the failed Capital Corporate Credit Union in Lanham. Geraldine Leder, a spokeswoman for Alex. Brown, said the Baltimore-based...

$33M Medicare contract brings firm, 200 jobs to Howard County. (Howard County, Maryland; FMAS Corp.)
March 3, 1995... A Rockville-based medical information services company is creating up to 200 jobs in Columbia to handle a new Medicare contract that could be worth as much as $33.6 million. FMAS Corp. already has hired about 60 people to work in its new...

Delta to cut 235 jobs in Rockville office. (Rockville, Maryland; Delta Air Lines Inc.)
March 3, 1995... Delta Air Lines plans to close a Rockville reservations center by July 1, eliminating about 235 jobs. Like many carriers in the industry, Atlanta-based Delta is undergoing a cost- and job-cutting restructuring plan. In the last six months, the...

Baltimore Life mapping strategy. (Baltimore Life Insurance Co.)
March 3, 1995... After 18 years as president of the Baltimore Life Insurance Co., Joseph E. Blair Jr. will let someone else lead the 113-year-old company into the next century. L. John Pearson has been appointed company president and chief operating officer....

Builders blast Carroll's new rules, fees. (Carroll County, Maryland)
March 3, 1995... The hits keep coming for Carroll County home builders. Three days after the county planning commission voted to limit the number of lots a builder can develop in a certain subdivision, builders absorbed another blow last Friday when the county...

Counting on NationsBank. (NationsBank Corp.)
March 3, 1995... After moving to Maryland for Maryland National, Susan Keating has wholeheartedly shifted her loyalties to its Charlotte buyer Susan C. Keating is finally the banker she wanted to be seven years ago. Keating, the senior banking executive for...

Ships chart course for new groups.
March 3, 1995... Two new vessels in Inner Harbor set sail for medium-sized market Baltimore's charter boat industry is aiming to establish Inner Harbor's ships as the place to meet and entertain for groups of any size. The addition of two new,...

Convention center wants louder message.
March 3, 1995... When the American Association of Orthodontists scouted areas for their huge conventions, they went to places like Washington, D.C., and Orlando, Fla. "We had never considered Baltimore in the past because we knew they did not have the capacity...

Legislators keep business on hold. (Maryland's business regulations)
March 10, 1995... With the 90-day General Assembly session two-thirds over, legislators have barely begun to nibble at the many pro-business bills on their plate. Republicans and Democrats alike rushed to submit bills that would cut taxes and ease regulatory...

GE warehouses turn on buyers; space shortage brings investors. (General Electric Co.)
March 10, 1995... Two long-vacant warehouses once occupied by General Electric Co. have suddenly caught the eyes of local investors. In recent weeks, two separate investment groups have emerged to sign contracts on a combined 835,000 square feet of warehouse...

Feds charge fraud in sweepstakes deal. (Postal Service's investigation of Research Awards Center Inc.)
March 10, 1995... U.S. Postal Service inspectors raided the offices Tuesday of a Reisterstown firm that allegedly scammed millions of dollars from people eager to win big money through sweepstakes entries. A federal judge in Baltimore also ordered Research...

Hoop dreams head downtown; NCAA tourney should energize hotels, businesses. (Baltimore, Maryland)
March 10, 1995... The guests of honor haven't been announced, but the NCAA and Baltimore plan to throw a big, loud party downtown next week that should generate more than $4 million in spending. March Madness descends on the Baltimore Arena Thursday, March 16,...

Signet overhaul leaves Baltimore with fewer jobs. (Signet Banking Corp.; Baltimore, Maryland)
March 10, 1995... Signet Bank Corp.'s efforts to cut costs is hitting its local bank hard, with many of the Richmond, Va.-based company's job losses occurring in the Baltimore market. The bank eliminated its human resources department in Baltimore last month,...

All the way to the Bank: Hampstead clothier hopes NBA coaches help it score. (endorsement deal between Jos. A. Bank Clothiers Inc. and National Basketball Association coaches; Hampstead, Maryland)
March 10, 1995... Jos. A. Bank Clothiers Inc. is moving its suits from the boardroom to the boards. Under an agreement with the National Basketball Coaches Association, the Hampstead-based clothier is dressing 10 coaches in the National Basketball Association....

Bill demands ruling on overloaded courts. (Maryland's judicial system)
March 10, 1995... With exploding case loads and tightening budgets threatening the state's courts, the Maryland General Assembly is considering a bill that could lead to a complete overhaul of the state judicial system. If passed, House Bill 672 would create a...

As smoke clears, relief likely for restaurants, hotels, taverns. (exemption of some business from Maryland's antismoking laws)
March 10, 1995... Maryland's hospitality industry, facing one of the strictest anti-smoking laws in the country, seems likely to get at least a partial reprieve from sympathetic legislators. Negotiations began in earnest even before Gov. Parris N. Glendening...

Hopkins series zeroes in on casinos. (Johns Hopkins University School of Continuing Studies' forum on impact of casinos on real estate development in Maryland)
March 10, 1995... The Johns Hopkins University School of Continuing Studies' annual spring forum kicks off Tuesday with the first in a three-part series on the controversial issue of casino gambling in Maryland. Approaching the issue from a slightly different...

Lucas Brothers' buyer heads back to public markets. (Lucas Brothers Inc.; Corporate Express Inc.)
March 10, 1995... Corporate Express, one of the nation's fastest growing office supply companies, has taken steps to reduce its long-term debt. The company, with a Mid-Atlantic divisional headquarters in Jessup, is registering $100 million in bonds that were...

Glendening backs off plan to use MAIF surplus. (Governor Parris N. Glendening; Maryland Auto Insurance Fund)
March 10, 1995... Insurers balk at bill addressing city's rates Gov. Parris N. Glendening has given up his bid to use part of a $112 million surplus in the Maryland Auto Insurance Fund to support school construction and police support. "It's not about MAIF...

Health reform bill touches most of current hot topics.
March 10, 1995... A small group of state delegates spent this week trying to work out compromises on a health care reform bill that has drawn strong opposition from business and insurance interests. House Bill 1124, which was introduced last month, proposes...

Colleges fertile ground for firms' research. (Special Report: Education)
March 10, 1995... From technology transfer to economic forecasts, Maryland's colleges and universities provide the state's business community with fertile research opportunities. Below is a look at just a few of the research programs that schools around the...

Businesses, students team up through Hopkins class. (Johns Hopkins University) (Special Report: Education)
March 10, 1995... In a move designed to cut business costs and give students some real-world experience, John Hopkins University has teamed up with a number of companies through one of its master's degree programs. In the "capstone" class, the last before...

T. Rowe Price Associates Inc. (Proxy Report Excerpts) (Company Profile)
March 10, 1995... Corporate profile: Despite expectations that rising interest rates and a cooled-off stock market would produce more modest gains in 1994 for Baltimore investment firm T. Rowe Price Associates than in the previous banner year, the company...

Preston lands Crown, Cork at Riverside campus. (Preston Partners Inc.; Crown Cork and Seal Company Inc.; Riverside Business Park)
March 10, 1995... It's been a busy week for Preston Partners Inc., the Baltimore real estate firm best known for brokering large investment deals. Besides negotiating the sale of a 635,000-square-foot warehouse in Columbia, the Cross Keys firm also found a...

First Fidelity to shut branches: seven in Md. headed for chopping block. (First Fidelity Bancorp.)
March 17, 1995... First Fidelity Bancorp, in the midst of a major cost-cutting program, will close seven branches in Maryland this spring. The seven locations targeted for a May closing include five branches of the former Bank of Baltimore and two branches of...

Sprucing up: hotels spend millions on renovation projects. (Industry Overview)
March 17, 1995... More than half of the Baltimore area's largest hotels are undergoing renovation, signaling economic recovery in the hotel industry and possibly preparation for the expanded convention center. From new bedspreads, drapes and carpets, to tables,...

SEC probe may spark ethics rule.
March 17, 1995... In the wake of the forced resignation of two top officials at the Port of Baltimore, Maryland's governor says the state needs to fill holes in its conflict of interest standards. Gov. Parris N. Glendening said this week he agrees with a State...

HMO pioneer adds 'choice' to vocabulary. (Kaiser Foundation Health Plan Inc.)
March 17, 1995... Kaiser Permanente, which pioneered the concept of controlling which doctors patients can see, has introduced a plan to give subscribers more freedom in choosing those physicians. Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of the Mid-Atlantic Inc. is one of...

Amtote employees may consider bid to buy company. (AmTote International Inc.)
March 17, 1995... A union leader who represents 317 hourly workers at Hunt Valley-based Amtote International is seeking to lead an employee takeover of the struggling company. Dion Guthrie hopes to take advantage of GTech Holdings Corp.'s desire to sell Amtote,...

Bankers ask Md. to repeal franchise tax.
March 17, 1995... Maryland tax officials are backing off a plan to crack down on local banks that move their investment portfolios out of state to avoid the state's 7 percent franchise tax on banks. But state officials apparently still aren't ready to repeal the...

Restaurant chain maps plan for local growth. (Kenny Rogers Roasters)
March 17, 1995... Kenny Rogers Roasters doesn't plan to let Boston Market and other competitors fly off with all the rotisserie chicken business in metropolitan Baltimore. The Fort Lauderdale-based chain opened a new Kenny Rogers Roasters restaurant in...

Tax foes cite job loss here. (Maryland, Baltimore)
March 17, 1995... First Fidelity. NationsBank. First Union. As these large banks moved into town, many of the state's banking jobs moved out. Now, Maryland bank officials say they expect the exodus of the state's banking jobs to continue if the legislature...

State, county aid ailing firm; owner promises to invest $20M in Essex steel company. (Maryland, Baltimore; Avesta Sheffield East Inc.)
March 17, 1995... Baltimore County and the state rallied around the new owners of a struggling Essex steel manufacturer this week, putting together a financial assistance package worth about $1.8 million. The package, presented to Avesta Sheffield AB Thursday,...

Investors to finance new mini-brewery. (Clipper City Brewing Co. LP)
March 17, 1995... After quietly lining up capital over the last few months, restaurateur Hugh Sisson said this week that he will launch a $2 million beer brewing company in Baltimore. The company, Clipper City Brewing Co. LP., will have amber ale and a...

Interest rate surge hits credit union portfolios.
March 17, 1995... The state's largest credit union is among several local credit unions that took severe hits on their investment portfolios from rising interest rates last year. A controversial study by Veribanc Inc., a bank rating service, found that the...

Real estate tax changes gain ground.
March 17, 1995... The State Senate sided with home buyers and business interests this week, passing legislation to reduce Maryland's notoriously high closing costs. In a vote late Monday, the Senate unanimously approved a bill that could save a first-time home...

Under federal ax, more cuts for Md. (loss of federal jobs in Maryland)
March 24, 1995... Job loss could hurt recovery The threatened loss of federal jobs in Maryland could thwart the state's efforts to recover from recession and a decade of military downsizing. The state lost 3,700 federal civilian jobs last year - a decrease of...

State fund may enter new arena. (Injured Workers' Insurance Fund)
March 24, 1995... Private property and casualty insurance companies that sell commercial business insurance in Maryland could soon face another competitor - the state's workers compensation fund. A state senator has introduced a bill that would turn the state...

Preakness pumps up volume. (Preakness Celebration)
March 24, 1995... Organizers of the 1995 Preakness Celebration plan to spend more than $2 million to make sure this year's events don't look or sound like the same old jazz. The budget - up $700,000 from last year - will be used in part to lure nationally...

Small groups capitalize on health reform. (Maryland)
March 24, 1995... Maryland appears to be ahead of the curve when it comes to health insurance reform efforts around the nation. Since legislation went into effect last year to encourage better access to health care benefits for employees of small businesses,...

Factory site offers test of development thinking.
March 24, 1995... Group to decide how to accomplish revival A Baltimore developer wants to transform an empty East Baltimore factory into a senior housing and adult-care center. But the deal might conflict with possible restrictions on redevelopment of...

Tech firms' research tax credit likely to pass. (high technology firms)
March 24, 1995... Maryland's status as a hub for high technology may soon get a boost from a bill exempting technology companies from paying personal property taxes on equipment for research and development. Economic development officials believe the exemption...

Safeway may feed investments of city group. (Safeway Stores Inc.)
March 24, 1995... Nonprofit group wants to buy store; guarantee local hiring; reinvest in community efforts A southeast Baltimore group wants to invest in Safeway's plans to transform a vacant industrial eyesore in Canton into a supermarket with 100 grocery...

York firm to build new $20M McCormick plant. (Kinsley Construction Inc.; McCormick and Co.)
March 24, 1995... The battle to build McCormick & Co.'s new $20 million warehouse ended this week when McCormick awarded the highly-coveted construction contract to Kinsley Construction Inc. McCormick spokesman Allen "Mac" Barrett said Wednesday that York,...

Computer cops pressing for tougher state penalties. (computer crimes)
March 24, 1995... Detective Sandra Mapstone, veteran computer investigator for the Baltimore County Police, would love to put a computer vandal in prison. But even if she can get a judge to understand the nature of computer crime, Maryland law might not provide...

Md. faces growing biotech competition from Va. (Maryland; Virginia)
March 24, 1995... Maryland and Ohio are waging a quiet but hard-fought battle for MedImmune Inc.'s planned manufacturing plant. At stake is a $25 million to $30 million building and 50 jobs - a seeming pittance but a typical prize in the fast-growing biotechnology...

Cuts in federal aid could challenge localities. (Maryland)
March 24, 1995... Local government officials are bracing for federal aid cuts, even as state leaders have agreed to delay tax reductions until Maryland's fiscal health is assured. Maryland localities face the loss of $48.8 million in federal aid that had...

Local architecture firms see jump in health care projects.
March 24, 1995... The dramatic upheaval in the health care industry has created an explosion of new business for architectural firms. As health care providers search for new ways to compete in the managed care era, local architects are finding a wide range of...

EA Engineering Science and Technology Inc. (proxy report excerpts) (Company Profile)
March 24, 1995... Corporate profile: A record fiscal year helped prompt EA Engineering, Science and Technology Inc. officials to announce in January that the Hunt Valley-based environmental services company would hire 100 scientists and engineers for its 23...

Gambling: rolling the dice. (casino gambling in Maryland)(includes related article)
March 31, 1995... One thing's for sure - real estate values wouldn't stay the same When a blue-ribbon panel convenes this summer to study the issue of casino gambling in Maryland, two questions likely to be asked are: How would casino gaming affect property...

Maryland snack tax repeal, other bills await their fate.
March 31, 1995... The fate of $45.6 million in business tax cuts will be decided next week, when House and Senate legislators thrash out differences in a conference committee. The biggest controversy centers on repeal of the snack tax, a 5 percent levy imposed...

SBA cuts worry area banks. (Small Business Administration)
March 31, 1995... The U.S. Small Business Administration, faced with major restructuring and funding cuts, is proposing that taxpayer dollars no longer be used to guarantee its small business loans. As part of its effort to fend off critics and cut its budget by...

Industrial land sites eyed by city. (Baltimore, Maryland)
March 31, 1995... Rukert Terminals Corp. would like to expand its 70-acre warehouse operations in the Port of Baltimore. But much of the land bordering the family-owned stevedoring company is polluted and would be expensive to restore to federal U.S....

Green Spring's healthy attitude. (Green Spring Health Services Inc.)
March 31, 1995... Ex-Blue Cross subsidiary reaches 1 million with mental health benefits Four years ago, Green Spring Health Services Inc. was a subsidiary of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Maryland, managing the insurer's mental health benefits for about 1...

Politicians found health PACs generous. (political action committees)
March 31, 1995... Doctors and health care providers gave more to Maryland's political candidates for the 1994 campaign than any other category of special interest group, according to a Common Cause/Maryland study released this week. In fact, when added...

Drive-through Rite Aid entering drug store fray. (Rite Aid Corp.)
March 31, 1995... NeighborCare's home deliveries, Giant's private rooms and everyone's expansions keep competition heated Following the example of fast food restaurants and banks, a drug store chain will try its luck with drive-through windows. Before the...

401(k) providers target small firms, the new growth area.
March 31, 1995... For several years, employees at Colliers Pinkard, a Baltimore commercial real estate firm, asked management to offer them a 401(k) retirement plan. Doug Selin, the firm's treasurer, said the 250-employee company finally granted the request two...

BGE puts on power surge to retain big clients. (Baltimore Gas and Electric Co.)
March 31, 1995... Hoping to solidify relationships with its biggest customers, Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. plans to offer a new product this fall to protect large industrial companies from power disturbances. The new device, called PowerDigm, will cost...

'I was showering when....' (creative directors' ideas) (Special Report: Advertising & Media)
March 31, 1995... Creative directors find ideas can come from anywhere You've seen their work on television, sides of buses, billboards and in your mail. But you may not have met the minds and managers behind those advertisements. Recently, creative directors...

Black and Decker Corp. (Proxy Report Excerpts) (Industry Overview)
March 31, 1995... FYI Black & Decker continued to grow in 1994. Net earnings were $127.4 million, compared to $66 million for 1993. The Towson-based company's consumer businesses, Power Tools and Accessories, Plumbing Products, and Kwikset locks all achieved...