Baltimore Business Journal articles from November 1996

Baltimore Business Journal archives from November 1996

Credit card firm dials White Marsh. (Metris Companies Inc. plans new call center facility in White Marsh, MD)
November 29, 1996... 400 telephone agents may move to new building A Minnesota credit card company is negotiating with Nottingham Properties to build a 50,000-square-foot office building in White Marsh where it will employ as many as 400 telephone service agents,...

Videos may reel in tax. (Maryland mulls new amusement tax on home video stores)
November 29, 1996... Cities, towns push for new, 5 percent levy Maryland's video stores may get slapped with a new tax if the General Assembly goes along with a proposal from the state's cities and towns. Local governments would be able to levy an amusement...

Stung by feds, credit unions talk conversion. (Maryland)
November 29, 1996... It's been more than 10 years since a federally chartered credit union has rapped on Maryland's door, asking about converting to a state charter. But last month alone, 12 credit unions met with Maryland's bank commissioner to talk about such...

Reform-minded Md. skips health accounts. (Maryland stops introduction of medical savings accounts)
November 29, 1996... Medical savings accounts will start showing up across the country in a few weeks, but Maryland isn't embracing the controversial federal experiment. The accounts, one of the most debated and criticized provisions of this summer's federal...

Printer chooses Anne Arundel for new site. (John H. Harland Co. to build new distribution facility in Anne Arundel County, MD)
November 29, 1996... Total 400 jobs going to new facility An Atlanta-based printing company will move 150 workers from its Howard County site into a new Mid-Atlantic distribution facility in the Park 100 business park in Anne Arundel County. The John H....

Sleigh bells ring; malls are listening. (shopping malls display reindeers to attract shoppers)
November 29, 1996... 'Tis the season for pulling out all the stops in stores For $2,200 and some hay, Westview Mall corralled five reindeer. The idea is simple: Bring in the reindeer and children, parents and their wallets will follow. But the presence of...

Schmidt's bakery rises above IRS. (Schmidt Baking Company Inc.)
November 29, 1996... WASHINGTON - Suffer pangs of inferiority when you're baffled by tangled tax taws? Forget it. Even a senior judge of the U.S. Tax Court, whose job is to sort out the vagaries of the Internal Revenue Code, was plainly irked when a case...

Mason-Dixon dispute playing out in public forums. (Mason-Dixon Bancshares Inc.)
November 29, 1996... Management fires back after shareholder group's criticism A group of 17 alienated shareholders has apparently caught the attention of the management of Mason-Dixon Bancshares. The shareholders, who collectively own about 5.1 percent of the...

OSHA plans for new rules draw opposition. (guidelines on using methylene chloride)
November 29, 1996... Guidelines to get tougher for use of carcinogen in workplace WASHINGTON - Amid vociferous opposition from several trade groups, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration will set new guidelines for the use of methylene...

Challenge turns into thriving fur business. (Seleh De Federal Hill Furrier)
November 29, 1996... In 1974, Seleh Rahman walked into an antique shop in downtown Baltimore one day in search of a painting or an old piece of furniture. He didn't find a treasure that day, but he did find a career. The owner challenged Rahman, who had studied...

They may know their real estate, but what about finance and tax? (real estate and construction firms rely on accounting firms for tax planning and other financial services)(Special Report: Real Estate/Construction)
November 29, 1996... More companies are turning to accounting firms to help them with the finer points of money Back in 1979, Dennis Gilligan's home building business was growing fast. "I knew how to build a house but wasn't as knowledgeable about taxes and...

County officials' foresight keeps battles to minimum.(Special Report: Real Estate/Construction)
November 29, 1996... One side of the street is zoned residential and is named River Hill, the last village of Columbia. The other side of the street is zoned agricultural and is named Clarksville. This is where east meets west in Howard County. East is...

Still cooking up their dream. (Martha and Jerry Benesch, International House of Pancakes franchisees in Owing Mills, MD)(includes related article on lessons couple learned in running the restaurant)(Company Profile)
November 29, 1996... A year after opening an IHOP franchise, the Beneschs are still hanging tough When Martha Benesch opened an International House of Pancakes franchise restaurant in November 1995, her life was fraught with daily terrors. Food orders going...

Photographer wins local Nawbo tribute. (Dorothy L. McGeehan wins "Woman of the Year" award from the Maryland chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners)
November 29, 1996... A local photographer has been selected as this year's "Woman of the Year" by the Maryland Chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners. Dorothy L. McGeehan, chief executive officer of Dorothy Cobb Studios in Owings Mills,...

Local firms get nibbles at venture capital fair. (Mid-Atlantic Venture Fair)
November 29, 1996... An Annapolis company that uses actress Sharon Stone to help teach English, the largest private home builder in Maryland and a Baltimore automobile quote service all trekked to Philadelphia last week searching for the same thing - money. They...

United Way to move: Miller plans to buy former HQ. (United Way of Central Maryland; Miller Corporate Real Estate Inc.)
November 22, 1996... United Way of Central Maryland is leaving its long-time headquarters on Light Street in downtown Baltimore and moving into the NationsBank Center on South Charles Street, according to United Way officials. The 81-employee charitable...

Critics say roads could snarl growth; push is on to realign transportation money. (Maryland's transportation trust fund unable to pay for road projects)
November 22, 1996... Maryland's economic development efforts could stall out in the future on an inadequate and underfunded highway system. That's the argument that highway contractors - and some suburban and rural county officials - now are using to pressure the...

Computers win lower tax rate; business pleased, counties irate.
November 22, 1996... A new tax policy that lowers the amount that government can levy on computer equipment has business owners smiling and Maryland's counties seeing red. In January, the state will kick in a new, faster depreciation schedule for most business...

Hoyts deal may invigorate mall. (Hoyts Cinema Corp.; Hunt Valley Mall)
November 22, 1996... More than a year ago, officials announced United Artists would put an 11-screen movie complex into Hunt Valley Mall. The project was touted as a major step in reviving the struggling shopping center. Never built, the United Artists theater...

Doctors group forms new partnership; Flagship Health hopes to grow with Boston-based firm. (Physicians Quality Care)
November 22, 1996... A group of Baltimore-area doctors is trying to keep using their M.D. degrees without having to become MBAs. Flagship Health - a physician-owned consortium of 18 practices formed in April - has agreed to team up with Physicians Quality Care, a...

White Marsh project lands theaters, retailers. (Avenue at White Marsh retail and restaurant complex)
November 22, 1996... Nottingham Properties is hoping that its latest project, the Avenue at White Marsh, will do for retailing what Oriole Park at Camden Yards has done for baseball - attract thousands of visitors with pseudo-nostalgic themes. The Baltimore...

Gynecologists say law thwarted: attorney general's view sought on HMO's reading of new rule. (Maryland law allowing women to bypass primary care doctors and see gynecologists directly)
November 22, 1996... A state law that was designed to allow women to go directly to their gynecologists - without passing first through the offices of their primary care doctors - has met with varied interpretations from managed care companies. Doctors and...

Baltimore Life testing new roles for its agents. (Baltimore Life Insurance Co.)
November 22, 1996... Some of Baltimore Life Insurance Co.'s agents are about to change the way they work. And if the firm's pilot project works to boost customer loyalty and cut the cost of selling insurance, the rest of the company's 200 agents will follow suit in...

Credit unions smart from injunction's blow. (US District Court injunction preventing federal credit unions from taking on new members)
November 22, 1996... Firms that depend on credit union business also feel ruling's pinch While federally chartered credit unions fight a court injunction hand-cuffing their efforts to take on new members, Dave Womer follows the proceedings intently. As long...

Cosmetic Center looks for Prestige-ous turnaround. (planned merger with Prestige Fragrance and Cosmetics)
November 22, 1996... When 1997 arrives, the Cosmetic Center may have a bigger reason to celebrate than just the start of a new year. Beginning of next year, the struggling Savage-based company is expected to complete a merger with Prestige Fragrance and...

Holistic providers team up: centers help practitioners keep costs low.(Special Report: Health Care)
November 22, 1996... Physical therapist Robert S. Cohen wanted to start his own practice after working four years as an employee for conventional physical therapy centers. Yet going out on his own was financially unwieldy - he probably would need to hire an...

Grants may treat uncompensated care woes. (Maryland Health Services Cost Review Commission looks into proposed special grant fund for hospitals)(Special Report: Health Care)
November 22, 1996... The dilemma: hospitals in the inner-city and in rural areas typically have to care for more uninsured patients and patients who don't pay their bills than hospitals in suburban areas. The hospitals who provide the most charity care generally...

Hospitals cut supply costs with group purchasing.(Special Report: Health Care)
November 22, 1996... As Maryland's hospitals consolidate and look for ways to cut costs, doctors are finding they have less direct control over buying the tools of their trade. But the consensus among area doctors, as well as hospital administrators, is that...

School of public health should serve two needs. (planned school of public health at Morgan State University)(Special Report: Health Care)
November 22, 1996... Officials at Morgan State University hope their plan to create a school of public health will fill a two-pronged need: training students with the skills to advance in the field of public health and caring for an urban population. The new...

Study targets small firms. (National Panel Study of U.S. Business Startups)
November 22, 1996... A team of three Maryland scholars has been awarded a $20,000 grant to study issues affecting entrepreneurs just starting out in business. At the end of the two-year national study, the team should have surveyed a local portion of a group of...

McLean firm developing three centers in Maryland. (Petrie, Dierman and Kughn)
November 22, 1996... McLean, Va. - In the past several weeks, Petrie Dierman Kughn has announced plans to develop three Mid-Atlantic shopping centers totaling 1.5 million square feet. The projects will cost the McLean firm $150 million, said partner Walter...

Bell Atlantic Corp. (Proxy Report Excerpts)(Company Profile)
November 22, 1996... Corporate profile Bell Atlantic Corp. has come a long way since 1984, when the seven regional telephone companies were spun off from AT&T Corp. During the 1990s, the Philadelphia-based company has become a diversified telecommunications...

Coming full circle: entrepreneur tries for 2nd success. (Albert Harris, president of software firm Harris Group)
November 15, 1996... Scott Harris' voice echoes a bit as he talks about his company's plans for what appears to be a ghost office - plenty of furniture but no workers in sight. In just a few days, Harris Group employees will be milling around on the newly buffed...

Local real estate agencies wary of PHH merger. (lost business resulting from HFS Inc. and PHH Corp. merger)
November 15, 1996... Any other day, P. Wesley Foster Jr. and James O'Conor are fierce rivals. But when it comes to the acquisition of PHH Corp. by HFS Inc., the two men have a lot in common. Foster, president of Long & Foster Inc. in Fairfax, Va., and O'Conor,...

Auto parts firm tracks down site in Harford. (Becker Group Inc. purchases factory building in Havre de Grace, Maryland)
November 15, 1996... In a deal that promises to bring at least 200 new manufacturing jobs and economic growth to the town of Havre de Grace in Harford County, a Detroit auto parts manufacturer is nearing a purchase of the former Douglas & Lomason building in the...

Couple takes telecommuting to the extreme; owners run firm from 1,500 miles away. (Syscom Services Inc. owners Jim and Betsy Kelly)(Special Report: Technology)
November 15, 1996... Every business owner knows one of the secrets to success is location, location, location. But what if the business is in the right spot, but the owner isn't? That's the dilemma Jim Kelly faced not long after he and his wife, Betsy Markey,...

Procter & Gamble Co. (Proxy Report Excerpts)(Company Profile)
November 15, 1996... Corporate profile Months after the Cincinnati-based consumer goods giant Procter & Gamble announced that it was shutting down its soap-making facility in Locust Point last year, officials from neighbor Domino Sugar expressed interest in...

Baltimore County applies for 2nd zone. (enterprise zone in Maryland)
November 8, 1996... Enterprise effort could revitalize Southwest Eager to breathe new life into the southwest portion of Baltimore County, officials there have asked the state to create an enterprise zone on 1,800 acres of land that includes the doomed former G....

Legacy's all fired up. (Legacy International)
November 8, 1996... Cigar firm cashes in on smoking market Matt Goddard wanted to give his cigar-connoisseur grandfather something special for his 70th birthday. His bright idea: A personalized cigar band. That was last November. Last month, Goddard's new...

City goes low key for 200th bash. (Baltimore, MD,'s 200th anniversary celebrations)
November 8, 1996... Cleveland is celebrating its 200th year in 1996 with all the splash, pomp and circumstance of a Bill Clinton birthday bash. By comparison, Baltimore's throwing itself a birthday party in 1997 equivalent to having a few friends over for crab...

Off-the-rack Gap moves in. (The Gap Inc.)
November 8, 1996... The Gap Inc., the popular casual clothes chain, is ready to hit the Baltimore market with its lower-priced alternative stores, called Old Navy. Two Old Navy stores already are open in Rockville and Greenbelt, and the company is negotiating...

For sale or lease: Kmart parking. (Kmart Corp.)
November 8, 1996... Struggling retailer shopping space on lots in Baltimore, and nationwide Kmart Corp. is trying to boost revenue by selling or leasing pieces of its parking lots across the nation - including several in the Baltimore area. That means...

Liberty jumps to top of hospital high-cost list. (Liberty Medical Center)
November 8, 1996... Johns Hopkins Hospital and the University of Maryland Medical Center are still two of the highest-cost hospitals in Maryland, according to a list issued by state regulators. Jumping from its seventh-place slot in the spring, Liberty Medical...

Engineers cry foul over proposal. (reforms in Maryland's architectural laws)
November 8, 1996... Architects and engineers may not be known for their ferocity, but the two groups of professionals are gearing up for a battle over a possible change in Maryland's architectural laws. The state board that licenses and oversees Maryland...

The economic engines that could. (nonprofit organizations)
November 8, 1996... They don't pay taxes, but local nonprofits mean jobs and money When the Annie E. Casey Foundation moved to Baltimore from Greenwich, Conn., two years ago, the city won 60 jobs - and much more. The foundation, which makes grants to help...

New task force focuses on increasing giving in state. (Maryland Gives Task Force on Charitable Giving)
November 8, 1996... Maryland's nonprofits and government and corporate leaders have begun an aggressive campaign to stem the decline in charitable giving over the last several years. The campaign's centerpiece is the Maryland Gives Task Force on Charitable...

A chance to be your own boss, sort of. (franchise ownership)
November 8, 1996... If you like to follow the rules, owning your own franchise may be just the thing for you Despite earnings last year of $250,000 and expected profit this year of $600,000, Adam Kidan filed for bankruptcy protection against creditors in U.S....