Baltimore Business Journal articles from November 2001

Baltimore Business Journal archives from November 2001

PGA event lost big since '98: State farm tournament went on despite years of debts, deficits.(Professional Golfers' Association)
November 30, 2001... The former State Farm Senior Classic -- Baltimore's only PGA Tour-sponsored golf tournament -- has been awash in financial troubles since its inception in 1998, according to tax and financial records filed with the state. The...

Valley bank agrees to $5.5M sale.(Valley Bancorp to be acquired by American Home Mortgage Holdings Inc.)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
November 30, 2001... A New York-based mortgage company plans to buy its way into Maryland with a deal to pay $5.5 million in cash and stock for Valley Bancorp Inc., a Hunt Valley thrift company. American Home Mortgage Holdings Inc.'s acquisition of Valley...

Moving day: New arundel hospital braces for crowds.(Anne Arundel Health System)(Statistical Data Included)
November 30, 2001... During a five-hour period on Dec. 2, ambulances will transport about 100 patients from Anne Arundel Health System's century-old, downtown Annapolis hospital to a sparkling new $65 million facility on its sprawling Jennifer Road medical...

Giant parent reports earnings boost. (From the web).(Royal Ahold earnings)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
November 30, 2001... Royal Ahold, the parent company of Giant Food Inc. and U.S. Foodservice, posted a 28.3 percent increase in third quarter earnings, to $293.5 million.

Sandy spring oks stock split. (From the web).(Sandy Spring Bancorp Inc.)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
November 30, 2001... Sandy Spring Bancorp Inc. approved a three-for-two split of its common stock. Trading with the adjustment starts Dec. 21. The number of shares outstanding will increase to 14.46 million, from 9.64 million.

Cel-Sci raises $2.2M in financing. (From the web).(Brief Article)
November 30, 2001... Cel-Sci, a biotechnology company with a research plant in Baltimore, has raised more than $2.2 million in straight equity and debt financing since June 30, the company announced.

State shells out $100M for olympic bid. (From the web).(Brief Article)
November 30, 2001... Maryland and Baltimore City are putting up roughly 50 percent of the $200 million guarantee for the Washington, D.C. 2012 Olympic bid.

CompuDyne taps into security market. (From the web).(Brief Article)
November 30, 2001... Hanover-based compuDyne Corp. has combined some of the products it developed for the U.S. government into a new package that it will offer to airports.

Private offering nets sinclair $310M. (From the web).(Brief Article)
November 30, 2001... Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc. said it will sell senior subordinated notes in a private offering intended to raise $310 million for the television company.

GP to train power plant operators. (From the web).(Brief Article)
November 30, 2001... Columbia-based General Physics Corp. won a contract to train control room operators at a Canadian nuclear power plant. Financial terms were not disclosed.

State collects $39M in back taxes. (From the web).(Brief Article)
November 30, 2001... Maryland Comptroller William Donald Schaefer said the state collected some $39 million in back taxes during its two-month amnesty program.

Baltimore firm to design MDOT offices. (From the web).(Maryland Department of Transportation headquarters;)(Brief Article)
November 30, 2001... Sugar Associates LLC, a Baltimore interior design firm, will design the interior of the 109,000-square-foot headquarters building of the Maryland Department of Transportation. The contract amount was undisclosed.

Correction.(Brief Article)
November 30, 2001... * In the Health Care & Biotechnology column, "State eyes biotech manufacturing facility," [Vol. 19, Nov. 23-29, Page 7], information was incorrectly supplied that the state is considering buying the facility at 5901 E. Lombard St. in...

Investors sue radio one. (Informed source).(Radio One Inc.; initial public offering lawsuit by shareholders)(Brief Article)
November 30, 2001... Radio One Inc. and several investment banking firms are being accused of misleading shareholders in the broadcasting company's 1999 initial public offering and a follow-on stock sale a year later. A class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of...

Patriotic halt to graffiti. (Informed source).(Sanders Co. building, Baltimore)(Brief Article)
November 30, 2001... Patriotism solved the age-old problem of graffiti for one local business family. By painting a huge mural across the side of a Rolling Mill Road warehouse, the Sanders Co. has put a stop to the self-taught graffiti artists who had been...

Serving up Afghan fare. (Informed source).(Afghan Kabob Hut restaurant in Baltimore)(Brief Article)
November 30, 2001... A Federal Hill Afghan restaurant whose launch date was postponed two months because of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks is finally open for business. Afghan Kabob Hut on Light Street was slated to open Sept. 13 or 14, said Mumtaz Qahir, a...

Gainers & Losers.(Brief Article)
November 30, 2001... Too bad Gov. Glendening didn't know the recession started months ago. He could have shelved the tax cut sooner. Business climate Gov. Parris Glendening wants to put an end to your tax cut -- another blow for Maryland's reputation. ...

Minority goals met on StanBalt tower project.(Southern Management Corp.; minority contractors; apartment buildings in Baltimore)(Brief Article)
November 30, 2001... David S. Hillman once quipped to a news reporter that it was "easier to go to the moon" than to find available minority contractors for one of his projects. Now, Hillman has found more than enough. Hillman's Vienna, Va.-based Southern...

Governor considers state-sponsored bio fund. (Health care & biotechnology).(Maryland; bioscience fund)(Brief Article)
November 30, 2001... Perhaps a state-sponsored venture fund for bioscience companies is not too far-fetched an idea for Maryland. Ernst & Young (www.ey.com) and MdBio Inc. (www.mdbio.org) a Frederick-based nonprofit industry group, recently submitted a...

Feds choose Maryland. (Health care & biotechnology).(as testing ground for health care provider reform)(Brief Article)
November 30, 2001... The federal government has chosen Maryland as a testing ground for nursing home and other health care provider reform. Beginning April 2002, Maryland and four other states will issue quality of care measures for nursing homes via the...

Passport profits. (Health care & biotechnology).(Passport Health contract with Maryland provides vaccinations to Postal employees)(Brief Article)
November 30, 2001... The anthrax scare has generated more money and new business for Passport Health. As the U.S. Post Office heightens awareness to the threat of anthrax, Baltimore-based Passport has contracted with Maryland's postal workers to give the flu...

Maryland health care commission. (News & notes).(Barbara G. McLean named director)(Brief Article)
November 30, 2001... After acting as interim director of the Maryland Health Care Commission for about a year, Barbara G. McLean has been named head of the state agency that regulates Maryland's health care providers. McLean became interim director of the...

Maryland medbank program. (News & notes).(expanded services cover all regions of state)(Brief Article)
November 30, 2001... The Maryland MedBank Program, a state-administered program to provide medications to underinsured and uninsured Marylanders, has been expanded to cover all regions of the state.

Investment firm calls columbia bank target. (Banking & Finance).(could be a prime acquisition target for North Carolina banking giant BB&T Corp.)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
November 30, 2001... Columbia Bancorp (www.thecolumbiabank.com), which is trading at a fairly low price-to-book value, is ripe for acquisition, according to analysts at Friedman, Billings, Ramsey & Co. Inc. (www.fbr.com), an Arlington, Va., investment bank. ...

CPA forms dental group. (Banking & Finance).(Academy of Dental CPAs)(Brief Article)
November 30, 2001... Allen M. Schiff a partner and director of health care services for the Towson-based certified public accounting firm of Grabush, Newman & Co. PA (www.gnco.com), was one of eight CPAs who helped to found the Academy of Dental CPAs last month...

Mercantile rebound?. (Banking & Finance).(Mercantile Bankshares Corp. poised for rally if Fed stops interest rate cuts)(Brief Article)
November 30, 2001... SunTrust Robinson Humphrey bank analyst Christopher Marinac is fairly certain that Mercantile Bankshares Corp. (www.mercantile.net) is poised for a rally if the Federal Reserve stops cutting interest rates. Shares of Mercantile were...

Columbia firm tapped to build Pa. golf course. (Hospitality & Tourism).(Rainmaker Development Inc.,)(Brief Article)
November 30, 2001... Rainmaker Development Inc., a Columbia developer, won a $14 million contract this month to build an 18-hole, public golf course in Lower Makefield Township in southeastern Pennsylvania. Scott Arterburn, a Rainmaker principal, said the...

Md. may get federal help. (Hospitality & Tourism).(Maryland tourism industry; federal marketing funding)(Brief Article)
November 30, 2001... A new proposal from a Florida congressman could solve, at least temporarily, one of the Maryland tourism industry's most nagging problems: The lack of marketing dollars. U.S. Rep. Mark Foley's, R-Fla., American Travel Promotion Act would...

BACVA deals with big loss. (Hospitality & Tourism).(Baltimore Area Convention and Visitors Association; Church of God in Christ pulls plug on Baltimore convention)(Brief Article)
November 30, 2001... It's official: Baltimore has lost yet another convention, the sixth group to cancel since -- and because of -- the Sept. 11 tragedies. Officials at the Baltimore Area Convention and Visitors Association (www.baltimore.org) have confirmed...

Hopkins strikes deal at one charles center. (Real estate & Economic development).(Johns Hopkins University; office building)(Brief Article)
November 30, 2001... Johns Hopkins University is close to signing a lease for a substantial slice of space at One Charles Center, an office building owned by Orioles chief Peter G. Angelos. The university (www.jhu.edu) is planning to take 60,000 square feet...

Fledgling lawyers. (Real estate & Economic development).(Denick & Hyman P.A. opens offices to new lawyers)(Brief Article)
November 30, 2001... One Baltimore law firm doesn't think incubator space should be limited to technology and biotechnology startups. So, Denick & Hyman P.A. is taking the concept to a whole new level. The firm recently leased the third floor of the Sun...

Santoni's joins the web world. (Tech watch).(Brief Article)
November 30, 2001... When Savino "Pop" Santoni opened up his Highlandtown grocery store in 1931 as a way to make some extra cash -- he was a tinner at Bethlehem Steel at the time -- he had no idea that his legacy Would end up on the World Wide Web. But that...

Net 'freedom' bill stirs debate: Small telecom firms fight effort to lift restrictions on big bells. (baltimore.tech).(Brief Article)
November 30, 2001... Providers of local telephone service in Maryland and throughout the nation are doing everything they can to stop a single piece of federal legislation -- one they say will cost the industry more than 77,000 jobs nationwide. The...

Stack snapshot: Aether systems inc.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
November 30, 2001... NASDAQ:AETH Owings Mills-based Aether Systems Inc., a developer of wireless software applications for hand-held devices, hasn't fared as well this year as it did last year when its stock was trading above $300 a share. The company's...

BBJ tech 25: A glance at greater Baltimore's leading public technology companies.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
November 30, 2001... * BBJ Tech 25: A glance at Greater Baltimore's leading public technology companies This Last Week's Week's Net Percent Company Name ...

TEK DigTel. (Venture corner).(to delist its over-the-counter market stock)(Brief Article)
November 30, 2001... TEK DigTel notified the Securities and Exchange Commission that it plans to delist itself from, die over-the-counter market. The Germantown company also filed a Form 15 with the SEC to suspend its obligation to file periodic reports,...

Bethesda-based American capital strategies Ltd. (Venture corner).(new member in board of directors)(Brief Article)
November 30, 2001... Bethesda-based American Capital Strategies Ltd. (Nasdaq: ACAS) announced this month that Eugene L. Podsiadlo has been elected to its board of directors. Podsiadlo was president of Warburg Pincus Funds and managing director of Warburg...

Largest minority-owned business in the Baltimore area.(Statistical Data Included)
November 30, 2001... Largest minority-owned business in the Baltimore area (Ranked by gross revenue in 2000) Rank/ Name 2000 Number of last Address total employees year...

Who's who in Bankruptcy law.(lawyers; Baltimore area)
November 30, 2001... Lawrence D. Coppel Gordon, Feiblatt, Rothman, Hoffberger & Hollander LLC Title: Member and chairman of the bankruptcy and restructuring group Age: 57 Residence: Howard County One of the most intriguing bankruptcy...

People.(Baltimore businesspeople; appointments)(Brief Article)
November 30, 2001... The People section publicizes management-level hirings and promotions of area businesspeople. We also publicize elections to nonprofit and charitable organizations. We do not run professional certifications or designations. Send announcements...

Largest charitable foundations in the Baltimore area.(Directory)(Illustration)(Statistical Data Included)
November 30, 2001... Largest charitable foundations in the Baltimore area (Ranked by total asssets in fiscal year 2000) Rank/ Name Fiscal 2000 last Address total assets/ year Phone / Fax /...

Glen burnie bancorp: Proxy corner: A weekly analysis of Baltimore-area public companies.(Brief Article)(Company Profile)(Statistical Data Included)
November 30, 2001... 101 Grain Highway, SE. / Glen Burnie, 21061 / 410-766-3300 / www.thebankofglenburnie.com Corporate profile The economy may be like shifting sands this year, but Glen Burnie Bancorp is making money. The company's net income for the...

Weekly gainers & losers.(Baltimore, Maryland stocks)(Brief Article)(Illustration)(Statistical Data Included)
November 30, 2001... Weekly Gainers & Losers Price Corporation 11/28/01 % Change 1. eChapman.com, Inc.(ECMN) $1.10 57.14 2. Medifast,...

Eventfully yours LLC. (Announcements).(opens new office)(Brief Article)
November 30, 2001... The managing partner of Eventfully Yours LLC, Helene M. Miller, has opened her new office at 4 Harko Court in Essex. The company specializes in designing and managing smashing events for non-profits, corporations, and community-based groups....

Marks, Thomas and associates. (Announcements).
November 30, 2001... Gilbert Thomas, vice president and senior principal of Marks, Thomas and Associates, received a distinguished service award from the Baltimore Chapter of the American Institute of Architects. The award recognized Thomas' years of volunteer...

Bolton offutt donovan inc. (Announcements).(Ross L Coffey elected to International Society of Certified Employee Benefit Specialists)(Brief Article)
November 30, 2001... Ross L. Coffey, a principal and partner in the Baltimore consulting firm Bolton Offutt Donovan Inc., was elected to the governing council of the International Society of Certified Employee Benefit Specialists.

Calendar.
November 30, 2001... Monday, Dec. 3 The Towson Business Association and Baltimore County present "The Annual Baltimore County Tree Lighting Ceremony." The festivities will begin at 6 p.m. with music by the Towson High Brass Choir and refreshments provided by...

OSHA delays citing violations of new rule. (News).(Brief Article)
November 30, 2001... The Occupational Safety and Health Administration agreed to not. cite employers for violations of its new recordkeeping rule for the. first 120 days of 2002; provided employers make a good faith effort to track workplace injuries. The rule...

House: Employers may offer investment advice. (News).(Brief Article)
November 30, 2001... The House passed legislation that allows employers to offer professional investment advice to their employees, as long as the financial advisers disclose any fees or potential conflicts of interest. Under the Retirement Security Advice...

Small-business owners recover from Sept. 11. (News).(Brief Article)
November 30, 2001... A monthly survey of small-business. owners shows .they have recovered from the shock of Sept 11, but hiring plans fell to their lowest level since 1993. The NFIB Education Foundation's Small Business' Optimism' Index gained 2.1 points in...

Phone, desk and personality: Home-based workers have more office-design choices. (Entrepreneurs).(Brief Article)
November 30, 2001... Lisa Haywood's bedroom doubles for her office. But she's grown tired of spending all her waking and sleeping time confined in the same space. "Right now it's really cramped," Haywood said. "I would like more space, built-in bookshelves....

Shop talk: Would you consider selling your business, why or why not?(Jonathan Gilbert, owner, Oak Lane Practice; Anna Sudduth Fink, Ellis & Associates)(Brief Article)
November 30, 2001... Jonathan Gilbert Owner, Oak Lane Practice / Towson "Simply put, the answer is no. Oak Lane Practice is a successful alternative medical clinic. Its success or failure depends entirely upon our skill and the service we provide. If we...

Test first, promote later. (Career tracks).(how to promote without making employee a manager)(Brief Article)
November 30, 2001... "Good news! You've been promoted." For many technical stars, a.k.a. solo contributors, those words spell dread. Many technical performers are perfectly happy doing what they were trained to do. People problems that come with...

Biotech needs more help. (Opinion).(Brief Article)
November 30, 2001... Downtown Baltimore is anchored on its eastern and western ends by two of the country's most respected health care institutions -- world-renowned Johns Hopkins Medicine and the University of Maryland Medical System. No other region in the...

Numbers don't add up for dems in redistricting game. (Inside politics).(Maryland redistricting)(Brief Article)
November 30, 2001... Democratic mapmakers have a problem. In fact, they have two problems. The first is Del. Mark K Shriver, and the second is Sen. Christopher Van Hollen, both of Montgomery County, both running for the Congressional seat of Rep. Constance...

Hopkins, state work to alter biotech future. (INEXACT SCIENCE).
November 23, 2001... From his office on the campus of Johns Hopkins Hospital, Dr. Elias Zerhouni can see the future of biotechnology in Baltimore. He can envision the planned bioscience park just north of the legendary hospital in East Baltimore. He can...

Tourney behind on bills: Ex-State Farm event faces possible demise.
November 23, 2001... Baltimore's annual Senior PGA Tour event is in such financial disarray that many vendors haven't been paid from July's tournament And next year's event could be in jeopardy unless a corporate sponsor can step in to provide it with some...

Developer sticks with spec office.
November 23, 2001... While other developers are delaying their projects in this drooping economy, David S. Brown Enterprises is pushing ahead with a speculative office building in Baltimore County. The company has completed site work and has already begun...

Prime gets a break. (Informed Source).
November 23, 2001... Beleaguered Prime Retail Inc. won't have to deal with the wrath of angry shareholders -- at least for now. U.S. District Court Judge J. Frederick Motz this month dismissed a class-action lawsuit filed last year by the Baltimore REIT's...

Gainers & losers.
November 23, 2001... The Lottery has some competition. Anyone seen Osama? Gossip The Glendenings' quickie divorce gives rumor mongers little fodder to chew on. We want more dirt. Hasim Rahman The Rock rolled pretty quickly. At least he had a star-studded...

Restaurants struggle, close in downturn.
November 23, 2001... Local restaurants are suffering -- and some are even closing -- in the prolonged fallout from Sept 11. At least two Baltimore-area eateries have closed their doors permanently in the past three weeks, and some others are tightening their...

Crawford sought out wachovia name, deal. (Banking & Finance).
November 23, 2001... When Crawford, Slevin & Hicks Inc. sold out to Charlotte based Wachovia Corp. (www.wachovia.com), one of the things it really wanted was the Wachovia name and products. Crawford, Slevin & Hicks Chief Operating Officer John McNicholas...

Montgomery park seeking leasing agent. (Real Estate & Economic Development).
November 23, 2001... Samuel K Himmehich Jr., the lead developer of Baltimore's former Montgomery Ward & Co. warehouse, is shopping around a big chunk of business for a commercial brokerage firm. Himmelrich is now talking to "a handful" of firms about...

State eyes biotech manufacturing facility. (Health Care & Biotechnology).
November 23, 2001... With bioscience companies clamoring for more manufacturing resources, the state is considering buying the Bio Science Contract Production Corp. facility in East Baltimore, state technology leaders said. If the state buys the building, it...

Radio One strikes deal with ABC. (Marketing & Media).
November 23, 2001... Radio One Inc. is now partnering with ABC Radio Networks (www.abcradio.com) in a deal the company hopes will help it draw advertising revenues from an expanded client base. The companies announced the deal Nov. 6. Radio One officials...

Incubator dollars on the rise. (Tech Watch).
November 23, 2001... Exactly how much of an economic impact technology business incubators have in Maryland still remains to be seen. What state officials do know now -- thanks to a recent study conducted by RESI Research & Consulting (www.reiusa.org) at...

Aether systems. (News & notes).
November 23, 2001... Owings Mills-based Aether Systems (www.aethersystems.com) secured a deal with Gasel Transportation Lines Inc. worth more than $100,000 a year.

Telecommunication systems inc. (News & Notes).
November 23, 2001... Annapolis-based TeleCommunication Systems Inc. (www.telecom sys.com), a developer of wireless software systems, inked deals with Motorola and Verizon Wireless that could be worth millions of dollars in the coming years.

TEKsystems inc. (News & Notes).
November 23, 2001... Columbia-based sister companies TEKsystems Inc. (www.teksys tems.com) and Maxim Group decided to merge into a single firm under the TEKsystems name. Both are information technology consulting firms.

Music, poetry and technology: Baltimore-area tech companies hire, encourage area artists.
November 23, 2001... Turning pro bono work into cash is a bit of a trick, but John Berndt did it. As founder and chief executive officer of Baltimore-based The Berndt Group, a Web development firm, Berndt decided to create a Web site for The Charles Theatre...

Stock snapshot: Verizon Communications Inc.
November 23, 2001... NYSE:VZ The former Bell Atlantic Corp. and GTE Corp. telephone giant Verizon Communications Inc. has taken some punches this year on the Big Board, but the firm's stock has held its own. The company's stock hit its 52-week low of...

BBJ tech 25: A glance at Greater Baltimore's leading public technology companies.
November 23, 2001... BBJ Tech 25: A glance at Greater Baltimore's leading public technology companies This Last Week's Week's Net Percent Company Name ...

Venture corner.
November 23, 2001... A weekly look at business funding news in the Mid-Atlantic region. * In TANK Inc., a Laurel-based, privately held company, secured a $17 million investment from Carlyle/Riverstone Global Energy and Power Fund 1 LP. The Money will be used...

Through thick and thin: Brokers are still putting their money on unpredictable market.
November 23, 2001... Wall Street is just a shell of what it was 12 months ago. The Nasdaq Composite Index is down 42 percent since last year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down about eight percent, and there is a big hole in the ground as a reminder of the...

Largest accounting firms in the baltimore area.
November 23, 2001... Largest accounting firms in the Baltimore area (Ranked by number of CPAs in Baltimore area offices) Rank/ Name Local CPAs/ last Address tech. consultants year ...

Now may be a good time for interest rate swap. (Finance 2001).
November 23, 2001... A conversation was recently overheard in which one business owner told the other that he entered into an interest rate swap and that his accountant is very glad that he did. His banker is even happier and his controller is ecstatic. But what...

History proves market will survive tragedy. (Financial Future).
November 23, 2001... As terrible a blow as Sept. 11 was to America, its direct fiscal impact on a $10 trillion U.S. economy was actually rather small. To the extent the terrorists hoped to deliver a crushing blow to our markets and financial system, they have...

Largest money managers in the baltimore area. (The List).
November 23, 2001... Largest money managers in the Baltimore area (Ranked by assets under management in fiscal year 2000) Name Assets under U.S. active assets Rank Address management ...

Taking stock.
November 23, 2001... Taking Stock The BBJ Index (*) of 87 stocks closed at 1134.52 on Nov. 20, 2001. * Weekly Gainers & Losers Price Corporation 11/20/01 %...

Proxy corner: A Weekly Analysis of Baltimore-Area Public Companies.
November 23, 2001... I C ISAACS I.C. Isaacs & Co. Inc. 3840 Bank St./ Baltimore, 21224 / (410) 342-8200/ www.icisaacs.com Corporate profile After being delisted from Nasdaq this spring because it failed to meet stock price requirements, I.C....

People.
November 23, 2001... The People section publicizes management-level hirings and promotions of area businesspeople. We also publicize elections to nonprofit and charitable organizations. We do not run professional certifications or designations. Send announcements...

Calendar.
November 23, 2001... Monday, Nov. 26 state of the County Address, presented by the Baltimore County Chamber of Commerce, will be held at 11:30 a.m. at Sheraton Baltimore North in Towson, Baltimore County Executive C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger will present his...

Investing with caution. (Carrer Tracks).
November 23, 2001... Our erratic stock market and shaky economic environment are causing many 401(k) plan owners concern. Should you change your investment portfolio? Is now the right time to dump your poor performers? Would you fare better by leaving your...

Right-to-work not a priority. (OPINION).
November 23, 2001... Maryland has been painted as an union-friendly state that's an abhorrent place to do business. State economic development officials must battle that perception -- and neighboring states that claim to be more welcoming -- in their efforts to...