Baltimore Business Journal articles from October 1999

Baltimore Business Journal archives from October 1999

IHS slide worries investors.(Integrated Health Services Inc.'s stock price plummets)
October 1, 1999... After a year-long slide that brought its stock price precipitously close to penny-stock range, analysts and investors are wondering aloud if Integrated Health Services Inc. can survive. The most public sign that the Sparks-based health-care...

BGE plans skyscraper.(Baltimore Gas & Electric Co. revives plans of expanding its substation)(Statistical Data Included)
October 1, 1999... Staubach Co. marketing substation A real estate company led by former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach is shopping the rights to build a new skyscraper above a downtown power substation. Baltimore Gas & Electric Co., the...

Murphy takes MBA reins.(Kathleen Murphy is the new executive vice-president of the Maryland Bankers Association)(Statistical Data Included)
October 1, 1999... Unlike their big-city colleagues, bank employees in the nation's small towns and rural villages did not always have the benefit of attending seminars on the latest trends in financial services. That put them at a huge competitive...

Businesses ponder the road not taken.(proposed highway internconnector that would link Central Maryland with Washington, D.C. suburbs that has the support of business groups and economic development agencies scrapped by Governor Parris N. Glendening)
October 1, 1999... Highway project still has strong support Business groups and economic development agencies pushed hard for the Intercounty Connector, a proposed highway that would link Central Maryland with the Washington, D.C., suburbs. Now, with the...

New software adds fuel to Web tax debate.(Taxware International Inc.)(Statistical Data Included)
October 1, 1999... Electronic commerce tax opponents contend it would be virtually impossible for Internet retailers to track sales-tax rates and exemptions for 45 states and more than 7,000 localities. No problem, says Taxware International CEO Daniel...

Road to riches.(Tourism & Hospitality)(Baltimore, Maryland's travel industry benefits from heritage tourists)(Statistical Data Included)
October 1, 1999... Travel industry benefits from heritage tourists In the summertime during the 1880s, Baltimore's elite would take the Short: Line Railroad to spend the warm months at their summer homes in Catonsville. Many were historic Victorian...

A conversation with ... Jon Koscher.(Tourism & Hospitality)(general manager, Sheraton Inner Harbor Hotel, Baltimore, MD)(Interview)(Statistical Data Included)
October 1, 1999... general manager, Sheraton Inner Harbor Hotel Baltimore's hospitality community is a rapidly changing landscape these days, with cranes looming over the shell of John Paterakis's Inner Harbor East Marriott and rumors abounding about when...

If checking in jewels, be sure you're insured.(Tourism & Hospitality)(Maryland innkeeper's law)
October 1, 1999... Hotel operators face a number of challenges, including recruiting and retaining good employees, keeping the hotel properly maintained and facing new competition. Hotels had long been held to be an insurer of the guest's personal safety and...

Hospitality school encourages industry.(Tourism & Hospitality)(Marriott Hospitality High School)
October 1, 1999... Sixteen-year-old Daveren Anthony knows a good opportunity when he sees it. This summer, he read in the paper about the development of a charter high school for kids interested in the hospitality industry. "I jumped right on it," said...

Hotels teach through seminars and videos.(Tourism & Hospitality)
October 1, 1999... How does a hotel desk clerk learn to smile at even the most aggravating guest? How do employees learn to draw the line between helpful and cloying, and other subtleties that separate truly fine service from merely adequate? "Human...

Head-hunters find Baltimore.(professional recruiting firms descend on Baltimore, Maryland to find employees for companies having a tough time filling vacancies)(Statistical Data Included)
October 1, 1999... High-skilled, high-paid technology professionals aren't the only ones profiting from the Baltimore-Washington area's worker shortage. Professional recruiting firms - or "head-hunters," as they're sometimes called - are jumping into the...

Making room.(downtown Baltimore office space in high demand)(Statistical Data Included)
October 8, 1999... High-profile downtown exits open up top-tier office space If CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield follows through with its plans to move 500 employees out of downtown Baltimore next year, it is likely the 110,000-square-foot space won't stay...

Larsen targets race bias.(use of credit reports by insurance underwriters; Steven B. Larsen)(Statistical Data Included)
October 8, 1999... Maryland's chief insurance regulator is ratcheting up an investigation into the use of credit reports in insurance underwriting, a practice that critics say translates into coverage denials and higher premiums for minorities. Steven B....

NEA taps Eisner for $5M deal.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
October 8, 1999... Eisner Communications Inc., one of Baltimore's largest advertising agencies, has picked up its second multimillion-dollar account in a month. The National Education Association, one of the nation's largest professional employee...

Washington Gas invades BGE territory.(Baltimore Gas & Electric )(Statistical Data Included)
October 8, 1999... A subsidiary of Washington Gas Light Co. is hitting Baltimore Gas & Electric Co. hard by striking natural gas deals with some high-profile clients. In the past year, Herndon, Va.-based Washington Gas Energy Services Inc., the unregulated...

MuniMae makes big acquisition.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
October 8, 1999... Baltimore-based Municipal Mortgage & Equity LLC, an investment firm that specializes in tax-free real estate bonds, is buying Midland Cos., of Clearwater, Fla., in a deal worth $45 million. MuniMae officials say the acquisition will move the...

Legg Mason buys piece of trust.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
October 8, 1999... Legg Mason Inc. paid an undisclosed amount for a 50 percent stake in a trust company owned by Bingham Dana LLP, a 400-attorney law firm in Boston. The new entity, Bingham Legg Advisers LLC, will manage about $1.3 billion in assets for the law...

Condor CEO resigns.
October 8, 1999... Dan Roche is leaving his nest at Annapolis-based Condor Technology Solutions Inc. The man who was hired to lead the computer services firm into the new millennium resigned as president and chief operating officer earlier this week. As to...

Football goes online.(Baltimore Ravens-Cleveland Browns game broadcast via Internet in Europe)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
October 8, 1999... Live NFL games on the Internet, in full-motion video with a better image quality than what's seen from over-the-air broad-casters CBS or Fox, has arrived. The Baltimore Ravens -Cleveland Browns game on Sept. 26 was available on the...

Accounting change.(Carnegie International Corp.)(Brief Article)
October 8, 1999... Six month's since trading of its stock was halted on the American Stock Exchange because of an ongoing investigation into its financial records, Hunt Valley-based Carnegie International Corp. fired its accountants. Company officials...

Gainers and Losers.(Brief Article)
October 8, 1999... It will be tough to create an Inner Harbor in the desert, but we're sure The Cordish Co. will roll a winner. MuniMae Baltimore-based Municipal Mortgage & Equity LLC becomes a billion-dollar company with its purchase of the Clearwater,...

Annapolis National chooses new leader.(Mark H. Anders)(Statistical Data Included)
October 8, 1999... Annapolis National Bancorp Inc. ended its five-month search for a new chief executive officer this week with the appointment of a long-time local banker to the post. Mark H. Anders, 45, assumed the position, left open after John W....

Owings Mills thrift wants state bank status.
October 8, 1999... An Owings Mills thrift that is rapidly building its commercial loan business wants to shed its mortgage lender image. Regal Savings Bank FSB has applied to federal and state regulators for approval to convert from a federal thrift to a...

Columbia gets e.spire call center.
October 8, 1999... E.spire Communications Inc., one of the country's leading telecommunications providers, is planning to consolidate two of its local offices and move several hundred employees into a remodeled Columbia office building. The Annapolis...

Bill means business for welfare mothers.
October 8, 1999... Can welfare mothers become successful entrepreneurs? The directors of Women's Business Centers think many of them can, and Congress is betting on it. The House of Representatives passed a bill Oct. 4 that would boost the efforts of Women's...

Connecticut lender expands into Towson.
October 8, 1999... A fast-growing young lender is setting down roots in the Baltimore area. Business Lenders LLC, based in Hartford, Conn., has been making a limited number of loans in Maryland since it was founded in 1994. Now the company is opening a...

Bank of Glen Burnie opens eighth branch.
October 8, 1999... The Bank of Glen Burnie is extending its reach further south in Anne Arundel County with the opening this week of a branch in Severna Park. The branch is the $220 million-asset bank's eighth -- and one of only two locations south of the...

Equitable Cos. widens product, service plans.
October 8, 1999... The Equitable Cos. Inc., the New York-based insurance giant, recently renamed itself AXA Financial Inc. to reflect a broadening of its business. The company, which has a substantial presence in the Baltimore area, offers a range of...

Rosen re-elected chair at Gordon, Feinblatt.
October 8, 1999... The Baltimore law firm of Gordon, Feinblatt, Rothman, Hoffberger & Hollander has re-elected Barry F.Rosen to a third five-year term a chairman and chief executive officer. Rosen, 49, said he is committed to retaining the firm's independent...

Women's Law Center honors appeals judge.
October 8, 1999... The Women's Law Center of Maryland is recognizing Maryland Court of Appeals Chief Judge Robert M. Bell for his contributions to the field of family law. The Towson-based center will present its seventh annual Rosalyn B. Bell award to Bell...

Manekin LLC expands construction division.
October 8, 1999... Manekin LLC, one of the Baltimore area's largest real estate companies, is expanding its construction division to keep up with an influx of new projects. The company has hired five new employees, including three project super-intendents,...

Bittner is reappointed state real estate chief.
October 8, 1999... William F. Bittner Jr., a longtime Baltimore area real estate broker, has been reappointed as Maryland's real estate commissioner. A 26-year veteran of the real estate industry, Bittner was initially appointed to the post by Gov. Parris N....

Prime Retail buys back stock and repays debt.
October 8, 1999... Prime Retail Inc., one of the world's largest owners and managers of factory outlet centers, has wrapped up its repurchase of more than 1 million shares of its preferred stock, allowing it to repay a $33 million note. In March, the...

RTKL forms telecom, technology division.(Brief Article)
October 8, 1999... RTKL Associates Inc., a Baltimore-based architecture, planning and design firm, has formed a telecommunications and technology group in an effort to better serve those rapidly growing industries. The new group will offer design development...

CoStar says California rival used its photos.(seeks injunction against LoopNet)
October 8, 1999... Bethesda-based CoStar Group is suing rival LoopNet and its CEO Dennis DeAndre for violating copyright laws. The suit, filed in federal court in Maryland, charges that San Francisco-based LoopNet willfully copied, distributed and displayed...

REIT scores hat trick in P.G. business park.(Washington Real Estate Investment Trust)(Brief Article)
October 8, 1999... Washington Real Estate Investment Trust bought the 30,800-square-foot North America Vaccine Building in Beltsville for $2.2 million. North America Vaccine Inc. leased back the building for 10 years. The Washington, D.C.-based real...

Digene looking for profits in U.K. venture.(with sceening test)
October 8, 1999... Digene Corp., the Beltsville-based maker of DNA screening tests, stands to gain big from a major United Kingdom endorsement of the tests. In a report published last week by the Imperial Cancer Research Fund, researchers concluded that women...

Mercy to train doctors in artery procedure.
October 8, 1999... Move over Johns Hopkins. The Mercy Vascular Center and Blood Flow Laboratory at Mercy Medical Center is becoming a primary teaching center for physicians seeking training on a new way to treat abnormal aortic aneurysms. Guidant Corp.,...

News & notes.
October 8, 1999... * On Oct. 1, Maryland's Patients' Bill of Rights Act of 1999 officially became law. The legislation increased access to medical specialists and specific non-generic drug prescriptions and requires either a 48-hour hospital stay following a...

Calculate your firm's efficiency.
October 8, 1999... Believe it or not, the combination of a calculator, a pen and a pad of paper is one of the most effective marketing tools available to you. With it you can determine advertising efficiency, sales efficiency, problem areas, and most importantly,...

Towson firm believes that bigger isn't necessarily better.(Schiavi and Wallace)
October 8, 1999... When Judith Schiavi and Barbara Wallace decided to start their own accounting firm, they knew they would have to keep their private practice small and focused if they were to succeed. "I would hate to be out trying to compete against other...

Does your company have a succession plan?
October 8, 1999... Alison Lane principal/Law Firm of Alison Velez lane LLC/Baltimore "As business leaders mature, retire at the finish line or seek new business opportunities, implementing a succession plan empowers the transition. Passing the company baton...

Most popular radio stations in the Baltimore area.
October 8, 1999... Most popular radio stations in the Baltimore area (ranked according to average 1/4 hour audience share for people ages 12 and up, Monday to Sunday, 6 a.m. to midnight) Name Rank Address Phone /...

SEP-IRAs are a possible solution for everyone.
October 8, 1999... As unemployment in this competitive job market remains at a record low, potential employees are looking for benefits like retirement plans. Unfortunately, the mandatory annual employer contributions of most pension plans can be...

Web company helps others make money.
October 8, 1999... It seems like just yesterday the big question was, "What do I have to do to get a Web site?" That question very rapidly evolved into the more sophisticated query, "How do I make money out here on the Web?" With his advanced...

Entrepreneur wants to reduce application paperwork.
October 8, 1999... When Joshua Reiter, president of Baltimore-based ApplicationsOnline LLC, was working in strategic Process management, he realized that many processes in higher education create an over-abundance of paper. In an effort to streamline that...

Middle River Aircraft introduces 'Six Sigma'.
October 8, 1999... Form of process control gives workers opportunity to evaluate projects Middle River Aircraft Systems Inc. has lots of cool gizmos, including an entire manufacturing plant full of the latest computer-driven equipment. But Ray Roquemore is...

Credit union 1st to use remote-teller system.
October 8, 1999... Michael J. Mesta needed his bank tellers to do the impossible. In order to reduce customer wait time without doubling his personnel expense, the president and CEO of Johns Hopkins Federal Credit Union needed his tellers to be in two places at...

Internet access boosts brokers' productivity.
October 8, 1999... The Mather Cos. Inc., a Cockeysville-based insurance wholesaler, has found a savvy way to increase broker productivity through the Internet and, in turn, increase its own profits. Thanks to Internet and CD-ROM access provided by The Mather...

Federation makes technology available.
October 8, 1999... If technology is to be the great social leveler -- opening the doors of prosperity and creating opportunity where none existed before -- this holds doubly true for the blind, many of whom have embraced technology as an avenue to economic...

Web design business has 'The Revelation'.
October 8, 1999... When visiting "The Revelation" one experiences technology in a way it has not been used before. Rand Interactive president John Snow has taken computer animation on the Internet a step further, creating an entire environment using...

Peremel puts trading in palms.
October 8, 1999... Peremel & Co. Inc., a Pikesville-based discount brokerage, recently introduced the Peremel Mobile Investor Network, a two-way pager-like device that receives real-time stock data and allows the user to buy and sell stocks. Utilizing a...

With innovation, start-ups bound for glory.
October 8, 1999... Despite the screaming headlines touting the Internet success stories of the day, marketing innovations and quiet success strategies are more likely to quicken the pulse. Marketing success comes in all shapes and sizes. The Internet...

Firm finds fortune in Internet security.
October 8, 1999... Anthony A. Caputo gives probably the most coherent explanation of the Internet security dilemma one is likely to hear. "The Internet is based on packet technology," he explains. "The information we send over the Internet is broken up into...

Seniors benefit from young Web industry.
October 8, 1999... Laurie Schwartz Knows one thing for sure: All the information in the world isn't worth a dime if you can't get to it quickly and easily. That's why, when she launched her Internet resource page for seniors, she spent only part of her time...

Local high schools lead way in innovations.
October 8, 1999... Scott Paulis was named one of the state's top 10 youth entrepreneurs in Maryland for 1999 by the U.S. Small Business Administration while he was a senior at Centennial high School. Paulis, now a freshman at Virginia Tech, was recognized by...

Insurance gets an online jolt.
October 8, 1999... When insurance brokers from the Consolidated Insurance Center meet with prospective clients, personalizing insurance plans takes only some mouse clicks on a laptop computer. Gone are the days when Consolidated's brokers, after first...

USi buys Conn. firm to bolster sales staff.(Brief Article)
October 8, 1999... USinternetworking Inc. continues to grow at a lightning-fast pace. The Annapolis-based company, which leases software over the Internet, recently bought Connecticut-based Conklin and Conklin, a reselling and systems integration firm. ...

Computer magazine gives UM thumbs up.
October 8, 1999... Officials with the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland, College Park were not surprised when ComputerWorld magazine named its technology-oriented MBA program third-best in the nation. In fact, they've known for...

Hey, Tommy Lee, help us find our fugitive file.
October 8, 1999... In the movie "The Fugitive II," due out next summer, Tommy Lee Jones leads a team of U.S. Marshals in a hunt for a fugitive computer file that escapes when a train slams into a busload of computers en route to a work release program. ...

Blaustein revolutionized the gasoline industry.
October 8, 1999... NOT MANY MEN HAD THE COURAGE to take on Standard Oil in its heyday. Baltimorean Louis Blaustein did. In less than two decades, the Russian immigrant would build literally a one-horse operation into the American Oil Co. -- an empire that...

Printing for the masses.
October 8, 1999... ONE OF THE BEST THINGS GOING FOR Ottmar Mergenthaler, the inventor of a printing machine that brought publishing into the modem age, was that he was not printer. Mergenthaler was a watchmaker, and historians say it was his workshop savvy...

BBJ INDEX [*].(News Briefs)
October 8, 1999... BBJ INDEX [*] Date Average Wednesday, Sept. 9 1457.61 Wednesday, Sept. 15 1440.90 Wednesday, Sept. 22 1436.09 Wednesday, Sept. 29 1437.98 Wednesday, Oct. 6 1464.82 ...

Mid-Atlantic Realty Trust.
October 8, 1999... 170 W. Ridgely Road, Suite 300 / Lutherville 21093 / (410) 684-2000 / www.martreit.com Corporate profile Mid-Atlantic Realty Trust is continuing to boost its bottom line through the redevelopment and acquisition of several shopping...

PEOPLE.(News Briefs)
October 8, 1999... ARCHITECTURE Heath Design Group Inc., a Baltimore architectural firm, named Victoria S. Tom as vice president. Tom has over 19 years experience, including hospitality, retail, senior living, country clubs, cruise ships, health care and...

Lewin's plan shouldn't be dismissed yet.
October 8, 1999... Maryland's economic development chief Richard C. "Mike" Lewin presented a plan last week that is rightfully scary to anyone still feeling the sting of spending millions in taxpayer money to keep Marriott Corp. in Maryland. But politicians who...

Innovators deserve praise.
October 8, 1999... Technology is the great equalizer. That will be the lesson and legacy of the last decade of the 20th century. During the 1990s, an upstart Seattle software firm led by a geeky future billionaire whizzed by IBM and other behemoths to become...

CareFirst's departure could spark imitation.
October 8, 1999... When CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield announced it was moving 500 jobs from downtown to the suburbs, we had to wonder, who's next? McCormick & Co. Inc. left so long ago that scarcely anyone remembers. USF&G, now owned by the St. Paul Cos.,...

Young case should be office's death knell.
October 8, 1999... When state prosecutor Stephen Montanarelli failed to convince both judge and jury of former Sen. Larry Young's brazen misdeeds, the office looked to the world as if the laughing-stock state lawyers had rolled over and played dead. ...

LETTERS.
October 8, 1999... Columnist Alison Lane put fun twist on getting lease Dear Editor: The lease negotiation piece by Alison V. Lane ["Do you have the courage for lease negotiation," Aug. 27, Page 26] was fantastic. Business often suffers from an image of...

P.G. County executive opposes living wage.
October 8, 1999... Opponents of living-wage legislation in Prince George's County appear to have a strong ally in their camp -- County Executive Wayne Curry. Curry is leaning against a yet-to-be introduced bill by County Councilman Peter Shapiro,...

IHS investors pin hopes on bill.(Integrated Health Services, proposed Medicare bill in Congress)(Government Activity)
October 15, 1999... As Integrated Health Services Inc. continues to get pounded on Wall Street, investors are hoping a new Medicare bill in Congress will help the company dig out of its financial hole. In the meantime, two directors of the Sparks-based nursing...

Md. lauded for sprawl constraints.
October 15, 1999... Sierra Club study may become political tool Recent high marks given to Maryland by a high-profile and well-respected environmental group may become a political football as advocates of the state's "Smart Growth" policies square off against...

Anne Arundel defends business record.
October 15, 1999... During her 1998 campaign, Janet S. Owens ran on a platform of slow growth and open-space preservation to oust the incumbent county executive in quality-of-life-conscious Anne Arundel County. Now, 10 months into the Democrat's...

Crossing enemy lines.
October 15, 1999... The beer at the new Cleveland Browns Stadium might not taste so good if Browns fans only knew of the beverage's origins. Some of the Browns' exclusive brew, Stadium Beer, is being made in Frederick, right in the backyard of Cleveland's main...

Profitable haunting.
October 15, 1999... "The Blair Witch Project" is still making money -- not only for the filmmakers, but for merchants in and near the tiny town of Burkittsville in Frederick County, which is now gearing up for its first Halloween as the site of a blockbuster...

Honorable mention.
October 15, 1999... The Curtis National Hand Center, at Baltimore's Union Memorial Hospital, received an Honorable Mention in Modern Healthcare magazine's 14th annual design awards. Not mentioned by Modern Healthcare's judges, but believed to be a very...

Gainers and Losers.
October 15, 1999... Cal Ripken Jr. now has a minority stake in the BayRunners; he certainly didn't miss the plane with that deal. [up arrow] International Basketball League With Cal behind one of its franchises, the future of this upstart league is already...

SBA study shows small business loans on rise.
October 15, 1999... The amount of money banks loaned to small businesses continued to increase in 1998 but at a slower rate than bank lending to large businesses. In 1998, commercial banks loaned a total of $371 million to small businesses -- an increase of...

Angry doctors to confront MedStar at hearing.
October 15, 1999... A group of Church Hospital doctors, patients and administrators are gearing up for a showdown Monday night at a hearing to hash out the historic medical institution's future. Columbia-based MedStar Health, which owns 142-year-old Church,...

Body shop chain files Chapter 11.
October 15, 1999... Canby Motors Inc., the family-owned Baltimore automotive repair business known for its catchy radio advertisements, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last week. According to documents filed Oct. 6 in U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Canby...

Wage hike may hurt welfare-to-work effort.
October 15, 1999... As vice president of new concepts development, Darrell Woods helped San Antonio-based Luby's develop a smaller prototype restaurant that can be staffed with only 35 full-time employees, compared with 70 in the low-price chain's full size...

PSC probes outages.
October 15, 1999... Following a year in which an ice storm, heat wave and hurricane wreaked havoc on the region's power and telephone lines, state regulators this week kicked off a detailed investigation into how effectively utilities weathered storm-related...

Rockville bans 'big boxes'.
October 15, 1999... It took years for big-box retailers to make their way onto Rockville Pike. Now Rockville is having a bout of buyer's remorse. Mayor Rose Krasnow and the City Council, concerned about traffic congestion and aesthetics on Montgomery...