By: Maria Zilberman
Have a computer virus and an itching for a new Baltimore Ravens hoodie? There’s a business in town that can fix both.
Raven Zone, owned by Ken Breeden, specializes in Ravens merchandise and has two locations in Maryland. A computer guy for two decades, Breeden has a Computer Repair of Baltimore shop in each of his retail stores.
While many people come in just for retail, those who bring in computers often get lost in the aisles, said store manager Sonny P., pictured at right.
“Next thing you know, we’re looking for them because their computer is ready to go,” he said.
Other businesses around town are also packing in the purple alongside their other products.
Shoppers at Poor Boys Garden & Hearth in Dundalk can come in for both a T-shirt and a bag of soil. (Poor Boys’ other location on Old Harford Road is sticking strictly to Ravens gear for now.)
And on Belair Road, customers can stop into DePalo & Sons Inc. for pots, pans and an “Angry Raven” hooded sweatshirt.
The reason for the cross-promotion is simple, according to Tony DePalo, owner of DePalo & Sons: as the Ravens first home playoff game in five years approaches, “everybody’s getting excited,” he said.
By: Melody Simmons
Even stingrays ought to have new digs.
That’s the theory behind a loan request scheduled to come before the Baltimore City Board of Estimates on Wednesday.
The board is poised to vote on a request for $500,000 by officials of the National Aquarium in Baltimore to renovate the stingray tank.
The exhibit, first opened in 1981, is one of the aquarium’s most popular, greeting all who enter because of its ground-floor location.
Inside the 265,000 gallon tank, dozens of stingrays of all shapes and sizes, some even with polka dots, glide through the water, back-lit by accent lights. They share the large tank with sea turtles and a few sharks.
The planned improvements would allow for reinforcements of the concrete walls in and underneath the exhibit and an upgrade to the electrical system.
The aquarium is located at 501 E. Pratt St. and is home to 16,500 aquatic critters.
By: Danny Jacobs
An IPO splash by a Baltimore tech company and a look at the upcoming General Assembly legislative session are among the most-read business stories of the week. But news of the potential seizure of vehicles from a Baltimore city agency topped the list. Here are the Top 5 most-read stories:
1. Sheriff to begin seizure process for Baltimore Housing Authority property to pay for lead paint judgment — by Melody Simmons
The Baltimore City Sheriff will begin the process of seizing nearly two dozen trucks, computers and other office supplies owned by the Housing Authority of Baltimore City Wednesday to auction and pay an outstanding lead paint poisoning judgment against the agency.
The process will identify and help appraise the property, held at 417 E. Fayette St., the address of the Housing Authority. Information collected will be used as part of one levy against the authority, which has been ordered to pay a total of nine judgments of nearly $12 million from state courts to victims of lead paint poisoning.
2. Baltimore-based Millennial Media files for $75M IPO — by Ben Mook
Mobile phone ad firm Millennial Media Inc. filed for an initial public offering on Thursday, valuing the Baltimore-based company’s stock at $75 million.
Millennial did not indicate which stock exchange it planned to be listed on and did not give a time frame for the public offering. The IPO has been expected since last year as the company continued to gain market share in the mobile advertising industry.
Read the rest of this entry »
By: Melody Simmons
Watch out, Brooklyn bagels are coming to Pikesville.
The Original Brooklyn Water Bagel Co. will soon open Maryland’s first location in 2,865 square feet of space in Hooks Village at 25 Hooks Lane.
Known for its bagels made with the not-so-secret ingredient of “real Brooklyn” water (which company officials claim they have cloned through a proprietary water treatment system), the shop is the first of an expected expansion totaling 25 locations in the state. I love the fact that the bagel company is based in Boca Raton, Fla., yet relies on a homemade version of authentic Brooklyn juice to give their bagels chew.
CBRE’s Tracey Holehan inked the deal for The Original Brooklyn Water Bagel Co. Ken Bernstein of Abeshouse Partners represented Hooks Village, LLC.
*****
D.C.-based Federal Capital Partners, which has acquired more than $3 billion in assets in nine years, has moved its headquarters to Montgomery County at 5425 Wisconsin Ave. in Chevy Chase.
“While we remain strongly invested in Washington, D.C., we had the opportunity to move our offices to a location that offered visibility, excellent access to all of our Washington area submarkets and a wonderful array of amenities for our employees at a Metro location,” said FCP Vice President and Controller Garland Faist.
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By: Melody Simmons
Baltimore is offering residents 10,000 newly-purchased smoke alarms armed with lithium batteries that will give the device a 10-year life.
In the wake of a deadly fire Thursday, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and Fire Chief James Clack urged residents to call 311 to obtain a free smoke alarm if needed from the Baltimore City Fire Department.
“The single most important life-saving device in a home is a smoke alarm,” the mayor said.
“If you or someone you love is in need of a smoke alarm, call 311,” Clack added. “Within two hours, our firefighters will be at your front door to install your smoke alarm. Our goal is to achieve zero fire deaths in the City of Baltimore.”
This summer, the city fire department used a federal grant to purchase the new smoke alarms for distribution to those in need.
Thursday’s fatal fire claimed the life of 84-year-old Mary Hines, a retired school teacher and principal who lived in the 2600 block of E. Biddle St., and gutted her rowhouse. Fire officials said the incident remains under investigation.
By: Melody Simmons
In an effort to help 720 workers laid off from RG Steel navigate the upcoming months of uncertainty, Baltimore County officials have scheduled a Jan. 12 forum in Dundalk to highlight unemployment and health insurance issues.
County Executive Kevin Kamenetz announced the outreach forum Thursday, two weeks after RG Steel employees received news of a minimum three-month furlough after the company idled the Sparrows Point “L” blast furnace.
“This is a stressful time for RG Steel workers and their families,” Kamenetz said. “Baltimore County and the United Steel Workers have come together to help RG Steel workers find the services they need to help deal with financial, emotional and career issues.”
The four-hour forum will begin at 11 a.m. at the United Steelworkers Union Local 9477 Hall located at 550 Dundalk Ave. Presentations will focus on unemployment insurance, union benefits and healthcare benefits.
Employees will also be able to access more personal information about coping with stress, housing assistance and foreclosure prevention, career services and educational opportunities.
Since RG Steel announced the layoffs, county officials have been working with steel workers union officials and state and federal agencies to assist employees, Kamenetz said.
Last month, the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation set up a dedicated hotline to speed up unemployment claims for idled Sparrows Point steelworkers. That number is 410-853-1700.
By: Jon Sham
As if Baltimoreans needed a reminder to support their Ravens as they head into the playoffs, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake issued a statement Wednesday urging residents to “Light the city purple.”
On Tuesday, members of the Ravens own painting crew sprayed giant images of the team logo on Federal Hill and at War Memorial Plaza in front of City Hall. (The mayor was not able to make it to the logo painting events Tuesday, as she was last year.)
“I want to first congratulate Coach Harbaugh, the players, and the entire Ravens organization for their fourth consecutive trip to the postseason,” the mayor said in a statement. “A home playoff game is going to be great for Baltimore.”
Purple light fixtures are being installed on city buildings by the Department of General Services, according to the statement. (Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz announced later Wednesday the dome of the Old Courthouse in Towson will be turned purple Friday.)
The painting crew will also do its midnight stenciling next week, said Heather Harness, advertising and marketing manager for the Ravens.
“Hotels, bars, and restaurants in the city will benefit from the thousands of fans coming out to watch the game together,” said Rawlings-Blake. “I look forward to joining thousands of fellow Ravens fans as we light this great city purple. Go Ravens!”
The Ravens have not had a home playoff game since after the 2006 season.
Watch the video from Tuesday’s giant logo stenciling at city hall
http://www.vimeo.com/34529204
By: Danny Jacobs
It seems food was never far from the minds of The Daily Record’s online readers in 2011. News about the comings and goings of supermarkets in Baltimore and Maryland are among the most-viewed business stories of the year online. The list also includes personnel changes at The Baltimore Sun and Rosecroft Raceway getting a new owner.
The Top 5 most-viewed business stories online of 2011 are as follows:
1. Fresh & Green’s opens in downtown Baltimore — July 1
Downtown Baltimore’s former Superfresh store reopened Friday, albeit a couple of hours later than officials said it would, with its new name, Fresh & Green’s, and new ownership.
Fresh & Green’s is owned by Scarsdale, N.Y.-based Mrs. Green’s Management Corp., which recently bought 10 local Superfresh stores in a joint venture. The store at Charles and Saratoga streets was mostly full of inventory and new produce Friday.
Many of Superfresh’s employees who re-applied for jobs were hired at the new store, said Matt Williams, CEO of parent company Natural Market Restaurants Corp., which owns the Mrs. Green’s chain.
2. Baltimore Sun looking to buy out up to 25 employees — Aug. 10
Management at The Baltimore Sun gave a buyout proposal to the Washington-Baltimore Newspaper Guild Wednesday, looking to cut from 20 to 25 positions.
Read the rest of this entry »
By: Danny Jacobs
Who doesn’t enjoy a good love story? The “engagement” of two of Baltimore’s beloved icons was the most-read Maryland Business blog post in 2011.
Other popular posts included the rebirth of a legendary Baltimore restaurant, new development in Canton and the search for a Hollywood star shooting on location in Charm City.
The most-read blog posts of the year are as follows:
1. Boh and wife –May 11
This Saturday, Natty Boh and Miss Salie Utz are getting hitched. Or chipped. Or whatever chips and beer do together.
You may have seen the billboard on the JFX. Natty Boh, mascot of National Bohemian Beer, proposed to Miss Salie Utz, of Utz Snacks fame, in 2007. Four years later the two are finally getting married.
2. Harris Teeter, Target announcement coming soon for Canton Crossing — Nov. 4
Owners of Canton Crossing, the new development now making its way through planning approvals in the city, are gearing up to announce two anchors: Harris Teeter and Target.
Read the rest of this entry »
By: Jon Sham
Johns Hopkins made big news this week with the announcement of its new medical school dean, but they are also seeking the dismissal of a lawsuit over a life sciences complex in Montgomery County. Those stories and more in this week’s business top 5.
1. Rothman named dean of Hopkins medical school, CEO of health system - by Nicholas Sohr
Paul B. Rothman, the next dean of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and CEO of Johns Hopkins Medicine, will take the helm as the future of American health care remains all but inscrutable beyond the next election and major Supreme Court decision.
Rothman described a “a time of turmoil” at his introductory news conference Monday, referring to attempts to overturn President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act and a week’s worth of Supreme Court arguments on the law set for March.
2. Marchers demand jobs at EBDI – by Melody Simmons
Chanting “We want jobs” and “If we don’t work, nobody works,” about 200 city residents marched on East Baltimore Development Inc. headquarters Tuesday, demanding more employment opportunities at the 88-acre redevelopment site.
Read the rest of this entry »
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