News Summary (64619)
Holiday trafficThe Maryland Transportation Authority, which operates Maryland’s toll roads, bridges and tunnels, said it expects more than 284,000 motor vehicles to travel through the I-95 toll plaza in Perryville; more than 670,000 vehicles to travel through the Fort McHenry Tunnel; and nearly 427,000 to cross the Chesapeake Bay Bridge over the Labor Day holiday.Management toolBenelogic LLC, a Timonium-based company that develops software applications and services to streamline employee benefits administration, rolled out its Human Resources Portal, a Web-based management application designed to provide human resources professionals with easier access to enrollment and plan data.Field testProtolex LLC, a Lanham-based, privately held aerospace and telecommunications engineering company, and Xybernaut Corp., of Alexandria, Va., a company that makes wearable/mobile computing hardware, software and services, are field-testing Xybernaut Mobile Assistant wearable computers, configured with Protolex automation tools, during reconstruction of the Pentagon.Live on the WebRobert J. Lawless, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Sparks-based spice maker McCormick & Co. Inc., and Francis A. Contino, executive vice president and chief financial officer, will make a presentation at the 2002 Prudential Back-to-School Conference at 9:45 a.m. EDT on Sept 5. The presentation will be shown live via the McCormick corporate Web site, www.mccormick.com. Communications firstIBM will build a public safety data communications network for the Washington-Northern Virginia-suburban Maryland region. The first interoperable wireless system to span multistate government jurisdictions, the network will enable officials from more than 40 local, state and federal agencies to communicate with each other in real time.Sandy Spring dividendSandy Spring Bancorp, of Olney, the parent company of Sandy Spring Bank, will pay a regular quarterly dividend of 17 cents per share for the third quarter of 2002. This dividend represents a year-to-date increase of 15.9 percent over the year-to-date dividend in 2001. The dividend is payable on Sept. 19 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on September 9.High assignmentTelenor Satellite Services, of Bethesda, has been selected to provide global mobile satellite high- and low-speed data and voice communications for the 2003 Allegra-NFB Seventh Summit Expedition, which in January will attempt to climb the highest point on the Australasian continent, the 16,023-foot-high Carstensz Pyramid, located in Western Papua on the island of New Guinea. Blind climber and athlete Erik Weihenmayer is among those participating in the expedition, which is co-sponsored by the Baltimore-based National Federation of the Blind. Salisbury revitalizationAn urban revitalization group in Salisbury wants a 250-bed dormitory for Salisbury University students built on top of a parking lot in the city’s downtown area. University officials say they will build a new dorm for the 2004 school year, but they have not made any decisions on where to build it. Officials say the university will give the downtown proposal serious consideration.Cheaper electricityMembers of the Ocean City Chamber of Commerce and the Ocean City Hotel-Motel-Restaurant Association will be the first small businesses in Maryland to form an electric co-op. The cooperative will let members bargain for cheaper electricity than they get with Conectiv. The businesses will get a universal rate. The new rates will kick in by next July 1.Museum in CrisfieldDevelopers of a condominium project in Crisfield are thinking about adding a museum to the residential units planned for the crabbing town’s waterfront. Project developers say the museum would feature items from the collection of Crisfield photographer and television personality Norris “Scorchy” Tawes. The development is planned for the site of the former University of Maryland Seafood Processing Laboratory at Brick Kiln.Gearing upA Salisbury-based electronics company may be in line for a piece of a $17 billion U.S. Coast Guard contract to build nearly 100 ships and 150 planes over the next 20 years. Harvard Custom Manufacturing is one of about 100 potential subcontractors around the country that could get some of the work, as part of a contract awarded to Bethesda-based Lockheed Martin Corp. and its competitor, Northrop Grumman.Airport securitySecurity at Salisbury’s airport will undergo changes in the next few months as the federal Transportation Security Administration takes over security from the airlines. The agency plans to hire up to 40 employees by Nov. 17. Plans call for six security agents at the security checkpoints and two agents checking baggage. The agency will also add agents by the end of the year to check cargo.Meredith House reopensThe historic Meredith House in Cambridge is open again after a six-year closure for renovations that included replacing about 80 percent of the interior walls, reinforcing the floor with steel beams and adding a new heating, ventilation and air conditioning system. The Georgian-style house, owned by the Dorchester County Historical Society, was originally built in 1760 and enlarged in the 1850s.Job openingThe head of a nursing home owned by Frederick County has resigned after a negative report from a state agency. Administrator Stan Selinski has resigned effective Sept. 19, the Citizens Nursing Home board of trustees said. A report earlier this month from the state Office of Health Care Quality found substandard care and unsanitary conditions. The agency fined the home more than $35,000 and suspended a nurse’s aide training program for two years.











