Maryland Daily Record Maryland's trusted source for business and legal news
Exelon takeover becomes official
Exelon Corp. will proceed immediately with staffing decisions now that the company has completed its $7.9 billion acquisition of Baltimore-based Constellation Energy Group, a company spokeswoman said. The deal, which had been in the works for nearly a year, became official on Monday. About 600 jobs are expected to be cut companywide; decisions will be made in the next 90 to 120 days, a company official said, with the cuts phased in over the next year to 18 months.
Sweeney gets Leopold trial
Retired Howard County Circuit Judge Dennis M. Sweeney, who presided over the corruption trial of former Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon, is being brought in to handle the trial of Anne Arundel County Executive John R. Leopold, who was indicted by a grand jury this month for misusing state troopers assigned for his protection.
No snow means more jobs
Maryland construction contractors took advantage of a mild winter and added 3,000 jobs during typically slow January, helping to force the state’s unemployment rate to its lowest level in three years. The statewide unemployment rate is 6.5 percent, down from December’s rate of 6.6 percent, according to the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation. The private sector accounted for 4,900 of the state’s 5,000 new jobs.
Towson U. taps Grasmick
Towson University has named Nancy S. Grasmick, Maryland’s former superintendent of schools, as a presidential scholar as part of an initiative to improve teacher preparation at the university. One of the main focuses of the initiative is improving science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education.
Slam dunk for Loyola
Whatever the result of last night’s game against Ohio State, Loyola University Maryland is a clear winner from its first appearance in the NCAA’s basketball tournament since 1994: University-branded apparel at the campus bookstore is flying off the shelves. “The past week and a half, we’ve seen our normal sales for this time of year more than double,” said Jennifer Wood, Loyola’s director of campus services.
Jewish Times gets key loan
With no clear consensus yet on how to bring it out of bankruptcy, Alter Communications Inc., publisher of the Baltimore Jewish Times, has received court approval for an emergency loan of $100,000 to meet payroll and pay crucial vendors. U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Nancy V. Alquist approved the terms of a bridge loan from personal funds of Alter President and majority shareholder Ronnie Buerger. Most of the $100,000 will go to cover employees’ back pay and operational costs.
Under Armour, in lights!
Under Armour’s plan to expand its Locust Point campus — including a 50,000-square-foot retail store, a new office building with an illuminated logo that will rival the Domino Sugar sign and new playing fields on the waterfront — has won approval from a Baltimore City Council committee. The plan, a change to the sportswear giant’s planned unit development, or PUD, from Tide Point to Under Armour headquarters, will be considered by the full council Monday.
Explain DGS move, says Senate
The Maryland Senate approved a budget change to withhold $500,000 from the Department of General Services unless the agency provides more information about Gov. Martin O’Malley’s plan to move the state Department of Housing and Community Development from Crownsville to New Carrollton.
Sex confusion leads to suit
A Baltimore woman is suing the city’s police department for $400,000 in damages on claims she was wrongly arrested after an officer became convinced she was really a wanted fugitive man dressed like a woman. According to the lawsuit, Rosalind A. Hall, 52, was riding in a car in Baltimore in 2009, when the vehicle was involved in an accident, and one of the officers who responded refused to believe she wasn’t a man with a similar name with an open warrant out for his arrest.
