Biz Roundup

MAA's Campbell to Retire,
Wiedefeld Set to Return
Tim Campbell, who has served as executive director of the Maryland Aviation Administration (MAA) since December 2005, has announced his retirement after a 35-year career in aviation management, the last four as head of Baltimore Washington International (BWI) Thurgood Marshall Airport. He will be replaced by his predecessor, Paul Wiedefeld.
Campbell began his career in 1974 as an assistant to the aviation director at Boston's Logan Airport. He went on to key management positions at airports in Newport News, Va.; Knoxville, Tenn.; and Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; before landing in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Upon his arrival at BWI Marshall, Campbell oversaw the successful integration of the new Terminal A/B complex into the airport's operation. In an aviation environment facing the downsizing of airlines, he was able to successfully work with BWI Marshall's airline partners to essentially maintain the level of air service provided in recent years. He will officially retire Dec. 31.
Maryland Department of Transportation Secretary Beverley Swaim-Staley has appointed Paul Wiedefeld to head the MAA and BWI Marshall Airport. Wiedefeld currently serves as administrator of the Maryland Transit Administration (MTA). With this appointment, he returns to the post he held from 2002 through 2005.

O'Malley Announces
Tax Amnesty Holiday
Gov. Martin O'Malley recently announced Maryland's first tax amnesty holiday since 2001. The amnesty period, which began Sept. 1 and runs through Oct. 30, is a result of legislation passed during the 2009 legislative session and allows those Marylanders who owe back taxes to the state to pay those taxes free of penalty and at half the interest accrued.
"This tax amnesty holiday allows individuals, families and small businesses who may have fallen behind the opportunity to make things right without excessive penalty or interest," said O'Malley.
It is estimated that for every $10 million raised by the upcoming holiday, the state will add $7.2 million to the General Fund. The remaining revenue will go toward local governments and the Transportation Trust Fund. During the last such holiday in 2001, the state collected $39.5 million in revenue.
It is estimated that approximately 177,000 individual income tax accounts and 18,000 business tax accounts are delinquent in the state of Maryland, accounting for as much as a half-billion dollars. This two-month amnesty period provides payment plan options for the Maryland comptroller's office. In order to be eligible for the 2009 holiday, all payments must be received by Dec. 31, 2010.
For more information about the tax amnesty holiday, call 1-800-MDTAXES or visit www.marylandtaxes.com or www.maryland.gov.

Ulman, State Announce
Safety Changes to Route 32
Howard County Executive Ken Ulman and Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley have announced that immediate safety improvements will be made to Route 32, north of I-70 in Howard County.
Two recent fatal crashes in the area have highlighted the need for immediate action to address the safety concerns of the community. "I appreciate the O'Malley Administration's quick response to our concerns," said Ulman. "While we can't undo the terrible tragedies that have occurred in the past, the planned improvements will make the road safer and lessen the future risk to drivers on this busy highway."
Effective immediately, the SHA will begin implementation of various measures, including installing warning signs and rumble strips, as well as closing passing lanes and deploying speed trailers.
Other upgrades will include construction of a pavement overlay and restriping at River Road, Amberwoods Way and Day Road; and widening center line and edge line markings while continuing to collect data. Earlier this year, Ulman sent the Maryland Department of Transportation the county's annual priority projects list. In that letter Ulman made safety on Maryland Route 32 his "critical safety priority."

ECI's Mortgage Finance
Group Expands Participation in Lending Program
Columbia-based Enterprise Community Investment (ECI) has expanded its special Fannie Mae affordable platform to include products for the acquisition, refinance or rehabilitation of market-rate multifamily housing.
ECI's multifamily lending portfolio has resulted in more than $543 million in financing to create approximately 16,000 affordable apartments and homes using the Fannie Mae product line. This portfolio includes multi-family mortgages for the rehabilitation or new construction of affordable housing or market-rate housing.
"With the expansion of our special Fannie Mae lending program, we can now help both affordable and market-rate multifamily housing owners acquire, refinance or rehab and potentially reduce operating costs," said Lamar Seats, ECI senior vice president. "Refinancing proceeds can be used towards weatherization improvements, green retrofits or preservation of family and seniors housing. We are a one-stop shop for helping property owners get their deals done in the current market."
In addition, ECI provides Federal Housing Administration multifamily and health care loans as a HUD-approved Multifamily Accelerated Processing lender. Enterprise also provides U.S. Department of Agriculture Section 538 Rural Development loans nationwide through its Multifamily Mortgage Group.

First Mariner Bank Receives
Cease and Desist Order
First Mariner Bank, the wholly-owned bank subsidiary of First Mariner Bancorp, has agreed with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) and the Maryland Division of Financial Regulation to the entry of an order to cease and desist.
The order directs the bank to increase its capitalization, improve earnings, reduce non-performing loans, strengthen management policies and practices, and reduce reliance on non-core funding.
Prior to the issuance of the order, the First Mariner board and management had already taken steps to devise and implement strategies meant to address the issues noted in the order. The bank is working in cooperation with its regulators and expects to satisfy all of the requirements.
The bank continues to pursue plans to increase its capitalization through a combination of capital-raising efforts, which include conventional efforts in public and private markets as well as the sale of assets. The bank has already complied with the directive to charge off loans identified as loss and has made significant progress in reducing the levels of substandard assets.

UM, RMI Launch Maryland Manufacturing Partnership Program
The University of Maryland's (UM) Maryland Technology Enterprise Institute (Mtech) and the Regional Manufacturing Institute (RMI) are jointly launching a new program to help manufacturers in Maryland compete in a rapidly changing global environment, make the state a national model for modern manufacturing and serve as a showcase for 21st century entrepreneurial manufacturing and engineering.
Called Maryland Manufacturing Partnerships (MMP), the program will pull together a network of resources from around the state, including third-party experts, University System of Maryland faculty, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology's national Manufacturing Extension Partnership (NIST MEP) network with in-house consultants to strengthen the competitiveness of Maryland manufacturing companies.
"Our goal at RMI is to make Maryland No. 1 in the nation for manufacturing," said RMI President Mike Galiazzo. "With this partnership and the involvement of key groups around the state, that becomes possible."
The Maryland Manufacturing Partnerships program will feature a new social networking and informational web site that connects manufacturers with each other, state resources and service providers.

QAI Introduces H1N1 Flu Vaccine Forms Processing Service
Fulton-based Quality Associates Inc. (QAI) has launched its H1N1 Flu Vaccine Forms Processing Service, a comprehensive approach to help states, cities, counties and providers in the private sector capture and record essential demographic and health data from medical consent forms - a critical step in the administration of the H1N1 vaccine to millions nationwide beginning this fall.
As part of the two-step inoculation process, each patient is required to fill out a printed medical consent form before each shot is given. More than 100 million vaccinations are expected to become available this fall, which is creating a serious and urgent need for states, municipalities and the private sector to immediately develop a clear strategy to effectively capture vital personal and health care-related information.
Once information is collected, it must be converted into a useable electronic format for insurance, reporting and statistical needs. Without a digital capture methodology in place, municipalities and private health care providers risk losing funds due to lost or inaccurate recipient insurance information.
Additionally, government agencies such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention could lose important data regarding vaccine distribution and efficacy.

Capitol College Opens Center for Space Science Education and Public Outreach
Laurel-based Capitol College has established the Center for Space Science Education and Public Outreach as a component of recent strategic initiatives within the space science and STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) fields, building upon the Emerging Leaders Program announced in June.
The mission for the center is to provide hands-on educational and workforce development experiences for K-12, community college and college students, and those who support them in achieving leadership careers in the STEM fields.
"Initial financial support from Lockheed Martin and other grants will enable the center's mission and supplement the college's current outreach efforts," said Capitol College President Michael Wood. "We look forward to the development and cultivation of new partnerships with external organizations through the center, as well as continuing to support Capitol's Space Operations Institute's and our Innovation and Leadership Institute's educational objectives."
Michael Gibbs, vice president for advancement, will lead the new center. Several faculty and staff also will assist in conducting the center's educational programs in conjunction with others from the community who support the college's STEM efforts.

O'Malley Outlines $454 Million in
State Budget Cuts
Gov. Martin O'Malley outlined more than $450 million in budget reductions that have been approved by Maryland's Board of Public Works. These actions are the second step in addressing a projected budget shortfall of more than $700 million for fiscal '10, and bring the total amount of reduced spending and budget cuts under the O'Malley-Brown administration to more than $4.3 billion.
O'Malley made public the details of a plan to reduce the budget by more than $450 million. These budget actions focus on more than $210 million in reductions to local aid, a furlough and salary reduction plan for state employees, and reductions to state agencies, protecting entirely investments made in Maryland public schools.
General fund support for public education has increased nearly $700 million since fiscal '07, while spending for the remainder of the Operating Budget has decreased more than $1 billion.
Budget reductions that were presented to the Board of Public Works include $17 million in savings from the elimination of more than 360 state positions, including 205 filled positions. O'Malley said the furlough and salary reduction plan, estimated to save approximately $75 million, prevents the layoff of about 1,500 additional state employees. In July, more than $280 million in budget actions were unanimously approved by the Board of Public Works. These cuts represent the first incidence in at least 30 years that state spending will be less than it was three years earlier.

Three New Online Grad Courses for BRAC Workers Developed by Hopkins
Three online courses in systems engineering, designed to prepare workers for jobs coming to Maryland through the federal Base Realignment and Closure process, are being launched by Johns Hopkins University Engineering for Professionals, the part-time graduate program of the university's Whiting School of Engineering.
The new master's level courses are Software Systems Engineering, Tools and Techniques of Software Project Management and Systems Architecting.
The online instruction is open to military and civilian personnel, along with members of the general public who desire additional education in these areas. One class, Tools and Techniques of Software Project Management, will be offered this fall. The other two are slated to be offered in spring 2010.
Hopkins began developing the new courses after receiving a $140,000 grant from the Maryland Higher Education Commission in the fall of 2008. The grant was awarded to help the university give workers some of the skills needed for jobs coming to Maryland through the federal BRAC process, which seeks to find efficient and cost-effective ways to close and/or realign military bases.

Dutch Country Market
Opens in Laurel
The wait is over for fans of the Dutch Country Farmer's Market. After closing the doors of its former Burtonsville location in July, the 20-year-old institution, known for its assortment of Amish and Mennonite specialties, reopened for business on Sept. 10 on Fort Meade Road in Laurel.
Opening day drew an overwhelming crowd that packed the wide aisles in the refurbished 22,000-square-foot facility that houses the market's new location, and kept the parking lot filled with cars during business hours.
"We're happy to see that the response is as good as or better than we expected," said General Manager Sam Beiler, who joked that "some of our loyal customers told us they haven't eaten for two months."
Vendors include a butcher and dairy shop, a barbecue stand, a bread and pastry shop, a bulk foods store, a fresh produce stand, a poultry shop and a sit-down restaurant.

O'Malley Announces the Release of Maryland's First Statewide Freight Plan
Gov. Martin O'Malley released Maryland's first Statewide Freight Plan at the Maryland Department of Transportation's recent Statewide Freight Summit.
"In the coming years, Maryland will experience 75% more freight shipments sharing our roadways and railways," said O'Malley. "This statewide freight plan has identified more than 100 port, highway and rail projects to help us support these additional trucks and trains without increasing congestion on our already overburdened highways and commuter railways. This plan shows how economic development and quality of life can coexist."
In preparation for the 75% increase by 2030, the plan prioritizes the 100 projects based on specific criteria ranging from safety and security to freight connectivity. It was built after many months of working with Maryland freight stakeholders.
Maryland is one of the first states in the nation to adopt a plan that outlines how freight and effective land use can work together to create opportunities to preserve and improve the environment, while at the same time strengthening Maryland's economy.