Biz Roundup

Magna Replaces Maryland Jockey Club President
The Maryland Jockey Club (MJC) announced the departure of MJC President and COO Lou Raffetto effective Nov. 28. Chris Dragone, a former senior vice president and general manager at MJC, has been appointed as president and general manager. No reason for the move was given by Magna Entertainment Corp. (MEC), owner of Pimlico Race Course and Laurel Park, which operate under the MJC trade name.
"Lou worked very hard during his tenure with MJC to manage the day-to-day operations and improve the future of thoroughbred racing in the state of Maryland," said MJC Chair Frank Stronach in a release. "MEC remains strongly committed to the future success of thoroughbred racing in Maryland. To this end we will put the full support of MEC behind Chris and the MJC management team."
Dragone joined MEC in 2002 and has served as general manager of Great Lakes Downs in Michigan and Portland Meadows in Oregon prior to his appointment with MJC in February 2006. He left MJC after eight months for personal and family reasons. Since, he has acted as executive director of the New York Thoroughbred Breeders' Inc. The son of former New York Racing Association Chairman Allan Dragone, he has held numerous management jobs at race tracks across the country.
MEC officials did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment.

Race Day Canceled as Laurel Park Employees Rally in Annapolis
Maryland Jockey Club (MJC) officials cancelled a day of live racing on Nov. 2, calling on employees, horsemen and racing fans to rally on Lawyer's Mall in front of the State House in Annapolis.
The rally was scheduled to begin at 9 a.m., two hours before the state legislature was scheduled to hold hearings on various proposals to bring slot machines to Maryland. Bus transportation to and from the rally was provided at Pimlico Race Course, Laurel Park and the Bowie Training Center.
In a release, MJC officials said the fate of the Maryland horse racing and breeding industry has reached a crisis point because of unfettered competition from neighboring racing states.
As a result, they said, racing dates and purses have been slashed, numerous stakes races have been canceled and the owners of stallions and broodmares have abandoned Maryland in record numbers in search of the greener pastures of neighboring slots-rich environments. The lost racing day will be made up on Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2008.

State Selects Contractor for Second Segment of ICC
The state of Maryland has selected ICC Constructors (IC3) to design and build the second major segment of the Inter-County Connector (ICC). IC3 is a joint venture of Shirley Contracting Co. LLC, Clark Construction Group LLC, Guy F. Atkinson Construction LLC, Facchina Construction Co. Inc. and Trumbull Corp.
The $513.9 million contract is within the limits of the ICC financial plan. Contract C includes design and construction of approximately four miles of the ICC from west of Route 29 to east of I-95 and approximately two miles of Collector-Distributor roadway along I-95, including two complex interchanges at Route 29 and I-95.
This contract is the second of five that will create the 18.8-mile ICC, which will connect the I-270/I-370 corridor in Montgomery County to the I-95/U.S. 1 corridor in Prince George's County. The IC3 joint venture is expected to begin design work by the end of the year, with mainline construction slated for early 2008.
"This is another key milestone for the Inter-County Connector," said state Secretary of Transportation John Porcari. "Full scale construction is now getting underway on Contract A between I-370 and Georgia Avenue. The selection of the IC3 team will allow us to begin work on the next major phase of the project and continue the momentum that is so important to meeting our goal of building this important project for the people of Maryland, on time and on budget."

Former Merc Ops Center in Linthicum to Become Modern Office Building
CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) has been named exclusive leasing agent for Hammonds Ferry Corporate Center, the largest block of single-story office space in Linthicum. The 131,800-square-foot facility, located at 618-766 Old Hammonds Ferry Road in Linthicum Heights, was formerly the operations center for Mercantile Bank.
After its purchase of Mercantile Bank, PNC closed the operations center, which has been purchased by Arlington, Va.-based Altus Realty Partners. It is situated on 18 acres of land and plans to make substantial renovations to the building include developing additional parking facilities.
"The redevelopment of Hammonds Ferry Corporate Center represents the strength of this submarket. The facility's location in the heart of the Baltimore-Washington Corridor, within minutes of BWI [Thurgood Marshall] Airport and major interstates, makes it an excellent place for any business to be," said Joe Ruzecki, senior vice president at CBRE.
The refurbished building will feature a critical systems data center with a raised floor, a cafeteria, and a training and conference room.

Comprehensive Solution to End Maryland's Nursing Shortage Unveiled
Leaders from Maryland hospitals and nursing education have outlined a new strategy for solving Maryland's nursing crisis by doubling the number of nurses now educated in Maryland.
Participants at a recent news conference, including Cal Pierson, the soon-to-retire president of the Maryland Hospital Association (MHA), warned that the shortfall of nurses could reach 10,000 by 2016 if no action is taken. He said the plan is achievable and can begin paying off almost immediately. "A timely response to this call to action can produce immediate tangible results, starting as early as 2009."
The plan calls for an increase of 1,800 in the number of enrollees of first-year nursing students beginning in 2009 and continuing into the foreseeable future. That will require 360 additional faculty members, faculty salaries that reflect market conditions, additional funding for nursing education programs and additional classroom and clinical sites to accommodate expanded enrollments.
The group placed a price tag on the plan in year one of $34 million, and $25 million in the next year. After an initial investment of public and private sector dollars, the expansion will begin to pay for itself. Hospitals are currently saddled with $50 million a year in extra monies that go to personnel agencies that provide nurses to cover existing nurse vacancies.
Savings from this in future years, coupled with additional dollars generated by expanded nursing students in the education system, will allow hospitals and schools to assume the costs of this expansion, Pierson said.

MDP Launches Web Site With Public Access to Local Comprehensive Plans
The Maryland Department of Planning (MDP) has unveiled a new web site that provides access to the proposed comprehensive plans of local jurisdictions and MDP's comments to those plans.
This new web site was created in response to Gov. Martin O'Malley's initiative to provide Marylanders open access to the workings of state government and the public process. Providing access to these plans, also known as master plans or master development plans, makes a somewhat complicated and often closed process more open to the general public.
This site explains what comprehensive plans are, how they are adopted, the importance to Smart Growth and the role of the state in the process. The address for this site is www.mdp.state.md.us/welcome.htm.
"Our hope is that by making these plans, as well as my department's comments to these plans, available to the public, a more informed public process will take place," said MDP Secretary Richard Hall. "It is the responsibility of every Marylander to contribute to this public discourse so that, as a state, we follow the Smart Growth visions and create high-quality, sustainable communities and protect our precious natural resources."

Enterprise Announces the Green Communities Offset Fund
Enterprise Community Partners, which is based in Columbia, has announced a new program to help businesses and individuals offset their environmental impact by supporting the creation of green affordable homes for low-income families.
"The Green Communities Offset Fund offers a unique opportunity to cut carbon emissions and help low-income families experience the benefits of greener homes: lower energy bills, a healthier living environment and better performing properties," said Doris Koo, president and chief executive officer of Enterprise Community Partners. "Contributions to the Green Communities Offset Fund generate true 'double bottom line' benefits: They're investments in environmental protection and environmental justice."
The fund will raise and pool contributions to provide funding and technical support to community-based groups to create homes for low-income people that generate lower carbon emissions by being more energy efficient. Contributors to the fund will receive credit for "verified emissions reductions" to offset their own carbon generating activities.
All contributions to the fund will go to community-based organizations for activities that increase energy efficiency in homes for low-income people and result in verified carbon emissions reductions. And all fund proceeds will support activities that directly reduce carbon emissions below the level that otherwise would be achievable by funding specific energy efficiency improvements and approaches.

Court Places Laurel-Based Mortgage Payment/Investment Program Into Receivership
POS DH LLC, Metropolitan Grapevine LLC and Andrew H. Williams, Jr., were recently placed in receivership by the Circuit Court of Prince George's County and Judge Thomas Smith after three days of testimony detailing the business activities of the defendants.
An order placing the companies into receivership and freezing their assets, as well as those of an additional 18 entities that were shown to be affiliated with the defendants' business operations, was issued.
The court determined that more than 1,000 people invested approximately $50 million in promissory note and investment contract securities offered and sold by the defendants, investments that are essentially without value.
The court also determined that the defendants' businesses generated no significant income and that they are insolvent with liabilities of $200 million to $300 million and current assets of approximately $2 million. The court concluded that the defendants were paying previous investors with funds received from new investors, and that the investment program was, in fact, a Ponzi scheme (or fraud where investors are enticed with the promise of extremely high returns or dividends during a short period of time). "This court order now places the financial control of POS DH LLC, Metropolitan Grapevine LLC and Williams in the hands of the court-appointed receiver," said Maryland Attorney General Douglas Gansler. "The receiver will now take all of the assets of the defendants traceable to this investment scam and create a pool of money to be refunded to the investors and other creditors."

Constellation Energy Announces $1 Billion Share Repurchase Program
Constellation Energy has announced that its board of directors authorized a $1 billion share repurchase program, which is expected to be executed during the next 24 months. Further, Constellation is executing on $250 million of the program through an accelerated share repurchase agreement.
The remainder of the share repurchase program is expected to be implemented in a manner that preserves the flexibility to pursue additional investment opportunities. "We are pleased with another solid performance in the third quarter of 2007, driven by continued growth of our merchant businesses," said Mayo Shattuck, chairman, president and CEO of Constellation.
"Given our strong financial profile, we believe this is the right time to implement a share repurchase program. We also believe this program represents the most efficient return of excess capital to our shareholders, while maintaining flexibility to opportunistically pursue higher value-added strategic investments," Shattuck said.

Erickson Retirement Communities Expands in BWI Tech Park
MacKenzie Commercial Real Estate Services has announced that Erickson Retirement Communities, the nation's leading privately-owned developer and manager of retirement communities for moderate income people, has leased 36,000 square feet at 705 Digital Drive in the BWI Technology Park adjacent to BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport.
MacKenzie Senior Vice President and Principal Mark Deering provided tenant advisory services to Erickson, which is headquartered in Catonsville. Erickson will house administrative services at the location, obtained to accommodate its rapidly increasing workforce. In 2006 the company added 1,100 new employees.
The company is currently developing new communities in Kansas, Virginia and Ohio, and is looking at potential sites across the U.S., according to Mel Tansill, the company's senior director of public affairs. Erickson's Maryland communities include Charlestown in Catonsville; Oak Crest in Parkville; and Riderwood in Silver Spring.