Biz Roundup

Positive Bond Rating Actions Garnered by Anne Arundel County
Anne Arundel County has retained a AAA bond rating, the highest rating issued, from Standard & Poor's and has received an improved rating outlook from Moody's Investors Service and Fitch Ratings.
Rating agencies gave the bonds high marks based on the county's economic base, which is centered on major governmental and national military-related employers; above average wealth characteristics; strong financial practices and debt policies; and a moderately low debt burden. Ratings were affirmed on the county's debt as follows:
- Standard & Poor's Ratings Group, AAA
- Moody's Investors Service, Aa1
- Fitch Ratings, AA+
The county also announced the sale of $87.2 million in County General Obligation Bonds, of which $55.2 million was for general improvements and $32 million was for water and sewer improvements. UBS Securities provided the winning bid with a true interest cost of 4.231321% and a premium of $2,395,910. The county's previous bond sale of $138.4 million was in March 2007 and the true interest cost was 4.076346%.

Ulman Pleased With Unanimous, Bi-Partisan Support for Healthy Howard
Howard County Executive Ken Ulman has announced that House Bill 872, cross-filed as Senate Bill 852, which created a regulatory framework for the establishment and operation of a public/private health care program, was passed unanimously by both the Maryland Senate and the House of Delegates.
The legislation, sponsored by Howard County Delegate Shane Pendergrass and Sen. Ed Kasemeyer, allows Howard County Government to work with Healthy Howard Inc., a nonprofit, to bring affordable access to health care to as many as 2,000 uninsured residents in its first year of service.
This bill establishes what a "public private health care program" is: a program operated and established by a nonprofit corporation that is certified by the Maryland Insurance Commissioner and has entered into a written agreement with each county in which the program has proposed to operate, and provides or arranges for health care services for participants for a fee.
The Healthy Howard Plan will offer primary care services, deeply discounted prescription drugs, in- and out-patient hospital care, and specialty care services. To qualify, Howard County residents must make 300% of the poverty level or below, have been uninsured for one year and have legally resided in the county for one year. The enrollment goal for the first year of the program is 2,000 participants.

Maryland, Seven Other States Split AEP Settlement Funds
Attorney General Doug Gansler has announced that Maryland and seven other states will divide $24 million to be used for energy efficiency and air pollution reduction projects as a result of a federal Clean Air Act settlement with American Electric Power (AEP), the nation's largest power company.
Each state will establish a process for determining how its share of the project money will be distributed. Potential projects include supporting the construction of "green" buildings, installing solar and other renewable energy systems, purchasing pollution control technologies, and investing in energy efficiency and conservation programs.
In October 2007, a coalition of states and environmental groups, led by New York, and the federal government reached a settlement with AEP over Clean Air Act violations. As a part of the settlement, AEP is required to pay the eight states a total of $24 million over the next five years to fund energy efficiency and air pollution reduction projects.
The states have agreed to allocate the funds in the following manner: Connecticut ($1.8 million), Maryland ($1.2 million), Massachusetts ($3.1 million), New Hampshire ($1.2 million), New Jersey ($4.2 million), New York ($9.5 million), Rhode Island ($1.2 million) and Vermont ($1.8 million).

Redevelopment of Guilford Gardens Awarded to The Shelter Group
A contract for the redevelopment of Guilford Gardens has been awarded to The Shelter Group, of Baltimore. The 18-acre, Howard County-owned property currently has 100 units of garden style apartments and townhomes.
The redevelopment concept consists of converting the current property to a mixed-income, multi-generational community that will include up to 270 energy-efficient apartments, designed and constructed with sustainable green practices in mind. The proposed redevelopment also includes a community center with a pool, basketball/tennis courts, meeting and activity rooms and a gazebo, among other amenities.
The Shelter Group is a national development and property management company specializing in multi-family and senior living communities. Throughout its 30-year history, Shelter has owned and managed a portfolio of approximately 1,000 units in Howard County, all of which the company developed.
The Department of Housing & Community Development expects to receive a more detailed plan from The Shelter Group in May and will then begin negotiating a development agreement at that juncture.

O'Malley Announces Decision on Wind Power Generation on Public Lands
Gov. Martin O'Malley has announced that public lands managed by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources will not be considered as sites for commercial wind power generation.
"While we must continue to explore and make progress on creating a more sustainable and independent energy future for Maryland, we will not do so at the expense of the special lands we hold in the public trust," said O'Malley. "Our public land will continue to be managed for the essential environmental, recreational and economic values they provide for all of Maryland's families and future generations."
At the direction of the governor, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources initiated a public comment process in late 2007. Of the more than 1,400 comments received via mail, e-mail, fax, online and verbal testimony, 83% percent expressed opposition.
The decision to prohibit the placement of large-scale commercial and temporary exploratory wind power generation infrastructure applies exclusively to conservation lands held in fee-simple ownership by the state and managed by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.

UM Hinman CEOs Alumnus Launches Seed Fund for Student Startups
Students starting companies in the University of Maryland's (UM) Hinman CEOs program will now have access to seed funding, as alumnus Anik Singal recently launched the fund.
Singal announced the debut of the Hinman CEOs Alumni Fund in conjunction with other Hinman alumni at the university. Singal, who graduated from UM in 2005, is launching the fund through a gift of $50,000. Students can apply for funding, available in increments of $500 to $5,000, by writing a business plan.
"As entrepreneurial undergraduates pursue venture creation, they face challenges in raising sufficient funding to pursue their ideas," said Singal, founder of Affiliate Classroom, a step-by-step training program to help people launch and grow affiliate Internet businesses. "This fund is designed to meet the needs of these creative and innovative students."
Singal has opted to take a lead role as founding chairman of the Hinman CEOs Alumni Fund advisory board. He also announced the new Hinman Alumni Challenge Campaign, which is aimed at inspiring other alumni to manage and contribute to the fund.

Manekin LLC Announces Sale, Condo Conversion of North Ridge Building
Manekin LLC has negotiated the $5.25 million sale of North Ridge Professional Building, a 38,933-square-foot office and medical facility located at 2850 North Ridge Road in Ellicott City.
A joint venture including Rockledge Realty Partners of Bethesda and Grosvenor Investment Management based out of Philadelphia purchased the building from NorthRidge Business Trust.
Following approximately $1 million worth of upgrades to the lobby, elevators, bathrooms and landscaping, the new owners will redevelop the building into a condominium. Units ranging from 1,324 to 8,441 square feet are available for purchase at $245 per square foot. Entire floors (up to 13,500 square feet) can be purchased, subject to existing leases.
Current tenants include Ellicott City Ambulatory Surgery Center, Lancaster Pediatrics, Metamorphosis Plastic Surgery and Seton Medical Group.

Manekin Negotiates $44.2 Million Sale of Rivers Corporate Center
Manekin LLC has negotiated the $44.2 million sale of Rivers Corporate Center, a portfolio of nine single-story office/R&D buildings near the intersection of routes 32 and 29 in Columbia.
Columbia-based Oekos Management Corp. acquired the property from Rivers Center LLC, a group of Howard County-based private investors. Located in the Rivers Corporate Park, the portfolio totals 280,000 rentable square feet of space at addresses on Guilford Road and Old Columbia Road.
Rivers Corporate Center is 93% leased to such tenants as United Healthcare, Data Direct Networks, Applied Data Systems, Staples, Celsion Corporation, Segami and St. Agnes Healthcare.

Grace Announces Settlement of Asbestos Personal Injury Claims
Columbia-based W. R. Grace & Co. has announced an agreement in principle that would settle all present and future asbestos-related personal injury claims.
The agreement, reached with the Official Committee of Asbestos Personal Injury Claimants, the Future Claimants Representative and the Official Committee of Equity Security Holders, requires various assets to be paid into a trust to be established under Section 524(g) of the United States Bankruptcy Code.
They include cash in the amount of $250 million; warrants to acquire 10 million shares of Grace common stock at an exercise price of $17 per share, expiring one year from the effective date of a plan of reorganization; rights to proceeds under Grace's asbestos-related insurance coverage; and other considerations.
Grace Chairman, President and CEO Fred Festa addressed the corporation's financial concerns. "Also, I want to point out that the Plan of Reorganization will preserve all employee benefits. During the seven years we have been in Chapter 11, our people have nearly doubled Grace's sales and dramatically improved the core businesses. We look forward to final approval of our Plan of Reorganization when we can once again operate without the constraints of Chapter 11," he said.

Leopold Creates Task Force to Study Erroneous Permit Approvals
Anne Arundel County Executive John Leopold has signed an executive order to create a nine-person task force to study erroneous permit approvals. It is intended to reduce the inconvenience and expense to permit applicants who proceed with construction activity based on wrongly-issued permits.
"I am frustrated that the current county law precludes me from providing equity to citizens who incur expenses based on the unintentional, but erroneous, actions of the Department of Inspections and Permits," said Leopold. "The purpose of the task force is to provide other legal remedies that would be helpful to citizens in these instances."
Currently, citizens have the right to seek variances from the administrative hearing officer, Steve LeGendre, if they are unhappy with an inspection or permit application decision, and can appeal to the Board of Appeals if dissatisfied with the ruling of the hearing officer.
According to Executive Order 27, the task force will serve as an advisory body to the county executive and will consist of nine individuals appointed by the executive. They will include the director of inspection and permits, who will serve as the chair of the task force; a representative of the Anne Arundel County Chapter of the Home Builders Association of Maryland; and three citizen representatives.

Ruppersberger to Announce $5.7 Million for BRAC
Congressman C.A. "Dutch" Ruppersberger has announced $5.7 million in federal funding to help prepare for the more than 20,000 jobs heading to Maryland through the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process.
The positions will be focused around Fort Meade in Anne Arundel County and Aberdeen Proving Ground in Harford County. The funding will pay for everything from roads and mass transit to workforce training to health care needs.
The funding will include $121,000 to pay for training equipment at the Center for Health, Science and Homeland Security at Anne Arundel Community College. The college trains students to be nurses (30% of which in Maryland are trained at its community colleges), physician assistants, radiologic technicians and physical therapist assistants.
Workers in those fields are in high demand. Last semester, the programs were completely full. The college was forced to turn away more than 270 qualified candidates because of a lack of equipment, space and instructors.

RLTV Launches Web Health Info Resource for Seniors
Columbia-based Retirement Living TV (RLTV) has launched "Our Freedom Years" (www.FreedomYears.com), a portal for health information and user interaction regarding issues on aging.
The web site features a search engine for researching health from sources such as Erickson Health, the nation's largest practice of geriatric physicians; the National Institutes of Health; the RLTV program "Healthline"; and other news outlets.
The site serves as a vertical site for www.rl.tv, which was recently named among the top 10 boomer sites by PCMagazine.com. Specifically designed for interactivity and user experience, the portal's goal is to bring people together to talk about health and to provide them with relevant information and resources.
"For the first time, all of Erickson's institutional knowledge about aging, from sources like Erickson Health, the Erickson Tribune and Retirement Living TV, is being collected in a single online destination at FreedomYears.com," said Dr. Matt Narrett, chief medical officer of Erickson Retirement Communities.

Capitol College Holds Line on Tuition Costs
Capitol College, of Laurel, has announced that it will forego a tuition increase in its undergraduate engineering, technology and computer degree programs and slash tuition by $10,000 in its undergraduate business and management degree programs. For the 2008-09 academic year, according to a fact sheet released by the college, undergraduate tuition for engineering, technology and computer degree programs will be frozen at $18,784 per year ($9,392 per semester).
For undergraduate business and management degree programs, tuition will be reduced by about $10,000 to $9,840 per year ($328 per credit hour and $4,920 per semester full-time). In addition, juniors and seniors now will be able to take business and management classes online.
The cost-controlling moves will make Capitol College one of the least expensive independent colleges in Maryland, Wood said. He added that, in conjunction with the tuition freeze and cuts announced, the college will continue to offer its long-standing "tuition lock" policy that allows students to lock in the tuition rate they pay during freshman year, as well as a unique job guarantee program for graduating seniors.

CoStar Acquires Assets of Atlanta Information Provider's Online Business
Bethesda-based CoStar Group has acquired the online commercial real estate information assets of First CLS Inc., which does business as The Dorey Companies and DoreyPRO, an Atlanta-based provider of local commercial real estate information.
The agreement calls for DoreyPRO customers to use the corresponding CoStar information services as called for under their DoreyPRO license agreement. They include CoStar Property Professional; CoStar COMPs; and CoStar Tenant, a searchable database of more than 3 million tenant records that is used for identifying tenants by square footage occupied, industry type, size or geographic location, for instance.
In addition, through a separate agreement, CoStar has acquired the rights to the Dorey Market Analysis Reports. Current Dorey Market Analysis Report customers will now receive the CoStar Market Report. The acquisition does not include Dorey's print guides.
The new clients joining CoStar in the acquisition will be served by the company's existing Atlanta research and sales team. The company's database includes a combined inventory of 1.1 billion square feet in the market. The company expects the acquisition will be accretive to achieving 30% earnings by year-end.