Sidus BioData World’s First Provider for MES in Cloud

Annapolis-based Sidus BioData has been chosen by POMS Corp. as the platform provider for the world’s first cloud-hosted Manufacturing Execution System (MES). POMS MES users span 20 countries and hundreds of sites, making it one of the most widely-used MES solutions in pharmaceutical, biotechnology, consumer packaged goods and other regulated industries.

“Finding a hosting provider that understands FDA regulations was the most important element for POMS,” said Darrell Tanner, director of marketing and sales for POMS. “Sidus checked all the boxes when it came to a cloud provider and meeting FDA standards and is the perfect fit for our POMSnet MES software solution.”

Unlike mainstream cloud hosting providers, Sidus’s datacenters have been fully qualified against FDA and HIPAA/HITECH regulations, providing an established quality management system, documented procedures, staff training records, system risk assessment, change control/validation program and an experienced team that are CISA and CRISC certified.

“Our core mission from the start has been to provide robust managed [information technology] solutions that can withstand any audit,” said Sidus BioData CEO Jason Silva. “The hosting of regulated data in a cloud environment requires not only a secure platform, it requires a cloud provider that understands the special needs of regulated companies in areas of quality, compliance and audit transparency.”

Getz Named Dean of Loyola’s Sellinger School

Loyola University Maryland has named Kathleen Getz the next dean of its Sellinger School of Business and Management. Getz, who served as dean of the Michael R. Quinlan School of Business at Loyola University Chicago from 2011 through December 2014, is on a research sabbatical leave as professor of management there. She assumes her new role at Loyola on July 1.

“Dr. Getz has brought visionary and strategic leadership to her role at Loyola University Chicago, where she raised money for a new building and secured a naming gift for the school. She also refocused the strategic plan for the Quinlan School of Business to promote leadership areas in family business, international business and emerging markets, risk management, social enterprise and responsibility, and supply chain management,” said Amy Wolfson, vice president for academic affairs at Loyola University Maryland.

“Combining Jesuit principles and business ideals is really the best way to do business education,” Getz said. “We are producing the leaders of the future — leaders with an entrepreneurial spirit who will understand the analytics of business. I hope they will graduate with an optimistic approach to their work and their lives. I always encourage students and faculty to see a world of possibilities, rather than one of burdens.”

Getz has focused her research on corporate political activity, voluntary codes of conduct, business bribery and governmental corruption, and the role of business in peace building. She earned her B.S. in Human Development from the Pennsylvania State University, her MBA from Gannon University, and her Ph.D. in Business Administration from the University of Pittsburgh.

Maryland Live! Total Gaming Revenue Rises 11.9% in 2014

Maryland Live! Casino ended 2014 as the top performing casino in the state, generating $655,726,354 in total gaming revenue for the year, an 11.9% increase compared to $586,004,454 the previous year.

In December 2014, Maryland Live! generated total gaming revenue of $50,234,547, more than double that of its closest regional competitor, with table games generating $18,609,997 and slots generating $31,624,549.

The casino has consistently outperformed all competitors in the state (its main competition in the state, the Horseshoe Casino on Russell Street in Baltimore, opened in late August 2014), as well as the leading properties in Atlantic City, West Virginia, Delaware and Pennsylvania.

In 2015, Maryland Live! will offer new restaurants, including Morty’s Delicatessen, a traditional New York-style deli, which is now open. In addition, development plans for a hotel at Arundel Mills will continue to move forward; as well as plans for the first Live! branded property in another gaming jurisdiction, the Live! Hotel & Casino in Philadelphia’s Stadium District (in partnership with Greenwood Gaming).

Johnson Shouts Out to Merriweather With Award

Recording artist Jack Johnson has established the All At Once Sustainability Award and announced that Merriweather Post Pavilion, in Columbia, has received the 2014 award in the outstanding music venue category. It honors elite venues that excelled in waste reduction and sustainability measures and made every effort to meet Johnson’s Environmental Rider during his 2014 “From Here To Now To You” tour across North and South America.

“As an artist that is lucky enough to play at these beautiful venues, I want to send out a big thank you to these venues and promoters, including Merriweather Post Pavilion and its promoter, I.M.P., for leading the music industry in being more environmentally responsible. Music venues are gathering places that have a huge influence on people, young and old,” said Johnson. “These venues are raising the bar on waste management, plastic-free initiatives, healthy and local food options, alternative transportation systems and much more.”

Merriweather’s efforts include investing in a solar array that powers house and backstage lighting, installing composting facilities and an on-site bio-diesel fueling station for tour vehicles, building a new concession stand and restrooms to LEED standards, and encouraging patrons to bring empty water bottles for refilling. Additionally, the concessions sell farm-to-table meats, and the venue is moving away from petroleum-based products, among other improvements.

Soon, Merriweather will go even further, capturing all stormwater run-off for use as property irrigation, expanding solar capacity by 12 times, replacing all lighting with LEDs, and replacing all restroom and concession buildings to meet high efficiency standards.

Seth Hurwitz, chairman of I.M.P., which serves as the operator and promoter of Merriweather, said, “Jack is one of those artists that makes you feel really good about being in this business. He’s a real guy, with a real conscience that is not guided by career strategy. One didn’t have to second-guess about why he cared about this … you know he simply did. And that inspires all of us to think about what we can do today for the good of everyone.”

City of Annapolis Mourns Loss of Former Mayor

The City of Annapolis has lost former alderman, mayor and elder statesman Roger “Pip” Moyer, who passed away on Jan. 11 after a long battle with Parkinson’s disease. He was 80 years old.

Moyer was first elected to the city council in 1961, then elected mayor in 1965 and re-elected in 1969, serving two terms. He was a champion of historic preservation, expanding opportunities for the disadvantaged and civil rights. In 1968, during the volatility that followed the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. he was widely credited for keeping the peace in Annapolis, along with community leaders such as George Phelps, Jr., and Joseph “Zastrow” Simms.

After serving as mayor, Moyer remained a strong advocate for the underserved and served for many years as deputy director of the Annapolis Housing Authority. He stayed active well into his retirement as a mentor and adviser to alderpersons, mayors and other elected officials who often sought his advice and counsel.

A native of Eastport, Moyer was a standout basketball player at Annapolis High School and the University of Baltimore; he later joined the Army and helped the Fort Dix basketball team win the Army Championship in 1958. When he returned home, he served as athletic director and boy’s basketball coach at St. Mary’s High School, and in 1993, Moyer became the first basketball player inducted into the Anne Arundel County Sports Hall of Fame. The city’s Community Recreation Center on Hilltop Lane bears his name.

WOW air to Expand BWI Marshall Schedule

WOW air, the low fare international airline that announced last year it would start service at BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport in 2015, now plans to expand its BWI Marshall flight schedule. WOW will operate service between BWI Marshall and Reykjavik, with connections available to other European markets.

The airline now plans to begin its BWI Marshall service on Friday, May 8 — about a month earlier than its original schedule. Starting in the peak summer months, WOW air intends to operate five days per week from BWI Marshall, which is one more weekly flight than the airline’s initial announcement indicated. In addition, the airline now plans to operate its service year-round, beyond the summer months.

WOW air is an Icelandic carrier that was founded in 2011. The airline has grown rapidly, and currently offers international air service between Iceland and destinations across Europe. In October 2014, WOW air announced that it would start service to two U.S. markets in 2015 — Boston and BWI Marshall. During the peak summer season, the flights will operate five times per week: on Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

International passenger traffic has grown steadily in recent years at BWI Marshall. Construction work on the D/E Connector program is set to begin in early 2015. This multi-phase development will support additional international service. The program will also create a new security checkpoint to serve domestic and international travelers and configure airline gates to support additional international flights.

Bon Secours Kicks Off Roadshow With The Innovation Institute

Bon Secours Health System has kicked off a program that taps physicians and employees for medical product ideas that could potentially improve health care.

In late 2013, the health system entered into an agreement with The Innovation Institute, an independent medical product incubator, to facilitate innovation among its thousands of physicians and employees. The Institute has an alliance with Cleveland Clinic Innovations to take products to market.

Earlier this year, at the Mid Atlantic Center for Surgical Advancement, in Richmond, Va., Rich Statuto, president and CEO of Bon Secours Health System; Joe Randolph, president and CEO, The Innovation Institute; and Thomas Graham, chief innovation officer and vice president of Orthopaedic Surgery, Cleveland Clinic, helped kick off the first inventor forum to more than 75 leaders from Bon Secours.

“We are pleased to partner with a like-minded organization that will help us drive innovation long term,” said Statuto. Inventor forums for physicians and employees will continue across Bon Secours locations through this spring.