The Daily Record News Briefs: September 3, 2008
Union negotiations
About 650 contract workers at Aberdeen Proving Ground are still on the job while their union continues to negotiate with companies testing Army equipment and weapons for the Defense Department and private industry. The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers had threatened to walk off the job Sunday after getting a three-year contract that did not include a cost-of-living increase. Most of the workers are employed by Jacobs Technology, a subsidiary of Pasadena, Calif.-based Jacobs Engineering Group.
Phelps foundation
Swimmer Michael Phelps says he’s using a $1 million bonus from Speedo for tying Mark Spitz’s seven gold medals in one Olympics to start a foundation promoting water safety and youth swimming. Spokeswoman Audra Silverman says Speedo International and the Warnaco Foundation are also donating $200,000 to the Michael Phelps Foundation to commemorate his record eight gold medals at the Beijing Games. Phelps plans to launch the foundation with an eight- city tour to raise awareness of the sport and promote water safety.
Bank merger
Eagle Bancorp Inc., the parent company of Bethesda-based EagleBank, announced that the acquisition of Fidelity & Trust Financial Corp., and the merger of Fidelity & Trust Bank into EagleBank, became effective on Sunday. As a result of the merger, EagleBank has aggregate assets of approximately $1.4 billion, and loans and deposits each in excess of $1.1 billion. The bank will have 15 offices in the Washington metropolitan area, including nine in Montgomery County, five in the District of Columbia and one in Northern Virginia.
Car sharing on campus
Goucher College and Zipcar will now offer university faculty, staff and students an environmentally friendly alternative to the costs and hassles of keeping a car on campus. Two self-service Zipcars — both Honda Civic hybrids — will be available for use 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The cars will be located in the Dorsey Center Parking Lot and will be available to all staff and students aged 18 and older, with gas, maintenance, insurance and reserved parking included in hourly and daily rates of $7 per hour or $60 per day. Faculty, staff and students will be able to join for an initial fee of $35.
Youth volunteers
This week the search begins to identify more young Marylanders who have made meaningful contributions to their communities over the past 12 months, as the Prudential Spirit of Community Awards kicks off its 14th year. These awards, presented nationwide by Prudential Financial Inc. in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals, honor outstanding community service by young people in grades 5 through 12. Young volunteers can apply online at www.prudential.com/spirit or at www.principals.org/ prudential. Those without Internet access can get a paper version of the application form by calling 877-525-8491 toll-free.
Publishing purchase
Haights Cross Communications Inc. has completed the sale of substantially all of the assets of its Sundance/Newbridge Publishing business to Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group Inc., based in Lanham. Terms of the sale were not disclosed. Haights Cross companies include Prince Frederick-based Recorded Books, as well as Triumph Learning (New York), Buckle Down Publishing and Options Publishing (Iowa City, Iowa).
Solar tour
Beltsville-based SunEdison LLC is co-sponsoring the City Tour for Solar, a traveling exhibit currently at the Republican National Convention that educates people on the advantages of solar energy and how to make it a permanent part of the nation’s energy plans. Spanning 100 days, the national tour brings interactive educational exhibits to 50 cities in Washington, Oregon, California, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Minnesota and Colorado. The exhibits, powered by solar energy, will be transported by colorful biodiesel- fueled trucks. SunEdison is North America’s largest solar energy services provider.
UM faculty
The University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business announced 21 faculty members have joined the school to start the 2008-2009 academic year. New faculty members joined each of the Smith School’s six academic departments, including: Rebecca Hann, associate professor of accounting and information assurance; Il- Horn Hann, associate professor of decision, operations and information technologies; Michael Falkender, assistant professor of finance; Sudip Gupta, visiting assistant professor of finance; Rafael Corredoira, assistant professor of management and organization; Hui Liao, associate professor of management and organization; and Tao Chen, assistant professor of marketing.
Lumifi redefines research
Towson-based software company Lumifi has introduced Lumifi Emergence, a new end-to-end research platform to better serve students, professionals and others in dealing with information overload. Lumifi Emergence is a research and collaboration tool designed to sift through and manage the massive amount of information available on the Web and the desktop. Emergence allows users to unearth deep content within Web search results; analyze key topics and themes within documents; and create a citable archive of research, among other features.
BGE rate hike upheld by CSA
The Court of Special Appeals upheld a $35.6 million revenue increase by Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. The Maryland Public Service Commission had approved the increase in 2005 after rejecting BG&E’s request for a $52.7 million boost. The Maryland Office of People’s Counsel appealed, arguing the increase was about $3.4 million too high. But the intermediate court said deference is owed to the commission’s rate-making decisions unless they are arbitrary or capricious. The commission presented “substantial evidence” that it “appropriately allocated the cost of providing service,” the court held. The unreported opinion is available as RecordFax#8-0826- 08 (16 pages).
Dental assistant charged with fraud
A dental assistant has been charged with wire fraud for allegedly stealing funds from her employer. U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein filed charges against Michelle Rampersad in the U.S. District Court in Greenbelt for wiring $9,482 from an Aetna Life Insurance Co. account in Kentucky to her own account in Maryland in April 2007. The transfer was allegedly part of a scheme to defraud her employer, Advance Dental Care in Greenbelt, of more than $400,000 by fraudulently endorsing, then depositing, about 185 reimbursement checks from March 2004 to October 2007.
Ex-delegate faces porn charge
The Justice Department has charged former state delegate Robert A. McKee with one count of possessing child pornography stemming from a search of his home and personal computers earlier this year. U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein says McKee, 59, faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted. No court date was scheduled. The charge was in the form of a criminal information rather than a grand jury indictment, which generally indicates a plea agreement is forthcoming. The Republican resigned on Feb. 15, about two weeks after Washington County sheriff’s deputies raided his home in Halfway, an unincorporated community near Hagerstown.
Originally published by Daily Record Staff & Wire Reports.
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