Articles by Jamie Smith Hopkins

7:51 PM EDT, May 24, 2013

Five questions with … Dr. Eddy C. Agbo

Hundreds of thousands of people die of malaria every year, most of them in Africa. Dr. Eddy C. Agbo wants people to get diagnosed quickly and easily — right in their homes — so they can seek treatment.

5:47 PM EDT, May 24, 2013

Sheraton workers agree to new contract, lift boycott

Two unions said Friday that they have ended a nearly six-year call to boycott the Sheraton Baltimore City Center Hotel, a move that came as workers ratified a new bargaining agreement with management.

9:21 PM EDT, May 20, 2013

More poverty in Baltimore's suburbs than in Baltimore

More people live in poverty in Baltimore's suburbs than in the city itself, part of a nationwide shift that is challenging the largely urban assistance network built up over decades.

8:42 PM EDT, May 17, 2013

BGE requests rate increase on heels of last case

Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. asked Friday for another rate increase, three months after winning approval for higher charges, and company officials said they expect to seek more in the future.

7:16 PM EDT, May 17, 2013

Md. sheds 6,200 jobs in April, Labor Department says

Maryland employers slashed 6,200 jobs in April, cutting short a string of gains, the U.S. Department of Labor said Friday, as the state began feeling the pinch of federal budget sequestration and cutbacks in consumer spending.

6:27 PM EDT, May 13, 2013

Labor official brings minimum-wage push to Baltimore

The fight over the federal minimum wage is coming to Baltimore.

May 17, 2013

Veterans, advocates brace for cutbacks

The Maryland Center for Veterans Education and Training's Baltimore complex is full of neatly made beds and shining-clean floors, a military-like environment for homeless former service members working to get their lives back on track.

6:15 PM EDT, May 8, 2013

Tessco profit falls 18 percent in its fourth quarter

Hunt Valley-based Tessco Technologies Inc. said Wednesday that revenue and profits both fell about 18 percent in its most recent quarter compared with a year earlier, driven by its exit from a high-revenue business it considered too low margin.

5:16 PM EDT, May 16, 2013

Cases lingering in Maryland Tax Court, state auditors say

The Maryland Tax Court has frequently failed to rule on residential property assessment cases as promptly as the law requires, according to a state audit made public Thursday.

7:16 PM EDT, May 7, 2013

W.R. Grace CEO sells stock for nearly $1.3 million gain

W.R. Grace CEO Fred E. Festa sold shares of newly exercised stock options for a nearly $1.3 million profit, the Columbia chemical maker said Tuesday.

3:57 PM EDT, May 9, 2013

Thinking small: Compact, cheaper living in 'tiny houses'

Greg Cantori plans to downsize when he retires. Really, really downsize.

May 5, 2013

F-35's manufacturers put civilians in 'cockpit'

Rep. Donna F. Edwards slipped into the F-35 cockpit — a stationary demonstration model — and gave the jet a simulated spin, trying out the controls, shooting down enemy aircraft over the Chesapeake Bay and executing a celebratory roll.

5:49 PM EDT, May 10, 2013

Baltimore-area home sales rise 15% in April

Baltimore-area home sales rose 15 percent in April compared with a year earlier, and newly pending deals soared as buyers kicked the spring housing market into higher gear, according to data released Friday.

1:55 PM EDT, May 2, 2013

Constellation donates $1 million to Teach For America

Constellation said Thursday that it is giving Teach For America $1 million for efforts in Baltimore over the next four years, from training teachers to helping program alumni fight poverty.

6:01 PM EDT, April 30, 2013

Aramark says it will lay off 202 dining workers

Aramark warned state regulators that it will lay off about 200 dining-service workers in Baltimore as a result of a lost contract, the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation said Tuesday.

5:41 PM EDT, April 30, 2013

FLIR Systems expands in Elkridge

FLIR Systems' government-contracting arm is more than doubling its space in Howard County as it prepares to start assembling threat-detection devices.

6:55 PM EDT, May 1, 2013

BGE to ask for a rate increase soon

Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. expects to ask for a rate increase within the next two months, less than half a year after it won approval for its last one.

2:20 PM EDT, April 26, 2013

Marriott plans 35 layoffs in June, several hundred later

Bethesda-based Marriott International warned the state that it will lay off 35 employees in June, and potentially several hundred others later in the year, the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation said Friday.

9:11 PM EDT, April 25, 2013

BGE says energy prices on the rise for electricity customers

Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. said Thursday that energy prices will rise $6 a month for the typical residential electricity customer who doesn't use an outside power supplier, the first jump in energy prices in four years.

3:50 PM EDT, April 25, 2013

Sun Products to lay off 53 in Baltimore

Household-product maker Sun Products said it will lay off 53 people next month at its manufacturing plant on Holabird Avenue in Southeast Baltimore.

3:50 PM EDT, April 25, 2013

PSC approves wind-farm project in Western Md.

Maryland regulators have approved a 24-turbine "wind farm" project to be built near Frostburg, the third land-based project in the state.

5:47 PM EDT, April 24, 2013

W.R. Grace says income dropped 13% in first quarter

Chemical maker W.R. Grace & Co. said Wednesday that its net income in the first quarter fell about 13 percent from the year-earlier period, in line with its warning to investors and analysts earlier in the month.

6:47 AM EDT, April 18, 2013

O'Malley chief of staff to lead Goldseker Foundation

Gov. Martin O'Malley's chief of staff will step down in May to head the Goldseker Foundation in Baltimore, the nonprofit plans to announce today.

April 28, 2013

Connecting workers on the autism spectrum with tech jobs

Data entry is repetitive and hard to do well — that is, quickly and accurately. Shane Foley is great at it.

6:13 PM EDT, April 24, 2013

$135 million in New Markets tax credits to Md. groups

Four Maryland organizations won the right to raise $135 million for community development projects by selling federal tax credits, the Treasury Department said Wednesday.

4:19 PM EDT, April 23, 2013

Old Dominion says it will ask to build a new power plant

Old Dominion Electric Cooperative said Tuesday that it will seek approval from Maryland regulators to build an electric power plant in Cecil County.

7:51 PM EDT, April 16, 2013

General Motors unveils its new electric motor in White Marsh

General Motors officially launched its new electric motor in White Marsh Tuesday, a milestone in U.S. manufacturing — and a key part of the company's bet that the electric-vehicle market is poised to grow.

5:49 PM EDT, April 12, 2013

Exelon donations in Maryland made as agreed

In the year since Exelon Corp. acquired Baltimore's Constellation Energy Group, the company has donated more than $300,000 to first-responders in the region. It is handing out thousands of free trees to Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. customers. It is helping fund energy-efficient homes for low-income residents.

4:40 PM EDT, April 23, 2013

Chicago's Exelon holds annual meeting in Baltimore

Exelon Corp. said Tuesday that its executive compensation package received an advisory OK from three-quarters of shareholder votes during the annual meeting, which the Chicago energy company held in Baltimore.

6:54 PM EDT, April 19, 2013

Md. employers add 4,700 jobs in March, Labor Dept. says

Maryland employers added 4,700 jobs in March, gains driven by the private sector, the U.S. Department of Labor estimated Friday.

2:58 PM EDT, April 15, 2013

Aiming high in federal contracting

As federal agencies pull back on spending, 7Delta's strategy is thinking big.

9:59 PM EDT, April 15, 2013

Three companies win $100,000 prizes in Md. start-up contest

A pharmaceutical company, a corporate-data analytics firm and a lighting company learned Monday night that they won the top prizes at the state's inaugural competition for start-up firms — $100,000 each.

April 7, 2013

Five questions with ... John Kennedy

Helping companies save money on postage can bring in the big bucks.

8:26 PM EDT, April 2, 2013

One-fourth of BGE customers had at least three outages in 2012

A quarter of Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. customers had three or more outages last year, a rough stretch that included the damaging derecho windstorm and Superstorm Sandy.

6:23 PM EDT, April 3, 2013

RG Steel creditors' lawsuit request is flawed, executives say

The executives whom RG Steel's unsecured creditors want to sue for allegedly mismanaging the bankrupt company said in court filings this week that the claims are baseless.

6:44 PM EDT, April 1, 2013

Finalists named in Maryland's startup contest

Maryland's competition for startup companies — with three grand prizes of $100,000 each — was narrowed to nine finalists Monday.

6:15 PM EDT, April 3, 2013

McCormick's shareholder meeting draws a crowd — as always

About 900 McCormick & Co. investors packed into a Hunt Valley ballroom Wednesday to hear about the company's performance, applaud its stock price gains and see how it is marketing its spices, recipe mixes and other goods worldwide.

1:15 PM EDT, March 27, 2013

Md. personal income rises 3.6% in 2012

Average personal income rose slightly more in Maryland last year than in the nation as a whole, but not as much as in 2011, the U.S. Department of Commerce said Wednesday.

4:19 PM EDT, April 2, 2013

McCormick's profits rise 2 percent in first quarter

Sparks-based McCormick & Co. said Tuesday that it increased profits 2 percent in the three months ending in February, compared with the year-earlier period.

3:16 PM EDT, March 25, 2013

Abe Bortz, historian, teacher, book reviewer

Abe Bortz, the Social Security Administration's first historian and a voracious book collector and reviewer, died Tuesday of lymphoma at his home in Pikesville. He was 93.

1:09 PM EDT, March 31, 2013

Not all fun and (video) games

Big Huge Games in Timonium closed last May, taking nearly 100 jobs with it. Nine months later, a local studio that was launched from the ashes of the video game-maker shut down, too. And Zynga, which created FarmVille and Words with Friends, closed its Baltimore County office several weeks ago.

8:03 PM EDT, March 29, 2013

Maryland adds 10,500 jobs in February

Maryland employers punched the accelerator on job creation in February, adding 10,500 positions and bringing the state much closer to recovering its recessionary losses five years after they began.

7:50 PM EDT, March 21, 2013

IRS files tax lien against Berger cookies maker

Add the Internal Revenue Service to the list of Berger cookies' woes.

9:28 PM EDT, March 24, 2013

Baltimore area readies for messy commute Monday morning

Winter is not quite ready to leave Baltimore.

4:12 PM EDT, March 22, 2013

Trying to change minds in smart-meter debate

Concerns about utility smart meters are frequently dismissed as tinfoil-hat paranoia. But it's not so easy to dismiss Jonathan Libber.

6:36 PM EDT, March 18, 2013

BGE offering 9,000 free trees to customers

Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. said Monday that it will hand out 9,000 free trees to customers — first come, first served — to help cut down on energy use.

6:35 PM EDT, March 18, 2013

Maryland gained 6,700 jobs in January; unemployment unchanged

Maryland employers added 6,700 jobs in January, picking up the pace from the end of last year, the U.S. Department of Labor said Monday.

7:50 PM EDT, March 14, 2013

Smart-meter foes ask for free opt-out

Legislators heard an outpouring of complaints Thursday about smart meters from Maryland utility customers who want to be allowed to opt out without charge.

8:31 PM EDT, March 15, 2013

Former Constellation CEO Shattuck retires from Exelon — but remains on its board

Mayo A. Shattuck III, who coordinated the sale of two Baltimore institutions to out-of-state concerns and ran the region's power company for a volatile decade, has retired from the parent of Baltimore Gas and Electric Co.

5:39 PM EDT, March 13, 2013

Sparrows Point owner says no to Coke Point for dredge containment

Sparrows Point's landowner turned down a Maryland Port Administration offer to use part of the property for containing dredge material, but both sides said Wednesday that it's not the final word.

7:38 PM EDT, March 11, 2013

Nuclear regulators uphold ruling on Calvert Cliffs reactor project

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission upheld a decision Monday preventing a French company from building a third reactor at the Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant in southern Maryland, but it offered glimmers of hope for the project's proponents.

11:49 PM EDT, March 17, 2013

Fort Meade apartments a first — probably not a last

More than 1,300 young, single soldiers, sailors and other service members drive to Fort Meade every work day because they don't live on post — can't, actually, because the barracks are full and other homes there are for families.

2:36 PM EST, March 2, 2013

Leaving Sparrows Point for jobs in other states

Joshua Polanowski was one of the first to go. He drove south in his 15-year-old GMC pickup truck, leaving behind freezing cold and a forever-closed steel mill for a balmy winter and a choice of manufacturing jobs.

8:12 PM EST, March 1, 2013

Bel Air payroll firm sued for allegedly keeping clients' tax payments

A Bel Air company that handled payrolls for many employers in the area is being sued by clients for allegedly stealing years of tax payments rather than sending them on to the tax collectors as required — leaving the companies on the hook.

7:25 PM EST, February 27, 2013

Maryland regulators say utilities must improve reliability

State regulators investigating widespread, long-lasting outages from the derecho last summer ordered Maryland utilities Wednesday to take steps to improve reliability — and signaled a willingness to add penalties for "sub-standard performance."

February 24, 2013

Md. businesses hope for more influence in Annapolis

Maryland's business leaders are increasing efforts to speak with a louder, more unified voice to state officials, seeing in looming federal budget cuts the necessity — or opportunity — to focus more attention on the private sector.

7:53 PM EST, February 20, 2013

Big pay cut contemplated for civilian defense workers

The vast majority of civilian defense employees face a 20 percent pay cut from April through September if looming federal budget reductions aren't averted, a move that will hit Maryland harder than almost every other state, the Pentagon warned Wednesday.

8:18 PM EST, February 22, 2013

BGE customers to see rate increase

Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. customers will be paying higher rates this year, with the average bills rising by several dollars a month, to cover the cost of upgrading the utility's infrastructure.

6:08 PM EST, February 19, 2013

Laid-off Hostess workers eligible for federal aid

Laid-off Hostess Brands workers, including 192 in Maryland, are eligible for federal trade assistance benefits, the U.S. Department of Labor said Tuesday.

5:10 PM EST, February 21, 2013

Md. business climate must be improved, speakers say

Nearly 400 people packed a conference room Thursday to hear conservative leaders argue that Maryland is in critical need of a better business climate as big federal spending cuts loom.

7:32 PM EST, February 18, 2013

Personality-test app suggests career choices

No idea what sort of job might suit you? A Middle River software company that fuses applications and psychology has a personality test for that — one built around images rather than questions.

February 24, 2013

Five questions for … Greg Cantori

Maryland's approximately 30,000 nonprofits range from the smallest all-volunteer organizations to the largest private employer in the state. Greg Cantori loves them all.

6:24 PM EST, February 21, 2013

Preparing your home for storms

Jill Sorensen's basement flooded after a winter storm knocked out her power, then again in 2011 during Hurricane Irene.

5:12 PM EST, February 19, 2013

Md. among the most at risk from federal cuts

Maryland is one of the states most "vulnerable" to sequestration cuts, given its dependence on federal spending, Wells Fargo said Monday.

February 17, 2013

Surcharges likely for gas pipeline replacement

When Maryland utilities replace their gas pipelines, customers have had to fork out extra money afterward — not during. But that's poised to change.

5:44 PM EST, February 6, 2013

KEYW says 2012 profits rise to $1 million

KEYW Holding Corp., a Hanover cybersecurity company, said Wednesday that it had $1 million in profit last year, nearly double its profit of $535,000 in 2011.

12:55 AM EST, February 4, 2013

Ravens hold on to win Super Bowl, 34-31

Ravens fans had waited 12 years for another Super Bowl victory, and they packed the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, dwarfing 49ers rooters in both numbers and volume.

5:02 PM EST, February 6, 2013

30% of BGE customers buy electricity elsewhere

Three in every 10 Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. customers are buying their electricity through third-party suppliers, continuing a steady trend of increases in recent years, the company said Wednesday.

12:29 PM EST, February 6, 2013

Grace's asbestos charge pushes profits down in 2012

Columbia chemical maker W.R. Grace & Co. reported profits Wednesday of $94.1 million last year, a big slide from 2011 that was driven by the company's $365 million non-cash charge for asbestos liabilities.

7:38 PM EST, February 7, 2013

Focus on federal agencies, panel advises Maryland

As federal budget cuts loom, a state task force is suggesting how Maryland might get more bang from the bucks spent by federal agencies in the state.

5:44 PM EST, February 1, 2013

RG Steel creditors withdraw request to sue Rennert

Unsecured creditors in the RG Steel bankruptcy case withdrew Friday their request to sue the company's billionaire founder.

10:14 AM EST, February 3, 2013

Man shot, killed in Southwest Baltimore overnight

A man was shot and killed overnight in the unit block of N. Wheeler Ave. in Southwest Baltimore, police said Sunday morning.

6:23 PM EST, January 31, 2013

O'Donnell Heights redevelopment to begin

The team picked to redevelop the 62-acre O'Donnell Heights public housing project in Southeast Baltimore has started construction after closing on $20 million in funding for the rental homes in phase one.

6:51 PM EST, January 29, 2013

Cobham to close two Baltimore-area locations, lay off 138

A British defense contractor said Tuesday that it will close its locations in Baltimore and Hunt Valley this year and lay off nearly 140 employees in reaction to a tightening market for military purchases.

6:02 PM EST, January 24, 2013

McCormick shares fall as earnings forecast disappoints

Spicemaker McCormick & Co.'s stock price swooned by more than $4 a share Thursday after the company's earnings forecast for the year fell short of what Wall Street analysts anticipated.

10:38 PM EST, February 1, 2013

In nationwide innovation battle, Baltimore area lags on patents

Dr. Luis Diaz is an oncologist at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, a researcher with patented findings and the co-founder of a small, fast-expanding company.

6:09 PM EST, January 31, 2013

Accuvant to expand Maryland operations, add 180 jobs

An information-security company expects to add 180 jobs in the next two years as part of an expansion in Howard County, the company said Thursday.

8:28 PM EST, January 23, 2013

Sparrows Point auction brings hundreds to buy mill's pieces

Hundreds of people gathered on site and online Wednesday for the first public opportunity to buy the silenced remains of the Sparrows Point steel mill — from forklifts and slab haulers to cabinets and snowblowers.

6:56 PM EST, January 29, 2013

Pension agency sues Renco Group over RG Steel deal

The federal Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. is suing the Renco Group — parent of bankrupt RG Steel — for allegedly attempting to "evade liability" for the steelmaker's pension obligations.

8:19 PM EST, February 2, 2013

Help for firms vying for a piece of the federal budget

Catonsville-based Alpha Omega Technologies performs work for one federal agency, and it wants more contracts — a daunting goal for a small company in a time of tight budgets.

10:22 AM EST, January 22, 2013

City ramps up battle against energy costs, overuse

Valorie Cooley was "in a really bad place" a year ago, with a broken furnace and past-due heating bills she couldn't pay.

6:06 PM EST, January 24, 2013

Hyatt settles complaint alleging unfair labor practices

The Hyatt Regency Baltimore has settled a federal complaint alleging unfair labor practices, the hotel and a local union said Thursday.

8:29 PM EST, January 18, 2013

Md. employers add 22,000 jobs in 2012

Maryland gained about 22,000 jobs in 2012, the smallest annual increase since the recession, underscoring the challenges facing the state in a year dominated by the federal budget and the collapse of a major employer.

2:35 PM EST, January 17, 2013

Enterprise Zones in Baltimore, Salisbury area expanded

Tax-break Enterprise Zones in Baltimore and the Eastern Shore will expand after getting an OK from Maryland's economic development agency, the state said Thursday.

3:14 PM EST, January 16, 2013

Rooms with a view on Anne Arundel island

The home has plenty to recommend it — five bedrooms, four bathrooms, two sunrooms and a big kitchen — but the primary selling point is outside.

1:02 PM EST, January 15, 2013

Veolia Transportation warns that it will lay off 78

Veolia Transportation warned state officials that it will be laying off 78 employees in Baltimore as it stops servicing a portion of an unspecified contract, but added that most could be hired by the new contractor.

7:18 PM EST, January 18, 2013

RG Steel's creditors want Rennert to pay over $238 million

Bankrupt RG Steel's unsecured creditors are seeking permission to sue Ira Rennert — the billionaire who created the company to buy Sparrows Point — for allegedly worsening the steel mill owner's financial situation in order to improve his own.

5:15 PM EST, January 11, 2013

Five questions with … Karen L. Sitnick

Karen L. Sitnick's job is jobs — helping people find them.

5:19 PM EST, January 10, 2013

Report: Baltimore area has thousands of cybersecurity job openings

Baltimore is a hotbed of cybersecurity jobs, with more than 13,000 job postings last October alone, according to a report funded by the Abell Foundation.

January 13, 2013

Md. panel ponders smart-meter alternative

Some Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. customers — Del. Glen Glass of Harford County included — are convinced that they don't want a smart meter wirelessly sending data about their energy usage day in and out.

9:20 PM EST, January 7, 2013

PSC holds first hearing on BGE request to raise rates

State regulators considering Baltimore Gas and Electric Co.'s request for higher rates will hear this week and next from the people least likely to agree: BGE's ratepayers.

5:39 PM EST, January 7, 2013

Md. regulators to provide a smart-meter option

The Maryland Public Service Commission said Monday that it will give energy customers a choice on smart meters, but it hasn't decided yet whether to allow a total opt-out or to make the alternative a smart meter installed in a way to limit radio-frequency emissions.

8:31 PM EST, January 14, 2013

Labor-practices case against Hyatt Regency begins

A hearing into allegations of unfair labor practices filed against the Hyatt Regency Baltimore began late Monday after hours of ultimately fruitless discussion about settling the complaint.

3:59 PM EST, January 6, 2013

'Suspicious device' in Catonsville was inert grenade

A suspicious-looking gadget that turned out to be an inert grenade — not capable of exploding — prompted a temporary evacuation in Catonsville Sunday.

4:09 PM EST, January 8, 2013

RG Steel files 'clawback' suits to get money repaid

RG Steel has filed more than 280 "clawback" suits aimed at getting companies to repay money received from the steel company in the three months before its bankruptcy.

4:52 PM EST, January 7, 2013

TEDCO adds investment funds, makes other changes

The state's technology development arm said Monday that it has changed key investment programs, will be managing new funds and has launched a program to help companies seeking patents.

6:09 PM EST, January 10, 2013

BGE wins industry award for power-outage efforts

The multiple-day outages might have enraged some customers, but Baltimore Gas and Electric Co.'s power restoration work after the derecho and Superstorm Sandy last year won it an industry award for "outstanding efforts."

7:10 PM EST, December 21, 2012

Md. loses 3,100 jobs in November, Labor Department says

Maryland's economy shed 3,100 jobs in November, the latest U-turn in a bumpy year overshadowed by the fast-approaching "fiscal cliff," according to federal data released Friday.

9:22 PM EST, December 17, 2012

Sparrows Point workers hear union account of their steel mill's death

Several hundred former Sparrows Point workers gathering late Monday afternoon for details of their steel mill's demise heard from union leaders that at least two groups had wanted to restart the plant but weren't given the chance.

5:18 PM EST, January 6, 2013

Dr. Ellen G. McDaniel, psychiatrist

Dr. Ellen G. McDaniel, whose distinguished career in psychiatry spanned more than 40 years and influenced patients, medical students and even juries, died of lung cancer Thursday at her home in Highland. She was 71.

December 22, 2012

Trees draw scrutiny in battle to keep the lights on

No one seemed to know who owned the unhealthy trees in the alley behind Rexmere Road in Baltimore, the ones growing amid the electrical lines, but there was no mystery about the cause of every power outage around there.

3:04 PM EST, December 13, 2012

Mortgage settlement gets mixed reviews

Deatrice S. Besong says it feels like winning the lottery: Her mortgage servicer recently agreed to reduce her loan by $249,000 next year, saving her $300 a month and erasing the debt overhang that has her owing far more than her house is worth.

5:23 PM EST, January 4, 2013

Public hearings to begin on BGE rate-increase case

Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. customers with opinions about the utility's request for higher rates can air them at public hearings beginning Monday.

5:30 PM EST, December 19, 2012

New economic development chief named for Md.

Maryland's second-in-command on economic development matters will step into the top job in January when the current secretary leaves for the private sector, state officials announced Wednesday.

1:27 PM EST, December 15, 2012

Deadline looms for Sparrows Point workers to seek help

The effort to connect former Sparrows Point workers with training for new careers gained more urgency last week as the final hopes of the steel mill reopening were dashed — and as the deadline to apply for the help or forever lose it fast approaches for hundreds.

8:41 PM EST, December 13, 2012

Possibility of Baltimore Sun sale brings interest from investors

The possibility that the Tribune Co. will sell its newspapers after an imminent exit from bankruptcy has set off a new round of speculation about The Baltimore Sun's future ownership — along with expressions of interest from potential buyers.

12:25 PM EST, January 6, 2013

Howard County inmate attempts suicide, is put on 24-hour watch

A 22-year-old man who attempted suicide at the Howard County Detention Center in Jessup over the weekend is back at the facility and under 24-hour watch, officials said Sunday.

3:02 PM EST, December 3, 2012

Sinclair Broadcast purchases nine TV stations

Sinclair Broadcast Group said Monday that it has closed on eight television stations it expected to acquire in December and — in a new move — purchased an additional station in New York.

2:02 PM EST, December 30, 2012

The push and pull of spending for Aberdeen contractors

Aberdeen Proving Ground has a lot more money to spend on contracts than it once did but not as much as in the very recent past.

2:09 PM EST, December 7, 2012

Md. utility regulator decries electricity proposal

Maryland's utility regulator Friday criticized a decision that could alter electricity bidding rules in the region, saying the change would hurt consumers.

5:19 PM EST, November 30, 2012

Fast-growing local manufacturer? Yes, it is possible

Drew Greenblatt's company has grown every year for the past six years — something many other firms, buffeted by the sharp recession, can't claim.

11:54 AM EST, December 2, 2012

Federal jobs 101: Getting through the application process

If the federal government's job application process seems impenetrable to you, take heart: There are people whose own jobs revolve around demystifying it.

6:31 PM EST, November 27, 2012

Protenergy to add up to 100 jobs on Eastern Shore by April, state says

Protenergy Natural Foods Corp. expects to add as many as 100 workers to its Eastern Shore operations by next spring, the state announced Tuesday.

3:44 PM EST, December 24, 2012

'Star of Bethlehem' lights up steel mill one final time

The five-pointed star, made of stainless steel and dozens of heavy-duty light bulbs, looks deceptively simple. Its symbolism is anything but.

6:27 AM EST, November 30, 2012

Baltimore area 'partially recovered' from recession

Baltimore's economic performance over the last year ranks it 179th among the 300 largest metropolitan economies worldwide, according to a new report that describes the region as "partially recovered" from the last recession.

7:15 PM EST, November 20, 2012

Maryland gained 14,000 jobs in Oct.; unemployment fell

Maryland employers turned in a third consecutive month of job growth with a large gain of 14,000 positions in October, the federal government said Tuesday — a much better trend after five months of losses.

5:33 PM EST, November 18, 2012

Gathering healthy food for the hungry, not just at Thanksgiving

Two dozen volunteers were on their hands and knees Sunday morning, harvesting abundant greens or bagging them to give away in a Baltimore neighborhood where both healthy food and money are in short supply.

7:43 PM EST, December 20, 2012

Sparrows Point co-owner disputes that it blocked bidders

One of the Sparrows Point owners broke its silence on the bidding process Thursday to rebut charges that it blocked potential operators from bidding on the steel mill, saying it "seriously considered" all companies with the means to make such a purchase.

7:29 PM EST, December 13, 2012

Sparrows Point's cold mill to be used for spare parts

An out-of-state steelmaker has bought the most valuable piece of the Sparrows Point plant to use as spare parts, a move that could kill the last hopes that the steel mill might be purchased by an operator and reopened.

December 2, 2012

BGE, seeking rate increase, to make case to regulators

Hearings begin Monday in a case that will decide whether Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. customers can expect higher distribution charges next year.

4:45 PM EST, November 27, 2012

Calvert Cliffs takes one of two nuclear reactors offline

The Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant shut down one of its reactors Tuesday after employees at the southern Maryland facility detected problems with a control rod.

4:44 PM EST, November 27, 2012

Mercier's Inc. warns of layoffs after loss of contract

An Anne Arundel County company that specializes in highway excavation and vegetation control warned Maryland regulators that it will lay off 75 employees because a contract was not renewed, the state said Tuesday.

November 25, 2012

North Baltimore home sells for $1.25 million

The priciest home to sell in Baltimore in September came with plenty of the usual upscale touches, plus some less typical ones.

9:10 PM EST, December 4, 2012

Audit of Maryland Public Broadcasting finds several issues

The state agency that holds Maryland Public Television's broadcast licenses didn't solicit bids for a $2.55 million contract it awarded and mistakenly paid $72,000 more than had been authorized to another contractor, a state audit found.

5:56 PM EST, November 28, 2012

'Job hubs' open in Baltimore to help job seekers

Baltimore is opening four "community job hubs" to help residents looking for employment, the city said Wednesday.

7:09 PM EST, November 20, 2012

RG Steel gets judge's OK for $767,000 in bonuses, stipends

A federal bankruptcy judge approved RG Steel's $767,000 "retention" plan for 21 employees Tuesday over the sharp objections of the United Steelworkers.

4:34 PM EST, November 26, 2012

Change Maryland argues for change at state's economic development agency

A group formed by a Maryland businessman argued in a report released Monday that the state's Department of Business and Economic Development is a political marketing organization rather than the job-creation agency it should be.

2:00 PM EST, November 14, 2012

Clyde's of Columbia to close for two months for renovation

Renovation work at Clyde's of Columbia will displace 195 employees for about two months next year, but the restaurant's management said Wednesday that it will find jobs for the workers at other Clyde's locations — or at local competitors.

6:29 PM EST, November 8, 2012

Exelon merger-fund millions go to projects to lower energy costs

The $113.5 million that Exelon Corp. agreed to make available for innovative projects — a condition of regulatory approval for its purchase of Constellation Energy in Baltimore — was awarded Thursday to groups planning to help low-income customers, small businesses and others lower their energy bills.

November 25, 2012

Five questions with … Ellen Reich

Ellen Reich's business — run out of her Butcher's Hill rowhouse — has international reach.

8:07 PM EST, November 12, 2012

Upgrades hailed at Baltimore County bottling plant

Glass bottles moved briskly along new manufacturing lines — some filling with rum, others with tequila — as the plant manager explained just how groundbreaking this was for a site used to a more sedate pace.

5:41 PM EDT, October 26, 2012

United Steelworkers union objects to RG Steel pay plan

The United Steelworkers called a request by RG Steel to pay 21 of its remaining employees $767,000 in bonuses and health-insurance stipends "an inappropriate, unfair and outrageous effort."

7:20 PM EDT, October 22, 2012

City Council urges homeowners to apply for tax break

About 25,000 Baltimore homeowners who received the Homestead Property Tax Credit this year will lose the sometimes-large break if they don't apply for it by Dec. 31, the Baltimore City Council warned Monday.

6:25 PM EST, November 23, 2012

Black Friday brings out crowds, some slopping over from Thursday

Diane Townes waited in line for 12 hours to get her door-buster deals — printers, a laptop and a 50-inch television — so imagine her chagrin when it looked like she wouldn't be able to squeeze it all into her car Friday morning.

5:25 PM EST, November 16, 2012

BGE gas customers likely to see 11% increase in winter bills

Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. said Friday that winter heating bills for its residential natural gas customers will likely rise 11 percent over last year due to colder weather — still low enough to be the second-cheapest winter of the past decade.

7:19 PM EST, November 13, 2012

Hyatt Regency hotel faces federal labor complaint

Unite Here — a labor union trying to organize workers at the Hyatt Regency Baltimore — gathered outside the hotel Tuesday to publicize a federal agency's decision to take the company to trial over alleged unfair labor practices.

5:20 AM EST, November 4, 2012

Strong federal ties leave Md. vulnerable to sudden cuts

Looming federal budget cuts make a whole lot of Marylanders nervous because a whole lot of Maryland depends on Uncle Sam for a paycheck — directly or indirectly.

2:44 PM EST, November 16, 2012

Exelon to pay $692,000 to settle alleged merger-related violations

Exelon Corp. will pay $692,000 — including $151,000 to Maryland regulators — to settle alleged violations of a Justice Department agreement that had allowed the company to acquire Baltimore's Constellation Energy Group.

7:09 PM EDT, October 23, 2012

Northrop Grumman plans cuts of up to 350 jobs

Northrop Grumman will cut up to 350 jobs from its electronics systems sector, with most of the reductions likely in the Baltimore area, the defense giant said Tuesday.

6:44 PM EDT, October 18, 2012

Sailabration drew more than 1.5 million visitors

Baltimore's weeklong Star-Spangled Sailabration in June drew more than 1.5 million people — some 435,000 from out of state — and had an estimated $166 million in economic impact on the metro area, according to a study released Thursday by the event organizers.

4:09 PM EDT, October 14, 2012

Charles County man dies after fall from a tree

A Southern Maryland man fell to his death after climbing a tree to get to his hunting stand, Maryland Natural Resources Police said Sunday.

October 20, 2012

Talking politics at work

Keeping your opinions to yourself at work might not be easy in today's supercharged political climate.

4:31 PM EDT, October 14, 2012

Maryland unemployment-insurance tax to drop in 2013

Many Maryland employers will see the tax they pay for unemployment insurance drop by more than half next year.

8:14 PM EDT, October 14, 2012

Walking — and sharing life details — to fight cancer

Before she joined the sea of pink-clothed people who turned out for a breast cancer walk in Baltimore Sunday morning, Janet Warren filled out a medical history and gave a blood sample. It was a different way to show her commitment to the cause — one that will last for years.

October 14, 2012

Beware the pernicious rental scam

Online listings offered the Northeast Baltimore home for rent at a bargain price. The problem? It's not for rent — it's for sale. And the owners had nothing to do with those ads.

12:05 PM EDT, October 30, 2012

Power returning to parts of the region, but 186,000 BGE customers still out

Power outages hit a plateau early Tuesday morning and began creeping downward, with about 186,000 Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. customers without electricity at noon, according to the company.

October 9, 2012

Raising Md. manufacturing's profile — and perhaps its job base, too

The number of manufacturing jobs in Maryland seems to go in only one direction — down. The state lost 21,000 positions in the past five years. More than 40,000 in the past decade. Nearly 70,000 in the past two decades.

3:20 PM EST, November 5, 2012

BGE sends employees out of state to help with outage work

Baltimore Gas and Electric Co., which fixed the last of its Cyclone Sandy power outages Friday, sent workers to harder-hit regions over the weekend and on Monday.

8:08 AM EDT, October 31, 2012

BGE works to restore power to thousands of residents

Dale Lucas' horse farm in Baltimore County lost power during Hurricane Irene last year. It lost power for six days when the derecho blew through in June. And it lost power again Monday night.

7:41 PM EDT, October 10, 2012

Md. regulators protest 'secret' talks over electricity-auction rules

Maryland's Public Service Commission objected Wednesday to "clandestine" negotiations over a possible change in electricity bidding rules in the region, saying states and consumer advocates had been left out of discussions on a proposal that could drive up prices and hurt reliability.

7:08 PM EST, November 12, 2012

Paid sick leave urged in Maryland

Raquel Rojas has never worked for a company that gave her paid sick leave. Sometimes even unpaid leave isn't on offer.

November 4, 2012

Sandy's economic impact on Baltimore area likely modest

General Motors' manufacturing plant in White Marsh lost about a day and a half to Cyclone Sandy. But it sustained no damage, missed no shipping deadlines and expected to quickly make up for lost time.

10:30 AM EDT, November 1, 2012

Md. mops up, but Garrett Co. is still in midst of the storm

The Baltimore area is getting back to normal after Sandy — government offices are open, trains are running again and the lights are on at 95 percent of the homes and businesses that lost power.

3:32 PM EDT, October 29, 2012

A primer on landing one of Fort Meade's jobs

Fort Meade's rapid growth in the past few years has made it the state's largest employer, but getting a foot in the door — or, rather, inside the guarded fence line — can be daunting.

6:57 PM EDT, October 16, 2012

Baltimore woman pleads guilty in unemployment fraud case

A Baltimore woman pleaded guilty Tuesday in connection with a scheme to steal more than $400,000 in Maryland unemployment benefits, the Maryland U.S. attorney's office said.

October 7, 2012

CEO pay rises at most local public companies

As pay raises go, it's hard to beat a fivefold increase.

5:44 PM EDT, October 1, 2012

Premier Rides to build tallest, fastest-looping roller coaster

Baltimore-based Premier Rides said it will design and build the world's tallest and fastest- looping roller coaster at a California theme park.

7:44 PM EDT, September 21, 2012

Md. employers add jobs, but unemployment rate rises

A five-month stretch of job losses in Maryland ended in August with a small gain, too meager to keep the state's unemployment rate from ticking up to 7.1 percent, the U.S. Department of Labor said Friday.

7:45 PM EDT, October 29, 2012

Sandy prompts many closures, but some are open for business

As much of the Baltimore region shut down, some businesses made sure they could stay open — come hurricane and high water.

9:03 PM EDT, October 19, 2012

Maryland gains 9,800 jobs in September

Maryland employers added 9,800 jobs in September, a gain that came almost entirely from the private sector, the U.S. Department of Labor estimated Friday.

4:43 PM EDT, October 11, 2012

Maryland court dismisses 3,168 debt-collection cases

The Maryland District Court said Thursday that its chief judge has dismissed 3,168 debt-collection cases against state residents and ordered that any liens associated with those cases be released.

October 7, 2012

Five questions with … LaTavia Little

LaTavia Little, executive director of Treatment Resources for Youth, has her hands full.

5:05 PM EDT, September 28, 2012

Convenience-store supplier, transportation provider plan layoffs

A convenience-store supplier warned Maryland regulators that it will lay off 112 employees in Baltimore, the state said Friday.

September 20, 2012

'Huge drop' in funding for community development

The City Arts Apartments are full of artists who live and work in the Baltimore complex, built on what long had been a vacant lot in a very vacant neighborhood. But a sudden gap in its development financing almost kept the project from getting off the ground.

5:29 PM EDT, October 24, 2012

W.R. Grace's profit falls 7.1 percent in third quarter

Chemical maker W.R. Grace & Co. said Wednesday that its third-quarter profit fell 7.1 percent to $75.5 million as revenue shrank, in part due to unfavorable exchange rates.

6:26 PM EDT, September 10, 2012

Israeli radar maker sets up in Howard County

Anxiety over federal budget cuts has big U.S. defense contractors slimming down, but an Israeli aerospace company is counting on expansion here.

7:03 PM EDT, September 6, 2012

Owings Mills man pleads guilty in mortgage-scam case

An Owings Mills man has pleaded guilty to mortgage fraud after prosecutors alleged he took money from at least 48 homeowners to help them get loan modifications, then stole the monthly payments they thought were going to their lenders, the state said Thursday.

4:54 PM EDT, September 26, 2012

New workforce center opens in Laurel

U.S. and state labor officials will cut the ribbon Thursday on a new workforce center for job seekers and employers.

5:48 PM EDT, September 20, 2012

Trade group sees loss of 50,000 small-business jobs in Md.

A trade group predicted Thursday that Maryland would lose just over 50,000 small-business jobs in the early stages of automatic federal budget cuts — the fifth-largest reduction in the country.

September 9, 2012

On-base living without military orders

No one in Tracie Edmondson's immediate family is in the military, but they live on an Army base.

5:23 PM EDT, September 19, 2012

Bank of America names head of Baltimore and Md. markets

Bank of America said Wednesday that an executive with 31 years at the company will step up as president of the institution's Baltimore and Maryland markets.

6:57 PM EDT, September 7, 2012

Revlon to close Maryland manufacturing facility

Cosmetics firm Revlon Inc. says it is ending manufacturing operations in Maryland as part of a global reorganization that will eliminate about 250 jobs.

September 2, 2012

Long, uncertain future ahead for younger Sparrows Point workers

Forrest Martin is looking at the same help-wanted listings as all the other Sparrows Point workers, the jobs with wages of $10 an hour, $13, $15. The jobs that could mean a pay cut of half — or more — from his steel mill days.

1:06 PM EDT, September 29, 2012

Federal contractor? Brace yourself

Federal workers aren't the only ones anxious about looming budget cuts. Federal contractors — plentiful in Maryland — have a lot at stake, too.

6:00 PM EDT, September 26, 2012

Maryland Food Bank hands out food to hundreds affected by Sparrows Point shutdown

The Maryland Food Bank said it handed out food Wednesday to hundreds of families affected by the mass layoffs at Sparrows Point.

6:26 PM EDT, September 17, 2012

New labor secretary is tapped for Maryland

Maryland's new labor secretary will be Leonard Howie, an official at the state Department of Human Resources, the state said Monday.

4:54 PM EDT, September 12, 2012

Some steelworkers won't get $10K retirement bonus after all

Some of the Sparrows Point steelworkers who took their employer up on an offer to retire in August and get a $10,000 bonus have been told they won't receive the money after all, their union says.

7:11 PM EDT, September 6, 2012

Health insurance plan offered for Sparrows Point

Laid-off Sparrows Point workers and retirees from the steel mill should soon be able to sign up for health insurance through a plan set up in another steelmaking region.

4:21 PM EDT, October 5, 2012

Top sale in August changes hands for more than $3.1 million

The house that ranks as the Baltimore region's priciest sale in August is, in the words of the sellers' real estate agent, "understated" — the sort of home that doesn't smack you in the eye with its high-end glitz.

6:24 PM EDT, September 25, 2012

Sparrows Point steel mill up for sale — again

Sparrows Point's new owners are setting a three-month deadline for interested parties to bid on the idled steel mill complex — in whole or in pieces.

7:56 PM EDT, September 14, 2012

Sparrows Point sale closes; buyers say they will look for steelmakers

The massive Sparrows Point complex changed ownership Friday for the fifth time in less than a decade, potentially its last sale as a steel mill.

7:14 PM EDT, September 10, 2012

RG Steel, state agree on lower property-tax assessment

RG Steel is asking for U.S. Bankruptcy Court approval for a settlement with Maryland that lowers its Sparrows Point property assessment, reducing its Baltimore County bill for the past three tax years.

2:20 PM EDT, August 28, 2012

Harborside Nursing in Baltimore lays off 71, state says

Harborside Nursing & Rehabilitation Center in Baltimore told state regulators that it had laid off 71 workers, the state said Tuesday.

12:29 AM EDT, September 8, 2012

Sparrows Point ripple effect leaves few untouched

Debbie Hurd sees it in the parking lots along North Point Boulevard — the answer to what life would be like if the steel mill that fueled the tight-knit communities near Sparrows Point never reopens.

3:45 PM EDT, September 5, 2012

Human Genome Sciences announces plan to lay off 114

Rockville-based Human Genome Sciences has warned state regulators that it plans to cut 114 jobs beginning in October, three months after striking a deal to be acquired by GlaxoSmithKline.

9:07 AM EDT, August 29, 2012

Local, U.S. job openings require more education than many workers have

Unemployed workers with a high school education or less are locked out of three-quarters of the job openings in the Baltimore region.

6:50 PM EDT, August 23, 2012

Judge OKs pact ending health benefits for Sparrows Point workers

A settlement agreement ending health benefits for Sparrows Point workers Aug. 31 was approved Thursday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del.

6:08 PM EDT, August 18, 2012

Company town is gone, but it lives on in its residents

Elmer Hall grew up in a small town with tree-lined streets, stores, churches and schools — and the largest steel mill in the world, which ran it all.

10:53 PM EDT, August 10, 2012

With new buyer, Sparrows Point faces a possible end to decades of steelmaking

Steel from Sparrows Point built the Golden Gate Bridge, the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, hundreds of ships for World War II and livelihoods for tens of thousands of Baltimore-area families.

7:50 PM EDT, September 4, 2012

BGE offers incentives for combined heat and power projects

Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. said it is offering new incentives for nonresidential electric customers' "combined heat and power" projects — up to $2 million apiece.

7:27 PM EDT, August 30, 2012

CSX coal pier damaged by ship, out of service

A CSX Corp. coal pier in Baltimore is out of service for the foreseeable future as the railroad assesses the "substantial" damage caused by a ship that hit the structure.

August 26, 2012

Helping homeless children, teens get medical care

You can see why a state might require minors to have a parent's OK before they receive medical care. But Maryland law has made life especially difficult for homeless teenagers who have no adults watching out for them.

12:58 PM EDT, August 17, 2012

Retiring Sparrows Point workers face deadline to get $10K bonus

Sparrows Point workers age 60 and older have until the end of today to retire if they want a $10,000 bonus.

6:29 PM EDT, September 4, 2012

Sparrows Point assistance events draw hundreds

More than 700 people turned out for workshops Tuesday connecting laid-off Sparrows Point workers with information about health insurance, training and other aid.

6:45 PM EDT, August 8, 2012

Sparrows Point purchased for $72 million by plant liquidator

A liquidation firm won the bidding for Sparrows Point, offering $72 million for the Baltimore County steel mill — less than a tenth of what the complex sold for just four years earlier — and realizing the worst fears of its roughly 2,000 employees.

9:06 PM EDT, August 20, 2012

For Sparrows Point workers, many questions, few answers

About 1,500 Sparrows Point workers overflowed a union hall Monday with urgent questions about the future of the recently sold steel mill — questions that mostly don't have answers yet.

August 19, 2012

After years of losses, price increases creep back into the Baltimore-area housing market

The home Azam Khan sold on Fairbank Road in Northwest Baltimore last month strikes the real estate agent as a prime example of market shift. It changed hands for about $25,000 more than each of the similar Cape Cods that sold on the street last year — and it's smaller to boot.

11:48 AM EDT, August 19, 2012

For some at Aberdeen Proving Ground, New Jersey is still home

Patricia O'Connor lives in Aberdeen. Or, by a certain way of thinking, New Jersey.

4:17 PM EDT, August 6, 2012

Exelon cut 170 Md. jobs, moved others in from Pa.

Exelon Corp. cut about 170 jobs in Maryland earlier this summer, just over half through layoffs and the rest through voluntary buyouts, the energy company said Monday.

8:19 PM EDT, August 15, 2012

Judge allows sale of Sparrows Point to winning bidders

— A federal bankruptcy judge approved Wednesday night the sale of the Sparrows Point steel mill for $72.5 million to a redevelopment firm working with a liquidation company, but the buyers said the plant might not be dismantled.

7:23 PM EDT, August 10, 2012

New company emerges as Sparrows Point's high bidder

Court records filed Friday show that the high bidder for the Sparrows Point steel mill is a Missouri redevelopment firm called Environmental Liability Transfer.

9:46 PM EDT, August 7, 2012

Sparrows Point steel mill goes to auction

The Sparrows Point steel mill was auctioned off Tuesday, but no one — not the company, not its attorneys, not the union — would say who bought it.

7:00 PM EDT, July 20, 2012

Bank of America to lay off 55 workers in Hunt Valley

Bank of America warned state regulators Friday that it expects to lay off 55 employees in Baltimore County.

6:16 PM EDT, August 27, 2012

Sessions to offer help for Sparrows Point workers, others

Baltimore County will hold sessions next week for Sparrows Point workers and others affected by the steel mill owner's bankruptcy.

7:34 PM EDT, August 14, 2012

Sparrows Point workers told to brace for end to benefits

The United Steelworkers union warned laid-off Sparrows Point workers Tuesday to brace for an imminent loss of benefits.

6:13 PM EDT, August 6, 2012

Sparrows Point auction still set for Tuesday — apparently

An auction for RG Steel's Sparrows Point mill, delayed last week, remains scheduled for Tuesday — at least as of early Monday evening.

8:28 PM EDT, July 20, 2012

Maryland lost 11,000 jobs in June, labor report says

Maryland's unemployment situation took a turn for the worse this spring and hasn't bounced back, with new estimates suggesting that the state lost 11,000 jobs in June — among the worst performances in the country.

10:14 PM EDT, July 30, 2012

Chick-fil-A president's words on gay marriage spark tempest

Faith Loudon plans to eat at as many local Chick-fil-A restaurants as she can manage on Wednesday — at least six. Other Marylanders, meanwhile, are vowing to donate the amount it would have cost them to get a chicken meal from the fast-food chain to gay-rights groups.

1:12 PM EDT, July 31, 2012

Sparrows Point auction to be delayed by a week

The auction for RG Steel's Sparrows Point steel mill, expected today, will be delayed by a week.

6:02 PM EDT, July 31, 2012

Auction for Sparrows Point mill delayed

The auction for RG Steel's Sparrows Point steel mill, expected Tuesday, will be delayed by a week.

7:03 PM EDT, July 18, 2012

RG Steel bonuses approved by federal judge

A federal judge approved Wednesday a potentially multi-million-dollar bonus package for 10 RG Steel executives after the Baltimore County steelmaker modified the proposal in response to objections.

2:35 PM EDT, July 16, 2012

Homebuilder pays almost $20 million for Anne Arundel Co. land

A national homebuilder paid almost $20 million for land in two Anne Arundel County locations that are both approved for development, a local land brokerage said Monday.

July 22, 2012

After storm, a big uptick in requests for generators

Nothing makes a generator look more tempting than a days-long power outage in a 100-degree heat wave.

12:39 PM EDT, July 15, 2012

Baltimore condos' tax bills increase in a big way

Two luxury condominium complexes alongside Baltimore's waterfront will have to pay nearly $2.3 million in additional property taxes this year, thanks to new assessed values that acknowledge — four years after the first residents moved in — that the buildings' empty units actually exist.

7:33 PM EDT, July 10, 2012

Home sales rise in Baltimore area for fifth straight month

Baltimore-area homeowners trying to sell are having the easiest time of it in six years, with the balance of power — though not price — back to where it was before the market crashed.

6:08 PM EDT, July 6, 2012

Driveway paver ordered to pay nearly $500,000 in fines, restitution

An unlicensed driveway paver working in the Annapolis area was ordered to pay nearly $500,000 in fines and restitution after the Maryland Attorney General's office found that he "preyed" on customers, charging them far more than he said he would.

6:04 PM EDT, July 9, 2012

Workshop offered on mortgage-settlement help

Homeowners hoping to see benefits from a national mortgage settlement — and others struggling with their payments — can attend a workshop in Baltimore Tuesday for information and assistance.

9:51 PM EDT, June 24, 2012

Anglican parish in Towson switches to Catholicism

The Rev. Edward Meeks and his flock attended to a "million and one details" last week in the run-up to a momentous day for their church. People to talk to. Flowers to arrange. Food to cook. And, of course, the new sign.

July 1, 2012

Money managers confront turmoil in eurozone

With all the upheaval in the eurozone and the promise of more to come, what's an investor to do? Kick anything vaguely European out of the 401(k)?

5:06 PM EDT, July 3, 2012

Federal help approved for Sparrows Point workers

Laid-off Sparrows Point steelworkers will have access to federal aid for retraining and other benefits, the state said Tuesday.

6:24 PM EDT, July 18, 2012

Inner Harbor townhouse project sells out after six years

The last of the luxury townhomes in a project built on piers in Baltimore's Inner Harbor has finally sold, six years after the first buyers moved in.

6:31 PM EDT, July 11, 2012

District Court dismisses debt cases against Marylanders

Maryland's District Court has tossed out nearly 3,600 debt-collection cases against state residents — with about $7.8 million in claims — as a result of a settlement with regulators over alleged violations.

5:01 PM EDT, July 3, 2012

Md. launches mortgage-discount program for military

Maryland is offering a new mortgage program that gives discounts to military families and veterans.

3:05 PM EDT, July 9, 2012

U.S. trustee objects to proposed RG Steel bonuses

The federal agency that oversees bankruptcy cases is objecting to proposed bonuses for RG Steel executives that could add up to more than $20 million.

12:39 PM EDT, June 17, 2012

'Explosive' growth for local law firm

As law firms across the country cut back, Offit Kurman has grown. Rapidly.

9:55 AM EDT, July 8, 2012

Summer jobs program encourages businesses to Hire One Youth

Amber Barner has had a summer job through the city's YouthWorks program seven times, every year since she was 14. But this time is different. This time her job will outlast the summer.

10:29 AM EDT, July 14, 2012

Underwater on the mortgage, stationed away from home

Air Force Maj. Justice Sakyi's change-of-station orders to Germany came with a built-in dilemma: what to do about his family's home in Maryland.

4:33 PM EDT, June 25, 2012

Court gives Sparrows Point mill more time to find a buyer

The Sparrows Point steel mill will have more time to find buyers — two to four weeks extra — under an agreement hammered out Thursday in the bankruptcy case.

6:04 PM EDT, June 14, 2012

Three indicted in unemployment-benefits scheme

Three Baltimore residents were indicted by a federal grand jury in connection with a scheme to claim at least $409,000 in Maryland unemployment benefits, prosecutors said Thursday.

3:32 PM EDT, June 12, 2012

Two local banks switch to local regulator

Two Baltimore-area banks have changed their charters so that they will be regulated by the state rather than the federal government, their new regulator said Tuesday.

7:43 PM EDT, June 15, 2012

Maryland proposes how it would spend $113.5 million in BGE fund

The state outlined Friday how it proposes to spend the $113.5 million that Exelon Corp. agreed to put in a "customer investment fund" as part of its merger with Baltimore Gas and Electric Co.'s parent.

8:29 PM EDT, June 8, 2012

With blast furnace down, Sparrows Point layoffs begin

The first big wave of layoffs hit Sparrows Point on Friday after the steel mill's owner essentially shut down its critically important blast furnace.

7:21 PM EDT, June 26, 2012

Laid-off Sparrows Point workers return to mill for job-search help

Mike Hartnett is one of hundreds laid off from Sparrows Point this month as the steel mill's owner looks for a buyer. He came back Tuesday in search of a Plan B: What to do if the Baltimore County plant closes for good.

8:51 PM EDT, June 19, 2012

Auction for Sparrows Point and related assets comes under fire

The speedy bankruptcy auction planned for the Sparrows Point steel mill and other assets held by its cash-strapped owner has come under fire from unsecured creditors, who say the timeline is so short that it reduces the possibility of a buyer paying fair value and restarting the facilities now standing idle.

7:56 PM EDT, June 15, 2012

Labor Dept.: Md. employers cut 7,500 jobs in May

Maryland shed 7,500 jobs in May, as the state posted one of the largest losses in the country for the second month in a row, the U.S. Department of Labor said Friday.

7:03 PM EDT, June 11, 2012

Baltimore-area home sales rose 13 percent in May

Home sales ratcheted up in May even as buying choices continued to shrink in the Baltimore area, leaving sellers with more leverage than they've had in five years — at least for now.

6:00 PM EDT, June 27, 2012

Mortgage scheme nets Crofton man a prison sentence

A Crofton man was sentenced Wednesday to more than four years in prison for redirecting about $5 million in mortgage payoffs on 17 Maryland properties to himself and a co-defendant, according to federal prosecutors.

1:18 PM EDT, June 6, 2012

Eviction-prevention event to be held Friday

The University of Maryland Extension is holding an eviction-prevention workshop Friday in Baltimore that will cover energy cost reduction, basic financial planning and other subjects.

1:16 PM EDT, June 6, 2012

Dolben Co. builds hundreds of apartment units in Balto. area

A Massachusetts company is building about 940 apartment units in and near the Baltimore area, with plans to start construction on about 460 more units this year.

12:56 AM EDT, May 21, 2012

Man fatally shot by Baltimore police identified

Baltimore police identified the man fatally shot by an officer Saturday afternoon as 31-year-old Maurice Holloman of Belair-Edison, though a relative said his name was Maurice Donald Johnson.

7:04 PM EDT, June 1, 2012

Inner Harbor carousel could be replaced with another

A new merry-go-round — possibly with Maryland-themed figures such as a blue crab and Baltimore oriole — could be brought in to replace the antique carousel that for a generation entertained children visiting Baltimore's Inner Harbor but was ordered out this year.

May 20, 2012

Baltimore-area housing market sees bidding wars return as buyers' choices shrink

David D. Igla lost out on three Ellicott City homes in the past few months before he finally beat the competition and had an offer accepted.

8:17 PM EDT, May 21, 2012

Baltimore homeowner almost ends up in tax sale after city loses check

Kristina Suson's home wasn't part of the city's tax sale Monday, but it was a close call.

May 13, 2012

Turning food scraps into compost

Keith Losoya thinks a terrible thing to waste is waste itself.

7:54 PM EDT, June 7, 2012

Maryland Live Casino crowds meant long lines, snarled traffic on opening night

Maryland Live Casino's opening night drew such a crowd that thousands didn't make it inside before the doors closed early Thursday morning, and traffic slowed to a crawl for miles on nearby highways.

8:03 PM EDT, May 30, 2012

Md. to spend most of its settlement funds on housing-related efforts

Maryland will direct most of the nearly $60 million it controls from the national mortgage settlement to housing counseling, legal help for homeowners and anti-blight work, state officials said Wednesday.

7:18 PM EDT, May 17, 2012

Maryland names interim labor secretary

Maryland's deputy secretary of labor stepped up Thursday as interim secretary, filling a job emptied when Alexander M. Sanchez left this week to become chief of staff to Baltimore's mayor.

6:52 PM EDT, May 16, 2012

Maryland's new mortgage delinquencies improve

The share of Maryland homeowners newly behind on mortgage payments fell to the lowest level for March in four years — an important milestone because the state's new-delinquency figure is now better than its pre-crisis average.

8:29 PM EDT, June 4, 2012

Expected layoffs at Sparrows Point hang over workers

They know massive layoffs loom, but Sparrows Point steelworkers who gathered at Micky's Bar after work Monday — the expected start of cuts — hadn't been told if or when they'd be out of a job. State and local officials trying to ramp up efforts to help them were similarly in the dark.

5:44 PM EDT, May 14, 2012

Mortgage fraud scheme nets 29-month sentence for D.C. woman

A federal judge in Maryland sentenced a Washington woman to 29 months in prison Monday for her role in what prosecutors called a "massive mortgage fraud scheme" — one that ensnared more than 1,000 victims and took in $78 million.

4:09 PM EDT, May 7, 2012

Maryland's two casinos bring in $14.5 million in April

Maryland's casinos brought in $14.5 million in April, with both locations increasing revenue compared with a year earlier, the state said Monday.

1:40 PM EDT, May 20, 2012

Baltimore fire may have been set with Molotov cocktail

Fire and police officials are investigating an East Baltimore fire as a possible arson after finding evidence of a Molotov cocktail at the scene.

5:24 PM EDT, May 17, 2012

Passenger traffic hits first-quarter record at BWI

More than 4.9 million commercial passengers flew through Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport in the first three months of the year, a first-quarter record, the airport said Thursday.

6:37 PM EDT, May 10, 2012

Baltimore area home prices jump in April thanks to fewer foreclosures

The Baltimore region saw a double-digit jump in average home sale prices in April, the most in six years — but the gain was driven by a shrinking supply of cheap foreclosures rather than a resurgence in value.

May 10, 2012

Maryland's economic mobility is among the best in U.S.

If you're aiming to be upwardly mobile, living in Maryland might help.

6:52 PM EDT, May 20, 2012

Preakness mess takes a lot of people to clean up

At first glance, Pimlico Race Course's infield didn't look quite as trash-filled as Yolanda Wade is used to seeing it the Sunday morning after the Preakness, despite record crowds this year.

4:12 PM EDT, May 31, 2012

Md. retirement system to vote against electing Wal-Mart directors

Maryland's state retirement system said Thursday that it would once again vote against the election of Wal-Mart Stores' board because it isn't confident in the independence of the directors.

7:10 PM EDT, May 11, 2012

Annapolis retiree awarded $342,000 in bad-mortgage case

A 78-year-old Annapolis man who said he was duped into getting unsuitable mortgages — sending the home he had owned for decades into foreclosure — was awarded $342,000 by an Anne Arundel County jury this week.

6:59 PM EDT, May 9, 2012

FTI Consulting's stock falls on first-quarter earnings miss

FTI Consulting Inc.'s stock price hit a 12-month low Wednesday after the business services company fell short of financial analysts' expectations for first-quarter earnings.

6:53 PM EDT, May 3, 2012

Builder pleads guilty in investment scheme

A Baltimore home builder pleaded guilty Thursday in connection with a construction investment scheme that defrauded victims of more than $14 million, the Maryland U.S. attorney's office said.

8:37 PM EDT, May 7, 2012

One Baltimore company on Fortune 500 list — for last time

Baltimore made the newest Fortune 500 list by the skin of its teeth — with a company that was based here last year but is now part of an out-of-state concern.

7:59 PM EDT, May 1, 2012

Online tool lets businesses search for Md. location

State economic development officials have launched an online tool to help companies interested in relocating to Maryland or local businesses in need of new space.

4:11 PM EDT, May 2, 2012

City: Removal of unwarranted tax breaks means $4M extra due

Baltimore's Department of Finance said Wednesday that its year-old "billing integrity" effort to ferret out unwarranted tax breaks has turned up just over $4 million in extra property taxes due the city.

3:23 PM EDT, May 20, 2012

Teenager shot after late-night argument in East Baltimore

A teenager was shot in the left buttock late Saturday night after an argument between two groups of men escalated in East Baltimore, police said Sunday.

6:59 AM EDT, May 9, 2012

Baltimore area has high share of high-tech manufacturing jobs

The molten metal pouring from the foundry at Danko Arlington Inc. in Baltimore harks back to the early industrial era. But across the street in one of the company's other buildings, workers operate an X-ray machine, a laser probe and a 3D printer that seems plucked straight from science fiction.

7:58 PM EDT, May 1, 2012

Severna Park resident sentenced in mortgage fraud case

A Severna Park woman was sentenced Tuesday to just over three years in prison after pleading guilty to a mortgage scam involving $4.7 million in fraudulent loans, the Maryland U.S. attorney's office said.

7:13 PM EDT, April 23, 2012

Websites aim to make neighborhoods more neighborly

In the Anne Arundel community of Berrywood, neighbors talk to each other daily. Could you recommend a plumber? Anyone want my piano? Hey, we have a hobby in common!

1:33 PM EDT, May 7, 2012

Phillips, Capital One warn of layoffs in Baltimore area

Seafood company Phillips Foods Inc. will be closing its Baltimore manufacturing and distribution facility in July and cutting 100 jobs, about 13 percent of its Maryland workforce.

8:29 PM EDT, April 27, 2012

Nonprofit plans to rehab 500 city homes

A North Carolina nonprofit group launched an ambitious affordable housing program Friday to rehabilitate 500 vacant or foreclosed homes in Baltimore near Johns Hopkins Hospital — an area with desolate stretches in the shadow of the world-renowned institution that the city has long sought to redevelop.

5:55 PM EDT, April 10, 2012

Harland Clarke to cut 125 jobs in Glen Burnie

Payment and marketing services company Harland Clarke says it will cut 125 jobs at its Glen Burnie facility, leaving 70 to 80 employees there as it moves printing and production work out of state.

6:56 PM EDT, May 18, 2012

Maryland sees biggest job loss in nation in April

Maryland shed 6,000 jobs in April, the federal government said Friday — the largest monthly loss in the country during a month when most states gained, but one that might have been overstated.

6:07 PM EDT, April 8, 2012

City homeowners given 30 days to repay tax credits they didn't request

Over the past two years, Maureen Coyle has received $5,700 in property tax breaks that the city admits she never requested for her Patterson Park rowhouse. Now the city is demanding full repayment by month's end.

8:43 PM EDT, March 21, 2012

Mayor wants to expand property-tax effort

The number of city workers charged with rooting out property tax fraud and errors would triple — from one employee to three — under Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake's budget proposal for next fiscal year.

2:00 PM EDT, March 19, 2012

Health care firm warns of closure, layoffs in Landover

Health care services company McKesson Corp. warned state regulators Monday that it would close its Landover facility this spring and lay off 106 employees.

1:41 AM EDT, April 26, 2012

'Next economy' envisioned for Baltimore region

A new report being released today calls on the Baltimore region to rethink economic development, pointing to a worrying trend: a mounting share of low-wage jobs shutting more and more residents out of the middle class.

12:30 PM EDT, May 4, 2012

Wells Fargo mails mortgage-rate reduction offers to borrowers

Wells Fargo borrowers potentially eligible for mortgage rate reductions under the national settlement with big banks are being notified this month, Maryland's attorney general said Friday.

7:42 PM EDT, March 23, 2012

No plan to 'divert' mortgage settlement money away from Md. homeowners, officials say

Maryland's attorney general said Friday that the nearly $60 million from the national mortgage settlement that the state controls would be used to help people "victimized by the egregious conduct of the banks," in contrast with some states that intend to use their shares to plug budget holes.

6:12 PM EDT, April 26, 2012

Institutions organize to boost Baltimore's 'next economy'

The Annie E. Casey Foundation and other Baltimore institutions are organizing to help accelerate the growth of well-paying jobs and make sure more residents are qualified to land them, building on the recommendations of a new study that envisions the region's "next economy."

7:43 PM EST, March 4, 2012

Md. Catholics come to celebrate with O'Brien

Cardinal Edwin F. O'Brien, speaking Sunday at a Mass of Thanksgiving in Baltimore after his recent elevation ceremony in Rome, alluded to political battles in Maryland as he said the church must always stand up for its values.

7:41 PM EDT, March 22, 2012

General Growth Properties to improve Columbia office complex

General Growth Properties will spend $1.8 million improving a seven-building office complex in Columbia's town center, its leasing agent said Thursday.

1:33 PM EDT, April 28, 2012

At pricey condos, developers pay just hundreds in tax

They're some of the priciest condos in the city, but they're taxed like empty lots.

9:48 PM EDT, April 30, 2012

Jenna Bush Hager, husband still get homestead tax credit after moving away

It's been about a year and a half since former first daughter Jenna Bush Hager and her husband, Henry, reportedly left their South Baltimore rowhouse for new digs in Manhattan. But Henry Hager still owns the Baltimore place — and the couple still enjoys a property tax break that's supposed to be available only to owner-occupants.

6:26 PM EDT, April 10, 2012

With fewer foreclosures for sale, home sellers get boost

The sharp and likely temporary drop in the number of foreclosed homes for sale in the Baltimore region is making life easier for owners trying to find a buyer.

March 25, 2012

Joining the affordable-housing movement

Mike Posko was building a house with Habitat for Humanity International — in Nepal — when the Baltimore-area affiliate emailed him late last year to ask him to come in for an interview.

5:53 PM EDT, April 20, 2012

Md. employers added 1,500 jobs in March

Maryland employers added 1,500 jobs in March — thanks entirely to growth in the private sector — but the state's unemployment rate inched up as the pool of would-be workers expanded more rapidly.

8:49 PM EST, March 2, 2012

Property assessment critics say review is needed

Harford County homeowner Roy Whiteley, a vocal critic of the state's property assessment process, has been pushing for years to get a bill passed that would put in place a task force to review the system and suggest improvements. He's hoping the seventh time is the charm.

11:03 AM EDT, April 3, 2012

Homeowners must apply for property-tax credit or lose it

Tens of thousands of Maryland homeowners who haven't already applied for the Homestead Property Tax Credit have until the end of the year to do so or lose the often-valuable break.

6:51 PM EST, March 4, 2012

Peyton Skipwith Cochran Jr., Rouse Co. executive

Peyton Skipwith Cochran Jr., a longtime Rouse Co. executive who helped develop shopping centers but was deeply interested in land preservation, died Thursday at Springwell Senior Living in Baltimore from complications of Alzheimer's and a stroke. He was 85.

11:26 AM EDT, April 3, 2012

Homeowners must apply for property-tax credit or lose it

Tens of thousands of Maryland homeowners who haven't already applied for the Homestead Property Tax Credit have until the end of the year to do so or lose the often-valuable break.

6:34 AM EDT, March 21, 2012

Enterprise to merge mortgage division with Cleveland firm

A Columbia-based affordable housing organization will announce today that it is merging a mortgage division with a Cleveland firm and will own a majority of the new company.

4:31 PM EDT, March 12, 2012

Lanham company warns of possible layoffs

A Lanham-based company warned state regulators Monday that it could lay off more than 100 employees if a federal contract isn't renewed this spring.

4:42 PM EST, February 24, 2012

FTI Consulting says profits rose 57% in 2011

Baltimore-based FTI Consulting Inc. said it increased profits by more than 50 percent last year, driven in part by strong growth in its business consulting divisions in Latin America and Asia.

6:02 PM EDT, April 26, 2012

Institutions organize to boost Baltimore's 'next economy'

The Annie E. Casey Foundation and other Baltimore institutions are organizing to help accelerate the growth of well-paying jobs and make sure more residents are qualified to land them, building on the recommendations of a new study that envisions the region's "next economy."

3:38 PM EST, March 1, 2012

Carroll Independent Fuel acquires High's of Baltimore

The Carroll Independent Fuel Co. acquired Hanover-based High's of Baltimore Inc. on Thursday, the companies said.

8:03 PM EST, March 5, 2012

Farmers Insurance launching Md. operations in Owings Mills

Farmers Insurance is opening an agent recruiting and training center in Owings Mills as it breaks into the Maryland market.

7:00 PM EST, February 16, 2012

Md. mortgage distress appeared to ease slightly in 2011

The number of Maryland homeowners behind on their mortgage payments but not yet in foreclosure inched downward in 2011, numbers released Thursday showed.

1:55 PM EST, March 2, 2012

Fewer homes for sale as discouraged owners sit on the sidelines

Jason Berkowitz wants to sell his family's townhouse and get a place nearby with more room, but there's a lot less on offer than you'd expect in a buyer's market.

11:58 AM EST, March 4, 2012

Five young men stabbed in Harford County

Five young men were stabbed late Saturday in Edgewood, the Harford County sheriff's office said Sunday.

4:20 PM EST, February 2, 2012

Adventist Behavioral Health to close Crownsville campus

Adventist Behavioral Health said it will close its residential treatment facilities and school in Crownsville later this year, moving the teen-agers it serves to locations in Rockville and in Cambridge on the Eastern Shore.

6:32 PM EDT, March 12, 2012

Baltimore-area home sales, contracts rose in February

Baltimore-area home buyers picked up the pace in February ahead of the important spring selling season, helped along by unseasonably mild weather.

8:46 PM EST, February 12, 2012

Man killed in N.E. Balto.; two others shot in city hours later

A 27-year-old man died after being shot multiple times in Northeast Baltimore, one of three people shot in the city on Sunday, according to police.

12:34 PM EST, February 24, 2012

Baltimore real estate firm acquired by Pa. company

Baltimore-based Yerman Witman Gaines & Conklin Realty said Friday that it has been acquired by a Pennsylvania residential real estate company for an undisclosed amount.

8:42 PM EST, January 29, 2012

Botched Federal Hill valuation highlights shrinking number of assessors

The imposing three-story home on the 200 block of E. Montgomery St.stands out from its more modest Federal Hill neighbors. The edifice, with 15 front windows and a gated driveway, is noticeably bigger and no doubt much pricier.

12:04 AM EST, March 5, 2012

Three men shot, one killed in Baltimore early Sunday

Three men were shot in separate incidents in Baltimore — one fatally — in the early hours of Sunday morning, police said.

8:32 PM EST, February 3, 2012

Habitat for Humanity of the Chesapeake names new CEO

Affordable-housing provider Habitat for Humanity of the Chesapeake said its new chief executive — who brings a construction and finance background — will come on board this month.

6:14 PM EST, January 28, 2012

Md. 'robo-signing' case thrown out of federal court

A class-action lawsuit over alleged foreclosure "robo-signing" was thrown out of federal court in Greenbelt last week when a judge ruled that the plaintiffs could have raised those complaints during their foreclosure cases.

9:24 PM EST, February 1, 2012

Facebook files to go public

Facebook filed paperwork Wednesday to allow it to go public this spring, a deal being closely watched internationally — and especially at Baltimore's T. Rowe Price Group, which holds a stake of about $400 million in the social-networking behemoth through its mutual funds.

5:31 PM EST, February 12, 2012

Adeline Ogier Bracken, athlete and mother

Adeline Ogier Bracken, a multi-talented athlete who earned a bachelor's degree in mathematics when few women attended college and went on to raise 10 children, died Tuesday of heart failure at Mercy Ridge Retirement Community in Timonium. She was 96.

6:22 PM EST, January 25, 2012

Ground rent bill would set penalty for failing to register

A group of state legislators has proposed new ground rent rules that would prevent owners from collecting payments if they don't register properties with the state, an attempt to deal with an appeals court ruling that left an earlier registration law in limbo.

5:40 PM EST, January 2, 2012

Riley William Davis

Riley William Davis, whose sunny personality and quick wit sustained him and his family through his four-year battle with leukemia, died Wednesday at Johns Hopkins Children's Center. He was 13.

7:10 PM EST, January 30, 2012

First Mariner loses nearly $4 million in fourth quarter

First Mariner Bancorp said Monday that it lost almost $4 million during the three months ending Dec. 31, about the same as a year earlier after accounting for a one-time tax charge in the fourth quarter of 2010.

8:29 PM EST, February 2, 2012

Some property owners receive revised assessments

Ryan Carr's home was reassessed by the state in December, but that wasn't quite the final word.

8:47 PM EST, January 23, 2012

Gansler urged not to sign foreclosure settlement

As state attorneys general across the country consider whether to settle with big banks over shoddy and illegal foreclosure practices, some Marylanders are urging Douglas F. Gansler not to sign on the dotted line.

3:47 PM EST, February 17, 2012

Northrop Grumman to lay off at Fort Meade, elsewhere

Defense contractor Northrop Grumman Corp. warned state regulators Friday that it will be laying off 224 employees across the country, including dozens based at Fort Meade, after losing a contract to provide security for a government agency.

8:34 PM EST, February 27, 2012

City officials want to spread word about homeowners' tax credit

Two Baltimore City Council members are planning campaigns to get the word out about property tax assistance for homeowners with modest incomes, reacting to a Baltimore Sun article that showed the pool of apparently eligible city homeowners is far larger than the number of people actually receiving the help.

8:12 PM EST, January 19, 2012

Hundreds of city homeowners lose invalid tax breaks

State officials have revoked tax breaks from more than 550 homes in Baltimore after a Baltimore Sun analysis showed that hundreds of owners have been receiving the homestead property tax credit on multiple houses in apparent violation of state law.

5:58 PM EST, February 29, 2012

Civil Justice gets new executive director

Baltimore-based Civil Justice, a nonprofit heavily involved in efforts to get homeowners better legal protections and representation, has a new executive director.

6:44 PM EST, January 10, 2012

Another down year for Baltimore-area housing market

The Baltimore region's housing market posted the fourth straight year of average price declines in 2011 as the number of home sales hit a low not seen in at least a decade and a half.

7:17 PM EST, December 30, 2011

Retired First Mariner CEO sells 1 million shares of stock

First Mariner Bancorp's newly retired chief executive told regulators that he sold just over 1 million shares of company stock this week — for a grand total of $21,084.

7:06 PM EST, February 28, 2012

Two companies warn of layoffs in Baltimore County

Two companies have warned state regulators that they're planning layoffs in Baltimore County.

1:12 PM EST, February 13, 2012

Powerball winner is $336.4 million richer

Someone in New England is — knowingly or not — $336.4 million richer.

2:16 PM EST, February 25, 2012

TAXING BALTIMORE

Many don't know about tax break for lower-income homeowners

Vera Artis would seem to be a perfect fit for the state program created decades ago to ease the property tax burden on homeowners with modest incomes.

January 29, 2012

Free tax preparation, plus a lot more

If you don't make a lot of money, the Baltimore CASH Campaign thinks you shouldn't be forking any of it over to get your tax returns prepared.

8:18 PM EST, January 24, 2012

Labor Department: Maryland added 25,000 jobs in 2011

Maryland employers added nearly 25,000 jobs last year, according to new estimates — the best performance since 2006, but one that still leaves the state with more than 80,000 jobs to make up, given the recession's losses.

6:11 PM EST, January 26, 2012

Changes at BWI eateries, bars create uncertainty for workers

An airport food company warned state regulators Thursday that it is laying off 112 employees as it hands off the management of restaurants and bars at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport to another firm — which could decide to hire all the same workers.

7:27 PM EST, December 23, 2011

Sparrows Point steel mill shuts down suddenly

Sparrows Point has shut down steelmaking operations as the Baltimore County plant struggles to pay its bills and win back customers, workers said Friday.

7:38 PM EST, January 18, 2012

Changes suggested to stave off foreclosure and its ill effects

A state task force is recommending a raft of changes to give Maryland homeowners a better shot at avoiding foreclosure and — when foreclosures do happen — to give neighborhoods a greater chance at recovering.

7:24 PM EST, January 9, 2012

Tremont Plaza Hotel to become apartments

Responding to growing demand for more apartments in downtown Baltimore, owners of the Tremont Plaza Hotel will start converting the all-suites property later this year into a mix of rental units and long-term guest suites, the hotel's developer said Monday.

7:14 PM EST, December 19, 2011

Corporate Office Properties Trust sells buildings, land in Balto. Co.

Corporate Office Properties Trust said Monday that it had sold land and buildings in Baltimore County business parks for almost $49 million.

4:58 PM EST, January 17, 2012

Md. advertises its financing help for small businesses

The state is kicking off a $150,000 campaign to advertise financing help for small businesses in Maryland.

4:25 PM EST, January 7, 2012

Top property tax bills in Baltimore add up to big bucks

When the city sends Tom Clancy his property tax bill, finance officials might want to tuck in a thank-you note.

January 1, 2012

The Interview: Larry Harding, president of High Street Partners

About 20 of High Street Partners' employees are based at its Annapolis headquarters. The rest of its 160 workers are spread around the world, from California to London to Shanghai — which makes sense, considering its niche.

7:27 PM EST, December 27, 2011

Susquehanna Bancshares could lay off 35

Susquehanna Bancshares Inc. is warning state officials that it could lay off as many as 35 employees at Maryland locations starting in mid-February, but it hopes workers in disappearing jobs will be able to switch to other positions in the company.

8:14 PM EST, December 18, 2011

Key state lawmaker calls for property tax cap overhaul

A state lawmaker who helps set tax policy is calling for an overhaul of Maryland's property tax cap law, after a Baltimore Sun investigation documented how the costly program has resulted in homeowners across Baltimore paying vastly different amounts for similarly valued houses.

4:07 PM EST, January 2, 2012

Ravens 'mailboxes' to appear at Giant Food stores

Fans can get letters delivered to the Baltimore Ravens by dropping them off in purple mailboxes at local Giant Food grocery stores, a promotion kicking off Tuesday as the football team prepares to head into the playoffs.

7:28 PM EST, December 19, 2011

Online-donation option available, Fuel Fund of Md. says

The Fuel Fund of Maryland said BGE customers will now be able to donate money online to help residents who can't afford their energy bills.

9:22 PM EST, December 17, 2011

City councilman presses for property-tax overhaul

Along with some of his neighbors, the chairman of the Baltimore City Council's taxation committee is getting a remarkable tax break on his home: He pays just 16 percent of the bill. The Homestead Property Tax Credit picks up the rest.

9:22 PM EST, December 17, 2011

Tax credit for homeowners means big break for some, nothing for thousands

Jeff Burdick and his next-door neighbors have nearly identical two-story rowhouses, on the same block of East Clement Street with the same public schools and the same city trash pickup. But one striking difference is the $5,300 he pays in yearly property taxes — more than both his neighbors combined.

4:15 PM EST, December 13, 2011

Nonprofits added jobs in Maryland in 2010 as companies cut back

While for-profit companies shed jobs in Maryland last year, nonprofit organizations kept on expanding, according to a new study.

9:04 PM EST, December 19, 2011

Lawsuit alleges fraud in real estate transactions

Several Baltimore-area homeowners are suing the largest residential real estate team in the state, alleging a "scheme of fraud and misrepresentations" involving home purchases, sales and financing.

6:33 AM EST, December 28, 2011

Home values fell 17% in three years, state assessors say

Home values in Maryland communities reassessed by the state this year have fallen an average of 17 percent since 2008, a sizable drop but smaller than in the last two rounds of property evaluations.

8:24 PM EST, December 17, 2011

Sun analysis finds 17 owners with three or four homestead credits, hundreds of double-dippers

Since 2009 Patrick Tong has received "homestead" property tax breaks worth $18,000 on three rowhouses he owns in East Baltimore.

7:06 PM EST, December 12, 2011

Area home prices up or down in Nov.? Depends on the measure

A modest increase in average home prices in November is the first upturn for the Baltimore region in more than a year, but beleaguered homeowners shouldn't cheer just yet.

9:53 PM EST, December 20, 2011

Maryland sees improvement in jobs picture

Maryland's employment picture continued to improve in November, and local economists are hopeful that 2012 will be an improvement over this year — but they aren't expecting much.

5:27 PM EDT, October 28, 2011

State suspends licenses of affiliated debt-collection firms

Maryland financial regulators said Friday that they have suspended the debt-collection licenses of two affiliated companies and ordered them to stop attempting to collect on consumer debts.

8:28 PM EST, December 23, 2011

First Mariner's Hale retires

Edwin F. Hale Sr., the Baltimore trucking magnate and developer, said Friday that he has retired as chief executive and chairman of First Mariner Bancorp — the banking company he built, only to scramble in the housing market collapse and recession to save it from failure.

6:12 PM EST, December 12, 2011

Education, health, government jobs help buffer Balto. region

Employment in the Baltimore area has held up better in the last few difficult years than it has in other, similar regions, thanks largely to the strength of the education, health care and government sectors, according to a new study.

6:46 PM EST, November 28, 2011

Up in the sky: Not a bird or a plane — a helicopter with ads

You know those banners towed by airplanes over beaches and stadiums? Old hat. Prepare yourself for airborne advertising 2.0.

6:55 PM EST, December 6, 2011

103 rowhouses in Patterson Park draw bid of $4.2 million

Just over 100 rowhouses in the Patterson Park area were auctioned off Tuesday, but the high bidders must wait to see if the selling company will accept their $4.2 million offer.

6:07 PM EST, December 15, 2011

Western Maryland plant to lay off 59 by March

A uniform manufacturer warned state regulators Thursday that it planned to lay off 59 workers at its Western Maryland plant.

6:25 PM EST, November 22, 2011

Md. unemployment rate improves as employers add jobs

Maryland's unemployment rate improved in October as employers added 3,100 jobs, a bit of good news for residents to chew on heading into Thanksgiving and — retailers hope — holiday shopping.

7:20 PM EST, December 19, 2011

Annapolis Towne Centre refinances loan

Annapolis Towne Centre at Parole has closed on a $135 million refinancing of its construction loan.

4:50 PM EDT, November 1, 2011

Habitat for Humanity of the Chesapeake CEO to step down

Habitat for Humanity of the Chesapeake's chief executive plans to step down mid-month after almost nine years at the helm of the nonprofit.

8:49 PM EST, November 25, 2011

Early start to Black Friday for shoppers, stores

This year, the packed-house madness that is Black Friday had petered out well before dawn.

6:49 PM EST, December 10, 2011

Europe's problems hit home for some in Maryland

Kirk-Habicht Co. in Essex doesn't do much business in Europe, but problems on the continent are buffeting the manufacturer all the same.

November 27, 2011

Fast growth in a fast-changing marketing world

Columbia-based Merkle is adding jobs at a breakneck pace — 200 this year and hundreds more in the past few years, during a time when many employers have held the line or cut back.

5:47 PM EST, November 28, 2011

Food manufacturer opens location in Cambridge

A Canadian company is launching a food manufacturing operation on Maryland's Eastern Shore, the state announced Monday.

3:14 PM EDT, November 2, 2011

Md. District Court freezes almost 3,900 debt-collection cases

Maryland's District Court said Wednesday that it had frozen nearly 3,900 debt-collection lawsuits because the state suspended the licenses of the affiliated companies that filed them.

7:50 PM EST, November 21, 2011

Baltimore-area hotel, Southern Md. employer laying off

An Anne Arundel County hotel is laying off employees and a defense-contracting operation in Southern Maryland will follow suit by the end of the year, Maryland regulators said Monday.

4:48 PM EST, November 9, 2011

Md. orders Allied Home Mortgage to stop lending in state

State regulators said Wednesday that they have ordered a large mortgage broker to stop making loans to Marylanders after federal investigators alleged the company had violated lending rules.

2:50 PM EST, November 7, 2011

Filene's Basement to close its Md. stores, lay off 68

Filene's Basement warned state regulators Monday that it expected to close its Baltimore and Rockville stores in January, laying off 68 people.

7:27 PM EST, November 10, 2011

Home prices fell 6% in Baltimore area in October

Nerve-wracking economic conditions and more stringent mortgage requirements helped push home sales in the Baltimore region to their lowest level for the month of October in at least 13 years, putting more downward pressure on prices.

7:02 PM EST, November 15, 2011

Va. law firm hit with penalty for loan-modification work

Maryland regulators said Tuesday that a Virginia law firm must pay a $489,000 penalty for charging homeowners upfront fees to help them seek loan modifications — in violation of state law — and blanketing Maryland with advertisements despite having no state license.

8:33 PM EST, November 17, 2011

Warnings of impending foreclosures on Md. homes spike in Nov.

Mortgage servicers have started the countdown to foreclosure on more than 18,000 Maryland homes so far this month, a big uptick that is worrying state officials and could signal an end to about a year of delays related to robo-signing.

8:09 PM EDT, October 14, 2011

Unemployment insurance tax stays at top level

Maryland employers will continue paying the maximum rates for the state's unemployment-insurance tax next year but could see improvement in 2013, state officials say.

October 30, 2011

For many, unemployment drags on and on

Jo Anne Schneider studies marginalized groups: refugees, the poor, people with disabilities — and, lately, Americans who have been unemployed for months and months, which includes a lot of people who never would have considered themselves on the fringe before.

7:36 PM EST, November 10, 2011

Metro Dream Homes owner convicted in $78 million scheme

The owner of a company that defrauded more than 1,000 homeowners — most from Maryland — in an "egregious" $78 million investment scheme was convicted Thursday in federal court in Greenbelt of conspiracy to commit money laundering and related crimes.

11:07 PM EDT, October 6, 2011

Baltimore's vacancy rate stabilizing

Housing vacancies increased at a faster rate along much of Maryland's Eastern Shore over the last decade than in the nation as a whole, according to a report released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau.

9:49 PM EDT, November 4, 2011

Study suggests less economic impact from Baltimore Grand Prix than predicted

City officials are calling the Baltimore Grand Prix an economic success, but a new study conducted for the city's tourism arm suggests that it funneled far less money to local businesses than race organizers predicted.

7:28 PM EST, November 8, 2011

Pillar Hotels & Resorts to lay off 150 in Frederick, Cumberland

Pillar Hotels & Resorts warned state regulators Tuesday that it would lay off more than 150 employees in Frederick and Cumberland as it ends a management contract with Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express locations.

5:37 PM EDT, October 31, 2011

Transamerica workers begin move to downtown skyscraper

Transamerica Tower in downtown Baltimore now has Transamerica employees working in it — with more to come.

6:21 PM EDT, October 7, 2011

Broker, loan officer plead guilty in mortgage-fraud case

A Severna Park mortgage broker pleaded guilty Friday in a mortgage fraud case that left lenders with more than $940,000 in losses, robbed homeowners of at least $1.2 million in home equity and pushed 16 homes into foreclosure, the Maryland U.S. attorney's office said.

8:34 PM EDT, September 30, 2011

More unemployment benefits available for Marylanders long out of work

As many as 58,000 Marylanders could be eligible next week for a new federally funded extension of jobless benefits for the long-term unemployed, state labor officials said Friday.

6:09 PM EDT, October 13, 2011

Four to receive Maryland consumer-rights awards

Two political leaders, an advocate for seniors and a community activist are to receive consumer-rights awards this month.

7:42 PM EDT, October 20, 2011

Baltimore asks state to strip tax credits from 2,157 homes

Baltimore officials are asking the state to strip more than $1.3 million in property-tax credits they say were improperly granted to 2,157 homes, an early example of what city officials vow will be a continuing battle against tax-credit scofflaws.

8:28 PM EDT, September 30, 2011

Mortgage assistance effort to go late into the night

State housing officials were preparing to work late into the night Friday as the deadline loomed to get federal mortgage help to struggling Maryland homeowners.

8:06 PM EDT, October 10, 2011

Baltimore-area home listings dropped in September

As prices continue to drop, Baltimore-area residents appear increasingly reluctant to put their homes up for sale, according to real estate data released Monday.

7:35 PM EDT, September 29, 2011

State rushing to meet deadline for mortgage help

State housing officials are working feverishly to beat a heck of a deadline: Finish processing enough applications by the end of Friday to make nearly $57 million in emergency loans to homeowners facing foreclosure — or give whatever they can't spend back to Uncle Sam.

7:53 PM EDT, September 27, 2011

Federal spending in Maryland declines

Federal spending in Maryland dropped by nearly $1.4 billion last year — a setback for a state economy built largely on Washington dollars and a likely omen, analysts say, of further austerity to come.

7:50 PM EDT, October 3, 2011

Md. makes nearly $57M in emergency loans to homeowners

Maryland's housing department said Monday that it had managed to commit all the nearly $57 million it had for emergency loans to homeowners facing foreclosure, money that had to be used up by last Friday or returned to the federal government.

7:30 PM EDT, October 3, 2011

Consumer advocates want affidavits pulled in Md. debt-collection cases

The University of Maryland School of Law's consumer-protection clinic is trying to get key documents stricken from potentially hundreds of debt-collection cases over an issue more commonly thought of as a foreclosure problem — robo-signing.

6:26 PM EDT, September 28, 2011

Arundel C.C. to lead U.S. effort on technical careers

Anne Arundel Community College has won a $19.7 million federal grant to help increase the number of workers in science, math, engineering and technology fields across the country, the state said Wednesday.

8:24 PM EDT, September 16, 2011

Maryland lost 2,500 jobs in August, Labor Department says

Maryland lost 2,500 jobs in August, reversing some of the gains made earlier in the summer and pushing the state unemployment rate to 7.3 percent, the U.S. Department of Labor said Friday.

September 25, 2011

Tackling consumer crises in Maryland

Civil Justice might be small — you can count the full-time attorneys at the nonprofit legal assistance group on one hand — but its impact is anything but.

8:09 PM EDT, September 16, 2011

Corporate Office Properties Trust CEO to retire in March

Corporate Office Properties Trust, a Columbia company that has profited by building office parks geared to the needs of defense and intelligence agency contractors, said Friday that its chief executive will retire in March.

7:06 PM EDT, September 15, 2011

Under Armour plans to double its headquarters

Under Armour is hoping to double the size of its Baltimore headquarters to accommodate additional employees, a retail store and a company museum.

5:47 PM EDT, September 12, 2011

Unilever to lay off 437 as it closes Hagerstown plant

Unilever has notified state regulators that it will begin closing its Hagerstown ice cream plant in November, ultimately laying off 437 workers, the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation said Monday.

6:42 PM EDT, September 13, 2011

Firm agrees to drop collections cases, repay or forfeit $665,000

A Catonsville company has agreed to drop several hundred active debt-collection lawsuits against Maryland consumers and either repay or forfeit $665,000 in attorney fees and compound interest it had improperly sought, state financial regulators announced Tuesday.

6:22 PM EDT, September 12, 2011

Baltimore-area home sales rose, prices fell in August

The number of homes sold in the Baltimore region in August rose 6 percent compared with a year earlier, while prices continued their long slide, numbers released Monday show.

3:50 PM EDT, September 15, 2011

Discount phone service available to low-income Marylanders

The state is trying to get the word out to low-income Marylanders that they could be eligible for reduced-cost telephone service.

10:46 PM EDT, September 11, 2011

Dead body found on Eastern Shore

Maryland State Police said Sunday that they were investigating after a dead body with "signs of trauma" was found in a wooded area of Somerset County, on Maryland's Eastern Shore.

7:03 PM EDT, September 13, 2011

Civil Justice's executive director to leave nonprofit

The executive director of Baltimore-based Civil Justice, a nonprofit legal-help group best known for its foreclosure defense work, announced Tuesday that he will be stepping down to join a private law firm.

11:20 PM EDT, September 11, 2011

Maryland dedicates 9/11 memorial at Baltimore's World Trade Center

Beautiful September days are difficult for Basmattie Bishundat. Her son was killed on one 10 years ago.

11:11 PM EDT, September 7, 2011

Md. high court approves rules to protect consumers from debt collection

Maryland's highest court on Wednesday approved changes to a set of rules that require debt collectors to provide greater proof that they are entitled to sue consumers, according to a Baltimore-based legal advocacy group.

4:46 PM EDT, August 31, 2011

City approves Main Street redevelopment projects

The city's Board of Estimates approved two deals Wednesday aimed at redeveloping portions of Pennsylvania Avenue in Druid Heights and Washington Boulevard in Pigtown, the Baltimore Development Corp. said.

1:16 AM EDT, August 31, 2011

Rawlings-Blake, husband collected homestead tax breaks on two properties

Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and her husband collected homestead tax credits on two separate properties before she became mayor of Baltimore, in violation of a state rule that prohibits married couples from claiming the break on more than one residence, according to property records, tax bills and state regulations.

10:06 PM EDT, August 18, 2011

Mayoral candidates seek to reverse long slide in city jobs

Charleta Jones isn't looking for just one job. She's looking for two: something full time and something on the side, to help repair the financial damage she suffered after losing her job last year as a paratransit driver.

8:10 PM EDT, August 7, 2011

Rough week for stock market and the many invested in it

Ed Fishel is a year and three months from retirement. Ask him if he noticed that the stock market plunged last week, and the Monkton man will laugh incredulously.

6:53 PM EDT, September 13, 2011

Judge dismisses Angelos suit challenging the Superblock project

A Baltimore City Circuit Court judge has dismissed a lawsuit by Orioles owner Peter G. Angelos that challenged the city's plans for the long-delayed Superblock project.

September 4, 2011

For brothers, selling windows is a way of life

Harley and Aaron Magden grew up working in the family business — supplying replacement windows to homeowners — but decided to make a change when their father sold the Ohio company.

August 23, 2011

Vacant city houses get property tax break meant for owner-occupied homes

Property tax breaks meant to encourage homeownership have been awarded to 465 vacant houses in Baltimore, depriving the city of uncollected revenue in a difficult budget year and calling into question past promises from city officials to crack down on tax scofflaws, a Baltimore Sun analysis has found.

6:35 PM EDT, August 22, 2011

Improvement in mortgage delinquencies in Maryland slows

The number of Maryland homeowners who are behind on their mortgages still is falling, but the pace of that decline has slowed as rising unemployment puts more pressure on borrowers, numbers released Monday show.

10:16 PM EDT, August 23, 2011

City moves to strip undeserved tax breaks from vacant properties

Baltimore officials moved Tuesday to take back undeserved tax breaks from owners of vacant properties who are profiting from a program intended for primary residences.

2:45 PM EDT, August 9, 2011

Home-purchase incentives available at 'Buying Into Baltimore' event

Homebuyers who attend a "Baltimore Into Baltimore" event next month could be eligible for $4,000 to $5,000 in incentives toward closing costs or downpayment.

8:23 PM EDT, July 29, 2011

First Mariner reports $11 million loss in second quarter

First Mariner Bancorp's bleeding increased during the second quarter as continued write-downs of real estate and bad loans left the Baltimore company with $11 million in losses.

September 11, 2011

Military base expansion effort officially ends this week

The restaurants around Fort Monmouth in New Jersey used to be packed. Now that lunchtime crowd gathers 150 miles to the southwest, in Aberdeen.

5:13 PM EDT, August 30, 2011

SAIC warns state of possible layoffs in Bethesda

Science Applications International Corp. is warning state regulators that it might have to lay off about 83 employees in Bethesda if a federal contract is not renewed, the state said Tuesday.

4:41 PM EDT, August 8, 2011

Businesses report plans to create almost 200 jobs

Several businesses have told state and local government officials that they planned to create a total of almost 200 jobs, Maryland's Department of Business and Economic Development said Monday.

12:25 PM EDT, August 20, 2011

In Baltimore, homes for $10,000 — and less

Andrew Wells is hoping to buy a Baltimore home for around the cost of an old car: Less than $10,000.

5:31 PM EDT, August 8, 2011

Two companies plan layoffs of 151 workers

Two companies are warning state regulators that they will collectively be laying off about 150 employees, the state said Monday.

10:27 PM EDT, August 10, 2011

Home sales rose, prices fell in Baltimore area in July

As if foreclosures, high unemployment and tight credit weren't enough, would-be homebuyers in the Baltimore region got more fodder for wariness Wednesday as the Dow Jones industrial average plunged more than 500 points and a new local report showed housing prices continued to fall last month.

6:14 PM EDT, August 4, 2011

FTI Consulting says profits fall due to one-time charges

Baltimore-based FTI Consulting Inc. said profit was down 33 percent in the second quarter compared with a year earlier but would have risen if not for the effect of one-time charges from layoffs.

6:09 PM EDT, July 22, 2011

Phillips Seafood plans to lay off, hire back workers as part of Inner Harbor move

Phillips Seafood alerted state regulators Friday that it would lay off 120 workers as part of its move from Harborplace, but the restaurant plans to hire back as many of those employees as it can when it reopens in its new Inner Harbor location several weeks later.

6:05 PM EDT, July 28, 2011

Legg Mason profits jump 25% in fiscal first quarter

Baltimore money manager Legg Mason Inc. said Thursday that profits in the three months ending in June rose 25 percent compared with a year earlier, to $60 million.

6:56 PM EDT, July 26, 2011

Harim USA is highest bidder for Allen Family Foods assets

An affiliate of a South Korean poultry firm was the winning bidder in a bankruptcy auction for the assets of Allen Family Foods, a Delaware company that employs hundreds on Maryland's Eastern Shore.

3:43 PM EDT, August 15, 2011

Lockheed Martin to lay off 35 at Md. military facilities

Lockheed Martin Corp. is warning state regulators that it will lay off 35 employees based at five Maryland military facilities because a contract to provide services at those locations is not being renewed.

3:57 PM EDT, July 29, 2011

Helping Maryland grow as Uncle Sam tightens belt

Few states have as good a reason as Maryland to be nervous about cuts in federal spending.

6:27 AM EDT, July 21, 2011

Report: Housing costs out of reach for many workers

A broad swath of workers in the Baltimore region — including those landing jobs in the sector doing the most hiring these days — do not earn enough to afford a home or even to rent a two-bedroom apartment on their salaries alone.

4:13 PM EDT, July 25, 2011

BP Solar to close Frederick facility, lay off 58

BP Solar warned state regulators Monday that it will close what remains of its Frederick operation and lay off 58 employees, starting this fall.

1:57 PM EDT, July 25, 2011

Celsion Corp. to move its headquarters to N.J.

Celsion Corp., a biotech firm that develops cancer drugs, said Monday that it will move its headquarters from Columbia to New Jersey by the end of September.

5:10 PM EDT, July 18, 2011

Cavalier Telephone settles age-discrimination suit

A telecommunications company has settled an age-discrimination lawsuit about its Mid-Atlantic hiring practices for $1 million, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said Monday.

7:15 PM EDT, July 22, 2011

Maryland's employment picture still dour in June

Maryland tied for the fastest pace of job loss in the past year in June, the federal government estimated Friday, the second month in a row that the state was at or near the bottom of the heap.

5:14 PM EDT, July 21, 2011

First Mariner appeals Nasdaq delisting decision

First Mariner Bancorp is appealing a Nasdaq Stock Market decision to delist the company's stock from the Nasdaq Capital Market.

1:20 PM EDT, July 7, 2011

Maryland's biotech tax credits draw rush of applicants

The state's biotech tax credits drew more than 180 applications within three minutes of the window opening for the $8 million available this fiscal year, the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development said Thursday.

July 10, 2011

Tumultuous decades for a housing-aid activist

Vincent Quayle knows the corrosive effect of foreclosures well, sitting as he does at the helm of a nonprofit group that helps homeowners in trouble.

May 1, 2011

Lost 'Fortune'

Walk the streets of downtown Baltimore, and you might feel the presence of its corporate ghosts. On Gay Street, perhaps you'll meet Alexander Brown, the Irish immigrant who started the nation's first investment firm here more than 200 years ago.

4:15 PM EDT, July 29, 2011

Prestige Maintenance warns of layoffs due to Target contract

Prestige Maintenance warned state regulators Friday that it will lay off 54 janitors over the next several months because its contract to provide cleaning services to Target stores across the state has ended.

8:21 PM EDT, July 27, 2011

For some communities, post office could disappear

Edward Tarter, stopping in at the Harford Road post office in Baltimore, was aghast to hear Wednesday that it might shut down.

2:40 PM EDT, July 18, 2011

Allen Family Foods lays off 28 on Eastern Shore

Poultry company Allen Family Foods has laid off 28 employees at its Talbot County processing plant, the local economic development director said Monday.

1:29 PM EDT, July 22, 2011

Harbor Group purchases Woodlawn rental portfolio for $190 million

A Virginia firm said Friday that it purchased six rental complexes in Woodlawn for $190 million and intends to spend close to $8 million more to renovate the 1,984 units.

6:25 PM EDT, July 20, 2011

Md. courts freeze 900 debt-collection lawsuits

Maryland's District Courts are putting a freeze on about 900 debt-collection lawsuits after the local company that filed them tried and failed to get a license.

12:34 PM EDT, June 30, 2011

Almost 3,000 Md. firms, firm locations closed in 2009

Nearly 3,000 businesses or business locations shut down in Maryland in recessionary 2009, the Census Bureau said Thursday.

5:08 PM EDT, July 5, 2011

Workforce group launches regional 'green jobs' site

A group of state workforce agencies launched a new job search site Tuesday for "green" occupations in the region, saying that Maryland, Washington and Virginia have more than 230,000 workers involved in some aspect of environmental protection or natural resource conservation.

12:03 PM EDT, June 19, 2011

Driver killed, two passengers injured in Baltimore County crash

A man was killed and his passengers injured when his vehicle slammed into a telephone pole early Sunday in eastern Baltimore County, police said.

4:58 PM EDT, July 13, 2011

Apprenticeship graduation numbers hit 20-year high

More workers graduated from Maryland apprenticeship programs during the 12 months ending in June than in the previous 20 years, the state said Wednesday.

11:08 AM EDT, July 13, 2011

Harborview mold lawsuit headed to trial

A Baltimore City Circuit Court judge has ruled that a lawsuit over mold in one of the ritzy Harborview condos can proceed to trial.

July 13, 2011

Local 'clean' economy growing, but not as fast as nation's

The Baltimore region's "clean" economy — green energy, pollution-reduction services and the like — accounts for nearly 23,000 jobs but is not growing as robustly as clean industries nationwide, according to a report due out Wednesday.

7:47 PM EDT, July 5, 2011

Spurned city casino developer alleges reverse discrimination

A Canadian developer whose bid to build a slots casino in Baltimore has been dismissed by the city filed a federal lawsuit against a state gambling commission Tuesday, contending that the newest bidding process discriminates against companies owned by white men.

6:37 PM EDT, July 1, 2011

TransCare warns of layoffs as contract expires

TransCare Corp. is warning state regulators that it will lay off 55 employees in Baltimore at the end of August as a state transit contract expires.

4:28 PM EDT, June 25, 2011

Rough time for Eastern Shore's poultry industry

On Maryland's Eastern Shore, everything leads back to chickens.

1:03 PM EDT, June 19, 2011

Police charge two boys in spray-painting spree, thefts in Eldersburg

State police say they have arrested two boys in connection with vandalism and thefts in the Eldersburg area that left a swath of vehicles, homes and road signs damaged by spray paint.

4:29 PM EDT, July 7, 2011

Md. will share in $75 million bond-derivatives settlement

Maryland will share in a $75 million settlement that state attorneys general across the country negotiated with JPMorgan Chase & Co. to resolve allegations of bond derivative bid-rigging that defrauded states, counties and nonprofits, the state said Thursday.

5:17 PM EDT, June 19, 2011

Water-main break in Baltimore shuts off service to hundreds

Several hundred homes and a few businesses in Baltimore that been without water since Saturday because of a water main break will likely see service return early Monday, the city Department of Public Works said.

8:36 PM EDT, October 13, 2010

Maryland foreclosure practices decried

Revelations that attorneys at two Maryland firms had other people sign their names to foreclosure documents brought a rebuke Wednesday from the O'Malley administration, which called the practice a "potential example of further mishandling and mistreatment of Maryland homeowners."

5:31 PM EDT, June 19, 2011

GBMC's Father's Day race draws hundreds to Hunt Valley

A Father's Day race benefiting the Greater Baltimore Medical Center's neonatal intensive-care unit drew more than 1,000 participants to Hunt Valley Sunday — grateful parents, preemies young and grown, supporters and some folks who just wanted to run on a beautiful morning.

5:00 PM EDT, July 24, 2011

A push for more proof in debt-collection lawsuits

Marquis Jones doesn't believe she owes money on a credit-card account that a debt-buying company sued to collect from her.

April 24, 2011

First Mariner, Hale face future without each other

Edwin F. Hale Sr. has always run headfirst into challenges. Walking away is not his style.

5:59 PM EDT, June 13, 2011

General Dynamics warns of Aberdeen closure, layoffs

Defense contractor General Dynamics Corp. is warning state regulators that it will close an Aberdeen office over the summer and lay off 52 employees.

6:22 PM EDT, July 7, 2011

Nationwide Better Health to lay off 96 in Hunt Valley

A health-management company is closing a Hunt Valley facility and laying off nearly 100 employees over the next three months, state regulators said Thursday.

9:18 PM EDT, October 15, 2010

Maryland's high court to weigh foreclosure changes

A committee that proposes rules for Maryland's courts recommended changes Friday that could set off "massive audits" of documents filed by firms trying to foreclose on homeowners.

1:42 PM EDT, July 12, 2011

Correctional health care firm agrees to be acquired

A Hanover provider of health care services to county and city detention centers said Tuesday that it had agreed to sell itself in a cash deal valued at about $57.2 million.

9:38 PM EDT, May 16, 2011

Superfresh closings could spell up to 1,500 layoffs

Nearly 1,500 workers are in danger of losing their jobs under a reorganization plan by the Superfresh supermarket chain that would sell almost all its stores in Maryland, most of which are in the Baltimore area.

6:17 PM EDT, June 30, 2011

New Superblock lawsuit awaits judge's decision

A Circuit Court judge is expected to rule soon on whether to dismiss a lawsuit about the city's much-contested Superblock project — the second challenge from Orioles owner Peter G. Angelos — or to let the case proceed.

January 23, 2011

'If you cut the rate, people will come'

Steve Walters has a modest proposal that makes Baltimore homeowners cheer and government bean-counters wince: slash the city's property tax rate in half.

8:41 PM EST, January 18, 2011

GMAC dropping 250 Maryland foreclosure cases

GMAC Mortgage said Tuesday it is dropping about 250 Maryland foreclosure cases that were apparently "robo-signed," giving homeowners a second chance to save their properties — and raising the possibility that other lenders might follow suit.

11:07 PM EDT, October 12, 2010

False signatures cloud Maryland foreclosure cases

Lawyers at two Maryland firms handling foreclosures filed court documents without actually signing the papers themselves, a development that is calling into question the validity of at least some of the home foreclosure cases in the state.

7:34 PM EDT, July 11, 2011

June contracts on area homes hit four-year high

New contracts on homes for sale in the Baltimore area rose to their highest June level since 2007 — a positive sign for a housing market trying to heal after a years-long roller-coaster ride.

July 3, 2011

Problems rampant in mortgage servicing, advocates and regulators say

Anca Safta never missed a payment on her loan to expand her Lutherville home. But that didn't stop Safta's mortgage servicer from citing her this year for failing to pay, reporting her to credit agencies and threatening to foreclose.

10:23 PM EDT, July 18, 2010

'Extreme Makeover' home gets its big unveiling

The crowd was ready. So were the television cameras. The only part of the "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" extravaganza that wasn't completely prepared for the big revealing Sunday was the home.

6:45 PM EDT, June 15, 2011

Lockheed Martin to lay off 95 in Greenbelt

Defense contractor Lockheed Martin Corp. said Wednesday that it will lay off up to 95 employees in Greenbelt when a government contract expires in September.

7:27 PM EST, January 3, 2011

Apartment rents rise as homeownership sinks

Apartment complexes in the Baltimore region are raising rents as a muted economic recovery and a foreclosure crisis have discouraged homeownership — and added to the ranks of renters.

9:04 PM EDT, October 19, 2010

Maryland's high court approves foreclosure review

Maryland courts got the go-ahead Tuesday to conduct sweeping reviews of possibly thousands of foreclosure cases to root out those with problematic or fraudulent documentation, while the federal government separately announced investigations into national foreclosure practices.

9:36 PM EDT, June 17, 2011

Maryland ranks last in pace of job creation

Hampered by a slowdown in federal spending, Maryland came in dead last in the nation for its pace of job creation over the past year, shedding almost 1 percent of its employment base — nearly 20,000 positions — the U.S. Department of Labor reported.

10:06 PM EST, January 12, 2011

State Center faces delay because of pending lawsuit

The planned $1.5 billion transformation of the aging Maryland government complex in midtown Baltimore is facing a delay on the first phase of construction because of a pending lawsuit against the developers.

7:12 PM EDT, April 29, 2010

Maryland’s financial regulator nominated for Fed job

Sarah Bloom Raskin is deeply interested in the economy's effect on everyday life, a driving force in her work to keep Marylanders from being scammed, foreclosed on or caught up in a bank failure.

6:25 PM EST, January 22, 2011

For older, out-of-work residents, the future looks grim

Kathleen Harwell can't imagine what life on the streets would be like for a 59-year-old woman with diabetes and high blood pressure, but she's afraid she'll soon find out.

December 12, 2010

From submarines to sculptures, turning real life digital

Bit by bit, Michael Raphael's company is digitizing the real world.

February 8, 2010

Trying to anticipate the dangers overhead

While most in the region were shoveling sidewalks and uncovering cars, Allen Born and his neighbors were launching snow off their roofs.

5:14 PM EST, February 18, 2011

An up-and-down year for Baltimore's housing market

Gauging the trajectory of the real estate market in the Baltimore region has become a hyper-local exercise — it depends on precisely where you live.

9:33 PM EDT, March 31, 2011

Auditors raise doubts about First Mariner's future

Auditors have raised doubts about First Mariner Bancorp's ability to remain in business, according to financial statements that the largest Baltimore-based bank, founded by prominent businessman Edwin F. Hale Sr., filed with regulators late Thursday.