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News Summary - 10/4
October 3, 2007 6:57 PM V-Empower tops Fast
50 With revenue growth of 9,268 percent over the past five years, V-Empower Inc., of Bowie, which makes software used by small political organizations, topped the list of the 50 fastest-growing technology companies in Maryland in the annual Deloitte & Touche rankings. No. 2 on the 2007 list was NexTone Communications Inc., of Gaithersburg, with revenue growth of 2,812 percent between 2002 and 2006, followed by Sourcefire Inc., of Columbia, 2,263 percent; Visicu Inc., of Baltimore, 1,993 percent; and BroadSoft Inc., of Gaithersburg, 1,499 percent. Foundation Coal’s problem Foundation Coal Holdings Inc., of Linthicum Heights, the nation’s fourth largest coal producer, said production at one of its mines slowed over the last two months because rock obstructions delayed the installation of a mining system until next year. The company said “sandstone intrusions” at its Emerald Mine, located approximately two miles south of Waynesburg, Pa., in Northern Appalachia, reduced production levels by about 550,000 tons in August and September. As a result, Foundation now expects full-year production at the mine will be nearly 6 million tons, or about 600,000 to 700,000 tons less than previously forecast. Conditions are returning to normal, the company said. Costs mount for Lockheed A program headed by Bethesda-based Lockheed Martin Corp., the world’s largest defense company, to replace the 30-year-old U.S. system of early warning satellites faces up to $1 billion more in cost growth as well as additional delay, according to Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne. Software flaws in the first satellite's computers are to blame, Wynne wrote in a memo to Acting Undersecretary for Acquisition John Young. The new estimate would increase the program's projected cost to over $11 billion — more than four times its initial estimate of $2.5 billion in 1996. BBB Torch Award winners The Better Business Bureau of Greater Maryland presented six area businesses with its Torch Award for Marketplace Ethics at ceremonies last week at the Museum of Industry in Baltimore. Those honored were WeCare Private Duty Services Inc., of Baltimore (micro business); Atlantic Financial Federal Credit Union, of Hunt Valley (small business); Basement Waterproofing Nationwide, of Edgewood (mid-sized business); Debt Shield Inc., of Columbia (large business); Carmax Inc., of White Marsh and Laurel (largest business); and A. Bright Idea, of Bel Air (minority-owned business). The selected businesses have demonstrated long-term dedication and commitment to the standards of trust in all aspects of their business. Urban Trust’s new CEO Urban Trust Bank, of Bethesda, a federally chartered savings bank that is majority owned and controlled by The RLJ Cos. LLC, also of Bethesda, said Daniel C. Fischer has been named as chief executive officer, succeeding Dwight L. Bush. No reason was given for Bush’s departure. Fischer was president of KeyBank in Dayton, Ohio. In a statement, RLJ Chairman Robert L. Johnson said Fischer will help Urban Trust grow in the Washington, D.C., and Florida markets — the bank was formerly Orlando-based Metro Bank — and expand into other markets. Hughes’ Brazilian reach Hughes Network Systems LLC, of Germantown, a provider of broadband satellite services, said its Brazilian operating subsidiary completed the rollout of HughesNet broadband satellite service in the state of Amazonas, including the installation of more than 200 Hughes HN terminals. The Amazonas Board of Education is using the service to deliver educational programs under the “On-Site Middle School with Technology Mediation” project to students in rural communities without a middle school to attend, or where the existing school does not have enough space to accommodate them all. Unions upset by takeover Units of the Service Employees International Union said they are concerned that the quality of care in 14 nursing homes in Maryland may deteriorate in the wake of the $6.3 billion acquisition of Toledo, Ohio-based nursing home chain HCR Manor Care by the Washington, D.C.-based Carlyle Group. The 1199SEIU and the SEIU MD/DC State Council, Maryland’s largest health care workers’ unions, are participating in a campaign launched in more than half a dozen states where Manor Care operates, urging Carlyle to make specific commitments for improvements at Manor Care nursing homes. The campaign includes radio ads; direct mail; contacts with state lawmakers and regulators; and a Web site, www.carlylefixmanorcarenow.org. Chesapeake Bay Web site Drawing on the expertise of several University of Maryland campuses, Maryland Sea Grant has launched UM Chesapeake, a Chesapeake Bay media and public resource Web site, at www.chesapeake.umd.edu. With input from the University of Maryland, College Park, the Maryland Sea Grant College, the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, and the University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute’s Center of Marine Biotechnology, the one-stop site offers a range of information on these institutions’ Chesapeake Bay research and knowledge. All about Pink Dish! Let’s Dish!, a Timonium-based franchise company that supplies food ingredients and helps customers prepare homemade meals that can be frozen until ready to be cooked, announced the launch of the Pink Dish! Campaign, an initiative that will provide Let’s Dish! meals at no cost to families affected by breast cancer throughout the mid-Atlantic. Let’s Dish! Co-Owner Lisa Hardiman, who is undergoing treatment for breast cancer, said the company’s nine stores in Maryland and Northern Virginia are participating in the educational and public awareness campaign. For more information, go to www.letsdish.com/pinkdish. Bully! for PBS Kids Bully! Entertainment, a Baltimore-based animation and game design company, said it completed work on three animated spots for “Dot’s Story Factory,” PBS Kids’ new kid-created content feature that debuted as part of season two of the PBS Kids preschool programming. PBS Kids is the Public Broadcasting System’s 24-hour children’s television channel. Sheriffs’ group, TU to cooperate Towson University and the National Sheriffs’ Association have scheduled an announcement on Oct. 10 at the university of a partnership between the two organizations. As their first order of business, the Division of Economic and Community Outreach’s Extended Education and Online Learning unit and the sheriffs’ group will work together to launch law enforcement work force development and training materials online. “This partnership will make it possible for the NSA to provide more sheriffs with important vocational training,” said Mike Schroder, EEOL director. John Thompson, the National Sheriffs’ Association’s deputy executive director, said the university’s input will be especially useful to members in rural areas who must otherwise spend time and money to travel to classes. Hopkins to hold classes for judges More than a dozen Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine faculty members, fellows and residents, along with brain science experts from around the country, will lead lectures and hands-on courses on “Neuroscience and Bio-Behavioral Technologies” for more than 200 judges from Maryland and across the United States during the National Judges’ Science School, the university announced. Classes will take place Friday through Sunday at the medical school’s East Baltimore location, and at the Radisson Plaza Lord Baltimore hotel in downtown Baltimore. The federally funded sessions are being held to prepare judges to better manage cases involving complex science and medical issues. Rothenberg chosen for honor Karen H. Rothenberg, dean of the University of Maryland School of Law, will receive Equal Justice Works’ Dean John R. Kramer Award for 2007 at the organization’s awards dinner in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 11. Rothenberg is the Marjorie Cook Professor of Law, and founding director of the Law & Health Care Program. The award honors her dedication to nurturing an outstanding spirit of public service at the school, according to an announcement by the school. |
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