ARINC’s Belcher, Wife Make $10M Commitment to AAMC
Edgewater residents John and Cathy Belcher have made an unprecedented and far-reaching minimum $10 million long-term commitment to Anne Arundel Medical Center (AAMC). The Belcher’s multi-year commitment includes a $1 million outright gift during a period of years, as well as an irrevocable estate gift.
“We are honored the Belchers believe our service to the community is deserving of this legacy gift,” said Tori Bayless, AAMC’s president and CEO. “We are not only celebrating the largest bequest to AAMC, but the impact this donation will have on the care we provide many years in the future.”
To honor the Belchers for their generosity, AAMC will rename the Health Sciences Pavilion the John & Cathy Belcher Pavilion. In addition, the AAMC Foundation will establish the John and Cathy Belcher Society to recognize individuals who bequeath gifts of $100,000 or greater.
John Belcher is chairman and CEO of Annapolis-based ARINC, a member of the AAMC board of trustees and past chair of the AAMC Foundation board of directors. He also chaired the hospital’s Care Like No Other capital campaign, which concluded in 2011 and funded the building that now bears his and his wife’s name.
Howard County Ranked Among Top Digital Counties in U.S.
Howard County has been ranked in the Top 10 in the nation when it comes to embracing technology to improve service to residents and spur innovation. The ranking is based on the 2013 Digital Counties Survey conducted by the Center for Digital Government and the National Association of Counties (NACo).
Howard County ranked eighth in counties with populations of 250,000 to 499,999, with the survey measuring online service delivery, infrastructure, architecture, security, transparency, citizen engagement and governance models.
“Counties across the country are aligning technology initiatives with executive strategic priorities to provide vital cost savings and administrative efficiencies,” said NACo Executive Director Matthew Chase. “The Digital Counties Survey identifies best practices and innovative uses of technology crucial with today’s constrained budgets to maintaining and even improving service levels.”
The Center for Digital Government is a national research and advisory institute on information technology policies and best practices in state and local government. Howard County and the survey’s other top 2013 digital county winners were honored at a national awards ceremony in Fort Worth, Texas.
Cordish Inks Deal to Build $200M Casino in Massachusetts
The Baltimore-based Cordish Companies has officially signed a host agreement with the City of Leominster, Mass., to build a $200 million casino entertainment destination. Signing the host agreement is an important step in Cordish’s bid for the sole Category 2 gaming license in Massachusetts, which will allow for the development of a slots-only facility.
The city now will move forward to set a date for a referendum on the project, and has 60 to 90 days to hold the public vote. If passed, Cordish then needs to present its final plan to the Massachusetts Gaming Commission.
“The Cordish Companies is very excited to have officially signed a host agreement with the City of Leominster,” said Joe Weinberg, managing partner, The Cordish Companies. “We look forward to working with Mayor Dean J. Mazzarella and the whole community to create a $200 million casino entertainment destination, which will generate more than 1,000 new jobs and contribute millions of dollars in local and state tax revenue. [It] will be a world-class gaming facility, featuring 1,250 of the latest state-of-the-art slot machines and electronic table games, nationally-recognized and local restaurant brands and live entertainment.”
The Cordish Companies, which owns and operates Maryland Live! Casino in Hanover, is also vying for the final available gaming license in the City of Philadelphia in order to develop a $425 million Live! Hotel & Casino in the Stadium District (in partnership with Greenwood Gaming), which is located just off I-95.
Ulman Issues Statement on Moody’s Affirmation of Howard County AAA Rating
Howard County Executive Ken Ulman issued the following statement after Moody’s Investors Service revised its outlook on the U.S. government to stable, and also revised its outlook for 37 local governments, including Howard County.
“I am pleased that Moody’s Investors Service today affirmed the AAA bond rating of Howard County, as well as several of our neighboring jurisdictions and the state of Maryland, as the firm revised its outlook on U.S. government debt. I have long believed that the responsible financial management and diversified economic base in Howard County meant that the county’s and the U.S. government’s ratings need not move in lockstep, and I still hold that view.
“However, I agree with Moody’s analysts the outlook for the U.S. government is stable and that Howard County deserves the highest rating. Howard County has enjoyed a AAA bond rating during every year of my administration, and is one of only 38 counties out of more than 3,000 in the country with the highest rating from all three agencies.”
TCS Awarded $20M Contract to Deliver IT Services for City of Baltimore
TeleCommunication Systems (TCS), of Annapolis, has been awarded a two-year, $20 million contract to provide the City of Baltimore with information technology (IT) services. The Mayor’s Office of Information Technology is managing the contract and has the option to extend it in three one-year increments.
The award is the culmination of a re-compete evaluation of IT services that TCS has provided to the city for nearly 15 years. This new contract will allow TCS to provide critical IT staffing support to various agencies within Baltimore, including the Mayor’s Office of Information Technology, the Baltimore City Police Department and other city agencies.
RS&F, SHR Associates Launch Health Care Joint Venture
RS&F, a business consulting and accounting firm based in Owings Mills, and SHR Associates, a health care consulting firm based in Annapolis, have launched a joint venture called RS&F Healthcare Advisors LLC (RSFHA). The new entity is a boutique health care and business consulting services firm that caters to hospitals, physicians and public health care organizations.
RSFHA offers a comprehensive suite of services to address the strategic, operational and accounting needs of health care organizations. Services offered include strategic planning such as merger and acquisition advisory, business planning, long-range forecasting, corporate structure analysis and capital formation, among many others.
“This is an exciting time for RSFHA,” said RS&F President Howard Rosen. “The health care industry is growing in complexity, which raises new challenges every day for all stakeholders in the medical ecosystem. Our new venture with SHR Associates will provide our clients with a wider and deeper range of services and opportunities in the health care space.”
“This new venture is a true collaboration of expertise and provides our clients prospects for greater engagement with our team. RSFHA will offer a more comprehensive suite of services than currently available in the marketplace as well as proactive planning to achieve short- and long-term goals,” said Nancy Smit, president of SHR.
BWI Marshall’s Observation Gallery Reopened
An improved Observation Gallery at BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport is now open to the public. The public space was temporarily closed in June 2012 to accommodate construction of a series of terminal enhancements, including new exhibits for the gallery and the installation of Sky Azure, a new food and beverage concession.
“The Observation Gallery is an important part of the travel experience for our passengers,” said Paul Wiedefeld, CEO of BWI Marshall. “The improvements feature new and updated exhibits that showcase Maryland’s rich aviation and aerospace history.”
Similar to the outdoor observation deck that was part of the original Friendship International Airport, the updated gallery displays new objects and exhibits, including a 28-foot-tall sounding rocket provided by NASA and a half-sized model of The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory’s Solar Probe Plus spacecraft.
The gallery features other passenger amenities, including charging stations and the new Sky Azure cocktail lounge, an 800-square-foot food and beverage concession that offers small plates along with a broad selection of local craft beers, international wines and hand-crafted cocktails. It is available for private party rental, with a package that includes a full catering menu.
Costello Construction Wins Contract for $4M Ice Rink/Swimming Pool
Costello Construction, a Columbia-based firm, has been selected by the Maryland-National Capital Park & Planning Commission to renovate the Herbert Wells Ice Rink and Ellen E. Linson Swimming Pool in College Park.
The nearly 40,000-square-foot, $4 million project is expected improve the conditions of the existing ice rink facility and provide an upgraded official practice facility for the University of Maryland’s hockey team. The second component of the project, the update to the swimming pool, is also expected to be an attractive destination for residents in the surrounding community.
Costello will also perform the renovation and reconfiguration of the existing facility’s interior, and install a fire alarm system and automatic sprinkler system throughout the entire facility. Work will begin work in September and the project will take approximately 14 months to complete.
Howard Transit Tops One Million Riders in Fiscal ’13
Central Maryland Regional Transit (CMRT), manager of the CMRT and Howard Transit bus and paratransit services in Central Maryland, has announced that its Howard Transit bus system surpassed 1 million riders in the fiscal year ending June 30. “This is quite an accomplishment and we are very proud,” said Jim Perez, CEO of Central Maryland Regional Transit. “It’s the first time that we have had over a million riders in one year in the history of Howard Transit.”
The ridership numbers mark a 15% increase in total ridership throughout the Howard Transit system during the past two years. The causes for that increase are numerous, but Perez notes that better on-time performance is a big factor. “We have seen major advances in on-time performance throughout the Howard Transit System. We know that there is plenty of room for improvement, but we are heading in the right direction.”
U. of Phoenix Put on Notice by Accreditor
The University of Phoenix’s regional accreditor has placed the for-profit institution on notice, which is a lesser sanction than the probation recommended by a site team earlier this year. The Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges & Schools determined that governance and administrative problems could lead to the university being out of compliance within two years.
The university said it had submitted updated information to the commission about changes it made after receiving the site team’s report.
COPT Amends $800M Line of Credit, Term Loans
Columbia-based Corporate Office Properties Trust (COPT) and its operating partnership, Corporate Office Properties LP, has announced that the company amended the terms of its $800 million line of credit to extend the maturity date from Sept. 1, 2014, to July 14, 2017, plus a one-year extension option; and lowered the interest rate spread over 30-day London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) to 130 basis points.
In addition, the company amended the terms of its $300 million and $250 million term loan agreements to grant additional extension options and lower the interest spread over LIBOR as follows.
● The $300 million Term Loan continues to have a maturity date of Sept. 1, 2015, but now has two one-year extension options to 2017 and bears interest at a new spread to LIBOR of 150 basis points.
● The $250 million Term Loan continues to have a maturity date of Feb. 14, 2017, but now provides for a one-year extension option to 2018 and bears interest at a new spread to LIBOR of 150 basis points.
Capitol’s Online Master’s Engineering Program Cited as ‘Best Buy’
Capitol College’s online master’s engineering program has been named a “Best Buy” by GetEducated.com. The nationwide list, which ranks online engineering programs based on the value they provide students, ranks Capitol at No. 22 in the country. The average cost of an online engineering master’s, according to GetEducated.com’s comprehensive national ranking survey, is $27,915. Capitol College’s program comes in under the average, at $17,070.
All of Capitol’s master’s degree programs are offered entirely online, with courses given on weekday evenings and Saturdays. Courses blend synchronous (real-time), professor-led events with asynchronous learning sessions in which students access and study course material at their convenience. Classes are small, averaging 20 students each.
Local UMD Council Members Needed
The University of Maryland’s (UMD) Howard County Extension Advisory Council is seeking members to connect extension staff with the Howard County community, to help identify potential funding sources, to support extension programming by marketing it to the community and to nurture relationships with key county leaders.
Meetings are held every other month from 5:30 p.m. until 7 p.m. Three-year terms begin with the election in November. Please send a résumé and cover note expressing interest to rene.buckmon@columbiaassociation.com or anne@townegroup.com by Sept. 10. For more information, visit http://extension.umd.edu.
Clean Out the Closets – Business Attire Collection to Help Success In Style
The seven Howard County Rotary clubs are holding a community Business Attire Collection Day on Saturday, July 27 to benefit the nonprofit Success In Style. The collection truck will be located in the parking lot on Howard Community College between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m.
Success In Style, located at Savage Mill Mall, provides business clothing for low-income individuals who need professional clothing for job interviews.
Any business attire is welcome, including suits, dresses, shirts, slacks, ties, blouses, shoes, purses and jewelry. It should be clean and in good condition.
For more information, contact Becky Mangus at The Business Monthly, news@bizmonthly.com or call 443-745-6212.
School Supplies Drives Helping Students in Howard and Anne Arundel Counties
School supplies for some students are in short supply – but the community can make a difference. In Howard County, the Columbia Association (CA) is once again participating in Prepare for Success, a local program that provides free school supplies to students whose families couldn’t otherwise afford them.
“Despite the fact that Howard County, Maryland, is one of the richest counties in the nation, more than 9,500, or 18.2%, of its public school students must rely on the Free and Reduced Meal program for nutritious food their families cannot afford,” according to the Prepare for Success web site.
CA has collection boxes in many of its facilities, including CA Headquarters (located at 10221 Wincopin Circle in downtown Columbia), the Columbia Art Center (located at 6100 Foreland Garth in the Long Reach Village Center), its three fitness facilities and the 10 village offices.
New school supplies are being collected until Aug. 17. Tax-deductible monetary donations for supplies may be donated via cac-hc.org/CAC/cac_makeadonation.htm or sent to Community Action Council/Prepare for Success, 6751 Columbia Gateway Drive, Columbia, MD 21046. For more information, call 443-535-1625.
Additionally, Anne Arundel County Executive Laura Neuman is encouraging citizens to donate to the county’s annual Back to School Program.
“More than 22,000 children in Anne Arundel County Public Schools are eligible for the free and reduced lunch program, and many of those students do not have access to the basic necessities to succeed in the classroom,” said Neuman. “I encourage our citizens who can help to participate in this important program.”
The Back to School Program matches donors (organizations, individuals, businesses, churches and groups) with children in need of school supplies. The donor is given the child(ren)’s name, grade, school and list of required school supplies. Last year, with the help of more than 500 donors, the Back to School Program gave backpacks and school supplies to 4,420 elementary school students.
“With our current donors, we are able to provide most elementary school children with the supplies they need,” said Marcia Kennai, director of Anne Arundel County Department of Social Services. “Unfortunately, we were only able to offer minimal help to 11 middle schools last year. Organizations can fill that gap by continuing to raise funds for all of our children in need….” The average cost for one child is $50-75, depending upon his/her grade.
For more information or to become a donor, visit www.aacounty.org/DSS/BSP.cfm or contact the Back to School Program at 410-269-4462.
Howard County Extension Advisory Council Members Needed
The University of Maryland, Howard County Extension Advisory Council seeks members to: connect Extension staff with the Howard County community; help identify potential funding sources; support Extension programming by marketing it to the community; and nurture relationships with key county leaders.
Meetings are held every other month from 5:30 to 7 p.m. The three-year term begins with an election in November. Send résumé and cover note expressing interest to rene.buckmon@columbiaassociation.com or anne@townegroup.com by Sept. 10. Visit extension.umd.edu, then click on Howard County under Extension locations for more information on the programs the Council supports.
From MarylandReporter.com …
Md. pension system earns 10.6% on investments: The Maryland state pension system achieved a 10.6% return on its investment portfolio for the fiscal year that ended June 30, bringing the fund assets to a total of $40.2 billion, Chief Investment Officer Melissa Moye told the pension trustees. The return exceeded the system’s target of 7.75% annual return, and was far better than the dismal results of less than 1% for fiscal 2012. Read more: http://marylandreporter.com/category/news/#ixzz2Zmj6zOGM
Maryland cell phone taxes ranked 12th highest in U.S.: Maryland taxpayers paid higher rates on cell phone taxes than 38 states did in 2012. Combined state and local taxes on cell phones of 12.77% made Maryland the 12th highest in the nation, according to a study by the Washington, D.C.-based Tax Foundation. With federal taxes added into the mix, that rate rises to 18.59% for Marylanders. Read more: http://marylandreporter.com/category/news/#ixzz2ZmjHRlMf
General Assembly environmental scores slip in 2013: Ratings on environmental policy for Maryland legislators slipped last year, despite passage of a major offshore wind energy bill championed by Gov. Martin O’Malley. The Maryland League of Conservation Voters released its 2013 scorecard Monday, giving lawmakers an average score of 64% in the House of Delegates and 55% in the Senate. Those scores are down slightly from last year’s 69% in the House and 63% in the Senate. Read more: http://marylandreporter.com/category/news/#ixzz2ZmjSl8we
MarylandReporter.com is a news site for government and politics in Maryland that is published and edited by Len Lazarick. For more information or to sign up for the daily e-news, go to marylandreporter.com.