From the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission:
BALTIMORE – Administaff, Inc., a nationwide company which provides full-service human resources to small and medium-size businesses will pay $115,000 and furnish substantial remedial relief to settle a harassment lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency announced today.
According to EEOC’s suit (Case No. 1:09-cv-02881-BEL) filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, Northern Division, Kingwood, Texas-based Administaff and Conn-X, LLC, a Florida-based cable service provider, violated federal law by engaging in religious discrimination against employees at Conn-X’s Edgewood, Md., office.
The EEOC said that Scott Jacobson and Joey Jacobson, who are brothers, were called “dirty Jew,” “dumb Jew,” and other anti-Semitic slurs by managers and coworkers because of their religion, Judaism. The harassment began in September 2005 and continued for a couple of years and included the defacing of Scott Jacobson’s work vehicle with a swastika symbol, ...Continue Reading
Recovery Zone designation proposed for Stimulus Bond Funds to Assist Commercial Development Projects
(Bel Air, MD) – The Harford County Office of Economic Development will host a pre-application meeting for businesses interested in the Recovery Zone and Recovery Zone Facility Bond (RZFB) program on Monday, March 1, 2010 at 10:00 AM and Friday, March 5, 2010 at 10:00 AM at the Higher Education Conference Center, Room 130, 1201 Technology Drive, Aberdeen, Maryland. Each session will include a brief presentation about the proposed Recovery Zone and the guidelines, benefits and requirements to apply for RZFBs, followed by a question and answer session for prospective applicants. To make reservations, contact the Harford County Office of Economic Development by phone at 410-638-3059 or email to kmwajer@harfordcountymd.gov.
Harford County received a $15.1 million allocation on June 12, 2009 for Recovery Zone Facility Bonds (RZFBs) to assist commercial development projects. The allocation was part ...Continue Reading
The state Public Service Commission on Friday approved the $4.5 billion sale of half of Baltimore-based Constellation Energy’s nuclear business to French company EDF, on the condition that the company gives a one-time credit of approximately $100 to every Baltimore Gas and Electric residential ratepayer by next March.
In an order released Friday afternoon, the commission said its approval also depends on Constellation pumping $250 million into BGE by June 30, and limits the dividends the utility can pay to its parent company. The order would also restrict when BGE could seek rate increases.
The order gave Constellation and EDF until next Friday, Nov. 6 to inform the PSC whether they will proceed with the deal under those conditions.
In a brief statement, Constellation acknowledged the order, but did not provide further comment, pending a review of the order. Company spokesman Rob Gould also declined to comment.
State regulators have approved the construction of a third nuclear reactor at the Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant in southern Maryland – even as those regulators prepare to review a business deal that could be crucial to getting the new reactor built at all.
The state’s Public Service Commission approved the 1,600 megawatt reactor following an 18-month review including public meetings (which were largely pro-nuke love-fests). The decision was dated Friday but not made public until late Monday evening.
Constellation hasn’t firmly committed to building the new reactor, which wouldn’t come online until sometime next decade and could cost as much as $9 billion to construct. The federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission still has to approve the project and has said it won’t do so until 2012.
The new reactor and three other similar nuke projects around the country were proposed by UniStar Nuclear Energy, a joint venture between Baltimore ...Continue Reading
Aberdeen Proving Ground Science & Technology Showcase 2009
June 17-18, Harford Community College, Bel Air, MD
Aberdeen Proving Ground’s Research, Development and Engineering Command (RDECOM) will be showcasing Army science and technology at Harford Community College’s Amoss Center on Wednesday and Thursday between 7:30 AM-4:30PM and Thursday, June 18, 2009.
Participants include the Army Research Laboratory, the Communications-Electronics Research, Development, and Engineering Center, and the Edgewood Chemical Biological Center. They will display technologies such as innovative power solutions that make the Soldier faster and lighter, unmanned autonomous systems, and a robot that conducts sampling and detection of chemically contaminated surfaces.
Army representatives will be discussing contract and funding opportunities for technology-focused entrepreneurs, researchers, and education officials.
For more information please contact Nancy Dysard, Public Affairs Officer for Harford Community College, at 443-412-2408, or Robert DiMichele, Public Affairs Officer for RDECOM at 4410-436-8797.
Wal-Mart Foundation-funded Mobile Tax Center Van Available to Help Local Taxpayers Claim Tax Credits and Save on Preparation Fees
Los Angeles (March 23, 2009) – One Economy, a global nonprofit organization that helps low-income Americans enter the economic mainstream will bring free tax preparation and online filing services to taxpayers in Harford County.
“One Economy created an online tax filing platform to make it easier for low- and moderate-income Americans to get the credits and refunds they deserve,” said Rey Ramsey, CEO of One Economy. “Through the Wal-Mart Foundation’s support, we are able to take our digital tools and resources directly into our community, to provide local taxpayers with the knowledge and confidence to file online themselves.”
IRS-certified tax professionals will be on hand to help deliver One Economy’s online filing technology to eligible taxpayers – those earning less than $56,000 per year – according to the following schedule:
The recession has begun to be felt among Harford businesses, as several companies have closed or announced closings recently. Local, regional, and national companies have all suffered, with a growing list determining that they will no longer be conducting business. Some have been bought out, but most are simply leaving vacant storefront.
Among those being bought ought are Hecht’s (now Macy’s) and Klein’s. The Klein’s in the town of Bel Air, much like the stores in Aberdeen and Whiteford, has already changed the storefront sign to read “ShopRite,” and the Klein’s name is no longer on the receipts. The machines and merchandise have likewise changed. The branch in the Festival at Bel Air has posters announcing the coming changes.
Stay tuned to The Dagger for a rolling update on announced, or sudden, closings. As always, comment with what you’re hearing!
With the Baltimore Examiner on the way out, where are we supposed to get our news now? the b? The Examiner may have been an object of derision among people looking for more than shallow sips of news, and from people adverse to a paper with a right-wing slant, but it brought some important things to the table in Baltimore.
For one thing, it brought another voice to a competition-starved market. For another, it offered job opportunities to relatively inexperienced writers and photographers. Unlike the Sun, it was a place where a Baltimore kid with a college degree and some experience in writing could get a job.
Annapolis Update – Energy – Deregulate or Reregulate? – Dec. 16, 2008
The final report to the Public Service Commission, “State Analysis and Survey on Restructuring and Reregulation (Task 2) and Analysis of Options for Maryland’s Energy Future (Task 3)” has been made. My committee, Economic Matters, has just received a briefing on it.
After listening to two hours of testimony by the Public Service Commission, I am still in full support of reregulation of the Maryland utility industry. The report showed that reregulation would be a good thing, starting three years after reregulation. This is supported by all the charts and statistics that were presented to us. In spite of this, unfortunately, the Commission feels that there are risks in reregulating.
One thing for sure, there has definitely been extreme risk in deregulation. The most recent risk is the devaluing of BGE and Constellation stock, which ...Continue Reading
The adage is to buy low and sell high. Americans, and world denizens, have been buying high from the stock market for more than a decade. The stock market was driven up to historic highs, and generally peaked at a Dow Jones 14,903 on October 12, 2007, a year ago today (Sunday).
Over the past year the price of gold has hit historic highs, although it is down to $849 per ounce today. Investors have been selling diminishing stock values for increasing gold values.
