Caliber

Caliber Learning Network Inc., the adult-education subsidiary of Baltimore-based Sylvan Learning Systems Inc., announced yesterday that it filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a public offering of common stock that would raise up to $60 million.The offering is expected to be made in mid-April, according to the registration statement.Caliber, started in November 1996 by Sylvan Learning Systems and MCI Communications Corp., is establishing a graduate-level learning and professional training distribution network throughout the United States to serve universities, major corporations and working adults.

Coppin State University should enroll higher-caliber freshmen, focus more on transfer and returning students, and reorganize its academics and administration, a committee plans to report Wednesday to the University System of Maryland Board of Regents. The recommendations, from a panel convened in December to study Coppin State, are meant to turn around the stressed institution, one of Maryland's four historically black colleges and universities. The school has one of the lowest six-year graduation rates for first-time, full-time students in the country at 15 percent as of fiscal year 2012 and is underenrolled by more than 2,000 students, the committee said.

Caliber Learning Network Inc. announced a shift yesterday from one-on-one distance learning to corporate training -- a direction the Sylvan Learning Systems venture hopes will lead to its first profits. Caliber released news of its shift as it posted a first quarter loss of $7.6 million, up from $6.2 million in the first quarter of 1999. Revenue was $5.1 million, up from $4.6 million in the first quarter of 1999. Caliber President and Chief Executive Officer Chris Nguyen attributed the losses to a change in how the company records revenue.

The father of a student at the Academy for College and Career Exploration in Hampden was arrested in the school about 10 a.m. Wednesday after allegedly bringing a handgun to a disciplinary meeting for his son, according to Baltimore police. Rodney Parker, 39, had taken a "hack" or unlicensed cab to the school after his son was brought into the front office for a disciplinary infraction and a parent meeting was scheduled, said Detective Vernon Davis, a police spokesman. As Parker exited the cab, he allegedly fumbled and then dropped a .22 caliber gun, which was noticed by the cab driver, Davis said.

Caliber Learning Network Inc., a Baltimore-based company that provides education training through satellite communications, reported a third-quarter loss of $5.8 million yesterday. The company also announced two new contracts.The net loss for the three months ended that Sept. 30 was equal to 48 cents a share. For the comparable period of last year, Caliber reported a loss of $4.3 million, or 50 cents a share.Revenue totaled $5.7 million in the quarter, up from $400,000 in the 1997 quarter.

Caliber Learning Network Inc., the Baltimore company that provides training online, has laid off 18 percent of its work force in an effort to ensure profitability and zero in on corporate training. The publicly traded company, founded in 1996, had offered training for companies and online classes for students at schools such as the Johns Hopkins University. About a year-and-a-half ago, Caliber decided to focus on corporate training and phase out the academic sector of its business, President and Chief Executive Officer Chris L. Nguyen said.

Caliber Learning Network Inc., an Internet-based educational services company, reported a fourth-quarter loss of $5.5 million yesterday, smaller than the $8.1 million loss in the comparable period of 1998. Even with the loss of 45 cents per share, down from 66 cents in the year-earlier period, sales increased 63 percent to $7.5 million from $4.6 million. The Baltimore-based company also announced yesterday that International Business Machines Corp. will use Caliber to produce live training sessions.

Caliber Learning Network Inc., the Baltimore company that provides training online, reported yesterday that fourth-quarter sales fell 49 percent and its loss widened, and said it was trying to raise more money - either by securing capital, buying a smaller company or merging with a bigger one. The company said it would need another $10 million to $15 million to break even in 2001. Caliber's president and chief executive officer, Chris Nguyen, said it was difficult to speculate exactly how the money would be raised.

Sylvan Learning Systems Inc. has agreed to buy for $750,000 the assets of Caliber Learning Network Inc., a corporate training company it helped create and that filed for bankruptcy in the spring. Caliber announced after the stock market closed yesterday that it has asked the U.S. Bankruptcy Court to authorize a sale of substantially all of its assets to Sylvan. The two companies, both based in Baltimore, signed an agreement Monday. The transaction is subject to approval by the bankruptcy court and could be undone if better offers are received by the court.

All Maryland State Police troopers soon will be armed with new Beretta .40-caliber pistols that pack more power and are considered ballistically superior to the 9 mm models being replaced.Probationary troopers who graduated last month are trained and carrying the new semiautomatic handguns.Veteran troopers such as Lt. Lawrence E. Faries, commander of the Westminster barracks, began three days of training with the new handgun yesterday."The best thing about the .40-caliber Beretta is that the trigger pull is always the same because the hammer recocks each time the gun is fired," Faries said.

Sophomore Seth Higgins likes to think of himself as a student of the game. This offseason, Morgan State coach Donald Hill-Eley found out first-hand just how intent his starting quarterback is on becoming a football scholar. "Seth was always in the office. It was almost like he was employed," Hill-Eley said. "I mean, seeing the copier machine was just like seeing Seth. He was going to be there, and he was going to put the time into watching film and learning what's expected. " It's that kind of commitment that has Morgan football fans buzzing about the former Edgewood standout, who started the team's final seven games as a true freshman, throwing for 1,116 yards and nine touchdowns.

A 20-year-old man has pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and was sentenced to 30 years in prison for fatally shooting a U.S. Marine inside a hookah bar in downtown Baltimore as the sergeant prepared for redeployment to Afghanistan. The July 2, 2010 killing of 26-year-old Sgt. Chase Love inside the Queens Hookah Bar and Lounge on East Baltimore St., just east of Calvert Street, was one in a string of killings of active-duty servicemen in a six month period. Love, originally from New Orleans, had been visiting Baltimore with fellow Marine, Staff Sgt. Jamal Queen, who lives in Baltimore.

As appealing as it might be to vent my own frustration and play to the rage of tens of thousands of Ravens fans by ripping the TV coverage of Baltimore's agonizing 23-20 loss to the New England Patriots, facts are facts. And the fact of the matter is that CBS Sports did an outstanding job of telecasting Sunday's AFC championship game. The producer and director used their cameras to make viewers feel as if they were not only in the stadium, but almost on the field in Foxboro at certain points Sunday.

If the Cockeysville Black Ice 16-and-under softball team's year could be summed up in a word, it would be steady. The Black Ice - featuring pitcher Sarah Calta, St. Paul's School for Girls; second baseman Kerri Albert, Hereford High; first baseman Anna Jensen, Dulaney; and third baseman Hannah Thomas, Dulaney - won almost 50 games over four months thanks to clutch hitting, sure-handed defense and solid pitching. The proof of their success came in three tournament championships: the Emily Burke Memorial Tournament, in Eldersburg; the Black Eyed Susan, in Emmitsburg; and the Winter Slide, in Wikes Barre, Pa. "We were more consistent," said Black Ice coach Keith Calta, whose team went 48-18.

The Ravens are a playoff-contending team because there aren't many good teams in the NFL. At this point in the season, the good teams separate themselves from the bad teams and have established an identity heading into the playoffs. The Ravens are a team that can't beat the good ones and feast on the average ones. Barely. The Ravens pulled out a victory against the Houston Texans in overtime Monday night, but this was far from convincing. In fact, it was embarrassing.

Cam Newton, QB, Auburn Buzz: Newton's ticket to New York was already punched several weeks ago, but his performance against Alabama in the Iron Bowl on Friday might have sealed the deal for becoming the first Auburn player to win the Heisman since Bo Jackson in 1985. The junior rallied the Tigers from a 24-0 deficit with 216 yards through the air and four total touchdowns. Up next: SEC title game vs. South Carolina at Atlanta, Saturday. LaMichael James, RB, Oregon Buzz: Slowed by an aggressive Arizona defense that left him battered and bruised, James carried the ball 28 times for 126 yards and two touchdowns in the second half to lead the Ducks to a 48-29 victory over the Wildcats on Friday.

For Dr. Henry Eisenberg, a surgeon at Cleveland's Hillcrest Hospital, a 10-week course on managed care at Johns Hopkins University seemed almost a necessity."

Federal Express Corp., seeking to snatch more business from strike-weakened United Parcel Service, is buying the Caliber System Inc. trucking company for about $2.4 billion in stock.The combination announced yesterday enables Federal Express to match UPS in offering a wide range of delivery options, from its trademark air express to the local-package traffic that Caliber handles.The deal also illustrates how the once-humdrum business necessities of inventory control, distribution and delivery have become crucial elements in corporate efforts to achieve an advantage.

A police stop of a gold Corvette in Northeast Baltimore this month led authorities to a house on Holder Avenue over the weekend that had a cache of unregistered weapons including a World War II-era grenade, a Baltimore police spokesman said Monday. Michael Hudlicka, 59, was released on $35,000 bail stemming from his arrest after the traffic stop March 16 when police said he had a holstered .45-caliber handgun loaded with 10 hollow-point bullets. He could now face new charges besides possession of an unregistered handgun, according to police.

A police stop of a gold Corvette in Northeast Baltimore this month led authorities to a house on Holder Avenue over the weekend that had a cache of unregistered weapons, including a World War II-era grenade, a city police spokesman said Monday. Michael Hudlicka, 59, was released on $35,000 bail stemming from his arrest after the traffic stop last Tuesday, when police said he had a holstered .45-caliber handgun loaded with 10 hollow-point bullets. He could now face charges in addition to possession of an unregistered handgun, according to police.