Compensation

A January 18 Sun article on salaries of higher education officials reported that I had refused to accept a deferred compensation payment (" State university presidents' pay in middle of the pack"). This is not correct. The Sun based this on information released this week by the Chronicle of Higher Education that shows that I received a deferred compensation payment in 2008 but not in 2009. However, this change actually stems from the University System of Maryland Board of Regents' conversion of my deferred compensation to a multi-year performance payment.

Jos. A. Bank Clothiers Inc. said Friday its CEO and president, R. Neal Black, earned $4 million last year, with nearly half the compensation in stock awards. Black's earnings were about the same as the previous year, with an increase of nearly $13,000, the men's apparel retailer disclosed. Black's annual earnings included a base salary of $783,138, nearly $2 million in stock awards and $1.2 million in cash incentive compensation – the maximum that could have been earned under the program, the company said in documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The chief executive of Baltimore money manager T. Rowe Price Group received about $4.7 million in compensation last year, a 17 percent drop from 2008. James A.C. Kennedy's $350,000 salary remained the same, but the value of his option awards and nonequity incentive plan compensation slumped. That comes on top of a decrease in 2008, a terrible year for financial companies. Kennedy's 2007 compensation was $7.9 million. Brian C. Rogers, chairman and chief investment officer, took a 29 percent cut last year, to $4.7 million.

The Washington Redskins urged Maryland's highest court Thursday not to force the team to pay workers' compensation benefits to its former wide receiver Darnerien McCants, arguing that the claim involving his injuries belongs in Virginia, where the NFL team is based. "There's no question that by far, the bulk of his work activities occurred in Virginia," David O. Godwin, a lawyer for the football team told the Court of Appeals, saying that the team offices and training facilities are in Ashburn, Va., and that McCants is "forum-shopping" for benefits.

Total compensation for Under Amour CEO Kevin A. Plank fell 14 percent last year after the company failed to significantly improve its operating efficiency, the company said in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing. Plank's compensation, including base salary and company performance incentives, totaled $1.13 million in 2011, down from $1.32 million in 2010, a proxy statement filed Friday showed. Plank, Under Armour's chairman, president and largest stockholder, made Forbes magazine's list of the world's billionaires earlier this month with a net worth of $1.1 billion.

I take issue with Professor Larry Gibson's letter to the editor, written in response to your article "Ex-dean of UMB law is audit target" (Feb. 20). As a former student of Professor Gibson's, I have great respect for his contributions to the school of law and the city of Baltimore. However I believe he willfully attempts to steer the focus away from important questions involving Karen Rothenberg's compensation. In doing so, he provides irresponsible justifications for compensating individuals who ultimately provide a public service to our state.

Sinclair Broadcast Group's chief executive, David D. Smith, earned $4.2 million last year, a 16 percent increase that included more than $2 million in stock option awards, the Hunt Valley-based broadcaster reported. Compensation for Smith, who is also the company's president, included a $1 million base salary and $1 million in cash bonuses, the company reported Monday to the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company said 94 percent of shareholders approved the company's executive compensation package last year in Sinclair's first-ever "say on pay" vote.

Jos. A. Bank Clothiers navigated a tough consumer market to gain in profit and stock price in the past fiscal year. The Hampstead retailer's chief executive R. Neal Black also did well, taking home $2.6 million in pay, more than double his compensation in 2008. On the other end of the executive pay spectrum, A.L. "Tom" Giannopoulos, head of Columbia-based MICROS Systems Inc., saw his total compensation drop $4.1 million. Giannopoulos' $2.8 million pay package, while not a small sum, reflected the declining profit and stock market value at the information systems company during the past fiscal year.

Robert Embry's article that addressed barriers to attracting quality teachers ("Maryland must remove barriers to attracting quality teachers," Feb. 1) raises several fundamental issues. First, as one who supervised teachers for 22 of my 32 years in public school education, I would posit that individuals entering the profession should be referred to as "prospective" teachers. Second, given the compensation disparity between the public and private sectors, the best and brightest are not attracted to teaching.

The former dean of the University of Maryland School of Law has offered to repay $60,000 in compensation questioned by a state audit and is "deeply sorry over any negative impact" the audit's findings have caused, according to a letter released Monday by her attorney. The letter says that former dean Karen Rothenberg offered to return the $60,000 to David Ramsay, outgoing president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore, upon learning on Feb. 16 that the audit had raised concerns about payments she received for summer research between fiscal years 2007 and 2009.

Mayo A. Shattuck IlI -- who successfully engineered the sale of Constellation Energy Group to Chicago-based Exelon Corp. – took in $17.3 million in total compensation last year, a nearly 11 percent increase from 2010. Shattuck's base salary of $1.3 million was unchanged from a year earlier. He received no cash incentive payment last year, compared with a $1.7 million payout in 2010. The compensation package, which the company reported Friday, includes additional payouts in stocks, options and the value of his pension.

Sinclair Broadcast Group's chief executive, David D. Smith, earned $4.2 million last year, a 16 percent increase that included more than $2 million in stock option awards, the Hunt Valley-based broadcaster reported. Compensation for Smith, who is also the company's president, included a $1 million base salary and $1 million in cash bonuses, the company reported Monday to the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company said 94 percent of shareholders approved the company's executive compensation package last year in Sinclair's first-ever "say on pay" vote.

Legislation that would expand Maryland's efforts to curb childhood lead poisoning remains in limbo, as House and Senate members strive to settle their differences over whether to give landlords who follow state law any legal protection against lawsuits from poisoning victims. HB644 , which passed the House, would expand state regulation of rental housing with lead paint in it to cover units built between 1950 and 1978.  The original 1994 law covers rental homes built before 1950.  The bill also would authorize the state to regulate renovation, repair and painting of all homes containing lead-based paint, which if improperly done can generate toxic dust that could cause brain damage to infants and toddlers.

Annual compensation dropped by nearly half last year for Randall M. Griffin, who retired last month as chief executive of Corporate Office Properties Trust. Griffin earned $3.04 million in 2011, down from $6.05 million in 2010, a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission showed. Griffin, who retired after nearly 14 years with the Columbia-based office developer, earned a base salary in each of the past two years of $645,000. But because the company failed to meet performance goals, Griffin did not receive an annual cash incentive award or equity awards based on share price, according to last week's filing.

Total compensation for Under Amour CEO Kevin A. Plank fell 14 percent last year after the company failed to significantly improve its operating efficiency, the company said in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing. Plank's compensation, including base salary and company performance incentives, totaled $1.13 million in 2011, down from $1.32 million in 2010, a proxy statement filed Friday showed. Plank, Under Armour's chairman, president and largest stockholder, made Forbes magazine's list of the world's billionaires earlier this month with a net worth of $1.1 billion.

The independent Judicial Compensation Commission recently reported its findings to the Maryland General Assembly - presented to the Senate and House of Delegates in the form of joint resolutions - regarding judge's salaries Our state's judges have not received a raise since 2006, and our Circuit Court Judges' pay, when ranked among that of their national peers and adjusted for cost of living, pathetically ranks 43rd in the nation. Just as we take understandable pride in the first-in-the-nation ranking of our state's educational system, we should be suitably embarrassed by that of our judicial compensation - embarrassed not simply by the aforementioned statistic itself, but also by what it says about our state's under-appreciation of what our judges do on a daily basis.  In order to attract new, qualified candidates to the bench, and to retain the judges currently serving, competitive judicial compensation is necessary and appropriate.

Should Columbia's village board members receive compensation for their volunteer service to their neighborhoods?This issue, which has been debated off and on for years, was raised again recently when Donna L. Rice, the chair of the Town Center village board, sent letters to village board members -- who are volunteers -- proposing giving them compensation packages.The 10 members of the Columbia Council -- the Columbia Association's board of directors -- receive free memberships to athletic facilities in the planned community.

Dear Mr. Azrael:I would like some information on how the city can force a property owner out of their property if they refuse to sell it.I recently attended a meeting for a cousin of mine because she had received a letter from the city for acquisition of her property to make way for the new 260 family homes known as the Julian Murphy Garden.I never received notice for my house, but learned at the meeting that the 1000 block of Argyle Avenue may be torn down, too. Please explain this matter to me.Mirdies O. ParrottBaltimoreDear Ms. Parrott:Article III, Section 40A governs the type of condemnation by Baltimore that you describe in your letter.

Editor: I am writing in response to Mr. Flen's letter to the editor published on Feb. 24. My daughter is an elementary school teacher and I know that she and her colleagues do not work 70 percent of the time! That may be what they are paid for, but that is not what they work. If you drive by any Harford County public school, you will see cars there well before the school day begins and also after the day ends. Teachers spend several hours before and after school preparing their lessons.

Compensation for T. Rowe Price Group's top executives went up last year, the Baltimore money manager reported Thursday. Chief Executive Officer and President James A.C. Kennedy's total package rose 10.5 percent to $7.9 million in 2011. Kennedy's base salary remained at $350,000, according to the company's proxy. His cash bonus rose to $5.5 million, from $5 million in 2010. The value of his stock options was $1.96 million, up from $1.7 million. Other compensation, which includes retirement contributions, matching charitable contributions and other benefits, totaled about $70,800, a slight increase from a year earlier.