Concessions

Opening Day for the Aberdeen IronBirds is still weeks away, but Ripken Baseball unveiled the new concession lineup at Ripken Stadium on Wednesday morning. Basically, Cal Ripken Jr.and Billy Ripken have taken over the food service operation at Ripken Stadium. They've brought in a new seafood vendor, the Parkville-based Conrad's Crabs and Seafood , who will be steaming crabs live at the stadium, something the previous crab vendor didn't do. The Charred Rib , based in Timonium, has been brought in to sell their popular ribs, along with barbecue chicken, onion loafs and their own version of bread pudding.

The Howard County Board of Education is considering expanding its restrictions (Wellness Policy 9090) on the types of foods which can be served at school events to include those sold via "concessions, celebrations, and vending machines. " I believe they have failed to consider the negative impact this could have. Many of the fundraisers in our schools either directly or indirectly involve the sale of food, and much of this food falls outside the Wellness Policy. The money currently raised allows extracurricular activities such as sports and after prom parties to be safer and more fulfilling to our students.

Northwest Airlines will land in a Chapter 11 bankruptcy before long if other unions don't join its pilots in giving the struggling carrier hundreds of millions of dollars in annual wage and other labor-cost concessions. That warning yesterday didn't come from Northwest's executives, but from the head of its pilots union. "The time has come for all union leaders to move beyond denial and anger and act responsibly for the good of their members," Mark McClain, chairman of the master executive council of the Northwest Airlines Air Line Pilots Association, wrote in a union newsletter.

The four new LED boards will give Ravens' fans constant updates of out-of-town scores and fantasy football stats, along with different vantage points on replays. Two new high-definition boards will greet those who enter M&T Bank Stadium from Gates A or D, showing live game broadcasts and Ravens' highlights. The lower concourse will have a completely new look with open-kitchen styled concession stands, expanded team retail stores, wood and steel columns and purple lighting. The upper concourse will undergo a similar transformation one year later.

Calling for a "reinvention" of the airline, USAir pilots yesterday put forth a sweeping cost-cutting proposal that would give all employees a 25 percent stake in the company and four seats on the board.The pilots' proposal, which includes $2.5 billion in worker concessions over the next five years, came in response to a plea from the financially struggling airline that its workers devise a plan to help bail the carrier out of its financial morass.The proposal, however, hinges on significant cuts by the airline's other labor unions, which are expected to submit their own cost-saving plans.

WASHINGTON -- President Bush promised Congress yesterday that he would include protections for American workers and safeguards for the environment in a free trade agreement with Mexico for which he is seeking broad negotiating authority.In a detailed response to concerns raised by congressional leaders, Mr. Bush offered a number of concessions on key issues that were regarded as a strong bid toward persuading the lawmakers to allow him to strike an accord that they could then only accept or reject without amendment.

Northwest Airlines and its pilots union said yesterday that they had agreed to grant each other broad and deep concessions as part of an effort to keep the carrier from filing for bankruptcy protection.But none of the conditions will take effect unless the pact is also approved by two other Northwest unions: the Machinists and Teamsters.The Teamsters appeared more receptive to the pilots' deal than did the Machinists yesterday. Representatives of the Machinists said that while they had yet to review the agreement, they had no plans to ask their members to vote again on a deal similar to one that union leaders had accepted but that members had recently voted down.

At Micky's Game Room Lounge, near the entrance to Bethlehem Steel Corp.'s Sparrows Point mill, the regulars gather around Formica-topped tables after work to wash down snacks with a Coors or a Bud.It's the kind of place where patrons disagree about a lot of things. But they seem to agree on one issue:They're lucky to be working."Everything I own, I owe to Beth Steel," said George Robbins, a 42-year-old steelworker who began at Sparrows Point when he was 20. Married, with four children ages 12 to 21, he said, "The kids that get out of high school, what can they do now?

When you pay $6.50 for a movie ticket, you know some of it ends up, at least theoretically, in the pocket of Kevin Costner or whoever is up there on the screen entertaining you. But when you pay $3.50 for a bucket of popcorn -- where does it go? Are there some farmers in Iowa whose kids are getting the best orthodontics and college educations that money can buy?"Most people don't realize that it's the popcorn that keeps the theater's doors open," said Cathy Kasberg, concessions director for the United Artists movie chain, the nation's largest.

WASHINGTON -- President Clinton sent legislation creating the world's largest free trade zone to Congress yesterday, after pressuring Mexico into accepting last-minute sweeteners for six U.S. industries, including the powerful sugar industry.Mickey Kantor, the U.S. trade representative, worked the phones until 4 a.m. yesterday to obtain the Mexican concessions.They are designed to lessen special-interest hostility to the controversial North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and help the administration pick up badly needed votes in the House.

A spokesman for the National Rifle Association in Maryland said Tuesday that his organization would not be opposed to requiring people to get a license before purchasing a handgun — as long as the licensing fees were reasonable. I was surprised to hear Matt Daley say this on my radio show Tuesday afternoon because most of the gun-rights advocates I've heard from are opposed to licensure — period. They say it violates the Constitution. So I checked the recording of my conversation with Daley to make sure I heard him correctly.

Food and retail workers at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport protested working conditions on Wednesday and attempted to deliver a proposed "Bill of Rights," to AirMall USA, BWI's concessions manager. Unite Here, a labor union that represents hospitality workers in Baltimore and elsewhere and is working to organize the airport concessions workers, said the private management company has benefited from higher passenger traffic while workers struggle with low wages and lack of health care access.

Every now and then we'll offer a lunch-time gathering of news and links related to sports business: Jack Lambert of the Baltimore Business Journal wrote last week that the Ravens quietly unveiled a $250,000 makeover of the general concession stand near Section 101 during the team's Nov. 11 game with the Raiders. The new stand, which allows consumers to see food being prepared, is a prototype that could be used as the team seeks to update the first level of the 14-year-old stadium, according to the story.

Opening Day for the Aberdeen IronBirds is still weeks away, but Ripken Baseball unveiled the new concession lineup at Ripken Stadium on Wednesday morning. Basically, Cal Ripken Jr.and Billy Ripken have taken over the food service operation at Ripken Stadium. They've brought in a new seafood vendor, the Parkville-based Conrad's Crabs and Seafood , who will be steaming crabs live at the stadium, something the previous crab vendor didn't do. The Charred Rib , based in Timonium, has been brought in to sell their popular ribs, along with barbecue chicken, onion loafs and their own version of bread pudding.

The state's consumer advocate on utility matters continues to push for additional concessions to make the Constellation-Exelon merger more palatable to consumers. The Maryland Office of People's Counsel said in a brief filed Monday that the two energy giants have not demonstrated that the proposed $7.9 billion merger is in the public's interest and would not harm customers of Baltimore Gas and Electric, Constellation's regulated utility. The People's Counsel also said the companies' settlement with Gov. Martin O'Malley and the state did not allay its concerns.

In a settlement with Gov. Martin O'Malley over the proposed buyout of Constellation Energy Group, Exelon Corp. has promised to develop significantly more natural gas, wind and solar power in Maryland, give more money to help low-income customers and provide more protections for Baltimore Gas and Electric. O'Malley said Wednesday evening that by agreeing to sweeten its commitments to Maryland, Chicago-based Exelon has gained his support. He had opposed the $7.9 billion buyout as it was originally structured.

Labor will be on the defensive Tuesday as negotiators for Bell Atlantic Corp. and the Communications Workers of America open talks on a contract covering 37,000 telephone company workers in the mid-Atlantic region.With its once-cushy monopoly threatened by impending competition, the Philadelphia-based phone company will be seeking concessions that would have been unthinkable only a few years ago.Job security, wages and retiree health benefits head the list of contentious issues that will face the bargainers as they try to hammer out an agreement by the Aug. 5 contract expiration date.

Constellation Energy Group and Exelon Corp. have agreed to additional concessions to alleviate concerns over market power in the mid-Atlantic's electricity grid under the companies' plan to merge, according to documents filed Tuesday with federal and state energy regulators. The settlement satisfies only the concerns raised by the independent market monitor for the PJM market, which initially found that the union between the two companies "would significantly increase concentration" of generator ownership and potentially give the companies the ability to drive up electricity prices.

At the top of the seventh inning Monday night, despair was setting in at Camden Yards. The Orioles trailed the Minnesota Twins by three runs, and there was little time for the team to pick up the slack. It was the kind of moment that could have used the numbing effect of beer to stave off the feeling of doom, or at least make the eventual loss go down easier. The only vendor nearby was selling Budweiser and Miller Lite. It was exactly what I'd heard about Oriole Park's beer selection: heavy on the domestic brews, and expensive to boot.