Contractor

At first, Willie Coffey scoffed at the idea of building a vacation home on a marshy tract adjacent to a busy thoroughfare in coastal Delaware. He and his wife, Debbie, wanted something roomier than the waterfront townhouse they owned near Bethany Beach. He didn't see much potential in the parcels his wife had been eyeing for several weeks. Then, while the Baldwin couple drove along Delaware's Route 1 in North Bethany one day, Debbie Coffey said, "Stop the car or I'm jumping off," he recalled.

A Circuit Court judge has ruled against a contractor who claimed Baltimore County owed the company $1.4 million in a dispute over construction of the County Detention Center. Judge Judith C. Ensor rejected the appeal from George Moehrle Masonry Inc., a company based in Frederick, and affirmed the decision of a county hearing officer, who had awarded the company $72,603. According to a statement from the county, Moehrle had a $3 million contract for work to be performed in 2004 and 2005.

James Robert "Bobby" Sherman, a general contractor and avid outdoorsman, died Friday of cancer at his Sykesville home. He was 74. Mr. Sherman, the son of farmers, was born and raised in London, Ky. He moved to Baltimore in the 1940s with his mother, who came to work in the city's war plants, and attended city public schools. Mr. Sherman had worked in the construction industry for years and was the owner and operator of Sherman Builders, a commercial and residential construction company.

Despite financing more than $140 million city contracts in the past 12 years, donating tens of thousands of dollars to Democratic candidates and being a member of Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake's inner circle, J.P. Grant III has largely avoided the limelight. Then this week Grant, a West Baltimore native, stepped into the public glare as one of the latest saviors of the troubled Baltimore Grand Prix. City leaders, of course, already knew him. When he walked into a meeting of Baltimore's spending board this week, they greeted him warmly.

I was appalled to learn recently how the three young children of my neighbors on Henrietta Street in Federal Hill were put at risk of lead poisoning. The law allows only contractors who are certified to remove lead-based paint. In this renovation, a certified contractor won a contract for the paint removal and then scooted around the EPA requirement by subcontracting the work. The subcontractor was not certified, and indeed failed to take the required precautions. Lead-based paint dust and debris were spread over the property and neighboring properties.

A Circuit Court judge has ruled against a contractor who claimed Baltimore County owed the company $1.4 million in a dispute over construction of the County Detention Center. Judge Judith C. Ensor rejected the appeal from George Moehrle Masonry Inc., a company based in Frederick, and affirmed the decision of a county hearing officer, who had awarded the company $72,603. According to a statement from the county, Moehrle had a $3 million contract for work to be performed in 2004 and 2005.

Buschman Construction Co. recently was honored with two Contractor of the Year Awards from the Maryland Improvement Contractors Association.Buschman Construction received its award for the Gill project in Marriottsville in the category of "Best Large Addition" and the Wensil project in Elkridge for "Best Kitchen Remodeling."BUILDER CITEDFOR WORKGoodier Builders of Ellicott City was selected by the National Association of Home Builders to receive the gold medal award of excellence in the category of "11-50 Units."

City Council President Bernard C. "Jack" Young's office violated city policy by using the services of a computer contractor hired by the Department of Transportation without negotiating a separate contract, according to a report this week by the city's inspector general. According to inspector general David N. McClintock, Young's chief of staff asked transportation officials if the computer contractor could work on the council's website shortly after Young took office in February.

I just got word that ManTech International Corp. , a publicly traded defense contractor, is holding a career open house this Friday. It will be held at the BWI Airport Marriott , from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The company, which provides technology and services for national security programs, is seeking to fill more than 400 open positions that require various levels of security clearances. The new positions are for locations in the Baltimore-Washington area, including a new facility that's opening in Aberdeen in March.

A Millersville electrical contractor has been ordered by the U.S. Department of Labor to pay $45,745 in back wages to workers whom the company didn't pay overtime. Asplundh Tree Expert Co., which did business as Utility Lines Construction Services Inc., denied overtime to 41 workers performing manhole inspections for working more than 40 hours week, the Labor Department said. The company also did not keep proper records of employee work hours, the agency found. The employees were required to pick up and drive company vehicles prior to arriving at a job site and then return them after their shift ended.

About a year ago, Matt Venditto hired a builder to construct a house in Westminster. It wasn't long before buyer's remorse set in. In early June, Venditto purchased a lot from Green Builders Inc., which was expected to finish the four-bedroom house within six months. But, Venditto says, progress was slow and the builder difficult to reach. Then, late last year, Venditto started hearing from subcontractors that they hadn't been paid. By mid-March, a few subcontractors had filed lien notices, while others began calling Venditto to complain that they also hadn't been paid.

John R. Regalbuto Sr., a retired contractor who had been a jockey at Maryland racetracks, died of Alzheimer's disease April 11 at Stella Maris Hospice. The former Essex resident was 80. Born in Vineland, N.J., he was raised on his family's small farm. Friends and family encouraged him to become a jockey, and he practiced at local farms. News articles often noted that his brother, Joseph Anthony Regalbuto, also rode horses. In 1948, he made his debut at Monmouth Park in New Jersey aboard Hasty Mabel.

Congratulations to the Baltimore housing department for taking aggressive action against a flagrant violator of housing codes designed to protect health and safety ("Canton rehab without permits could lead to jail," April 11), and to CityCouncilman James B. Kraft and the Baltimore City Council for adding a possible jail term of up to 90 days, in addition to fines, for doing work without permits. And praises should also go to the adjoining property owners for their perseverance in bringing these violations to the city's attention.

Work is under way on two state highway repaving projects in opposite ends of Harford County, the State Highway Administration said. A $1 million project began Monday to repair damaged pavement along Route 7 (Philadelphia Road) in Joppa. Weather permitting, SHA anticipates completing the resurfacing by late spring. Contractor crews will patch, mill and resurface Route 7 between the Baltimore/Harford County Line and Route 152 (Mountain Road). According to an SHA news release, lane closures and flagging operations may occur along sections of Route 7 between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m., Monday through Friday, and 6 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Saturday.

Once among the thousands of dogs roaming Baghdad, a city that considers strays a menace, Sara eluded traps set by police and survived a car accident - albeit with a broken leg. Lately, Sara has been spending her time in the company of a family in Bel Air, a dramatic change in fortunes brought about by a U.S. military contractor with a soft spot for neglected animals. Andrew Leeson, a U.S. Navy veteran working as a private security contractor in Iraq, found Sara and named her. He fed her, hid her from the police, paid for surgery to right her front paw and made it his mission to find her a home in the U.S. He connected with SPCA International and helped arrange Sara's flight from Baghdad to the U.S. When the pup landed at Washington Dulles International Airport, he knew he had finally rescued Sara.

Two Baltimore-based contractors -- including a former race car driver-- have proposed taking over the Baltimore Grand Prix and repaying some of the debts accumulated by the race's former promoters. Sharon R. Grinnell, president of sGrinnell Enterprises LLC of Owings Mills, and Gregory K. O'Neill, vice president of BMW Construction Specialists of Curtis Bay, approached city officials early last month about organizing the city's Indycar race. The Baltimore Sun obtained a copy of the proposal that their group, Baltimore Motorsports Group, LLC, submitted to the city.

With spring here, your thoughts might turn toward home remodeling. But even before the first nail is pounded, you have plenty of work to do. You must find a trustworthy, experienced contractor and negotiate a deal so no ugly surprises pop up. For Maryland homeowners, that's not so easy. Sure, the state licenses contractors, but that's no guarantee the contractor is skilled or the job will be completed as promised. Information the state provides on a contractor's record can be sketchy and — as I found recently — inaccurate or incomplete.

BALTIMORE - An 640-pound contractor has sued, contending the city should give him preferred status in bidding on municipal work because he is fat.Donald Keister, 30, of Baltimore filed suit Monday in Circuit Court, demanding the Minority Business Enterprise office certify him as a minority contractor, making him eligible for preferred status in bidding for city contracts.Keister owns a lead paint testing and removal business, including one in Westminster. He said he relies on city business, but often loses contracts because of his limited ability to inspect potential work sites and submit bids.

Baltimore officials have zeroed in on Indianapolis-based building contractor Dale Dillon to take over operations of the city's Grand Prix race; he is the only bidder with whom they are negotiating, according to sources close to the discussions. Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake's administration has been immersed in talks for weeks with Dillon, who hopes to team with Baltimore investors to organize the race this year. The administration, reeling from the financial collapse of the group that organized the inaugural race last year, has been seeking terms that would cushion the city from losses without imposing overly burdensome fees on the organizers, sources say. A Rawlings-Blake spokesman declined to comment on the negotiations.

Robert James Mitchell, a retired Baltimore County building contractor and a one-time trainer for the Army's 82nd Airborne Division, died Wednesday of a cerebral hemorrhage at his home, "Dogwoods," in Glen Arm. He was 81. Aside from a stint at Fort Benning, Ga., Mr. Mitchell spent his whole life in Maryland. Born in the Forest Park section of West Baltimore. Mr. Mitchell was the son of Robert John Mitchell and Leona Edna Brooks. His mother was a descendant of John West, a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses, the first government of English colonists in North America.