Development

Priest Bridge Business Park Location: Off Baldwin Avenue in Crofton Developer: Gardiner Realty and Development Co. Description: A 66,000-square-foot building is being constructed on the established 100-acre business park, at a cost of more than $7 million. A little more than half of the new building's space will be set aside for Force 3, an information technology company. The rest will be available to other businesses. Status: The developer had a groundbreaking in late June. The site is expected to open in July 2006, bringing to 28 the number of buildings at the business park.

EVERYBODY LOVES stories with good guys and bad guys. So it's not surprising that complicated battles over land use are reduced to a predictable formula: Underdog Citizen vs. Wealthy Developer.Indeed, a Phoenix resident used those words in a recent letter to the editor opposing a golf academy in Dulaney Valley proposed by developer Clark MacKenzie.Developers and builders largely have themselves to blame that people revile them. They are plenty of self-serving ones. And historically the industry's influence has pervaded local government, occasionally in unsavory and downright corrupt ways.

I was recently one of the many citizens to attend the public workshop about the Baltimore Washington Intermodal Facility. I was impressed by the sheer volume of information presented. I am looking forward to additional information as plans progress, and encourage my fellow community members to be a part of this process as it continues. We need to let the process work and recognize the benefits of this facility to Maryland, wherever it is sited. We also have to remember that in order to grow the current job offerings in our community we need to objectively evaluate all opportunities presented.

Baltimore County residents sounded off Thursday on planned development in Owings Mills, an issue that has become highly contentious as the county considers whether to allow an upscale retail complex at the site of the former Solo Cup plant. A County Council hearing on zoning issues in District 2 focused on whether the manufacturing property off Reisterstown Road should be approved for retail use to make way for a 385,000-square-foot development called Foundry Row that would be anchored by a Wegmans supermarket.

The word on Torrey Smith when he entered the 2011 NFL Draft was that the wide receiver could become the vertical threat offenses desire. And he has done that for the Ravens, averaging 18.7 yards per catch in his rookie campaign and posting four of six touchdown receptions of at least 25 yards. But Smith also proved that he can make the necessary grabs on short and intermediate routes that produce first downs, not just highlight-reel scores. In the team's 24-10 victory over the Indianapolis Colts Sunday, Smith caught five passes for 48 yards, averaging 9.6 yards - his second-lowest average when making at least three grabs this season.

Lisa J. Heiser, vice dean for faculty development and equity at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and an author, died Monday of leukemia at her Annapolis residence. She was 56. "She has left an indelible mark on Johns Hopkins and its faculty, and to the great benefit of both. Johns Hopkins Medicine is a much stronger, more equitable and vibrant institution because of Lisa Heiser," Dr. Edward D. Miller, dean of the faculty of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and CEO of Johns Hopkins Medicine, said in a news release.