Economic Development

One of the biggest knocks against Maryland in its drive for more jobs is its lack of a unified economic-development strategy. Cooperation among counties is minimal; coordination between the state and the counties is modest; regional agreement on a game-plan is lacking and, worst of all, the business community is deeply divided on how to proceed.Into this chaos comes the Maryland Chamber of Commerce, which is trying to craft what it calls "A Strategy for Maryland's Economic Growth." It amounts to a wish-list of steps to propel this state into a pro-business mode.

I applaud The Sun for its recent editorial on income inequality ("Labor reawakens," April 27). The increasing income inequality in this country affects the ability of families to survive, much less thrive, on what they earn from minimum wage jobs. The editorial highlighted a labor strike by Chicago low-wage workers and their "Fight for 15" rally. Yet the fact that Baltimore workers are organizing around "fair development" was mentioned in only one sentence. I wonder why The Sun did not find it important to cover the local "reawakening" here by reporting on the Fair Development Rally and March held April 20th.

Due to a problem in typesetting, there was a garbled line in the Friday editorial "Brady for Maryland's Economy." The line should have read that a top priority for James T. Brady's economic-development team is persuading Dr. Robert C. Gallo "to locate a world-class virology laboratory at the University of Maryland instead of Virginia."The Sun regrets the error.Gov. Parris N. Glendening picked wisely in selecting Baltimore business executive James T. Brady as his top economic development aide yesterday.

Howard County and Economic Development officials will visit more than 100 area businesses during the week of May 6 as part of Howard County's Business Appreciation Week. Business visits are expected to take approximately one hour and will begin at 8 a.m., each day, with the last business visited at 4 p.m. Space is now limited, but businesses interested in participating in Business Appreciation Week should contact the Howard County Economic Development Authority at 410-313-6500.

Hosted by the BWI Business Partnership, economic development professionals from around the Baltimore-Washington corridor will gather for a Regional Economic Development Summit, Thursday, March 14 from 7:30 to 11:30 a.m. at the Hilton Baltimore BWI Airport, 1739 West Nursery Road, in Linthicum Heights. Dominick Murray, Acting Secretary of the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development, will give opening remarks. Economist Anirban Basu, chairman and CEO of Sage Policy Group, and Jeff Salkin, longtime host of "State Circle" for Maryland Public Television, will moderate two panel discussion, focusing on factors important to economic development.

Janice Posey will be acting CEO of the Howard County Economic Development Authority starting February 28, the day 17-year veteran in the post Richard W. "Dick" Story retires. Posey has been senior vice president for marketing and business development since January 2006, and will serve in Story's place until a search for a replacement is completed, according to an announcement from the authority. Before coming to Howard County, Posey worked for the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development, part of a 20-year business career.

Members of the Prince George's County Council and other county officials will bring a countywide town hall meeting to Laurel next week. "Growing Opportunities in Prince George's County," an economic development town hall meeting, will be held Tuesday, Oct. 23 from 7 to 9 p.m. at Laurel High, 8000 Cherry Lane. The meeting will include an economic development update from David Iannucci, the county's Assistant Deputy Chief Administrative Officer for Economic Development; and Economic Development Corporation President and CEO Gwen McCall.

As a retired educator, I read your article about growing student enrollments at area schools with keen interest ("Growing enrollments, aging schools, straitened finances," Aug. 23). In order to promote successful programs, increasing the tax base that supports public schools should be our number one priority if we are to guarantee our students the kind of education they will need in order to compete successfully with the rest of the world. Quinton D. Thompson, Towson

A former state official with ties to Pennsylvania and New York has been tapped to serve as Baltimore County's next director of economic development. Daniel C. Gundersen, a senior advisor for Philadelphia-based Econsult Corporation, was nominated Tuesday for the position by County Executive Kevin Kamenetz. Gundersen would replace David Iannucci, whom Kamenetz declined to reappoint in December. Gundersen served as the state's assistant secretary for business development from 2000 to 2003.

Maryland's second-in-command on economic development matters will step into the top job in January when the current secretary leaves for the private sector, state officials announced Wednesday. Dominick Murray, who joined the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development six years ago, will succeed Christian S. Johansson as secretary of the agency. Johansson is heading to Baltimore-based Laureate Education, a company that runs universities worldwide, after nearly four years as agency chief.

The Baltimore Development Corp., the city's economic development agency, is looking for an outside consultant to provide an analysis of the city's "economic development landscape," according to a request for applications issued Tuesday. The consultant is being asked to assess the city's "existing economic conditions, obstacles, opportunities for expansion, and strengths," as well as identify "priorities and options to move the City's economy forward" and figure out a way "to track the success of new initiatives in terms of job growth, investment, and economic impact," according to the request for proposals.

Maryland will help sponsor eight festivals this year commemorating the War of 1812, an effort officials hope will boost tourism and economic development. The state would put up $2.1 million in matching grants to various non-profits for 23 War of 1812 projects, Maryland Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller, Jr. and Department of Business and Economic Development Secretary Dominick Murray announced Wednesday. About $400,000 will help pay for the festivals, which run from late April through September and most of which are in rural areas, except for one in September, called "Star-Spangled Banner Weekend" in Baltimore.

General Services Administration officials said Wednesday they had received nearly three dozen responses to a request for ideas about a new FBI headquarters, a potentially lucrative development that Maryland leaders hope to land in Prince George's County. State and local officials have been working behind the scenes for months to lure the FBI to Maryland if the agency leaves its 38-year-old headquarters, the J. Edgar Hoover Building, in downtown Washington. The state is competing with Virginia and Washington for the roughly 11,000 jobs associated with the facility.

The Howard County Economic Development Authority is sponsoring several events in March. The Howard Tech Council networking event will be held Tuesday, March 19 from 5 to 7 p.m. at Union Jack's Columbia, 10400 Little Patuxent Parkway, in Columbia. The Central Maryland Women in Agriculture Forum is scheduled for Thursday, March 21 from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., at the Howard County Fairgrounds, 22120 Fairground Road, in West Friendship. Cost is $35 per person and includes lunch and light refreshments.

Hosted by the BWI Business Partnership, economic development professionals from around the Baltimore-Washington corridor will gather for a Regional Economic Development Summit, Thursday, March 14 from 7:30 to 11:30 a.m. at the Hilton Baltimore BWI Airport, 1739 West Nursery Road, in Linthicum Heights. Dominick Murray, Acting Secretary of the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development, will give opening remarks. Economist Anirban Basu, chairman and CEO of Sage Policy Group, and Jeff Salkin, longtime host of "State Circle" for Maryland Public Television, will moderate two panel discussion, focusing on factors important to economic development.

Eastern Baltimore County residents say a bill before the County Council could open the door to poorly planned development on a key tract in the Middle River area near Route 43. "Let's work on a better bill, please," said Allen Robertson, president of the Bowleys Quarters Community Association, during a council work session Tuesday. Robertson said his group wants the council to withdraw or table the legislation. The measure, proposed by County Executive Kevin Kamenetz's administration, would allow residential development on part of an 800-acre tract near White Marsh Boulevard that is now zoned for industrial use. County leaders once hoped the site would attract major employers.

M.J. "Jay" Brodie, who has headed Baltimore's economic development agency under four mayors and helped shepherd projects such as the Harbor East redevelopment, said Thursday he plans to retire. The Baltimore native and former city housing commissioner is credited with overseeing initiatives to create thousands of jobs and to attract and keep hundreds of businesses in the city during his 16 years as president of the Baltimore Development Corp., the city's quasi-public economic development arm. Brodie, viewed as highly influential in city development, also has drawn criticism from residents and business owners who have complained about being pushed out by urban renewal and about the secrecy under which they say his agency has operated.

I applaud The Sun for its recent editorial on income inequality ("Labor reawakens," April 27). The increasing income inequality in this country affects the ability of families to survive, much less thrive, on what they earn from minimum wage jobs. The editorial highlighted a labor strike by Chicago low-wage workers and their "Fight for 15" rally. Yet the fact that Baltimore workers are organizing around "fair development" was mentioned in only one sentence. I wonder why The Sun did not find it important to cover the local "reawakening" here by reporting on the Fair Development Rally and March held April 20th.

Like the rest of America, I will be tuning in Sunday to watch Baltimore's own Ravens play for the Vince Lombardi Trophy in Super Bowl XLVII. The Super Bowl has become a great American tradition. But there's another tradition that demonstrates our nation's finest values and doesn't get nearly as much attention - and that's the good we do around the world. You only need to turn on the television briefly or glance at a newspaper to see why our engagement in the world is so critical to our nation's security, economy and standing.

Until last month, M.J. "Jay" Brodie was the only person to hold the title of president of the Baltimore Development Corp. since it was organized in the mid-1990s into its current form, with a largely private-sector board of directors. What the city's nonprofit, economic development agency became during his time at the helm allowed for some of Baltimore's most admired economic progress in recent years, including the construction of Harbor East and the public offering of stock by Millennial Media Inc., the mobile advertising company that got its legs with help from a technology incubator founded during Brodie's tenure.