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A biofuel startup with a Baltimore production plant is planning to expand and hire this year, as orders for its cleaner-burning fuel grow, according to the firm's chief executive officer. New Generation Biofuels, which processes vegetable and soybean oil into fuel for heating buildings, generating electricity and running ships, intends to triple production capacity at its southern Baltimore facility from 5 million gallons per year to 15 million gallons annually, said CEO Cary Claiborne.

The vision is this: At a six-acre wooded campus in Pasadena, Hospice of the Chesapeake has its headquarters, counseling program, a conference center and hospice facility. But the setting includes services, including tutoring and transportation, offered by others. The organization is about to start making that a reality. Ailing trees are being removed in preparation for a $2 million renovation of the offices of a defunct engineering company on a site tucked off Ritchie Highway.

David Borinsky, president of Maryland Charter School Network, appeals to the citizens of Maryland to increase funding for Maryland's charter schools ("Build on charters' success," Dec. 10). He claims "certain charter schools" in Baltimore generate higher test scores than "their suburban neighbors" and that the teachers, students and parents in the charter schools benefit greatly from "meaningful autonomy." The message the citizens of Maryland should take from Mr. Borinsky's plea is not that we should expand charter schools, further depleting our resources for public schools, but that we should release all schools from the clutches of mandated curriculum and high-stakes testing so that every citizen of Maryland can enjoy meaningful autonomy.

Maryland shed 6,000 jobs in April, the federal government said Friday — the largest monthly loss in the country during a month when most states gained, but one that might have been overstated. The figures, which are preliminary and adjusted for seasonal variations, paint a much less rosy picture of Maryland employment than in recent months. As it released the April numbers, the U.S. Department of Labor said Friday that it also revised downward its estimate for March, showing Maryland losing 600 jobs rather than adding 1,500.

It must be limited Peter Schmuck Baltimore Sun If ever there was a convenient argument for expanding baseball's limited instant replay system, the blown call by umpire Jim Joyce that prevented Armando Galarraga's perfect game is it. But you have to look beyond one gross miscarriage of umpiring justice to make a decision of such scope. Making video replay available regardless of the situation would slow down a sport that already is losing young fans because it moves too slowly.

Health-care firm Kaiser Permanente and the federal government both have major plans to expand in the Baltimore metro area, which could mean hundreds of new jobs as the region tries to dig itself out of a deep recession. Kaiser signed a lease for a 40,000-square- foot building in Howard County, the landlord said Tuesday. Kaiser, which intends to widen its footprint in Maryland, said it hasn't yet "finalized" how it will use the space. But St. John Properties, its landlord, said the plan is for a 300-job call center in the Maple Lawn space.

Chesapeake Shipbuilding said Wednesday that it has signed a contract to acquire about three acres of property adjacent to the shipyard. The acquisition would allow the company to expand and create as many as 125 new jobs. The land, located on the Wicomico River, is now an empty lot with a "derelict" bulkhead, the company said in a press release. The company designs and builds commercial steel vessels and has been in Salisbury for more than 30 years. - Andrea K. Walker

The governor's bid to expand a popular tax credit for rehabilitating old buildings faces resistance from key House leaders, who worry that a broader program would be too costly during tough fiscal times. Gov. Martin O'Malley wants to loosen restrictions on the current heritage tax credit - which may now be applied only to historic buildings - so it may be used to fund renovations of newer structures located in densely developed areas. He says the change would spur new projects and help prop up the state's faltering construction sector.

A request to expand a Timonium day care center from eight children to 20 has been turned down by the county Board of Appeals.Neighbors had protested the expansion proposal for the center operated by Fatemeh Falahi and Mohammad Haerian in the first block of E. Timonium Road.The board issued an oral ruling last month, followed by the written opinion Dec. 15. The center closed several weeks ago, according to attorney J. Carroll Holzer, who represented the opponents.

Gomez Gallery inaugurates its new, expanded gallery space next month with a multimedia, three-person show. The gallery will present paintings by Deborah Donelson, sculptures by Ted Aub and photographs by Susan Page. The show opens Sept. 4 and runs through Oct. 17. The Gomez Gallery is at 3600 Clipper Mill Road. Hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. For information, call 410-662-9510.

The 3,000-mile water and land trail network created to relive the Chesapeake Bay's 17th century exploration by English colonists is about to grow still larger. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and National Park Service Director Jon Jarvis are slated to visit Sandy Point State Park in Annapolis this afternoon to celebrate the addition of four new river river trails to the existing Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail .  The federal officials are to be joined by Gov.Martin O'Malley, local officials, Native American tribal leaders and conservation group representatives.

The molten metal pouring from the foundry at Danko Arlington Inc. in Baltimore harks back to the early industrial era. But across the street in one of the company's other buildings, workers operate an X-ray machine, a laser probe and a 3D printer that seems plucked straight from science fiction. "We're trying to do pioneering things here," said John D. Danko, whose grandfather started the company 92 years ago. He's not alone. A new study suggests that manufacturers in the Baltimore region are disproportionately high-tech - and calls on leaders to build on local strengths, rather than writing the long-shrinking sector off as a dying field.

ESPN analyst Quint Kessenich was in the network's studio in Charlotte, N.C., where he helped provide coverage of the 16-team field in the NCAA tournament. The former Johns Hopkins All-American goalkeeper, who can be followed on Twitter via @QKessenich, provided his opinion on Loyola's resume as the No. 1 seed, Penn State's omission from the field, and his stance on not expanding the field. This is part one. Check back Tuesday for part two of the Q&A Loyola is the top seed in the NCAA tournament.

Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake climbed into a cherry picker Wednesday morning, rising above Harford Road to install a new surveillance camera in Northeast Baltimore, one of 33 the city is adding to a network that has grown to nearly 600. The new cameras, which have been installed along East North Avenue and will eventually spring up along Harford and Belair roads around Clifton Park, are funded by federal and local grants. Rawlings-Blake has overseen the addition of 100 cameras to the network since taking office.

Maryland is slated to receive almost $15 million in the next round of funding from the federal health care reform law to upgrade and expand community health centers, mostly in the Baltimore area. Health centers are a main provider of primary care services for disadvantaged patients in urban and rural areas around the country. The Affordable Care Act included $11 billion over five years to expand them. This round will send $726 million to centers nationwide. "With the new infusion of funds, the centers will be better able to meet growing demand for services," said Mary Wakefield, administrator of the federal Health Resources and Services Administration, in a conference call with reporters.

About 100 U.S. Secret Service agents will take part in a two-day ethics training this week to be overseen by professors at the Johns Hopkins University — a response to the widening prostitution scandal that began in Colombia, agency and university officials said Monday. The training, which past participants say covers a broad range of practical and theoretical ethics — including a review of Aristotle — comes as the Secret Service works to address allegations that its agents hired prostitutes in Cartagena days before President Barack Obama arrived in the country April 13 to attend a summit.

The city's spending board approved an office improvement loan yesterday that helped entice a Chicago-based insurance corporation to expand its Baltimore presence. The Board of Estimates voted unanimously to lend $900,000 to Aon Corp., which plans to expand next year into an office at 500 E. Pratt St. Aon has about 180 workers at its office at 111 Market Place. Aon will pay 1 percent interest on the 15-year loan and provide no collateral. City and real estate officials said the deal is a standard incentive.

As the man responsible for rebuilding Sagamore Farm shook hands with the son of the man who oversaw its halcyon days, Tiger Walk stood stoically in his stall. The other horses in the barn had long since poked their heads out in response to commotion created by television crews and a small gathering of reporters. Tiger Walk faced the other way, looking out his window. Kevin Plank, the Under Armour founder and CEO who bought Sagamore Farm in 2007, hopes Tiger Walk can remain unflappable.

Columbia-based MICROS Systems Inc., a provider of technology solutions for the hospitality industry, announced on Thursday that it had a $43.2 million profit in the third quarter and planned to buy a company in England. MICROS' net income rose $4.7 million in the quarter ended March 31 over the third quarter last year. On a per-share basis, the company earned 53 cents, a 6-cent increase from the year before. Revenue for the quarter reached $278 million, up nearly 10 percent from a year ago. The company also announced that it had signed an agreement to buy Torex Retail Holdings Ltd., in Dunstable, England, from two private equity firms.