Federal Agency

For years, the wastes from burning coal and producing copper have enjoyed a second life, used in sand-blasting to remove paint, rust and grime from ship's hulls, storage tanks, bridge trusses and other surfaces. Painting contractors, shipyard workers and thousands of others in Baltimore and across the country are said to use the black, gritty material called slag. Now, though, questions have been raised about whether those who do blasting with ground-up coal or copper slag may be unwittingly exposing themselves to toxic contaminants that could damage their health.

The owner of an Anne Arundel County trucking company put out of business late last year by federal safety officials has filed for bankruptcy protection again, listing more than $3.3 million in debt. Mark David Gunther Sr., owner of Harmans-based Gunthers Transport LLC, filed under Chapter 11 in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Baltimore on May 15. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration called Gunthers Transport an "imminent hazard" to the public when it ordered the company's trucks off the road on Nov. 16. When the company tried to reconstitute itself weeks later as Clock Transport LLC, it, too, was ordered closed.

For people like Vonda Peterson, the owner of Creative Access Inc., a small interior planning and design firm in Ellicott City, entering the world of federal contracting is like trying to navigate a foreign country when you don't know the language. "Learning the jargon and learning the process is most cumbersome," to the point that her firm of 15 to 20 employees spent "the better part of a year" trying to decipher the system. Since each federal agency operates separately, small firms must go through a long, slow process over and over again for each one. As Maryland prepares for the influx of jobs and government contracts coming along with the federal Base Realignment And Closure process, officials in Howard County have found that small businesses face some significant hurdles.

A federal judge finalized on Thursday a landmark settlement that will bring nearly $1 billion in aid to Maryland homeowners who were victims of deceptive and illegal foreclosure practices. The settlement, for $25 billion in total, was first reached in February and is the largest ever joint state and federal settlement, according to Maryland Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler. Gansler had joined the federal government and 48 other state attorneys general in complaining about the banks' practices.

The Woodlawn-based federal agency that administers the Medicare and Medicaid programs expects to add 200 jobs this year to handle additional responsibilities created by the national health-care reform. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services offered more details after The Baltimore Sun reported last week that the agency was looking for a swath of new office space in Woodlawn. Half the 130,000 square feet is meant for the health-reform jobs. The agency could not offer details about the planned use of the rest of the space, which was requested for next year.

Ideal Federal Savings Bank has until March 31 to find a buyer, a deadline set by the Office of Thrift Supervision after the federal agency determined the small Baltimore institution was undercapitalized. The bank — which opened in 1920 to combat rampant discrimination in lending — is one of the oldest continuously operated black-owned businesses in the country, according to Creative Investment Research, an analyst of minority and women-owned banks. But Ideal had just $6.3 million in assets at the end of last year, and borrowers were behind by 90 days or more on about 11 percent of its loans.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is suing Elkton, accusing the Cecil County town of firing an assistant town administrator because of his age. The age discrimination lawsuit, filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Baltimore, claims Elkton laid off Andrew P. Johnson because he was 70, even though he had received strong performance evaluations, the EEOC said Thursday. The EEOC contends that Johnson was replaced by two younger employees, one in her 20s and another in his 40s. Johnson was hired as the assistant town administrator and finance director in 1999 and fired in November 2007.

The U.S. Office of Personnel Management has become the latest federal agency to capitalize on the depressed commercial real estate market, signing a 10-year lease for 14,542 square feet of office space at the Marsh & McLennan building at 300 W. Pratt St.The agency's local office will be moving out of the Garmatz Federal Courthouse, along with other agencies, to make room for an expansion of the space devoted to courts.John Thompson, a spokesman in Philadelphia for the General Services Administration, which handles real estate leasing for other federal agencies, said the personnel agency will move to its new quarters in July.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has sued Ocean City's mayor and city council, accusing them of age discrimination, the federal agency announced Wednesday. The lawsuit alleges the resort town failed to hire Anthony Indge as full-time airport associate in 2008 because he was 62. Indge had been employed as a temporary line technician and filled in as an airport associate in 2007 and 2008. During Indge's interview for the full-time associate position, the airport manager made several "ageist comments" to Indge, according to the EEOC.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, dissatisfied with private operators' plans to clean up Keystone Landfill -- a Superfund toxic waste site -- will take over the job.Hydro-geologist Christopher J. Corbett told citizens groups last night that the EPA issued a stop-work order to 11 polluters that had been under agency orders to clean up contamination from the now-closed private landfill.The landfill is just north of Silver Run in Adams County, Pa., and Maryland residents have blamed seepage from the landfill for contamination of their wells.

For years, the wastes from burning coal and producing copper have enjoyed a second life, used in sand-blasting to remove paint, rust and grime from ship's hulls, storage tanks, bridge trusses and other surfaces. Painting contractors, shipyard workers and thousands of others in Baltimore and across the country are said to use the black, gritty material called slag. Now, though, questions have been raised about whether those who do blasting with ground-up coal or copper slag may be unwittingly exposing themselves to toxic contaminants that could damage their health.

Despite budget cuts and anti-government rhetoric in Congress, Maryland officials say the two huge federal agencies based in Woodlawn — which have long helped buoy the region's economy — may be better positioned than others to ride out the political turbulence expected over the next several years. An aging baby boomer generation should insulate the Social Security Administration and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services from looming cuts, economists say. And there will be even more work at the Medicare-Medicaid office, known as CMS, if the nation's new health care law takes effect.

The Baltimore Sun today published a story outlining a handful of companies that have given big bucks to Gov. Martin O'Malley's Democratic Governors Association , and also have strong interests before the state . As we point out in our story, there's nothing improper about the gifts, though government ethics types don't like the practice. The donations haven't guaranteed success, in some cases companies opened their wallets but didn't get anything in return. (It reminds us of the famous quote by Jesse Unruh, the longtime speaker of the California House: “If you can't drink a lobbyist's whiskey, take his money, sleep with his women and still vote against him in the morning, you don't belong in politics.”)

A 56-year-old Gambrills podiatrist was sentenced to more than four years in prison Wednesday for fraudulently billing Medicare $1.1 million over three years, according to the Maryland U.S. Attorney's Office. The scheme marked the second time Larry Bernhard had defrauded the federal agency, according to court records. In 2007, he signed a settlement agreement with the government admitting he'd billed for services he didn't provide between 2002 and 2004, and promising to abstain from using federal health care programs for three years.

"Laws were most numerous when the state was most corrupt. " - Tacitus, The Annals III.27 Texas Gov. Rick Perry came in for much ridicule for his televised failure to remember which three federal agencies he has pledged to eliminate if elected president. More embarrassing for Mr. Perry, however, is the fact that he thinks any federal agency could be eliminated (much less three) - and that he says so with a straight face. Such a thing is beyond the realm of possibility, and to believe otherwise is to labor under hopeless delusion.

Federal regulatory officials moved quickly to shut down an Anne Arundel County trucking company that opened at the same address as a freight hauler closed this month by authorities who cited a number of safety violations and seven crashes in the past year. Clock Transport LLC opened weeks before federal authorities shut down Gunthers Transport LLC. Both companies listed the same address on Railroad Avenue in Hanover, and the head of Clock was listed in state and federal documents as the son of the head of Gunthers Transport.

Johns Hopkins officials scrambled yesterday to improve safety practices in medical experiments in hopes of persuading a federal agency to lift a suspension of government-funded studies. Hopkins will order additional training for officials who review experiments and will re-evaluate studies to make sure they are safe, according to a letter sent yesterday to the federal Office for Human Research Protections. Top administrators said they would work over the weekend to complete an action plan to satisfy the agency's concerns by next week.

Federal regulatory officials moved quickly to shut down an Anne Arundel County trucking company that opened at the same address as a freight hauler closed this month by authorities who cited a number of safety violations and seven crashes in the past year. Clock Transport LLC opened weeks before federal authorities shut down Gunthers Transport LLC. Both companies listed the same address on Railroad Avenue in Hanover, and the head of Clock was listed in state and federal documents as the son of the head of Gunthers Transport.

Last week's column on a little-known state group that helps consumers with medical disputes generated emails from readers asking if organizations exist that can help them tackle other problems. Many agencies can help wronged consumers. The Federal Communications Commission, for example, mediates phone bill disputes, and the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau wants to hear about problems with credit cards. But before you reach for outside help, take a few steps on your own. First, contact the business directly and try to resolve the problem.

A telecommunications company has settled an age-discrimination lawsuit about its Mid-Atlantic hiring practices for $1 million, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said Monday. The federal agency said Cavalier Telephone had made a practice since 2003 of skipping over applicants age 40 or older for sales jobs, saying "both verbally and in writing that the company was looking for candidates for its sales positions who were 'recent college graduates,' and in their 'early 20s or 30s.'" It's illegal to make hiring decisions based solely on age, the EEOC said.