Financial Problems

The Annapolis mayoral candidate whose spokesperson announced her withdrawal from the race Friday amid revelations of personal financial problems said Saturday that she is staying in the contest. Zina C. Pierre won the Democratic nomination Tuesday, putting her on track to become Annapolis' first African-American mayor. Her campaign abruptly announced her withdrawal Friday amid questions about a foreclosed home, bounced checks, state liens for unpaid income taxes and other problems. But less than 24 hours later, Pierre said she was staying in to "continue to fight for all residents, many of whom are calling, texting and e-mailing me with extraordinary support."

IMAGINE THE reaction if information about Elfreda Massie's financial problems had surfaced after she had accepted the position of Montgomery County school superintendent.Still, the county's Board of Education looks foolish because poorly handled background checks of its leading candidate failed to turn up a bankruptcy filing. Had the board been more open about the finalists for the job, information about Ms. Massie's financial affairs might have surfaced sooner.Maryland school boards often cite the personnel exemption in the state's open meetings law as justification for keeping the names of candidates secret.

Elijah L. Cummings: a fine representative, a strong role modelThe Sun tends to publish only negative information about African-American public figures. The article about Rep. Elijah L. Cummings' financial situation is a case in point ("As Cummings rose, financial problems grew," Oct. 17).Did The Sun really believe that the general public had a right to know about Mr. Cummings' financial situation? If so, why?Mr. Cummings financial problems do not appear to have affected his ability to represent his constituents.

Though a final deadline hasn't been set, the Baltimore Corp. for Housing Partnerships, once considered the pre-eminent nonprofit housing force in the city, is preparing to turn over its properties to other parties and close its doors for good.David F. Tufaro, chairman of the board of the housing corporation, said yesterday that plans have been made to "transfer our assets to appropriate parties.""We don't have an absolute close-down date, but we have a plan in place to work toward that as quickly as we can," he said.

A judge sentenced Anne Arundel County Councilman Thomas W. Redmond to 90 days in jail yesterday for disobeying a court order in his handling of a financially troubled Ocean City 'N apartment building.Circuit Judge Eugene Lerner said he would drop the sentence if the Pasadena Democrat obeys a 9-year-old divorce agreement to remove his former wife's name from the building's mortgage.The judge gave Redmond until Sept. 15 to resolve the problem or go to jail."I don't want to hurt Mr. Redmond; I don't want to hurt Mrs. Redmond," Lerner said.

MOUNT PLEASANT -- Nearly 100 dairy farmers from around the state converged on this rural Frederick County community with high hopes of finding a solution to the financial problems that have forced one out of every four dairymen out of business in recent years.They gathered this week at the Ruritan Club hall to hear the details of a controversial plan that would give them -- not the milk processors or the federal government -- the power to set milk prices.Although the cooperatives that purchase their milk and deliver it to processing plants had agreed the day before to pay farmers 40 cents a hundredweight, or 3.4 cents a gallon, more for Class 1 milk (drinking milk)

A union representing about 3,700 Baltimore clerical and technical workers has an accumulated deficit of $750,000, and an administrator from the local's national affiliate has been called in to oversee its finances.The City Union of Baltimore owes the vast bulk of its debt in unpaid fees to the Washington-based American Federation of Teachers and its state counterpart, the Federation of Maryland Teachers, according to interviews and documents.The union may have to raise its membership dues by as much as 50 percent to balance its budget and erase the debt, which equals about a full year's income.

A 46-year-old Baltimore man -- apparently distressed over financial problems -- shot his girlfriend twice in the head, then fatally shot himself, police said yesterday.The bodies of John Desell and Barbara Iqbal, 45, of the 2500 block of E. Baltimore St. were found about 11 p.m. Friday in the living room of their third-floor apartment, police said. Police believe the shootings occurred late Thursday.Desell and Iqbal were discovered by their landlady, who had become concerned because she had not seen them for two days, said Detective Lynette Nevins, who investigated.

An investment group says it is close to making final a deal to buy the financially troubled Columbia Academy Elementary School and its sister operation, the Columbia Academy Pre-School, both of which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last week.Members of the group, headed by a Woodbridge, Va., businessman who operates 25 private elementary schools and day-care centers in Virginia, vow to repay a $130,000 loan made to the private elementary school by a parents' group last summer."We have every intention of paying back the parents' loans," said Charles Leopold, founder and operator of Minnieland Private Day School Inc. in Woodbridge.

Today and tomorrow, Dr. William R. Brody will be poked and provoked by doctors, administrators and professors weighing whether he is the right person to lead the Johns Hopkins University into the next century.Those who know him suggest the University of Minnesota administrator and former Hopkins department chairman wants the top job here. And those who like Dr. Brody say he would be good at it."I've always had the sense that Bill was interested in becoming a university president," said Dr. Michael E. Johns, dean of Hopkins' Medical School, an admirer and an occasional fishing companion of Dr. Brody's.

Zina C. Pierre, the Annapolis mayoral candidate dogged by personal financial problems and questions about her residency, announced Wednesday for the second time in five days that she is quitting the race . During a news conference, Pierre, a political consultant, attempted to explain her financial problems - including a house that went into foreclosure and several lawsuits from unpaid debts - by saying that she stretched herself too thin as an entrepreneur and...

The Annapolis mayoral candidate whose spokesperson announced her withdrawal from the race Friday amid revelations of personal financial problems said Saturday that she is staying in the contest. Zina C. Pierre won the Democratic nomination Tuesday, putting her on track to become Annapolis' first African-American mayor. Her campaign abruptly announced her withdrawal Friday amid questions about a foreclosed home, bounced checks, state liens for unpaid income taxes and other problems. But less than 24 hours later, Pierre said she was staying in to "continue to fight for all residents, many of whom are calling, texting and e-mailing me with extraordinary support."

Zina C. Pierre, a virtual unknown in Annapolis politics whose victory in this week's Democratic primary put her on track to become the city's first African-American mayor, withdrew from the race Friday. Pierre pointed to "personal reasons" for her decision, which came after a day in which the historic capital city buzzed with revelations of her financial problems, including a home in foreclosure, a bounced check and state liens for unpaid income taxes. The Annapolis Democratic Central Committee must choose a replacement nominee by early October, according to city code.

Baltimore school officials met in an unscheduled, three-hour session Friday as debate intensified over newly selected schools executive Brian D. Morris, and whether the hiring process and revelations about his troubled financial history should cost him the six-figure job. The meeting of school board members and school system CEO Andres Alonso followed a report in The Baltimore Sun on Friday detailing a 15-year record of lawsuits and bad-debt claims against...

MIDDLETOWN - A father killed his wife and three young children, then shot himself in an apparent murder-suicide that authorities are calling this quiet Frederick County community's "worst, most horrific event" in decades. Frederick County sheriff's deputies found the bodies in the family home after receiving a 911 call from a relative shortly after 9 a.m. Saturday. The father, identified as Christopher Alan Wood, 34, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, authorities said. Wood's 33-year-old wife, Francis Billotti-Wood, and their three children were each shot once and also sustained "traumatic cut injuries," although authorities said autopsies would determine the exact cause of their deaths and how long they had been dead.

Lisa Sullivan has hit a point of financial desperation. The Glen Burnie nutritionist and mother of four had been having trouble making ends meet on her $60,000 salary as the price of food, gas and electricity spiked. So she turned to credit cards to fill in the gaps. She bought her own clothes from Goodwill but used cards from Boscov's and J.C. Penney to dress her kids. She opened another credit card to keep her gas tank filled, and when her van broke down, she took out a Goodyear card to pay for repairs.

WASHINGTON -- Although it has assets and liabilities greater than Wal-Mart, IBM and Exxon combined, the Defense Department is fighting a push by Congress to create a new post of chief management officer for the Pentagon. Deputy Secretary of Defense Gordon England contends that "the department already has a lot of structure." If anything, he told a House panel last week, "we have too much structure, and we have a lot of rules and regulations that we go by." England, who is responsible for day-to-day financial management of the Defense Department, insisted that he already has sufficient authority and personnel, and that he doesn't require congressional intervention.

Financially strapped Mills Corp., the Chevy Chase mall developer that owns Arundel Mills and Marley Station, agreed yesterday to be bought by a Canadian investment company in a deal valued at $7.5 billion. Mills said the purchase would help address the company's mounting debt and accounting irregularities that nearly landed it in bankruptcy. Under the deal, Brookfield Asset Management Inc. of Toronto will pay $21 a share, or $1.35 billion, for all of Mills' shares. The $7.5 billion deal includes debt and preferred stock.

The budget woes of the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore come down to this: The gap between the cost of admission and the quality of the product has grown too great. Too much of the Druid Hill Park facility has been allowed to deteriorate in order to cut costs in the short term. It's not as accessible as it should be, and too many displays haven't kept up with the times. That's a difficult problem to solve. Difficult, but not impossible - with the proper planning and investment. At one time, Maryland taxpayers financed more than half of the zoo's operating costs.

As he lathers up before surgery at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, Dr. Alfredo Quinones-Hinojosa mentally prepares himself to repair a living human brain. This one belongs to Robert Hawkins, a 28-year-old surfer from Vero Beach, Fla., who lies on an operating table with a tumor the size of an orange inside his head. The growth makes it difficult for Hawkins to control his left arm and left leg. But removing it takes hours and carries its own risks - a wrong move by the surgeon can ruin the cranial nerves that control Hawkins' movements, memory and ability to speak.