Incentive

It might not seem to be a bright investment right now, after weeks of seemingly endless clouds and rain, but solar panels are popping up on rooftops all over Maryland. With government help in the form of tax credits and grants, companies making equipment available through long-term lease and economies of scale bringing prices down, the industry is seeing steady and continuing growth in demand for drawing power from the sun. And Maryland is among the states experiencing a rapid expansion, with an increasing number of companies getting into sales, installation and leasing of the panels to homeowners and businesses.

Brenda Frese, who is entering her 10th year as the women's basketball coach at Maryland, has agreed to a multi-year contract extension, the school announced Tuesday. The extension keeps Frese on the Maryland sidelines through June 2017. With the extension, she could earn up to four additional years if the Terrapins meet benchmarks both athletically and academically. "Coach Frese has been the driving force in putting Maryland women's basketball in a position of national prominence during her time here in College Park," athletic director Kevin Anderson said.

It is time to bring the dollars home. One of the most discussed aspects of economic life in America is the amount of capital on U.S. corporate balance sheets. But according to research by Moody's, as much as half of U.S. companies' $1.24 trillion in cash balances is in the form of overseas earnings (between $500 billion and $700 billion). Much of this money is trapped, due to America's onerous 35 percent corporate tax rate. But this money wants to come home - and we need it to. While the 2007-09 recession was dreadful, at least America was positioned to respond.

As one of the many Baltimore Gas and Electric PeakRewards customers who had air conditioning turned off on the afternoon of July 22 for a few hours, I disagree with op-ed writer William Yeatman that I was a helpless victim of the government ("Blame government, not BGE, for turning off the AC," Aug. 9). Of my own free will, I signed up for PeakRewards and I have received approximately $60 per summer for the past three years. This was the first time that I was inconvenienced. I really doubt that anyone in the "heat-sensitive population" would have signed up for this program and it is thus unlikely that they were affected.

A critic of Constellation Energy Group's proposed merger with Chicago-based Exelon Corp. wants the two firms to provide $810 million in incentives to Maryland ratepayers and other stakeholders as part of the power companies' deal. The proposal by Good Jobs Better Baltimore is more than three times the $250 million incentive package Constellation and Exelon have offered to convince Maryland lawmakers, ratepayers and regulators that the $7.9 billion deal is in the public's interest.

Homebuyers who attend a "Baltimore Into Baltimore" event next month could be eligible for $4,000 to $5,000 in incentives toward closing costs or downpayment. Live Baltimore, a nonprofit that promotes Baltimore living, said Tuesday that people can begin registering for the event, to be held Sept. 10 from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Mergenthaler Vocational-Technical High School, 3500 Hillen Road. The event, which focuses on the eastern half of the city, includes classes, an exhibitor fair and neighborhood tours.

In the scramble to cut the nation's debt burden, President Obama, congressional Democrats and even some Republicans have proposed squeezing money out of Medicare by changing the way it pays forprescription drugs. They claim this would save $112 billion over 10 years. But if passed it would be a disaster, costing hundreds of thousands of jobs in the biopharmaceutical industry - an important contributor to the Maryland economy - driving up drug prices and discouraging drug innovation.

COLLEGE PARK - The contracts Maryland signed with its new men's basketball and football coaches contain incentives reflecting athletic department priorities - competing nationally, quickly leasing luxury stadium suites and selling more football season tickets, and improving athletes' classroom performance. The contracts, obtained Thursday in a public records request, guarantee football coach Randy Edsall $2 million over each of the next six years and basketball coach Mark Turgeon $1.9 million a year over eight years.

Baltimore County officials expect tax credit incentives to spur redevelopment and job creation at the newly designated Federal Center in Woodlawn. The 395-acre, industrially zoned parcel near the Beltway and Dogwood Road has won state approval as an enterprise zone, making its development eligible for substantial savings on state and county property taxes. A qualifying company that makes a $5 million investment could realize a tax savings of nearly $375,000 over 10 years, according to a county release.

Many public and business leaders on Maryland's Eastern Shore have expressed concern recently about the negative effects of the Maryland Transportation Authority's proposed Bay Bridge toll increases. Any increases, they argue, will be detrimental to state tourism, especially east of the Chesapeake Bay. However, this position fails to consider that the MdTA revenue discussions have produced a timely opportunity to boost intrastate tourism and commerce. This desirable end can be achieved through the creation of a significant toll discount for E-ZPass account holders.