Labor Shortage

Buoyed by such sectors as technology, biotechnology, financial services and commercial construction, the Maryland economy will continue to surge this year, although not at last year's torrid pace. But 1999 was a year in which Gross State Product output was estimated to have grown by as much as 4.7 percent -- the second straight year in which growth exceeded 4 percent. "For 2000, we estimate that there will be full job growth and income growth and Gross State Product growth, though the rate will be somewhat below the level of 1999," said Pradeep Ganguly, director of the Office of Business & Economic Research for the Maryland Department of Business & Economic Development.

Mark Louderback of White Marsh is among the many workers frustrated by the way the economy's downturn has leached so many opportunities out of today's job market. Louderback, 34, and a father of three, specializes in managing big projects, such as the installation of new computer systems. After leaving a full-time job in 1999, he spent two years as a contract worker, moving from firm to firm as companies rolled out new computer systems. His skills were in demand. But five months ago, Louderback was part of a group of 35 who unexpectedly lost their jobs.

With good jobs available for the asking, and confidence among shoppers still high, Maryland consumers continued their free-spending ways during this year's first quarter as the U.S. economy continued its record run. Still, there were a few signs of slowing in this year's first three months. In the housing market - important because of the ripple impact it has on the economy - the double whammy of rising interest rates and few homes for sale in some of Maryland's most desirable neighborhoods led to a statewide decline in home settlements for the second straight quarter.

Millions of illegals cost nation billions In Jay Hancock's column "Immigrants can come to economy's rescue again" (Jan. 21), he suggests, "Properly managed, a doubling or tripling of immigration in the coming decades can help get us out of this [tight spot]." Does he know that in this time of severe economic downturn and a shrinking job market, American workers have to compete with 138,000 additional foreign workers arriving here each year? And that, by some estimates, there are already 20 million illegal immigrants here?

Juvenile blue crabs in the Chesapeake Bay have reached their highest levels since 1997, according to a new survey, and state officials foresee a potentially bountiful crab season. The 2004-2005 winter dredge survey, conducted by researchers with Maryland Department of Natural Resources and the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, sampled crabs at 1,500 sites in the bay from December through March. During those months, crabs burrow in mud, making it easy for scientists to count them and estimate their numbers baywide.

In 1859, Oliver Wendell Holmes, the poet, essayist and fathe of one of the all-time greats on the U.S. Supreme Court, had such a good meal in Baltimore he hailed the city as "the gastronomic metropolis of the Union."Those, of course, were the days when gluttony still reigned supreme in this city and diamond-back terrapin were not only plentiful but regularly exercised in the brick courtyard of Barnum's Hotel before being fricasseed for appreciative customers.Baltimore cuisine has experienced occasional trials and tribulations since those glorious times.

Tanya Corbin has worked at Hanscomb Inc. in Dallas for six years. She has risen through the ranks from administrative assistant to business manager of development for the Atlanta-based construction consultant. "I've had to work a lot harder and be persistent, but you can move up in this industry," Corbin said. From 1995 to 2000, the number of women in construction nationally rose 20 percent, from 762,000 to 913,000, according to the National Association of Women in Construction. Women made up about 10 percent of total construction workers in 2000.

John K. Tolmie, the new president and chief executive officer of St. Joseph Medical Center, said yesterday that he will work both to build on existing areas of excellence, such as the hospital's flagship heart program, and to strengthen other programs. However, Tolmie, holding an introductory briefing after a month on the job, said he hadn't yet had enough time at the helm of the Towson hospital to be more specific. He also declined to comment in detail on what problems at the hospital he was aiming to solve.

There was an excellent article in The Sun describing American fields ripe for harvest that are not getting picked because of a shortage of immigrants ("Labor shortages plague farms," July 7). The American Farm Bureau Federation projects $5 billion to $9 billion in annual produce industry losses because of "the labor shortages which have become commonplace for farmers" who claimed "there were 10 applicants for every job five years ago" and now must hire anybody who shows up. The cause of this labor shortage is said to be, among other things, "a crackdown on illegal immigration.

Justinian's Flea Plague, Empire and the Birth of Europe By William Rosen Viking Adult / 384 pages / $27.95 Don't charge William Rosen with lack of ambition. Instead of biography or the thin slice of the past that has become popular with history publishers, he presents us with no less than the foundations of the modern world, as built by a man and an insect. The result is largely successful and engaging. While the reader occasionally loses his bearings in an account that spans 10,000 miles, a dozen peoples, biology, architecture and the law, he is also amazed that Rosen packs it all into only 384 pages.