Licensing And Regulation

William Arthur Urie, a former FBI special agent who later was secretary of the state Department of Licensing and Regulation, died of cancer Monday at his Silver Spring home. He was 92. The son of a store owner and a beautician, he was born and raised in Rock Hall. After graduating from Rock Hall High School in 1935, he earned a bachelor's degree from Washington College in 1939. He attended law school at George Washington University. He served as a military policeman and later an Army provost marshal from 1941 to 1945, when he was discharged with the rank of captain.

Maryland's deputy secretary of labor stepped up Thursday as interim secretary, filling a job emptied when Alexander M. Sanchez left this week to become chief of staff to Baltimore's mayor. Scott R. Jensen worked two stints at the state Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation. From 2007 to 2009, he was a special assistant to the secretary, focusing on expanding unemployment insurance benefits to part-time workers and aligning adult education — including in correctional facilities — with the state's workforce development system.

An aspiring professional wrestler died last week after he struck his head while practicing maneuvers at a Severn wrestling school, Anne Arundel County police said Wednesday. Quentin Latrell Washington, 25, of District Heights in Prince George's County died Friday at Maryland Shock Trauma Center of injuries he sustained last Thursday evening at Gillberg's Pro Wrestling Academy. An investigation by homicide detectives uncovered no indication of foul play or suspicious circumstances surrounding Washington's death, police said.

William Arthur Urie, a former FBI special agent who later was secretary of the state Department of Licensing and Regulation, died of cancer Monday at his Silver Spring home. He was 92. The son of a store owner and a beautician, he was born and raised in Rock Hall. After graduating from Rock Hall High School in 1935, he earned a bachelor's degree from Washington College in 1939. He attended law school at George Washington University. He served as a military policeman and later an Army provost marshal from 1941 to 1945, when he was discharged with the rank of captain.

John P. O'Connor, Maryland's labor commissioner, was named yesterday as the state's acting secretary of labor, licensing and regulation to replace Eugene A. Conti Jr., whose resignation is effective today.Conti, 51, announced last month he was quitting his $100,500-a-year post to accept an unspecified senior-level position with the U.S. Department of Transportation, becoming the second Cabinet-level member of Gov. Parris N. Glendening's administration to leave this spring.O'Connor, 50, a former union official from Huntingtown in Calvert County, was one of Glendening's first appointments after taking office in January 1995.

Maryland's deputy secretary of labor stepped up Thursday as interim secretary, filling a job emptied when Alexander M. Sanchez left this week to become chief of staff to Baltimore's mayor. Scott R. Jensen worked two stints at the state Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation. From 2007 to 2009, he was a special assistant to the secretary, focusing on expanding unemployment insurance benefits to part-time workers and aligning adult education — including in correctional facilities — with the state's workforce development system.

Gov. Parris N. Glendening's secretary of labor, licensing and regulation, Eugene A. Conti Jr., resigned yesterday, becoming the second Cabinet-level member of the administration to quit in less than six weeks.Conti, 51, who has been Maryland's labor secretary for nearly three years, told Glendening in his letter of resignation that he was leaving the $100,500-a-year post to take an unspecified position with the Clinton White House.Neither Glendening's office nor Conti's office would say where he will serve in Clinton's administration.

Gov. Martin O'Malley said Wednesday that he is promoting two state employees to head key work force development efforts. Lynn M. Reed, deputy director of the Governor's Workforce Investment Board, has been named executive director. Paulette L. Francois, deputy assistant secretary of the state Division of Workforce Development and Adult Learning, is taking on the assistant secretary role. Both organizations are part of the state Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation.

Most state offices, with the exception of state parks, will be closed Friday and nonessential services curtailed because of a scheduled furlough day. Offices including the Department of Motor Vehicles and the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation will be closed. Services related to public safety, such as state police and corrections facilities, as well as the Maryland judiciary, will be in operation, and the unemployment claims phone lines will be staffed during the furlough day. Gov. Martin O'Malley signed an executive order in July ordering the furlough days as a way of reducing costs to shore up a budget shortfall.

Emelda P. Johnson will take over next month as head of Maryland's Department of Human Resources, Gov. Parris N. Glendening announced yesterday. Johnson, who is deputy secretary of the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation, replaces Lynda G. Fox as secretary of the state's human resources agency. Fox is retiring, having served in state and county government positions for 14 years. She was appointed DHR secretary in 1998. Glendening said that Fox was "instrumental in reducing Maryland's welfare rolls by over 50 percent and giving parents the help they need to improve the quality of life for their children."

An aspiring professional wrestler died last week after he struck his head while practicing maneuvers at a Severn wrestling school, Anne Arundel County police said Wednesday. Quentin Latrell Washington, 25, of District Heights in Prince George's County died Friday at Maryland Shock Trauma Center of injuries he sustained last Thursday evening at Gillberg's Pro Wrestling Academy. An investigation by homicide detectives uncovered no indication of foul play or suspicious circumstances surrounding Washington's death, police said.

More workers graduated from Maryland apprenticeship programs during the 12 months ending in June than in the previous 20 years, the state said Wednesday. The nearly 1,500 recently graduated apprentices also represent a 28 percent increase over the number of graduates in the 2010 fiscal year, the state Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation said. Apprentices learn a trade while working in the field, graduating after several years of on-the-job experience and classroom instruction.

Gov. Martin O'Malley said Wednesday that he is promoting two state employees to head key work force development efforts. Lynn M. Reed, deputy director of the Governor's Workforce Investment Board, has been named executive director. Paulette L. Francois, deputy assistant secretary of the state Division of Workforce Development and Adult Learning, is taking on the assistant secretary role. Both organizations are part of the state Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation.

Relatively few employers have applied to claim a state tax credit for hiring Marylanders off the unemployment rolls, raising questions about its effectiveness as a job-creation tool. Six months into the program, businesses have qualified to collect less than 10 percent of $20 million the state budgeted. Total hires: 350 previously unemployed people. The first-come, first-served program could support 4,000 tax credits of $5,000 each; businesses have until the end of the year to apply.

Collections agency Worldwide Asset Management has agreed to pay an $85,000 penalty and change its business practices as part of a settlement with state regulators, the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation said Thursday. The agency said it has "reasonable grounds" to believe that the company — which also goes by Worldwide Asset Purchasing and West Asset Purchasing — was breaking state law barring unfair and misleading collections practices, as well as attempting to collect debts from Maryland consumers without a required license.

A 51-year-old Howard County man has been charged with felony theft and practicing as a certified public accountant without a license, the state said Tuesday. Though he didn't have the required credentials, George Oluwaboro — whose last known address was in Columbia — allegedly accepted money to perform an independent audit for a client, the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation said. The client complained to the agency after discovering he was not listed in the state database of licensed CPAs.

A worker who leaves his job voluntarily for another one is not entitled to unemployment compensation from his former employer if the new job doesn't work out, the Maryland Court of Appeals ruled yesterday. The 4-3 ruling could have wide implications for workers across the state as they seek better jobs and pay. The decision reversed rulings by Montgomery County Circuit Court and the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation, which administers the compensation law. The case involves Gary C. Miller, a manager for one year at Total Audio-Visual Systems Inc., who joined a competitor that offered an $8,000-a-year pay raise and a higher percentage of profits.

As if it hasn't had enough troubles already, the Brokerage at the Inner Harbor office and retail complex is losing some of its key office tenants.Four programs from the state's Department of Licensing and Regulation, including the Office of the Bank Commissioner and the Savings and Loan Division, will move from the eighth floor of the Brokerage to the department headquarters at 501 St. Paul Place within 90 days, according to William A. Fogle Jr., secretary of...

Three Maryland mortgage companies must refund about $246,000 in prepayment penalties charged to customers statewide in violation of a 2008 law, according to state financial regulators. Litton Loan Servicing and Saxon Mortgage Services have returned $71,000 collected from 160 Maryland consumers, and Bayview Loan Servicing refunded $104,000 to 40 Marylanders, according to the state Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation. The violations were discovered during compliance examinations conducted by the Office of the Commissioner of Financial Regulation.

Most state offices, with the exception of state parks, will be closed Friday and nonessential services curtailed because of a scheduled furlough day. Offices including the Department of Motor Vehicles and the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation will be closed. Services related to public safety, such as state police and corrections facilities, as well as the Maryland judiciary, will be in operation, and the unemployment claims phone lines will be staffed during the furlough day. Gov. Martin O'Malley signed an executive order in July ordering the furlough days as a way of reducing costs to shore up a budget shortfall.