London Fog

Remember all those photos of Colin Powell decked out in his general's uniform? Chances are good it was made by a century-old Baltimore firm.Also on the Haas Tailoring Co.'s client list: Bill Clinton, Bob Dole, George Bush and -- in a few weeks -- golfer Tiger Woods.For 100 years, Haas has been making clothing in the city. The company has spent the last few decades tailoring custom suits for high-end retailers that cater to the powerful, wealthy or just plain big. Over the years, Gen. George S. Patton, the Temptations, Gov. Parris N. Glendening and most of the Baltimore Ravens have sported Haas' threads.

First off, as serious fans of"Mad Men"probably already know, creator Matthew Weiner sent a letter to critics with the screener for the season 5 opener, essentially asking them not to talk or write about anything of consequence in the two-hour opener that airs March 25. I have a simple reply to that: In today's media climate, don't send a screener out if you don't want its contents discussed. Don't be a hypocrite and try to cut it both ways: Getting pre-air-date publicity from reviewers, but sanctimoniously asking them in the name of fan enjoyment not to say anything important about what they saw on the tape.

Arnold P. Cohen, the London Fog Corp. chairman and chief executive who oversaw the closing of factories and the elimination of hundreds of jobs in Maryland, has lost his own job after only a year in the position."

Call it the "Baltimore Problem." And let's deal with it once and for all, so we can get down to the happier business of enjoying the fourth season opener tonight of "Mad Men," AMC's celebrated and style-setting series about life on Madison Avenue in the 1960s. Last year, "Mad Men" opened with leading character Don Draper (Jon Hamm) and one of his ad agency associates taking a business trip to Baltimore. Like many critics, I had praised the series for its rich period detail through the first two seasons.

London Fog Corp. boss Arnold P. Cohen was already vehemently disliked by his employees. Closing factories, laying off hundreds, overhauling sacred-cow business strategies and moving a headquarters 200 miles has that effect on people.But it was when he started angering the customers that he really got into trouble.The aggressive Mr. Cohen, who seemingly jammed a decade's worth of controversy into his year as London Fog's chairman and chief executive, unexpectedly left the job two days ago at least in part because he had alienated major department stores that ** buy the company's famous raincoats, retailers and fashion experts said yesterday.

London Fog Corp.'s decision to return its headquarters to Eldersburg is welcome news for Carroll County and Maryland.Not only will the company return a dozen or so top corporate jobs to the Free State, it may help counter the self-fulfilling notion that Maryland isn't an attractive place to conduct business.Founded nearly nine decades ago in Baltimore City, London Fog Corp. has always had a large presence in this state, with plants located in Baltimore, Eldersburg, Hancock, Boonsboro and Williamsport.

London Fog Corp. has restructured its debt, staving offbankruptcy at least for the time being, company officials and creditors said yesterday.But analysts and company executives warned that the deal -- in which banks forgave one-third of the company's $317 million in debt in return for control of the company -- may not sufficiently lighten the debt load that has caused much of the raincoat company's problems.The Eldersburg-based company will still have $211 million in debt on top of whatever it borrows from its new $120 million credit line, noted the company's president, Robert A. Gregory.

London Fog Corp. announced today that it would turn over an 80 percent stake in the company to its lenders in an agreement that saves it from the threat of bankruptcy.The financing agreement, reached with a syndicate of 23 banks headed by Chemical Bank, also provides for a new $120-million, two-year line of credit for the Eldersburg-based raincoat company. The money would be used for working capital and to support letters of credit used to purchase its garments."This agreement will provide the financing necessary for the company to fulfill all of our commitments to our retailers and suppliers and to assist us in overcoming the financial and operating problems we encountered last year," said Robert E. Gregory Jr., chairman and chief executive officer of London Fog.The agreement also shaves $106.

London Fog, for seven decades a proud Maryland name in outerwear known throughout the U.S., appears ready to wield the shears and cut its connections with the state where it began.In less than a year, the nation's largest raincoat manufacturer has eliminated nearly 400 Maryland jobs, closing shops in Baltimore and Boonsboro and moving the longtime Eldersburg headquarters to Connecticut. Threatened with imminent closure are remaining plants in Baltimore, Hancock and Williamsport, with some 700 employees.

When it rains it pours. After eliminating 300 Maryland jobs earlier this year, the London Fog raincoat company plans to lay off 700 more workers and close its three remaining Maryland plants.Despite last-ditch talks between company and national Clothing Workers union officials planned for next week, the prognosis is for a sad, swift departure for the firm that began in Baltimore over 70 years ago. The jobs, which pay about $300 a week, will be difficult to replace. The state's multi-million-dollar offer of incentives and grants to keep the plants open was not enough to bridge the wide gap between union and management.

In West Baltimore's Edmondson Village neighborhood, opinions about the state of Philip and Glennie Reid's marriage seem to vary from house to house. A man who lives a few doors from the couple said he has known them for more than four decades and never saw the two argue. But a next-door neighbor of about three months said he believed that Philip Reid had put his wife out of their home last week after a fight. There is one thing the neighbors agreed on: No one thought that Reid, 83, an introverted but giving man who shared cucumbers and peaches from his garden, was capable of strangling his 80-year-old wife.

In West Baltimore's Edmondson Village neighborhood, opinions about the state of Philip and Glennie Reid's marriage seem to vary from house to house. A man who lives a few doors from the couple said he has known them for more than four decades and never saw the two argue. But a next-door neighbor of about three months said he believed that Philip Reid had put his wife out of their home last week after a fight. There is one thing the neighbors agreed on: No one thought that Reid, 83, an introverted but giving man who shared cucumbers and peaches from his garden, was capable of strangling his 80-year-old wife.

Let's get one thing clear from the start: I love "Mad Men," and this stylish series about life on Madison Avenue in the 1960s is by far the best drama on television. It's steeped in authentic period detail while still speaking more eloquently than any other TV drama to America today. But there is historical detail, and then there is historical detail. And when it comes to keepers of the historical flame in Baltimore, this is a city that loves its past and can be downright picky about it. "Mad Men" opens Season 3 tonight at 10 on AMC with a business trip to Baltimore.

Rayloc, an auto parts remanufacturer, will lay off 260 workers at its Western Maryland plant when it ends production there in mid-March, according to local officials. Rayloc, which a year ago employed more than 360 workers at the Hancock plant, is owned by Atlanta-based Genuine Parts Co. Rayloc remanufactures and distributes parts through the National Automotive Parts Association system, according to the company's 2006 annual report. Calls to the parent company were not returned yesterday.

Sheila Bazemore Rascoe was preparing for a weekend trip with her boyfriend. A London Fog seamstress known for her fashionable good looks, Rascoe got her hair done, painted her nails, put her hair in rollers and began ironing a new blouse that she had just bought. But before she even finished that task, Rascoe was dead. When her boyfriend arrived at her Essex apartment in the early morning of Sept. 15, 1979, he found her strangled and partially naked on her bed with the cord of a vacuum cleaner wrapped loosely around her neck.

Magic City James W. Hall Con Ed Matthew Klein Warner / 320 pages / $23.99 The dirty secret of con artist novels is that to work well, they should be less about the con and more about the artist. Finding a way to make the reader care about a criminal whose primary goal is to rip off others can be exceedingly difficult, but Matthew Klein, in his American debut, has the best possible asset at his disposal: a commanding, wry voice equally comfortable with one-liners as it is with introspection and character development.

Shortly after lunch, they gathered in the middle of the sewing room floor, surrounded by workbenches piled with cut, unstitched material. Most knew they would finally hear what they had long suspected."

One of the largest wood products manufacturers in North America is opening a plant in the abandoned London Fog complex in Eldersburg, bringing with it the promise of as many as 100 jobs. The Moulding and Millwork Co., a subsidiary of Sauder Industries, has signed a 10-year lease for 81,000 square feet on Londontown Boulevard. The woodworking company is making significant changes to the one-time distribution center, adapting it for a manufacturing operation. The company, which is based in British Columbia and expects to hire about 40 employees initially, organized a job fair Friday and yesterday with Carroll's economic development department.