Managing Partner

NEW YORK -- New York Yankees general manager Gene Michael had what was described as a major argument this week with Daniel McCarthy, the club's managing partner, over Michael's signing of catcher Matt Nokes to a new contract, a person close to the Yankees said yesterday.The dispute follows several instances in which Yankees owner George Steinbrenner has harshly criticized Michael's decisions.McCarthy was upset over not being consulted Monday when Nokes was signed to a three-year, $7.5 million deal and had wanted to fire the general manager, said the person, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Louis G. Close Jr., a prominent trial attorney and former managing partner of the law firm of Whiteford, Taylor & Preston, died Sunday of complications from Alzheimer's disease at his home. The longtime resident of Homeland was 73. Mr. Close was born in Muskegon, Mich., and moved to East Joppa Road in Towson with his family in 1941. He was a 1953 graduate of Loyola High School and earned a bachelor's degree in economics from what is now Washington and Lee University in 1957. During his college years, he met Mary Nice, and they were married in 1957.

The Baltimore law firm of Weinberg and Green announced yesterday that Charles O. Monk II has been elected managing partner, replacing Howard B. Miller, who will assume the title of chairman of the firm.Mr. Monk, 42, was Maryland's deputy attorney general before he joined Weinberg as a partner in 1988. He supervised the state prosecutions resulting from the 1985 savings and loan crisis. Before that, he was chief of the antitrust division in the attorney general's office.At Weinberg, Mr. Monk has chaired the practice development committee and heads a litigation practice group.

New clients *Barb Clapp Advertising and Marketing has signed the Historic Charles Street Association, Maryland Pools Inc. and Animal Emergency Hospital to the Lutherville agency's client roster. On the board *The Economic Alliance of Greater Baltimore named Martin T. Fletcher, managing partner of Whiteford, Taylor & Preston, to its board of directors. *Arthur E. Flach, managing partner of Grant Thornton LLP, was appointed chairman of the board of the Maryland Association of Certified Public Accountants.

Whiteford, Taylor & Preston said yesterday that it had named Ward B. Coe III its managing partner, as the state's fifth-biggest law firm passed leadership to a younger generation of partners.The 48-year-old Mr. Coe, who was elected last month but took over yesterday, is the youngest attorney ever to serve as managing partner of the 120-lawyer firm. He has been with Whiteford since 1977, and before his election was a litigator in the firm's commercial/business litigation group and a member of its three-person management committee.

Venable LLP, the law firm that traces a 100-year history to its origins in Baltimore, announced yesterday changes in its highest ranks that elevated Karl A. Racine to managing partner, making him one of only a handful of black lawyers to lead a major firm. Racine replaces James L. Shea, who will succeed Benjamin R. Civiletti as chairman. Civiletti, a former U.S. attorney general, will remain on the firm's board and lead its charitable foundation while continuing his practice. The 470-attorney firm, which is based in Washington and has offices from New York to Virginia, specializes in corporate law, complex litigation, intellectual property and government affairs.

Kenneth Armstrong McCord, who helped design Columbia's water and sewage infrastructure, died of complications from kidney failure Friday at his Towson home. He was 80. Mr. McCord, a former managing partner at the architectural and engineering firm of Whitman, Requardt and Associates, also helped plan the water and sewage services for Richmond, Va., Joppatowne and Ocean City. Born in Baltimore, he graduated from Polytechnic Institute. He attended the Johns Hopkins University and earned an engineering degree in 1941.

F. Barton Harvey Jr., who led the venerable Baltimore banking house of Alex. Brown & Sons Inc. through a spectacular period of growth, died yesterday from complications of Parkinson's disease at his home in the Woodbrook section of Baltimore County. He was 79. Mr. Harvey was a former chairman and chief executive officer of Alex. Brown, which had one Baltimore Street office when he arrived in 1946 and 20 offices nationwide when he stepped down as managing partner in 1986. His career took him from stockbroker to head of the firm, which was founded in 1800 and bills itself as "America's oldest name in investment banking."

Donald Joseph Zeman, a retired managing partner in the accounting firm of Peat, Marwick, Mitchell and Co., died of a heart attack Friday at Greater Baltimore Medical Center. The Timonium resident was 71. Mr. Zeman was born and raised in Northeast Baltimore and graduated from City College in 1949. He held various jobs before enlisting in the Army in 1950 and serving in Korea. After earning a bachelor's degree in accounting from Loyola College in 1959, he joined Peat, Marwick, Mitchell and Co., now KPMG Peat Marwick.

For the second time in about a month, the managing partner of a major Baltimore accounting firm has been promoted to the top position in his company's Philadelphia office.D. Keith Cobb will be leaving KPMG Peat Marwick's 250-person Baltimore operation sometime in midsummer, he said yesterday."I will be assuming the responsibilities of managing partner of the Philadelphia office," said Mr. Cobb, who also has overall responsibility for Baltimore and Washington and three offices in Virginia.

LAST YEAR, WHEN THE OWNERS OF Mosaic in Power Plant Live wanted to retool the high-end lounge, they tapped Vincent Martinez for the job. Martinez, a Texas native who managed the Mosaic in Houston, moved to Baltimore in December and oversaw Mosaic's expansion and reopening in March. He now runs the club's daily operations. Martinez lives in Butchers Hill. 1 A six pack "No, not of Natty Boh or Yuengling, but the one I lost because I've been drinking too much of the other kind. It's swimsuit season!

Howard County's normally rosy economic outlook remains bright for the long run, but the housing, commercial real estate, and retail portions of the local economy face rough going for the next several years, according to a panel of experts presented by the county Chamber of Commerce. The national economy should remain sluggish for the next year or two, but there won't be a recession, in the opinion of Jeffrey Schappe, BB&T bank's senior vice president and chief investment officer. With low interest rates and no wage inflation despite higher food and energy prices, Schappe said he doesn't believe a recession will occur.

Alvin Pederson, an accountant with Arthur Andersen for more than 50 years who was managing partner in the company's Baltimore office in the 1970s, died Tuesday of complications from Alzheimer's disease at Copper Ridge nursing home in Sykesville. The former Timonium resident was 82. Mr. Pederson grew up on a farm north of Bottineau, N.D., one of nine children in his family. He attended a one-room schoolhouse. He started school without being able to speak English because his family spoke Norwegian at home.

Venable LLP, the law firm that traces a 100-year history to its origins in Baltimore, announced yesterday changes in its highest ranks that elevated Karl A. Racine to managing partner, making him one of only a handful of black lawyers to lead a major firm. Racine replaces James L. Shea, who will succeed Benjamin R. Civiletti as chairman. Civiletti, a former U.S. attorney general, will remain on the firm's board and lead its charitable foundation while continuing his practice. The 470-attorney firm, which is based in Washington and has offices from New York to Virginia, specializes in corporate law, complex litigation, intellectual property and government affairs.

Banking and finance SunTrust Bank appointed John M. Seaman as an officer in its Maryland Real Estate Finance Group. He will act as a relationship manager and assist builders, developers and management companies with project financing. Legal and insurance Niles, Barton & Wilmer LLP elected Jeffrey A. Wothers as managing partner of the Baltimore-based regional law firm. He will also chair the firm's management committee. Media Comcast, the White Marsh-based cable provider, named Angela Patrick as vice president for government affairs in its Maryland/Delaware region.

New Positions Comcast names Humphrey director of public affairs Comcast Cable Communications named Candace Humphrey as its director of government and public affairs for Howard, Harford and Baltimore counties. She supervises franchise requirements and compliance as well as company civic partnerships and community involvement. A graduate of Towson University, Humphrey was formerly with AT&T Corp. Jones is a coordinator for Owings Mills Mall Owings Mills Mall appointed Samantha M. Jones as retail marketing coordinator.

New positionsLori Riordan vice president at Comcast CablevisionComcast Cablevision appointed Lori Riordan as vice president of government affairs for the cable company's mid-Atlantic division. She will monitor and oversee franchise renewals and act as liaison with state and federal officials.A law graduate of the University of Maryland, Riordan is a member of Women in Cable and Communications, the National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors, and is on the board of the Columbia Arts Festival.

Paul A. Tiburzi, a Baltimore native who has spent his entire legal career at Piper Rudnick LLP, will lead the national law firm's Baltimore office of 170 attorneys as managing partner, the company announced yesterday. Since joining then-Piper & Marbury 24 years ago, Tiburzi, 47, has developed a public law and administrative litigation practice that represents some of the biggest business names in the region and beyond: the Rouse Co., General Motors and Northrop Grumman. He plans to continue the practice, but will oversee operations inside the firm's two offices in Mount Washington and the Inner Harbor and serve as an ambassador for Piper Rudnick to regional business, charitable and political institutions.