Medco

A state economic development group is hoping to buy a long-vacant warehouse in South Baltimore to house two manufacturers and preserve hundreds of jobs in danger of being moved out of Maryland.The Maryland Economic Development Corp., a public nonprofit corporation known as Medco, is "holding discussions" about a potential $5 million purchase of the former Montgomery Ward & Co. warehouse at 2000 Washington Blvd., state officials said yesterday.Two businesses expected to rent space at the old Ward's site are MEDO Manufacturing Corp.

FLINTSTONE -- On a recent weekday, Wit Kosicki enjoyed the view of Evitts Mountain as his wife received a massage inside the Rocky Gap Lodge & Golf Resort. Kosicki, an insurance broker who has lived in Timonium for 20 years, was surprised to find only a smattering of people in the upscale restaurant for lunch. Only a few had rented boats or bicycles on a sunny day when the noon temperature hit 75 degrees. The indoor pool was empty, and the fairways on the Jack Nicklaus-designed golf course were surprisingly uncrowded.

Merck & Co. the world's largest drug maker, said yesterday that it had completed the $6 billion purchase of Medco Containment Services Inc., one of the largest mail-order pharmacy and managed-care drug companies.The deal was closed after Medco shareholders overwhelmingly approved the sale, which was announced on July 28.Demonstrating the new company's marketing strength, Medco announced that it had signed new contracts with General Motors Corp. and a dozen other large companies since July.

NEW YORK -- The use of sleeping pills among children and very young adults rose 85 percent from 2000 to 2004, a study shows, in yet another sign that parents and doctors are increasingly turning to prescription medications to solve childhood health and behavioral problems. Also, about 15 percent of people under age 20 who received sleeping pills were also being given drugs to treat attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder, according to the study, by Medco Health Solutions, a managed-care company that makes estimates about medication use in the whole population based on extrapolations from its own data.

State officials said yesterday they plan to go ahead with a new prescription benefit contract despite state employees' concern over the refusal of several large drugstore chains to participate.Medco Containment Services Inc. will take over the prescription plan covering 92,000 employees and retirees as scheduled Jan. 1, said James B. Rowland, assistant to the state secretary of budget and fiscal planning.Medco, which was awarded the contract in September after submitting a bid that projected $60 million in savings over four years, slashed payment rates to pharmacies to hold down costs.

Charlie Birney says he has nothing against the Maryland Economic Development Corp. and the 118 projects it has undertaken since it was created in 1984. He just doesn't want the state corporation going into the golf course business, in competition with his course in Anne Arundel County. Birney's dispute with MEDCO ended up before the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee yesterday, as lawmakers held a hearing on legislation giving the corporation broad authority to launch projects - even if they compete with private businesses - everywhere in Maryland.

The House of Delegates gave a vote of confidence to the Maryland Economic Development Corp. yesterday as it passed legislation reaffirming its authority to develop projects requested by local governments. The bill, which passed 106-27 over objections of delegates who said it gave MEDCO too much power, is intended to clear up questions about the quasi-public corporation's authority to issue bonds. Investors had been reluctant to buy MEDCO bonds because of legal questions raised in connection with an Anne Arundel County golf course project.

Worried that thousands of state employees and retirees might have trouble filling their prescriptions after the first of the year, top state officials yesterday threatened to scrap the state's new pharmacy services contract.The controversy arose after Giant Food and several other drug chains refused to participate in the state pharmacy program after Medco Containment Services Inc. takes over Jan. 1. The pharmacies say they will lose money at the cost-cutting rates Medco, the low bidder when the contract was awarded in September, is willing to pay them for filling prescriptions.

Faced with a standoff between a cost-cutting pharmaceutical company and several large pharmacy groups, the state yesterday pulled the plug on a controversial new prescription plan for 92,000 Maryland government employees and retirees and their dependents.Saying it doubted that Medco Containment Services Inc. could fulfill the terms of its contract, the state said it will extend the old plan, due to expire Sunday, for 90 days.In the interim, the state will put the contract out for new bids.

The state Senate passed legislation yesterday broadening the charter of the Maryland Economic Development Corp., clearing the way for the construction of an Anne Arundel County golf course and other projects across the state. The legislation, which has been approved by the House already, passed on a 36-9 vote after a lively debate in which opponents criticized the sweeping authority the legislation would vest in the corporation. MEDCO, founded in 1984, is a quasi-public corporation that uses its tax-free bonding authority to finance development projects - often in conjunction with local governments.

In the Region Developers buy last campground in Ocean City The only spot where tent and RV campers can lay their heads in Ocean City has been sold, officials said yesterday. Wilma Thomas, the campground's manager, said its owners have decided to sell the property for development. "The most feasible use for this property is not as a campground at this time, so therefore, it has been sold," Thomas told The Daily Times of Salisbury. "It's sad, but I think everyone here knew it would happen."

Anne Arundel County could issue $26 million in bonds and assume control of the financially troubled Compass Pointe Golf Course as soon as late March now that the County Council has approved a takeover plan, officials said yesterday. The council voted 6-0 with one abstention late Monday to acquire the course from the Maryland Economic Development Corp., a quasi-public agency that has run into cost overruns in developing and operating the course. County officials say they must finish the final nine holes of the planned 36-hole course this summer so that Compass Pointe, about six miles south of the Baltimore City line, can begin to generate profits.

The Anne Arundel County Council may vote tomorrow night to take over the financially troubled Compass Pointe Golf Course in Pasadena from a quasi-state agency that has developed and operated it since 2001. The council will consider whether to issue $26 million in bonds to buy out the Maryland Economic Development Corp. The move is favored by County Executive Janet S. Owens, a Millersville Democrat. Alternatively, council members could opt to leave the golf course under MEDCO control, with the county offering possible financial support if the course continues to lose money.

The Anne Arundel County Council may vote tomorrow night to take over the financially troubled Compass Pointe Golf Course in Pasadena from a quasi-state agency that has developed and operated it since 2001. The council will consider whether to issue $26 million in bonds to buy out the Maryland Economic Development Corp. The move is favored by County Executive Janet S. Owens, a Millersville Democrat. Alternatively, council members could opt to leave the golf course under MEDCO control, with the county offering possible financial support if the course continues to lose money.

Have enriched classes available to all pupils An article in the January 23rd edition of The Sun (Anne Arundel section) entitled "IB is in Demand" points out the near-insanity of Dr. Eric Smith's ill-conceived movement to standardize curricula throughout this very diverse county. By forcing hundreds of students to waste time during the school day in an extra hour of reading (which they can do at home), Smith has brought every child's school day experience down to the lowest common denominator.

The Anne Arundel County Council continued discussions last night on a possible takeover of the financially troubled Compass Pointe Golf Course in Pasadena but put off a final decision until next month. The council is considering issuing $26 million in bonds to buy out the quasi-public Maryland Economic Development Corp., which has developed and managed Compass Pointe. But the council is also weighing a bill that would keep Compass Pointe under MEDCO control, with the county offering financial support if the course continued to lose money.

A federal judge in Baltimore will dismiss an antitrust suit filed by Merck Medco Managed Care Inc. against Rite Aid Corp., Giant Food Inc. and other drug chains.In a memo dated Friday, U.S. District Judge Benson E. Legg informed the parties of his intentions to save them the trouble of preparing for the trial, scheduled to begin May 26.A formal order dismissing the case will be filed by the end of the month, he wrote in the memo. The suit claimed the drug chains had conspired in their refusal to participate in a prescription drug plan for 90,000 Maryland state employees and retirees that Medco was to have managed.

Hans F. Mayer, who has helped line up financing for more than 170 economic development projects throughout the state as head of the Maryland Economic Development Corp., will retire from the quasi-public corporation today after a 17-year career. Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. has appointed Robert Brennan, assistant secretary for financing programs at the state Department of Business and Economic Development, as Mayer's replacement. MEDCO, which uses its tax-free bonding authority to finance development projects, has been responsible for numerous politically popular and sometimes controversial projects, including the Rocky Gap Lodge and Golf Resort near Cumberland, numerous student housing projects and the troubled Compass Pointe golf course in Pasadena.