New Equipment

The Baltimore City Police Department will take another giant step into the computer age next fall with sophisticated equipment that will enable officers to tap into a wide variety of data bases from their patrol cars. The idea is not new; many police departments have had some form of portable computer in their radio cars for years. But these, according to police officials, are supposed to provide more information for officers on the street -- some of which could help save their lives.A $3 million contract has been awarded for the purchase of 160 mobile data work stations, one for each car in the city on regular patrol.

Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake's administration has responded to Comptroller Joan Pratt's allegations of impropriety in its purchase of a 80 voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) phones by focusing on three questions: Does the mayor have the power to administer an overhaul of the city government's phone system, which has traditionally been in the comptroller's purview; was the contract under which the phones were purchased competitively bid; and did the city have the legal authority under that contract to purchase the phones?

Officers in the Baltimore Police Department's Southern District will have new computers, bikes and other equipment thanks to $300,000 in gifts from three benefactors, who hope to spur donations from city businesses in other districts. Police announced the gifts Thursday at the Locust Point headquarters of apparel company Under Armour, whose CEO, Kevin Plank, contributed one-third of the money and said city businesses need to "do more" to help police. A.B. "Buzzy" Krongard, the former executive director of the CIA and co-chairman of the Baltimore Police Foundation, also gave $100,000 and said he hopes the gift will spur businesses in the city's other eight districts to do the same.

Thousands of BGE customers in Annapolis lost electricity late Thursday morning while the utility company installed new equipment at a substation serving the area, but power was restored in about two hours. "We had to take 5,000 customers out service," said Rachael Lighty, a BGE spokeswoman. "They should have all been restored to service by about 1:20 (p.m.) today. " BGE reported around noon that 3,240 customers were without power in Anne Arundel County, nearly all in the Annapolis area, including downtown.

Thousands of BGE customers in Annapolis lost electricity late Thursday morning while the utility company installed new equipment at a substation serving the area, but power was restored in about two hours. "We had to take 5,000 customers out service," said Rachael Lighty, a BGE spokeswoman. "They should have all been restored to service by about 1:20 (p.m.) today. " BGE reported around noon that 3,240 customers were without power in Anne Arundel County, nearly all in the Annapolis area, including downtown.

Four Baltimore County magnet schools will get additional equipment as part of a renewable $2.26 million federal grant, school officials said yesterday.The schools will use the money to hire additional staff, buy computers and state-of-the-art laboratory equipment. Teachers in the magnet program also will receive extensive in-service training to better implement the programs.The initial grant comes from the Magnet School Assistance Program of the U.S. Office of Education.If the school system implements its voluntary desegregation plan to "reduce, eliminate or prevent minority isolation," it will receive an additional $2.26 million for the 1994-1995 academic year.

Computers are too noisy. They have keyboards that click and squeak, sound cards that beep and squawk, disk drives that rasp and swish, fans that hum and buzz, power supplies that whine and displays that squeal and whistle. If all that doesn't bother you, I probably won't convince you that it's a problem. But if it does bother you, it probably bothers you a lot. I hate it. I think noise pollution is sinister and believe it deserves lots more attention than it gets. I'll bet the indoor noises of the electro-industrial age are a significant factor in our overstressed and quick-to-rage lives.

Howard Overman's new brooms always sweep clean.The owner of Maryland's last broom factory turns out 900 dirt expellers a week from a tiny, back-street East Baltimore workroom. It's hard to believe that every broom sold by the sprawling Rite Aid drug store chain has its origin in this three-man work bench of industry."The competition from Mexico has killed off just about all the Baltimore broom makers. I don't want to retire. I don't take much out of this business. It's the only job I've ever had," Overman said the other day as he stood at his stitching machine.

On the heels of a sharp rise in the number of calls to help obese people, the Baltimore County Fire Department has acquired new equipment to accommodate such patients: a larger, sturdier stretcher and a ramp and winches to pull it into medical vehicles. The new equipment -- which cost about $16,000 -- was on display yesterday, as county fire officials explained that the number of calls for bariatric patients has risen eightfold in the past five years, up to as many as 40 annually. But more than just providing a needed practical capability, the equipment affords a more respectful way to serve obese patients, said Joseph Brown, director of EMS for the county fire department.

Laurel Race Course and the Pimlico simulcast center will be closed for four days late next month so that new pari-mutuel terminals, called the Spectrum system, can be installed by AmTote International Inc.The new equipment, already in use at Rosecroft and Delmarva raceways, will furnish all tracks in the state with a uniform totalisator network and hasten plans for intertrack wagering, multiple-signal simulcasting and the establishment of off-track betting...

Officers in the Baltimore Police Department's Southern District will have new computers, bikes and other equipment thanks to $300,000 in gifts from three benefactors, who hope to spur donations from city businesses in other districts. Police announced the gifts Thursday at the Locust Point headquarters of apparel company Under Armour, whose CEO, Kevin Plank, contributed one-third of the money and said city businesses need to "do more" to help police. A.B. "Buzzy" Krongard, the former executive director of the CIA and co-chairman of the Baltimore Police Foundation, also gave $100,000 and said he hopes the gift will spur businesses in the city's other eight districts to do the same.

A company serving the Severstal steel mill has applied for a state permit to bring in new equipment for processing the coke, iron ore and other raw material being shipped to and from Sparrows Point. Stevedore firm Kinder Morgan proposes to install a new screening plant for sizing coke, ore fines (small particles larger than powder-size), mill scale, and ore cleanup on the peninsula. The equipment, which could handle 200 tons an hour, would join four other units already there, according to the company's application to the Maryland Department of the Environment.

Riders of MARC commuter trains will no doubt be pleased with the prospect of 26 new diesel locomotives like the one unveiled yesterday at Camden Station. It's nice that they are cleaner-burning and more energy efficient than the decrepit equipment they replace, but the prospect of improved on-time performance is much better. As any DC-bound commuter can attest, MARC has a rather casual relationship with its schedule. Surely, the only thing more frustrating than some unexplained one-hour delay is the prospect of standing the entire way because MARC had to cancel an earlier train.

A regional chain of radiology centers and its owner are in default on $1.1 million in fines for performing mammograms after one of its facilities lost its certification to perform the procedure because of equipment problems, according to documents released this week by the Food and Drug Administration. The FDA issued a "notice of default" to Dr. Amile A. Korangy, owner of Korangy Radiology Associates, on June 20 after he failed to make a scheduled payment of $579,000 last month. The letter indicates the agency rejected Korangy's offer to pay $150,000 June 12, followed by payments of $100,000 per month until the debt was paid.

We applaud the effort under way in Congress to increase confidence in the integrity of voting machines used around the country, but draw no comfort from a mandate that Maryland and five other states would have a year or less to replace the expensive equipment just recently purchased. The very worthy goal of legislation expected to be taken up shortly by the House is to ensure that electronic or computerized voting equipment provide a paper backup system that can be used to verify that votes were cast as intended and to double-check tallies in the event of a recount.

A 2002 assessment of playgrounds at the county's 33 public elementary schools showed that many had outdated and potentially unsafe equipment. "Some of the playgrounds contained the original equipment that was installed when the schools were built," said Ginny Popiolek, the supervisor of physical and health education for county schools. The result is a five-year plan for upgrading, expanding and replacing the equipment at several of the schools. Under the plan - which began last year as a collaboration between the school system and the Department of Parks and Recreation - schools are selected for upgrades that range from $60,000 for new equipment to a $400,000 project at Hall's Cross Roads Elementary that includes athletic fields and a walking trail, Popiolek said.

Carroll County can make improvements to its Freedom Water Treatment Plant at Liberty Reservoir but cannot draw more water to serve its most populous area. The county plans to install nearly $1 million in new equipment, including $600,000 for a second solids contact chamber, in the 30-year-old filtration plant in Eldersburg. The improvements would make the plant capable of delivering more water to South Carroll residents, who have endured three consecutive summers of shortages, said Gary Horst, county director of enterprise and recreation services.

Over the last year:* Communications and Systems Specialists Inc.(CSSi), a Columbia computer hardware and software developer, expanded its staff 44 percent to 52 employees, bought $18,000 worth of equipment and increased its space 25 percent to 14,548 square feet;* Martek Corp., a Columbia biotechnology firm, expanded its staff13 percent to 34 employees, bought $600,000 worth of equipment and doubled its sales;* New Horizons Diagnostics Corp., a Columbia biotechnology firm, expanded its staff by 22 percent to 39 employees, bought $100,000 worth of equipment and expanded its space by 33 percent;* Larriland Farm Inc., a Woodbine farm and produce retailer, expanded its staff by 28 percent to 50 employees and bought $70,000 worth of new equipment;* Nixon's Farm, a West Friendship farm and conference retreat, increased its staff from 7 to 12 and purchased $120,000 in new equipment;* Nucletron Corp.

Nursing home fee gaining support Charging nursing homes a state fee would boost their Medicaid reimbursements -- allowing them to hire more staff and buy new equipment -- members of Gov. Martin O'Malley's administration said yesterday. Health and Mental Hygiene Secretary John M. Colmers said Maryland should join 32 other states and the District of Columbia in charging a fee of up to 2 percent of operating income of nursing homes that have at least 45 beds. That money would be matched by the federal government and be funneled back to the homes in Medicaid reimbursements, effectively sending the homes twice what they paid, Colmers said at a hearing in Annapolis.

DEAR CAL -- We have four very active children, all under 13. The cost of keeping them equipped for sports is pretty substantial. We've generally gone to a used-equipment store for things like gloves, bats, cleats and helmets. But now our oldest, our son who is 12, is getting very self-conscious about using used gear and wants us to buy him new stuff. My first question - at this level (still in youth leagues), is there much difference in quality between new and used equipment? My second question - how do we explain to him, and to our other kids, that buying new equipment for everyone is simply too expensive for us?