New Service

A new service officer has arrived in Baltimore to promote increased voluntarism addressing the city's most pressing social problems. Vu Dang, 39, who was born in Vietnam and raised in Kentucky, will hold the grant-funded position, a project of the Cities of Service, an organization founded last year in New York City. "Volunteering for me has been a transforming experience," he said Wednesday. "I would like to nurture a service movement for all Baltimoreans, young and old, of all ethnicities and walks of life.

When Shirley Cherry was helping out at Guilford Elementary School a couple of years ago, a boy spoke rudely to her, and his teacher made him write an apology. But the note was poorly written, full of grammatical errors and bad punctuation. "I can't accept this," Ms. Cherry told the boy, who was about 10. "But if you'd like me to help show you how to write this letter, I'd be happy to." By the time they were done, the boy, all smiles, had told the 70-year-old retiree that he hoped she would return to his class the next day. Finding more people who, like Ms. Cherry, are willing to invest their time and talents in bettering their neighborhoods is a key goal of the timely, bipartisan Serve America Act. The first major legislation in 15 years designed to bolster volunteerism and national service, it would funnel resources to volunteer centers across the country; expand service learning opportunities for youths; create a series of "corps" focused on health, the environment and other specific areas; and create new opportunities for older Americans to volunteer.

GLEN ROCK, N.J. -- Corporations were the first inspiration for Jerry Salvi's and Michael DenBlaker's online tracking technology. Kids, however, soon became the focus of a broader vision. The brothers-in-law and co-founders of uVee Technologies LLC initially set out to create a product that would allow companies to archive and retrieve employee e-mails, an important technological feature after the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, which was passed after several corporate accounting scandals.

Geeks of the world, arise! You have nothing to lose but your isolation - your illusion that government has no relevance for you. Your immunity to politics is over. You might even have to make campaign contributions. Now, you really understand that epic American warning: "You snooze, you lose - unless you have a lobbyist." With virtually no representation in Annapolis (and, probably, no idea who represents you in the House of Delegates or state Senate), your industry was hit last fall with a new service tax totaling an estimated $200 million.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Coming soon to a GPS near you: just about everything but the kitchen sink. Garmin International Inc. unveiled a new portable navigator with speech recognition last week, allowing users to get travel directions by simply asking for them. The Nuvi 880 also ties into new services offered by Microsoft Corp., allowing users to get stock quotes, news, movie listings, traffic conditions, fuel prices and other information through their portable navigator. The unit is Garmin's first Global Positioning System device with speech recognition.

Gov. Martin O'Malley's proposal to create taxes on property management services - and its timing - could not be more unfortunate. Mr. O'Malley has pledged to look out for the interests of working families. But the new levy he has announced will affect 639,000 Maryland renters, as well as those who own condominiums or townhouses - many of them first-time homebuyers and seniors - who receive services from a property management company. Under the governor's proposal, the Maryland sales and use tax would rise to 6 percent and apply to a variety of services, including property management services.

The celebration last week of an expanded human services operation in North Laurel is the kind of ribbon-cutting event that politicians love, and a bunch of them -- all Democrats -- showed up at the Whiskey Bottom Shopping Center to mark the start of what County Executive Ken Ulman called "a major step forward" in bringing more services to the southeastern corner of the county. "There can often be two counties in Howard County," Ulman said at the event Wednesday morning.

As part of the effort to accommodate the influx of about 30,000 jobs coming to Maryland with the nationwide military base realignment, known as BRAC, state transit officials are considering extending MARC train routes and buying more cars and engines. The agency is rebuilding a train station in Edgewood and constructing a new depot in Halethorpe. More bus lines and park-and-ride lots might come to Harford County to handle job growth at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Simon Taylor, planning director of the Maryland Transit Administration, said yesterday.

Acquisitions Bob Davidson Ford has acquired assets of Towson Ford, which closed its doors this month. To accommodate former Towson Ford and new clients, the Davidson dealership will expand its East Joppa Road sales and service facilities. Expansions Webb/Mason, a national print and brand management company, expanded its corporate headquarters in Baltimore as well as the Chicago office. New contract Eyemaginations, based in Towson, has signed an agreement with the American Optometric Association to provide eye care images and animations for educational and marketing materials.

Awards Paul A. Dorf, a senior member of law firm Adelberg, Rudow, Dorf & Hendler LLC, was presented with the Charles H. Dorsey Jr. Mentor Award for 2006 by the Bar Association of Baltimore City. New client DPR Group Inc., a Germantown public relations and marketing agency, signed ClearOrbit, a Texas-based supply chain software company, as a client. New contract Capuco Consulting Services was awarded a contract by the Maryland State Chamber of Commerce to assist in the updating of its strategic plan.