Offices In Baltimore

Andrew Hudyma works from a run-down former grocery store on Pennington Avenue in rough-and-tumble Curtis Bay. Prostitutes walk by his neon red "FAST TAX REFUND" sign. Drug dealers haunt his intersection.And he'd like to move to an even rougher neighborhood.Hudyma, the accountant for hundreds of people in this south city section, has his eye on a new office on 10th Street in nearby Brooklyn, about a block from that neighborhood's public housing project. His goal: to be closer to his customers.

A man shot by a Baltimore police officer Thursday night in Southwest Baltimore was released from the hospital yesterday and charged with assault, a handgun offense and drug possession, police said.Joseph Michael Stokes, 24, of the 400 block of Colleen Road was shot once in the upper left back, police said. He was treated at Maryland Shock Trauma Center after the 11: 10 p.m. incident at Augusta and Massachusetts avenues.The officer was identified as Robert Probeyahn, 35, a five-year veteran assigned to the tactical unit.

BALTIMORE IS such an overwhelmingly Democratic town that only two of eight city districts offer Republican opposition.The GOP has the best chance to make headway in the 47th District, which is divided into subdistricts A (South Baltimore and Curtis Bay in the city) and B (Catonsville and Woodlawn in Baltimore County). Edward Fowler, 40, a Catonsville psychiatric researcher with a doctorate, is challenging Democratic Sen. George W. Della, 55, who is seeking a fifth term.Some of Mr. Fowler's positions sound distinctly libertarian.

New positionsRandisi and Maycock promoted at McCormickThe McCormick/Schilling Division of McCormick & Co. Inc. promoted Mary M. Randisi to director of marketing-spices and extracts and Virginia A. Maycock to director of marketing-dry seasoning mixes.With McCormick since 1976, Randisi has a bachelor's degree in food business management from Virginia Polytechnic Institute. She is a member of the Executive Women's Network, the American Marketing Association and the Baltimore County Leadership Council.

A long-awaited plan to rebuild downtown's west side and the blighted Howard Street shopping district recommends the areas be infused with new middle-class housing units, shops, offices and cultural and hospitality-related uses.To be unveiled today by a partnership of city officials, private foundations and property owners, the West Side Task Force's study is aimed at improving the character of a large district that is underused and marked by vacant buildings and small retail operations.The study calls for the reopening of Lexington Street to vehicles from Liberty Street to Eutaw Street -- a stretch that was made into an urban mall in the 1960s.

Trahan, Burden & Charles Inc., a Baltimore-based advertising and public relations firm, yesterday said it was chosen as the advertising agency of record for The Baltimore Sun Co.The agency, chosen after review by The Sun, replaces W.B. Doner. TBC will provide the company with general advertising, design, direct response and other communications services related to branding and product marketing."Obviously, we're very excited to be selected, because this is a time when there is such an exciting communications revolution going on," said Sandy Hillman, an executive vice president and one of TBC's principals.

When Jervis S. Finney takes his seat in a closed ethics hearing room in Annapolis next month, he will see a familiar face next to state Sen. Larry Young -- defense lawyer Gerard P. Martin, who worked with Finney two decades ago at the U.S. attorney's office in Baltimore."

An article in the Jan. 12 Real Estate section incorrectly stated benefits to buyers of homes in the Department of Housing and Urban Development inventory.Through the end of February, buyers who plan to live in homes insured by the Federal Housing Administration pay just a $500 down payment. Owner-occupants or investors can get a $300 bonus if the sale goes to settlement within 30 days of HUD's accepting a contract.The Sun regrets the error.Hoping to boost its single-family home sales and reduce costs to taxpayers, the Department of Housing and Urban Development has designed a pilot program for Maryland and two other states to turn its properties over to a single, private contractor.

Alexander & Alexander Services Inc. reported yesterday a 5.3 percent decline in income for the second quarter because of what the New York-based company's chairman called "considerable pressure" on its North American retail operations.Net income for the quarter that ended June 30 fell to $21.5 million, or 33 cents per share, from $22.7 million, or 36 cents per share in 1995. Operating revenue rose 2.2 percent, to $335.2 million from $328.1 million a year earlier.The company, which provides professional risk-management and human-resources consulting, along with insurance brokerage services, has major sales and administrative operations in Baltimore and Owings Mills.

Cleveland Browns owner Art Modell will meet with several members of his front office in daylong meetings today in Baltimore to talk about the team's disappointing 1995 season.The Browns were picked by some preseason publications to appear in the 1996 Super Bowl, but instead the team finished 5-11, fourth in the AFC Central, only one game ahead of the Jacksonville Jaguars, an expansion team that defeated the Browns twice. Cleveland lost seven of its last eight games.Browns fifth-year coach Bill Belichick was scheduled to fly here last night along with Michael Lombardi, the team's player personnel director, and Ozzie Newsome, the director of pro personnel.