President And General

James A. Bitonti, a retired IBM executive and former chief executive officer of TCOM LP in Columbia, died Friday of liver and kidney failure in his Ellicott City home. He was 72. Mr. Bitoni was born in Star City, W.Va., and grew up in Brooklyn, N.Y. He began his career in electronics in 1949 in the Navy. When he was stationed at Westover Air Force Base in Massachusetts, he met and married Agnes Clyne in 1952. In 1955, Mr. Bitonti began his 32-year career at International Business Machines Corp.

Advertising Weber Shandwick announced that David Aglar joined the staff as an account supervisor. The company also said that Benjamin Domanico was named a Web site designer for Screengrab, the communications firm's interactive media unit in its Baltimore office. Medicalliance Inc. has selected Eleanor O'Rangers as vice president of scientific strategy and business development for the subsidiary of Columbia MedCom Group, the Howard County-based medical communications agency. Banking and finance Chesapeake Bank of Maryland appointed Tom Ahearn as senior vice president and chief lending officer, Joanne Sheckells as vice president for residential and commercial lending and Tracey Jessilonis as manager of the Baltimore-based bank's Pasadena branch.

Harry Shaub Jr., 75, former president and general manager of WGAL-TV in Lancaster, died Sunday night while golfing at a resort near Stroudsburg, Pa.Rose Bigman, 87, known for years as columnist Walter Winchell's "girl Friday," died Wednesday in New York. Miss Bigman steadfastly guarded Winchell's privacy for 35 years.Pub Date: 4/29/97

In the News Godine is vice president and general manager of the Mid-Atlantic operations of General Growth Properties Inc. and is playing a major role in the plan to develop downtown Columbia into a dense, urban center. A focus group studying the future development of Town Center met in Columbia last week, and a final plan is expected to be completed early next year. Career Highlights Godine began working for The Rouse Co. in 1961 in retail leasing. In the late 1960s, he was named vice president of the leasing department, and a few years later senior vice president, heading a division responsible for all retail leasing in the company's shopping centers.

New positionsPHH Technology Services, a division of Hunt Valley-based PHH Corp., named Anthony Tabasco vice president and general manager.W. B. Doner & Co. appointed Tom O'Connor vice president and creative director, Kristin Schwitzer as associate strategic planning director, and Carol Reuschle as a senior media planner.*Freed & Associates named Sidney Cohen to the staff as director of planning and development.Health care*Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions has chosen Joanne E. Pollak as a vice president and general counsel, Adrian Dobs as an associate professor of medicine, and Rebecca Lee Kritzler, ,, manager for managed-care arrangements.

EA Engineering, Science and Technology Inc. will have a new president starting next week.Loren Jensen, who founded the Hunt Valley-based environmental cleanup firm, will hand over operating duties to Edward V. Lower. Mr. Lower has worked for Union Carbide for 24 years and most recently was vice president and general manager of Union Carbide's multimillion-dollar global metals business, UMETCO, which is based in Connecticut.Mr. Jensen will continue serving as chairman and chief executive officer.

New positionsADVO Inc., a direct marketing firm in Columbia, named Laura Tarabini regional marketing manager.U.S. Army Corps of Engineers named Col. J. Richard Capka Baltimore district engineer.Baltimore Magazine appointed Lois Perschetz style editor. Ms. Perschetz was senior editor of Women's Wear Daily and W.Ruppert Landscape Co. Inc. in Ashton announced these appointments: Phil Key, corporate sales representative; John Hipp, Maryland landscape management sales coordinator; Chuck Whealton, area manager; Fred Key and Donna Gignac members of the accounting department.

Steven J. Gigliotti, a Sacramento television executive, yesterday was named vice president and general manager of WMAR (Channel 2), replacing Joe Lewin who resigned earlier this month.Gigliotti, age 46, has spent the bulk of his career in sales, and comes to the struggling station from KOVT-TV in Sacramento where he has been vice president and general manager since 1995.He will begin his new duties at WMAR on Thursday, according to Scripps' senior vice president Frank Gardner."Steve Gigliotti has proven to be an innovative and successful broadcaster," said James M. Hart, senior vice president of E.W. Scripps' TV station group, which owns WMAR.

HEALTH CARE Stella Maris appointed Lisa Braswell vice president of human resources for the Dulaney Valley hospice, long-term and specialty care facility. Dr. Scott E. Strome was appointed chairman of the department of otorhinolaryngology-head and neck surgery at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and chief of otorhinolaryngology at the University of Maryland Medical Center. Northwest Hospital Center named Scott Conover vice president of administration and Stanley Mezewski director of security for the Randallstown health facility.

After a seven-year run during which he led WBAL-TV (Channel 11) to new heights in ratings and prestige, Bill Fine will leave Baltimore's NBC affiliate next month to become executive vice president and general manager of WCVB-TV, the ABC affiliate in Boston. The 49-year-old Fine, who is president and general manager at WBAL, came to Baltimore in 1998 from WCVB, where he had been the general sales manager. Hearst-Argyle Television Inc. owns both stations. Fine is moving to a larger market: Baltimore is the nation's 23rd-largest TV market and Boston is fifth.

For more than 42 years, Howard "Max" Mosner has worked for the Maryland State Fair, earning leadership and volunteer awards from groups such as 4-H and the Red Cross, as well as citations from the state government. He recently added another award when the International Association of Fairs and Expositions inducted him into its Hall of Fame. For the 65-year-old Manchester resident, it was recognition of his work as president and general manager of the State Fair in Timonium. The honor accentuates Mosner's remarkable accomplishments, said Jim Tucker, president and chief executive officer of the Springfield, Mo.-based association.

After a seven-year run during which he led WBAL-TV (Channel 11) to new heights in ratings and prestige, Bill Fine will leave Baltimore's NBC affiliate next month to become executive vice president and general manager of WCVB-TV, the ABC affiliate in Boston. The 49-year-old Fine, who is president and general manager at WBAL, came to Baltimore in 1998 from WCVB, where he had been the general sales manager. Hearst-Argyle Television Inc. owns both stations. Fine is moving to a larger market: Baltimore is the nation's 23rd-largest TV market and Boston is fifth.

James A. Bitonti, a retired IBM executive and former chief executive officer of TCOM LP in Columbia, died Friday of liver and kidney failure in his Ellicott City home. He was 72. Mr. Bitoni was born in Star City, W.Va., and grew up in Brooklyn, N.Y. He began his career in electronics in 1949 in the Navy. When he was stationed at Westover Air Force Base in Massachusetts, he met and married Agnes Clyne in 1952. In 1955, Mr. Bitonti began his 32-year career at International Business Machines Corp.

Allen David Greif, a Towson attorney and former vice president and general counsel for U.S. Health Inc., died of cancer Monday at his Glen Arm home. He was 63. Born in Baltimore and raised on Calloway Avenue in Northwest Baltimore, Mr. Greif was a 1956 graduate of Forest Park High School. He earned his bachelor's degree from the University of Maryland in 1960 and his law degree from the University of Baltimore in 1963. Mr. Greif, whose specialty was litigation, began practicing law in the mid-1960s with the Baltimore firm of Greif, Cohen and Alpert.

Black & Decker Corp. said yesterday that it has named Christopher T. Metz to the newly created position of president of North American hardware and home improvement. Metz, who has been with the Towson toolmaker since 1992, will retain his title as president of Kwikset Corp. The new position marks the consolidation of Black & Decker's Kwikset locks division in Irvine, Calif., and its Price Pfister plumbing products division in Pacoima, Calif. The combined business will be located in suburban Los Angeles.

As if their learning curve alone is not enough, members of the new Columbia Council who took office last week have inherited the remnants of a 2-month-old mess that thrust the Columbia Association's future into question. The homeowners group has no president, no general counsel and no vice president for community relations. Another vice president who normally oversees Columbia's 3,100 acres of open space has shifted roles and is serving as acting president. The unusual confluence of events has left the council's 10 members -- five of whom are new to the board -- facing decisions that likely will affect the long-term direction of the unincorporated city.

New positionsLife Technologies Inc., a Gaithersburg-based manufacturer and supplier of life science products and materials, appointed Timothy E. Pierce vice president and general manager, Asia-Pacific Division; Brian Graves vice president, Industrial Bioproducts Division; Rosemary J. Versteegan, vice president and general manager, new businesses; and Henry S. Swoope, vice president of sales and marketing, U.S. Research Products Division.Loyola College in Baltimore named Alice Steinbach of The Sun and Christopher Corbett visiting journalists.