Procurement

WASHINGTON -- Two of the three Chinese journalists killed in the accidental NATO bombing of China's Embassy in Belgrade last month were intelligence officers, U.S. officials said yesterday.The May 7 attack apparently destroyed the embassy's intelligence compound, according to a senior administration official.He said this could explain why, despite detailed private assurances by President Clinton and U.S. diplomats, China continues to insist that the bombing could not have been accidental.

WITH CONTROVERSIES swirling around two lucrative state health-care contracts, it came as no surprise that Gov. Parris N. Glendening would set up a commission to review and tighten Maryland's ethics procedures.But the governor's directive, responding to a legislative ethics committee recommendation, ignores major contracts in other fields where intense lobbying by legislators has occurred.The current stir revolves around the role of former Sen. Larry Young -- and to an extent the governor -- in a bid by Merit Behavioral Care Corp.

Spending money like the Cold War is still onDid you catch the congressional ''spending'' act of January 1996? Maybe you watched the blizzard instead. While congressional leaders were hotly debating federal budget ''cuts'' and ''deficit reduction'' in the media, they were forging ahead with a National Defense Authorization Act that depicts a deep Cold War mentality.The 1996 National Defense Authorization Act includes:$264.7 billion for national defense, $7 billion more than the president (and the Pentagon)

Firms that employ large numbers of Marylanders or pay substantial taxes here would receive a formal advantage in the competition for some state contracts, under a policy approved yesterday in Annapolis by the Board of Public Works.The policy, which must be approved by a legislative oversight panel, is designed to reduce the amount of state government spending that goes to out-of-state companies."We want to do everything possible for the Maryland economy and provide jobs for Marylanders," Gov. Parris N. Glendening said.

IN THE BAD OLD days, it sometimes seemed, big state contracts were won in Maryland by the businessman who promised the biggest kickback.Those days brought shame. A former governor, Spiro T. Agnew, resigned the vice presidency amid charges that he had taken bribes while serving as Baltimore County executive.In the dreary aftermath of his fall, lawyers and bureaucrats came up with an intricate bidding system designed to protect the taxpayer, the state's good name and well-meaning public officials who find themselves, almost inevitably, in compromising situations.

Paul Pedone was misidentified in an article in yesterday's A La Carte section. He is director of produce procurement for Super Fresh supermarkets.The Sun regrets the errors.Pub Date: 8/15/96

DURING THE NEXT few years, Maryland is expected to lose an estimated 20,000 federal jobs and another 20,000 to 30,000 related jobs. Depending on what actions Congress takes in the coming weeks and months, we also expect to see at least $2.4 billion in reductions in federal aid to Maryland over the next seven years.Given these startling figures, we must do everything possible to retain and attract private sector jobs.In fact, we have set a goal of creating 90,000 good, family-supporting jobs before the turn of the century.

WASHINGTON -- Reflecting growing concern over recent reductions in defense spending, the United States' top military leaders have warned that the Pentagon must boost its budget for weapons modernization sooner than planned or risk eroding military preparedness.In a memo to Defense Secretary William J. Perry, the military service chiefs recommend increasing the modernization budget to $60 billion a year by fiscal 1998, rather than fiscal 2000, as currently anticipated. The budget currently stands at $39 billion.

John J. O'Neill Jr., who officially takes over tomorrow as warden of the Harford County Detention Center, says the primary problems he will encounter there are familiar: too many inmates and not enough money.For the past six weeks, Mr. O'Neill has worn two hats, overseeing the Detention Center while continuing to work as the county's director of procurement, a post he has held for four years.He also handled the double duty of procurement director and acting warden for six months in 1993.Mr.

General Assembly leaders completed a four-month review of state purchasing practices yesterday by concluding there is nothing wrong with Maryland's procurement law that cannot be fixed with some modest revisions."

Maryland's spending board approved the final installment of $267 million in school construction spending Wednesday, bringing the state's investment in aging K-12 public campuses to more than $1 billion in three years. Gov. Martin O'Malley heralded the "historic" investment as proof of his commitment to education, and Comptroller Peter Franchot called the approval a "major step forward" toward rebuilding the infrastructure. O'Malley and Franchot sit on the board with Treasurer Nancy K. Kopp, who also voted for the installment, which goes to school districts across the state.

Federal spending on contractors in Maryland fell last year for the second time in a row, a troubling trend for a state dependent on government business. Procurement spending dropped $1.3 billion, or 6 percent, in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, 2007, the U.S. Census Bureau said in a report set to be released today. Such spending had declined 3 percent the year before. The figures are adjusted to account for inflation. Federal dollars to contractors, which include such items as computer services and radar systems, totaled $21.1 billion last year.

Federal spending in Maryland - a key engine for this government-town state - rose faster in the 2006 fiscal year than it did nationwide, according to a new tally released yesterday. Total spending, which ranges from salaries to Social Security checks to spy drones, jumped nearly 10 percent to $75 billion after accounting for inflation, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Spending in the United States as a whole rose a more modest 4 percent. Despite that trend, the Census Bureau said the amount funneled to contractors doing work in Maryland, an important part of the state's economy, fell for the first time since just before the 9/11 attacks.

Anyone who has ever built a home addition can see the danger. You strike a deal with a contractor, then ask for changes that end up costing a small fortune. It's been much the same way with the purchase of Pentagon weapons systems, except for this: Department of Defense officials have been indifferent to the problem, and the cost to taxpayers has been astronomical - large enough to impugn the professionalism of project managers and suggest that radical reforms in procurement are needed.

Applebee's to open in Aberdeen The Rose Group, a casual-dining franchise company, will celebrate the opening of its Aberdeen Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and invitation-only reception at 4:45 p.m. tomorrow. The restaurant is at 991 Beards Hill Road and will open to the public at 11 a.m. Tuesday. The restaurant will dedicate a wall section to honor Cal Ripken Sr., Cal Ripken Jr. and Bill Ripken as "Hometown Heroes" for their professional achievements and strong focus on giving back to the community.

The secret of success in government contracting, as with real estate, is location, location, location -- now more than ever. Capitalizing on its proximity to the nation's capital, Maryland moved up to No. 2 among all states in per capita federal spending on goods and services between fall 2003 and fall 2004, according to Census Bureau numbers being released today. The U.S. government pumped $20.8 billion in procurement contracts here that fiscal year, a $4.6 billion jump from the year before.

Rep. Roscoe G. Bartlett, a 6th District Republican, will sponsor a workshop, "How Can Your Small Business Do Business With the Federal Government?" from 8:30 a.m. to noon April 25 at Frederick Community College. Businesses will learn to successfully obtain federal procurement contracts. Sessions will be held on "Understanding the Request for Proposal, Question and Information"; "Three P's of Writing: Proposal, Pricing & Past Performance"; "The Government Evaluation Process"; and "Latest Updates."

A fourth Maryland agency has become entangled in a criminal investigation of government procurement practices involving the purchase of merchandise at exorbitant prices. The Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services, which operates Maryland's prison and parole and probation system, disclosed the "open and active" investigation by the state attorney general's office yesterday in response to a public information request from The Sun. Department spokesman Mark Vernarelli said the attorney general is looking into the department's purchases of at least $17,000 in goods from a company known for selling products at inflated prices.

A scathing legislative audit report that suggested criminal misconduct and led to the resignation of the Maryland Stadium Authority's executive director has spurred a federal grand jury investigation, officials said yesterday. Chairman Carl A.J. Wright said the authority received a federal grand jury subpoena this week requesting documents related to those outlined in a report released in February by the Office of Legislative Audits, but he didn't know the specifics of the preliminary investigation.

Metzlers to close their Columbia garden center Metzler's Garden Center will close its Columbia location June 20 after 40 years in Howard County and will expand its store in Eldersburg. John and Dotty Metzler opened their business in the spring of 1964, John Metzler said. They plan to close the 7-acre Hickory Ridge garden center on Owen Brown Road, which includes the family's home, for residential development. The Eldersburg operation on Route 26 will expand its staff and its stock of trees, shrubs, annuals, perennials flowers and greenhouses, John Metzler said.