BUSINESS
By Jamie Smith Hopkins, The Baltimore Sun | July 29, 2011
First Mariner Bancorp's bleeding increased during the second quarter as continued write-downs of real estate and bad loans left the Baltimore company with $11 million in losses. The 1st Mariner Bank parent, locked in a battle for survival, said Friday that its loss during April through June was more than double that of a year earlier. But the almost $4.7 million loss during the second quarter of 2010 would have been higher if not for a $3.8 million tax benefit during that period, the company said.
BUSINESS
By Jamie Smith Hopkins | jamie.smith.hopkins@baltsun.com | March 10, 2010
A raffle of a $1.6 million house in Baltimore County sounded good to some people - enough to sell 12,000 tickets at $100 a pop. But organizers needed about 20,000 ticket sales to make it worthwhile, and they were hoping for 35,000. So: no raffle. Reader Steve Scarborough told me he got a refund for the two tickets he bought, but "they kept $5.96 per ticket." "I suppose that could add up to a tidy profit for them even if they only sold half of the 35,000 tickets," he wrote in an e-mail.
NEWS
December 29, 2009
In an era of History Channel TV and gushers of new books, documentaries and movies on historical subjects, you'd think business would be booming at the Maryland Historical Society. Yet when the state's oldest cultural institution announced last month that it was cutting staff, programs and hours of operation for the second time in three years to cope with a $617,000 budget deficit, one didn't have to look far for the reason. The society's current exhibition, a reasonably in-depth exploration of Marylanders' participation in World War II and its impact on subsequent state history, deals with a perennially popular subject that one might expect to draw crowds of visitors.
NEWS
By Annie Linskey and Annie Linskey,annie.linskey@baltsun.com | April 27, 2009
The moment of horror that hit Baltimore this year, when officials realized the depth of the city's pension problems, came a full seven years ago for San Diego. During a 2002 City Council meeting in that Southern California city, a pension board member announced that the city's plan needed more than $1 billion in taxpayer money to stay afloat. "My heart went down to my toes," recalled April Boling, a certified public accountant in the audience who immediately understood that the retirement system was poised to bankrupt the city.
NEWS
By Laura Smitherman and Laura Smitherman,laura.smitherman@baltsun.com | April 13, 2009
Maryland lawmakers plan to wrap up work Monday on a $14 billion budget after months of agonizing over how to plug an enormous shortfall caused by deteriorating revenues and mandated spending growth. But all that effort still won't put the state on solid, long-term financial footing. Even with the influx of federal stimulus money, the General Assembly will reconvene in nine months facing a budget gap that analysts expect will reach more than $1 billion. And, some would argue, it might be the worst possible time for Gov. Martin O'Malley and lawmakers to make unpopular cuts that could include layoffs or curtailing services.
NEWS
January 30, 2009
Sea of red ink unfair to future generations Nothing breeds more contempt and cynicism toward our government than politicians misrepresenting their policies and spending programs. A case in point is the current "stimulus" bill pending before Congress ("House OKs stimulus bill," Jan. 30). President Barack Obama and Democratic leaders in Congress maintain that the $825 billion (and ever-growing) "stimulus" bill is needed to help energize our troubled economy and create jobs. At the same time, Gov. Martin O'Malley and Maryland Democratic legislative leaders are telling us they are holding off on necessary spending cuts caused by our own deficit because Maryland is in line to receive $3.5 billion as its share of this stimulus package ("Budget cuts held as state awaits stimulus," Jan. 27)