Reorganization Plan

Merry-Go-Round Enterprises Inc., which has been in Chapter 11 bankruptcy since January, will have to wait until October to see the results of its back-to-school sales before it can formulate a reorganization plan, company officials said yesterday."

A Baltimore bankruptcy judge said yesterday that he would confirm a reorganization plan for Columbia's Fieldstone Mortgage Co. as early as today, making it one of few subprime lenders to survive bankruptcy since the credit crisis began. Fieldstone filed for Chapter 11 protection in November, having already shuttered operations and whittled its work force to 25 from 1,000. Most of the remaining employees will join the reorganized business, now funded and run by Planet Financial Group LLC, which court documents describe as a Delaware "holding company for financial assets and operating entities."

The Annapolis city council approved a resolution last night that will allow the new police chief to proceed with a reorganization of the department despite concerns that the changes would mean two fewer patrol officers.The reorganization would create two majors' positions and eliminate the position of assistant chief. Two patrol positions that are currently vacant would also be eliminated.Assistant Chief Joseph S. Johnson announced the reorganization plan almost three weeks ago -- a few days after he was named acting chief of the 123-member department.

Merry-Go-Round Enterprises Inc. has asked for more time to set up a bankruptcy reorganization plan for itself without being distracted by alternative plans from outsiders.The Joppa-based retailer, which sought bankruptcy protection on Jan. 11, has asked Judge E. Stephen Derby to ban reorganization plans offered by creditors and other third parties until after Feb. 28. Merry-Go-Round argued that its affairs are too complicated for it to craft a plan before then.The request, which had been expected, could set up a contest between creditors, who want Merry-Go-Round to emerge quickly from bankruptcy so they can receive the money owed them, and shareholders, who favor a longer process that allows the company to fix its business and preserve stock value.

Chemical maker W.R. Grace & Co., which is close to emerging from bankruptcy, reported Tuesday a 3.7 percent decline in first-quarter profit, but its earnings beat Wall Street expectations. Shares gained 8.8 percent, or $3.63, to close Tuesday at $44.88 on the news. The stock traded as much as 10 percent higher during the day. Separately, the Columbia-based company said a hearing will be held June 28 at U.S. District Court in Delaware for appeals to Grace's reorganization plan.

In unveiling a reorganization plan for city schools, Superintendent Walter G. Amprey joined a parade of eight consecutive superintendents with ideas for making the bureaucracy more efficient. His plan is not unlike the 1973 decentralization scheme of the late Roland N. Patterson, though Dr. Amprey's is less elaborate and costly. Dr. Patterson (whose plan was gradually unraveled by three successors) wanted, and Dr. Amprey wants, to move decision-making closer to where education actually takes place -- in the classroom.

W.R. Grace & Co., the Columbia chemical maker undergoing bankruptcy proceedings, has proposed a reorganization plan that would limit its asbestos-related liabilities to $1.61 billion and add its name to a growing list of companies trying to end years of legal wrangling. Struggling under the weight of 325,000 asbestos-related injury lawsuits, the 150-year-old company followed the lead of several of its competitors and filed for bankruptcy protection in 2001. The reorganization plan submitted to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del., would set up a trust to handle the asbestos claims, which have left a cloud of uncertainty over the company for years.

Rejecting criticism from some consumers and doctors, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Maryland President William L. Jews emphatically told the state insurance commissioner yesterday that a proposed for-profit subsidiary would benefit subscribers and the state."

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Maryland Inc. is apparently seeking last-minute legislation that would allow the historically nonprofit insurer to reorganize and sell stock to investors -- a controversial plan the state insurance commissioner rejected in January as a violation of state law.Rather than submit a new plan to the commissioner, Blue Cross officials scheduled a meeting last night in Annapolis with House Speaker Casper R. Taylor Jr. to discuss changing...

What's good for General Motors may not be so great for Maryland. A radical reorganization plan laid out by GM management this week could eliminate more than 2,000 Maryland jobs if as many as 40 of GM's 100 dealerships in the state close, as proposed by the company. The jobs of 240 workers at GM's Powertrain Baltimore Transmission Plant in White Marsh could be more secure if the Obama administration approves the GM reorganization plan because the modern, efficient plant produces parts for Chevrolet and GMC brands, which the company plans to continue producing . Meanwhile Maryland's larger GM dealers are hoping to pick up market shares and possibly add employees through the downsizing.