Sales

The woman who says she represents North American Power is not telling the truth about the benefits of buying electricity from her company. "You can save up to 10, 15, 20 percent of your bill, depending on your usage," she says in a telemarketing call to my house. But the rate she eventually quotes is only about 7 percent less than the standard price offered by Baltimore Gas & Electric — something the average customer would have no way of knowing. And of course the percentage savings won't vary even if my "usage" goes up to that of a steel mill.

The owner of the financially ailing Sparrows Point steel plant is idling operations there, warning 1,975 workers Thursday that they would be laid off starting next month. The news, the latest casting doubt on the future of the Baltimore County facility, came as RG Steel is shopping the steel mill and its other assets to potential buyers. RG Steel informed the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulations that layoffs would begin June 4 and continue through June 18. The state said the company would be laying off 1,714 hourly and 261 salaried workers, losses that would be a significant blow to the economy.

Haven't paid your city property taxes? Then you're on the city's list of owners whose properties could end up in tax sale this May, along with nearly 27,000 others who (as of last week) were behind on taxes, water bills or other city tabs. That's more than 10 percent of city properties, located in neighborhoods as varied as Poppleton and the Inner Harbor . If previous years are any judge, many owners will pay up quickly and avoid tax sale altogether. Here's an interactive map that shows where all the properties are. You can click on the dots for more details, including the address, who owns and how much the city says they owe. (Keep in mind that some may have paid already -- and at least one is an error .)

Nearly 27,000 city properties in March were in danger of going to tax sale, but ultimately about 10,600 had liens included in the auction Monday. Investors bought 6,545 of the lien certificates , which raised $20 million for the city, according to the Finance Department. It's not unusual for property owners to pay up in April, just before the annual spring tax sale. But one of the narrowest misses this year was a case in which the homeowner paid last month -- after she learned that the state had retroactively reduced a tax credit on her property -- and the city lost the check.

Catherine S. Rykowski, a retired Hutzler's department store sales associate who earlier had been a secretary, died in her sleep Dec. 26 at Oak Crest Village retirement community. She was 91. Catherine Sawecki, the daughter of a city police officer and a homemaker, was born in Baltimore and raised near Patterson Park. She was a 1935 graduate of Eastern High School and attended Strayer's Business College. During the late 1930s and early '40s, she was employed as a secretary for the Southern Supply Co. Inc. She was married in 1943 to Edward Rykowski, an Army officer.

Cecelia P. Bucci, a longtime department store sales associate and avid gardener, died of congestive heart failure Friday at Bradford Oaks Rehabilitation Center in Clinton. She had celebrated her 100th birthday last month. Cecelia Presutti, daughter of a Pennsylvania Railroad foreman and a homemaker who were immigrants from Sulmona, Italy, was born in Washington, where her parents owned and operated a grocery store. She later moved with her family to a Prince George's County farm.

Albert Carl Grochmal, a retired sales manager for a trucking business who was a standout high school athlete, died of respiratory failure May 3 at St. Agnes Hospital. The Catonsville resident was 95. Born in Baltimore and raised on East Pratt Street near Patterson Park, he attended St. Elizabeth of Hungary School. Family members said he spent hours playing sports in the park. When he graduated from Polytechnic Institute in 1933, he was a star athlete. He played lacrosse, soccer, baseball, football and basketball at the varsity level.

Falling home prices have transformed many properties from asset to albatross, but there's hope yet for those looking to sell: Nearly two-thirds of the Baltimore region's ZIP codes saw sales increases last year, the first time since 2005 that buying didn't slump across the board. Sales are on the upswing as first-time homebuyers jump in - enticed by a temporary $8,000 tax credit - and investors snap up foreclosed properties. And some homeowners who can't wait any longer for prices to rise are finding ways to move on. Baltimore residents Geoff and Gail Turk are in the market to buy a house despite not being able to sell their condo for anything close to what Gail bought it for in 2007.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer, has seen sales at its U.S. Walmart stores fall for the first time, as price-cutting competitors lure away bargain-hunters. The 0.5 percent sales decline reported Thursday covered the three months ending Jan. 31. It was the first year-over-year quarterly decline since Wal-Mart went public in 1969. And it was a remarkable stumble for an institution revered and reviled for its relentless expansion and economic power. Overall, Wal-Mart's overseas growth and a concerted cost-cutting campaign pushed profit up 22 percent in the fourth quarter.

Raymond E. Boulay Sr., a retired manufacturers' representative and woodworker, died March 4 of congestive heart failure at Stella Maris Hospice in Timonium. He was 92. Born in Baltimore, Mr. Boulay was raised in Ashburton. He was a 1935 graduate of Loyola High School and attended what is now Loyola University Maryland. Mr. Boulay was a sales representative for many years with the Harbor Sales Co. before establishing Precision Sales Co., which represents a variety of manufacturers, in 1965.

Kristina Suson's home wasn't part of the city's tax sale Monday, but it was a close call. Baltimore places liens on properties for unpaid property taxes, water bills and other municipal debts, then puts the liens up for auction every spring — allowing investors to buy them and either collect or move to foreclose. The city auctioned liens on about 10,600 properties on Monday, finding buyers for 6,545 of them and raising $20 million. Suson ended up on this year's list, to her surprise, after the state retroactively reduced a property tax credit she'd received in 2009.

For $3 a person, you can use the bathroom of Carol Hines' home on Winner St, across from Pimlico race course.  Hines decided to give entrepreneurship a try for the first time this year, one of many enterprises that pop up on Preakness day in the Park Heights and Pimlico neighborhoods.  Besides offering her restroom for Preakness attendees, Hines cooked up some of her best dishes, including jerk chicken, curry chicken and barbecue ribs. ...

"Black-Eyed Susans! Get 'em here!" Emanuel Sabedra shouted inside the front gates, above the excited throngs and circling planes and buzzing engines of golf carts zipping by. Sabedra, dressed in maroon and gold jockey shirt, has been hawking the $9 cocktails at Preakness for 12 years. By 11 a.m., he had sold five racks of 24. Butch Hoppe, a 24-year-old trucking company owner, had his first taste of the Preakness staple. "It's alright," he said. "I got it for the souvenir cup more than the drink.

If you're in the market for a home with a literary heritage -- and have a few million dollars to spend -- check out this English estate that once was the home of Christopher Milne (1920-96), who was immortalized in the Winnie the Pooh books. The listing for 9.5-acre Cotchford Farm notes that the house was bought by A.A Milne in 1925 as a country retreat for himself, his wife and son, Christopher Robin. "It was here, amidst the beautiful Sussex countryside and surrounding woodland where the wonderful stories of Christopher Robin and Winnie-the-Pooh came to life, now world famous childhood classics.

Tickets for the second Baltimore Grand Prix should be on sale by the end of the month, the latest group to organize the race announced Wednesday. Race On, a team led by two local investors that has partnered with racing champ Michael Andretti's sports marketing firm, also finalized sanctioning agreements with the IndyCar Series and American Le Mans Series for the Labor Day weekend festival, organizers said Wednesday. Investors J.P. Grant III, president of Grant Capital Management, and Greg O'Neill, vice president of BMW Construction, spoke of their plans for the race at a news conference at the city-owned Hilton Baltimore hotel, hours after the city's spending board approved the contract with Race On. "I'm honored to take on this important opportunity in the city we both love," Grant said.

Southwest Airlines is offering a flash-in-the-pan sale today only for some very specific travel dates, including July 4, and the deal has set off a frenzy that appears to have taken down booking on the airline's website. Travelers can save 35 percent off Wanna Get Away fares when they book a trip today for one of these dates: May 22, May 30-31, June 5-6 , July 4-5. Use promo code: SUMMER12 to get the discount. That's pretty good deal since you're saving off the lowest fares the airline offers online.

Toyota Motor Corp. has taken the unprecedented step of halting sales and production of eight models, including the top-selling Camry and Corolla, because their accelerator pedals can stick and cause runaway acceleration. Toyota sent an e-mail to its roughly 1,200 U.S. dealers late Tuesday, asking them to immediately stop selling the vehicles. In addition, it told them to refrain from selling certain used versions of the same models. At the same time, Toyota said it is halting production of the models in five assembly lines in the U.S. and Canada, effective Monday.

A prescription drug clinic in Timonium was raided Tuesday afternoon by Baltimore County police and Drug Enforcement Administration agents, according to law enforcement officials. The raid followed a long-term investigation of the distribution and sale of oxycodone and other prescription drugs at the Healthy Life Medical Group in the 1100 block of York Road, according to Special Agent Edward Marcinko, of the DEA. About 25 police narcotics officers and DEA agents served a federal search warrant at the location shortly after 5 p.m., said Marcinko and Det. Cathy Batton, a county police spokeswoman.

A carefully choreographed strategy to raise state income taxes to stave off so-called doomsday budget cuts faces a challenge in the General Assembly after several Democrats defied party leaders with a proposal to raise the sales tax instead. The brewing discontent within the Montgomery County House delegation stems from a belief that the governor's plan relies too heavily on their wealthy constituents. And though it faces little chance of passage, the proposal reveals a geographic fissure within the ruling Democratic caucus while underscoring the difficulty of forging consensus on a tax increase.