Sandy Spring

Sandy Spring Bancorp announced yesterday that it has agreed to acquire CN Bancorp Inc. for $44.1 million in cash and stock in an effort to expand the bank's presence in the Anne Arundel County market dominated by larger, out-of-state banks. Olney-based Sandy Spring has been expanding its footprint in the affluent suburbs of the Baltimore-Washington corridor. With the CN Bancorp deal, Sandy Spring picks up four County National Bank branches in Glen Burnie, Pasadena, Odenton and Millersville, and an administrative center.

A decade ago, Maryland's three largest banks were based in Baltimore. Allfirst, the biggest with nearly $17 billion in assets, fell victim to a foreign-exchange trading scandal that resulted in the bank being sold to a New York institution. Out-of-state competitors bought out the other two several years later. Throughout that time, Sandy Spring Bank in Olney operated and grew in their shadow. Today, it's the largest bank headquartered in Maryland, with assets at nearly $4 billion as of the end of last year.

First Mariner Bancorp and Sandy Spring Bancorp, two of Maryland's largest independent banks, reported slumping earnings yesterday as the housing market slowed demand for residential mortgages and development loans, and as interest rates remained at levels that make it harder for banks to profit. Baltimore-based First Mariner announced that its third-quarter net income declined 8 percent to $2 million, or 31 cents a share, from $2.2 million, or 34 cents a share, a year ago. Edwin F. Hale Sr., chairman and chief executive officer, blamed an "overall real estate slowdown" and noted that accruing loans that were 90 days or more past due jumped to $8 million from $1.3 million last year.

Dan Schrider laughs heartily when he thinks back on it now. The morning he was to take the SAT, the then-Atholton High School student overslept. A student who, as he put it, was as focused on fun as he was on schoolwork, he didn't bother to reschedule the college entrance exam. It wasn't until the Fulton resident enrolled at Howard Community College - after hearing the detailed plans of classmates bound for four-year schools - that he began taking his education more seriously. Though he never earned a degree from HCC, Schrider credits his year-and-a-half stint there with helping him understand how far a quality education could take him. In fact, he says, it placed him on the road to becoming CEO of Olney-based Sandy Spring Bancorp, which according to NASDAQ is the largest publicly traded banking company headquartered and operating in Maryland.

Sandy Spring Bancorp of Olney said yesterday that it was entering the Virginia banking market with the acquisition of Potomac Bank in a deal worth $64.7 million. Sandy Spring's acquisition comes on the heels of a proposed acquisition of Mercantile Bankshares Corp. of Baltimore by a Pittsburgh bank as institutions seek to grow in an increasingly competitive market. After Mercantile's deal with PNC Financial is completed, Sandy Spring would become the second-largest, publicly traded independent bank based in Maryland.

Two Maryland community banks reported second-quarter earnings results yesterday, with Columbia Bancorp posting a 9.7 percent increase in net income and Olney-based Sandy Spring Bancorp recording a 27 percent decrease as low interest rates and a suffering securities portfolio sapped profits. Sandy Spring had net income of $6.4 million, or 43 cents per share, in the quarter that ended June 30, down from $8.7 million, or 60 cents per share, posted for second-quarter 2003. Year over year, deposits were up 6 percent to $1.7 billion and total assets climbed 2 percent to $2.4 billion.

Sandy Spring Bancorp reported record fourth-quarter earnings of $8.7 million yesterday, thanks partly to investment gains and fee income from its mortgage, trust and insurance business. That was up 45 percent from the $6 million the Olney holding company for Sandy Spring Bank earned in the same quarter of 2001. On a per share basis, Sandy Spring earned 59 cents for the quarter ended Dec. 31, compared with 41 cents a year earlier. Analysts had predicted the company would earn 51 cents.

Sandy Spring Bancorp, which revealed this week that two top finance executives departed amid problems with its large securities portfolio, said yesterday that profit slipped 22 percent in the third quarter from a year earlier. The Olney-based company made $6.4 million, or 44 cents per diluted share, in the quarter that ended Sept. 30, compared with $8.2 million, or 56 cents per diluted share, in 2003's third quarter. Profit fell because of a sharp decline in gains on investment securities, a falloff in demand for mortgage refinancing and increasing competition from large banks that are soliciting Sandy Spring customers.

As a reporter and editor for National Geographic magazine, Thomas Y. Canby traveled the world, visiting six of the seven continents and scribbling his observations in narrow reporter's notebooks that he stored in his back pocket.When he retired from the Geographic eight years ago, Canby cut back his traveling -- but not his penchant for scribbling. Instead of wandering the globe to find stories, he turned his attention to Sandy Spring, a Quaker stronghold in Montgomery County, where he grew up.Recently, Canby finished a pictorial history of Sandy Spring, "Sandy Spring Legacy," published by the town's historical museum.

The chief executive of Maryland's third-largest independent banking company says it will refocus on making money from traditional banking activities, a day after the company disclosed two top finance executives had departed amid problems with its unusually large bond portfolio. Hunter R. Hollar, president and CEO of Sandy Spring Bancorp, said the company will look to increase loans and deposits and generate income from fees, with "less emphasis on the investment portfolio," and is committed to remaining independent.

At least seven people were arrested at the annual Starscape Festival at Fort Armistead Park last week on drug charges, Anne Arundel police announced Thursday. The June 9-10 event, in Baltimore near the Arundel line, consisted of an outdoor music festival and laser light show and attracted thousands of young revelers and dancers. The following seven people were arrested in the vicinity of the park by Anne Arundel police or Maryland Transportation Authority Police, who were working together on drug enforcement: Two men, James Donald Ruffin, 26, of Sandy Spring, Ga., and Jacob Asa Windeagle Ridgeway, 20, of Silver Spring, were each arrested and charged with possession, possession with intent to distribute and distributing LSD, police said.

Olney-based Sandy Spring Bancorp said Wednesday that it had received final regulatory approvals of its acquisition of CommerceFirst Bancorp in Annapolis. The stock-and-cash deal — which is valued at $25.4 million and still requires the approval of CommerceFirst shareholders — is expected to close in the second quarter. For Sandy Spring, the acquisition adds CommerceFirst's $205 million in total assets, $181 million in gross loans and $180 million in total deposits. It also expands Sandy Spring's footprint in Anne Arundel, Howard and Prince George's counties, where CommerceFirst Bank operates five branches.

Sandy Spring Bancorp, an Olney-based banking company, said Tuesday it will buy CommerceFirst Bancorp of Annapolis in a cash and stock deal valued at $25.4 million. Both Sandy Spring, which has $3.6 billion in assets, and CommerceFirst, with $205 million in assets, trade on the Nasdaq stock market. CommerceFirst shareholders will be allowed to choose Sandy Spring common stock or cash, or a combination of both, the companies said. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2012.

John Lindner reviews Urban Bar-B-Que in Sandy Spring. That's near Olney, looks like. See if Lindner thinks this barbecue restaurant, the third in a group that also has locaitons in Silver Spring and Rockville, is worth the drive.

Next time you're near Sandy Spring, check out Urban Bar-B-Que, 805 Olney Sandy Spring Road (Highway 108). It's that easy to recommend. If you look the place up online, you may be turned off by the redneck motif. Don't be. Urban's approach tips its hat and decor to that often-derided cohort, but they treat the style gently, with tongue in cheek. Everywhere you look in the dining room, you'll see details paying homage to redneckism. The Elvis painting, the camo hunter's cap, the framed tattoo designs and John Deere are all here.

David and Linda Nieporent , of Fanwood, N.J. announce the birth of their son, Leo Henry Nieporent , on May 24, 2011, at 5:45 p.m. He weighed 8 pounds, 2 ounces. His sister is Elana. His grandparents are Mary Jeney, of Clark, N.J.; and Richard Nieporent, of Columbia. Dana and Kevin Behan, of Columbia, announce the birth of their daughter, Lindsay Elisabeth Behan, on July 19, 2010, at 4:28 p.m. She weighed 7 pounds, 8 ounces. Her sister is Natalie.

At least seven people were arrested at the annual Starscape Festival at Fort Armistead Park last week on drug charges, Anne Arundel police announced Thursday. The June 9-10 event, in Baltimore near the Arundel line, consisted of an outdoor music festival and laser light show and attracted thousands of young revelers and dancers. The following seven people were arrested in the vicinity of the park by Anne Arundel police or Maryland Transportation Authority Police, who were working together on drug enforcement: Two men, James Donald Ruffin, 26, of Sandy Spring, Ga., and Jacob Asa Windeagle Ridgeway, 20, of Silver Spring, were each arrested and charged with possession, possession with intent to distribute and distributing LSD, police said.

C. William Hartge, 72, headed relocation firmC. William Hartge, a pioneer in the corporate relocation industry, died Thursday of pancreatic cancer at Riverside, his home in the Brinklow community of Montgomery County. He was 72.Retired since 1985, Mr. Hartge had been, for the six previous years, chief executive officer of Equitable Relocation Management Corp., an Equitable Life Assurance Society subsidiary that specializes in relocating executives.He joined Equitable's Baltimore office in 1949 and, in 1966, was one of several Equitable officials who launched an in-house relocation service for corporate executives.

Two of the city's six mobile speed cameras were moved to new locations this week: One on northbound Van Dusen Road, between Laurel Park Drive and Olive Branch Way; and another on Sandy Spring Road, near Phillip Powers Drive. The cameras were installed and activated Monday, July 18, in anticipation of schools opening next month, according to city officials. Other speed camera locations in the city include one on Seventh Street, at Main Street; two on Cherry Lane; and a second camera on Van Dusen Road.

Dana and Kevin Behan , of Columbia, announce the birth of their daughter, Lindsay McKenna Behan , on July 19, 2010, at 4:28 p.m. She weighed 7 pounds, 8 ounces. Her sister is Natalie. Her grandparents are Judith and Harold Lowe, of Sandy Spring; Lois Peters, of Ellicott City; and Dolores and Will Behan, of Ocean View, Del.