Washington Baltimore

Only nine of the 51 largest metropolitan areas in the nation have significant enough clusters of both biotechnology research and product development to be considered biotech "centers," and the Washington-Baltimore region is one of them, a new study finds. But the study by the Brookings Institution Center on Urban and Metropolitan Policy found that the region is the "least entrepreneurial" of the nine, meaning relatively few of its many patented ideas are being developed locally into products or services.

In a move to beef up the Washington-Baltimore effort to land the Olympics in 2012, the group working on the region's bid has named 14 new members to its board of directors. Among them, former Baltimore Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke and John S. Hendricks, founder and chairman of Discovery Communications Inc., will serve as vice chairmen. Hendricks also is founder of a planned women's professional soccer league. "We have been very fortunate that our bid effort has attracted some of the most committed and talented members of the Washington-Baltimore community," said John Morton III, chairman of the Washington-Baltimore Regional 2012 Coalition.

The Washington-Baltimore Regional 2012 Coalition has secured office space on the sixth floor of the International Square Building in Washington.The 2,300-square-foot building at 1875 I St. N.W. has been donated by Carr Realty for the Olympic coalition's use over the next two years. Offices are to be completed by Jan. 1."We're, of course, very appreciative of the donation, but also excited now to have a home base within which to grow our operation and really take on the next phase of this work," said Dan Knise, president and CEO of the coalition.

Clarence T. Bishop, a former executive with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, was named senior vice president of the Washington-Baltimore Regional 2012 Coalition yesterday.Bishop will be responsible for government and community relations and for bringing Olympic-related sporting events to the region as the area's bid for the 2012 Summer Games proceeds.In his most recent assignment as deputy executive director of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Bishop was responsible for overall daily operations of the $45 million independent federal regulatory agency.

Local organizers working to bring the Summer Olympic Games to Washington-Baltimore in 2012 will submit the final piece of their bid proposal - a project that has consumed a team of three dozen people for three months. The United States Olympic Committee asked the four finalists for the 2012 Games to submit a bid addendum by Monday. In addition to Washington-Baltimore, Houston, New York and San Francisco are vying for the Games. "It's gotten very competitive," said Dan Knise, president and chief executive of the Chesapeake Region 2012 Coalition.

If the Washington-Baltimore region plays host to the 2012 Summer Olympics, it can expect an economic windfall of more than $5 billion, according to a study released yesterday by the local group trying to bring the Olympics here. The study said $5.32 billion in direct and indirect spending would be pumped into the economy during the Olympic year. The U.S. metropolitan areas competing for the Games in addition to Washington-Baltimore are San Francisco, Cincinnati, Dallas, Houston, New York, Los Angeles and Tampa-Orlando, Fla. The United States Olympic Committee is expected to name a U.S. candidate city in October 2002.

Although organizers trying to bring the 2012 Summer Games to the region won't reveal all the companies pledging support, they do say that the Olympics bribery scandal has not squelched local enthusiasm.Just over a week ago, Dan Knise, president and chief executive officer of the Washington-Baltimore Regional 2012 Coalition, said he visited a major local corporation and was asked: "Where do we sign?"Knise spoke yesterday at a breakfast meeting of the Greater Baltimore Alliance board of directors -- the day after the International Olympic Committee recommended the expulsion of six of its members.

The Washington-Baltimore region has won the right to play host to the U.S. Olympic Committee's Coach of the Year awards in September, giving the area another chance to impress the officials who will choose a city for the United States' 2012 Summer Olympics bid."This was far and away the best bid," said Bob Condron, USOC director of media. "Because of the quality of the bid, I don't think there was any competition at all. This was one of those places that everyone can enjoy."During the awards, to be held Sept.

Imagine the impact on traffic and the environment if another city with the population of Baltimore suddenly appeared inside the Baltimore-Washington metropolitan area. There's no need to imagine it. You're living with it. Population growth in the Baltimore-Washington metropolitan area since 1990 has added 632,000 people to the region - a number equal to the population of Baltimore last year - according to data released today by the U.S. Census Bureau. Most of that growth has been in the Washington suburbs, which added 515,000 people from 1990 to last year, a number nearly equal to Washington's current population.

Baltimore and Washington will remain joined as the nation's fourth-largest metropolitan area after the White House Office of Management and Budget decided not to separate the cities, easing fears that Baltimore could lose out on economic development opportunities. The region, which will be called the Washington-Baltimore-Northern Virginia metropolitan area, was in jeopardy of being split by OMB this year when congressional leaders from the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia failed to say whether they wanted to stay linked.