Week in Review

Daily Record, The (Baltimore), Sep 7, 2007

'Wire' wrap

The ending of HBO's television drama "The Wire" could mean the end of the line for nearly 100 crew members, who will soon be out of work in an industry facing troubles in Maryland. "The Wire" was largely filmed in a warehouse-turned-studio off Snowden River Parkway in Columbia. The series finale brings to an end almost five years of steady work for the crew of the show, and what will replace that work in the long run remains to be seen. Short term, there are a couple of productions in place to keep the industry busy in Maryland for the next several months. Touchstone Pictures' Summit Entertainment is currently filming "Step Up 2 The Streets" in Baltimore, and an independent film, "From Within," will begin shooting in Havre de Grace at the end of September. But according to some, once those movies are finished, there is nothing in the pipeline to sustain Maryland employees for a long time.

Documenting problem

In the constant stream of coverage around the collapse of the subprime mortgage lending industry, commentators have often pointed to low or no-documentation mortgage loans as an example of deteriorating credit standards that led to the fall. And though industry experts acknowledge that these loans were in many cases used to help buyers get homes they could not afford, low and no- documentation loans may now not be available to serve the borrowers they were originally designed for.

When they first came into favor in the 1990s, low and no- documentation mortgage loans were an effective way to help self- employed people and small-business owners qualify for mortgages, since they often have complicated personal finances connected to their businesses. For a time, businesspeople used low or no- documentation loans to help them secure credit for housing. Now the loans are harder to find, which is affecting some small- businesspeople, whose income is often more complicated than the average salaried individual.

Changes brewing

Best known for his Wharf Rat pubs in Fells Point and near Oriole Park at Camden Yards, Bill Oliver is now looking to get the craft- brewed Oliver Ales they serve into bottles and onto store shelves. After brewing beer onsite in the basement of the 107-year-old building on West Pratt Street for 15 years, Oliver is looking to open a larger brewery in a new location, possibly outside city limits, to grow the business and expand into retail sales. Oliver said this could happen as early as the end of the year, or in early 2008. The changes include centralizing brewing operations to a new, larger brewery and possibly selling or reconfiguring the West Pratt Street brewpub to focus on smaller locations. Currently, the Wharf Rat brews about 1,000 gallons of draft beer annually.

Engineering OK'd for UMES

PRINCESS ANNE -- The state this year approved an engineering program at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. The approval of UMES' program comes at a time when alarms have been raised nationally about a scarcity of black engineers. Only about a dozen historically black colleges have engineering programs that are independent of formerly whites-only schools, and historically black Clark Atlanta University in Atlanta closed its engineering school last year. "There's a lack of not just African-Americans, but Americans in general going into STEM [Science, Technology, Engineering and Math] fields," said Carl B. Mack, director of the National Society of Black Engineers. "The reality is, when you look around, you don't see African-American engineers." Administrators at UMES say the new program, the first on Maryland's Eastern Shore, will prove a boon for economic development in the area and the development of high-tech industries. The program offers degrees in mechanical, electrical, computer and aeronautical engineering and has about 50 students.

DOJ signs off on Sparrows Point

The international group of investors planning to buy the Sparrows Point steel plant in Baltimore County cleared a major hurdle Wednesday, winning U.S. Department of Justice approval for the deal. The group, led by Chicago-based Esmark Inc., said that the department had approved the $1.35 billion deal with ArcelorMittal. Justice Department officials did not return calls seeking confirmation. In February, the DOJ ordered Mittal Steel Co. NV to sell the Sparrows Point plant in order for it to approve the Netherlands-based company's $41 billion acquisition of Arcelor SA of Luxembourg. Selling Sparrows Point would prevent the combined company from having a monopoly over tin plate production in the U.S. E2 Acquisition Corp. -- made up of Esmark, Wheeling-Pittsburgh Corp. and foreign partners from the Ukraine and Brazil -- said it believes it can complete the deal by mid-October, making way for potential growth and new investment at the facility that employs nearly 2,500.