News Summary - 3/13

Daily Record, The (Baltimore), Mar 13, 2008

OTS ends BCSB supervision

BCSB Bankcorp Inc., the holding company for Baltimore County Savings Bank, said the U.S. Office of Thrift Supervision has terminated the supervisory agreement under which the bank had been operating since December 2005. President Joseph J. Bouffard said the lifting of the supervisory agreement has been one of the company's major strategic goals, and is expected to improve profitability through reduced Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. premiums to the tune of $200,000 to $300,000 a year. In addition to the OTS oversight, the bank lost nearly $11 million when it was victimized by a check- kiting scheme in 2006, although it ultimately recovered about $3.6 million from its insurer.

Modular hospital in Louisiana

Williams Scotsman Inc., of White Marsh, a supplier of mobile office and storage units, said construction is complete at a new, 29,000-square-foot, acute care modular hospital at South Cameron Memorial Hospital in Cameron, La. Williams Scotsman supplied 38 modular components that together comprise 12,000 square feet of emergency facilities, 25 inpatient beds and medical services space. The new facility replaced a 25-bed hospital that was severely damaged during the 2005 hurricane season in Louisiana and eventually torn down

Conmed Healthcare expands

Conmed Healthcare Management Inc., of Hanover, a provider of health care services to county correctional facilities, said it acquired nine health care service contracts with six counties in Oregon from Emergency Medicine Documentation Consultants P.C. in a cash-and-stock deal. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Dr. Robert Tilley, who administered the primarily physician- services contracts, is joining Conmed as vice president and medical director of the company's Northwest region. Conmed currently provides health care services to detention centers and correctional facilities in 30 counties in five states.

GSE Systems relocating

GSE Systems Inc., of Baltimore, which makes real-time simulation and training software for the energy, process, manufacturing and government sectors, announced that, beginning in April, it will move its corporate headquarters to a facility in Eldersburg, approximately 15 miles from its present location. The company said it needs larger quarters due to expected growth. GSE said the new facility will have 25 percent more space, yet save the company more than $1 million over the term of the 10-year lease. The move is expected to be completed by July 31.

Community colleges get grants

Two Maryland community colleges have been awarded nearly $4.14 million in competitive Community Based Job Training Grants through the U.S. Department of Labor, U.S. Sens. Barbara Mikulski and Ben Cardin, both Democrats, announced. The Community College of Baltimore County was awarded more than $1.9 million to develop an apprenticeship program to prepare 250 people for jobs as skilled trades and utility workers in the construction and energy sectors. Also, Prince George's Community College was awarded nearly $2.24 million for an initiative to address growth in the hospitality industry in the county and the National Capital Region.

Shedding light on light bulbs

The Maryland Public Service Commission is scheduled on March 19 to consider Allegheny Power's proposal to credit customers for a highly criticized light-bulb program. The utility is offering to credit all customers for the energy conservation surcharge it collected from Oct 3, 2007, through Jan. 16, 2008. Customers learned after receiving two energy-conserving bulbs in the mail that they would be billed 96 cents per month for a year. The PSC approved the light-bulb distribution plan last year but later criticized the utility for how it was carried out.

Trans fat study advances

The Maryland House of Delegates has agreed to a preliminary version of a bill that calls for a study of whether artificial trans fats should be banned in restaurants throughout Maryland. The Restaurant Association of Maryland supports the study plan. Montgomery County has started phasing in a ban on artery-clogging trans fats in restaurants, and a similar proposal has been made in Baltimore. Philadelphia and New York also ban trans fats in restaurants, but so far no states have banned them. The bill, House Bill 81, would set up a task force to make recommendations on a potential statewide ban by the end of 2009.

Mirant to pay $250,000

Maryland regulators say Mirant Corp., an Atlanta, Ga.-based energy supplier, will pay $250,000 for repeated violations of air pollution limits at its coal-fired power plants in Prince George's, Montgomery and Charles counties. The penalties are contained in a consent decree settling the state's case against the company. Under the settlement, Mirant has agreed to install improved smokestack monitors at all three plants and reduce fine particulate pollution at the Charles County plant by a third. The company also agreed to install better soot filters at the Montgomery County facility.

MICA names research head