The Daily Record News Summaries: June 13, 2008

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

Call to Action, 5000 Men

"Call to Action, 5000 Men," a grassroots effort to challenge black men to commit to building positive relationships with their children, help stem crime and violence in Baltimore City, and build peace in their communities, is holding a rally at 3 p.m. on Sunday at the Baltimore Convention Center. Organizers said they chose the day because it is Father's Day. There will be opportunities for men to sign up as volunteers with more than 100 community-based organizations. The program is modeled on a similar movement in Philadelphia, where a gathering in October 2007 at Temple University drew about 10,000 black men who were asked to volunteer for anti- crime patrols on city streets. For information about the Baltimore rally, call 443-984-4039 or go to www.C2A5000.com.

Perdue to pay for hiring flaw

The U.S. Department of Labor said Salisbury-based Perdue Farms will pay more than $800,000 for failing to comply with federal employment laws at three poultry processing plants. Authorities concluded Perdue's hiring practices systemically discriminated against more than 5,000 non-Hispanic job applicants. Under an agreement with the Labor Department, Perdue will pay back wages and interest to the applicants and hire more than 750 non-Hispanics into laborer positions. The hired workers will get retroactive service dates for their promotion rights and benefit calculations. The plants are in North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.

Juicy contract for Brekford

Brekford International Corp., of Hanover, formerly called Tactical Solution Partners Inc., a homeland security technology and services company, announced that Baltimore County has awarded it a 10-year contract to provide products and services to county agencies. The contract will commence with the sale of Panasonic Toughbook ruggedized mobile computer systems customized for public safety use, related ergonomic mounting equipment, mobile technology products and peripherals. The value of the contract was not disclosed.

Argan shows 1Q profit

Argan Inc., of Rockville, a holding company focusing on companies that provide products and services to growth industries, reported net income for its fiscal first quarter ended April 30 of $1.55 million, or 14 cents per diluted share, on revenue of $48.4 million, versus a net loss of $2 million, or 18 cents per diluted share, on revenue of $50.4 million for the year-ago quarter. The company said 91 percent of the revenue for the 2008 quarter, or $44 million, was earned by its wholly owned subsidiary, Connecticut-based Gemma Power Systems, up from $43.3 million the year before. Two smaller subsidiaries, Vitarich Laboratories Inc. and Southern Maryland Cable Inc., showed revenue declines.

BWI ground shuttle expands

Bayrunner Shuttle said it is expanding its ground service from Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport to the Eastern Shore, adding service to Ocean Pines and Ocean City. The shuttle formerly completed its runs in Salisbury. The company, which is based in Salisbury, will charge $95 for a single adult rider, but says group rates are lower. The new routes began Thursday.

Ore off delisting list

Ore Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Gaithersburg, formerly called Gene Logic Inc., a drug repositioning and development company, said it has been notified by Nasdaq that it is no longer being considered for delisting. A Nasdaq rule requires the stock of listed companies to trade at a minimum bid price of $1 for 10 consecutive trading days. In December, Ore was notified that it was in danger of being delisted if it did not comply with the rule within a six-month period. The company said it achieved compliance with a one-for-five reverse split of its common stock in late May that reduced the number of outstanding shares, thereby raising the bid price. Ore's stock closed Thursday at $1.38.

Joint venture acquires land

A joint venture consisting of Greenberg Gibbons Commercial Corp., of Owings Mills, and Ribera Development LLC, of Annapolis, has purchased 140 acres of land in Laurel for $21.7 million, CoStar Group, of Bethesda, a provider of information services to the U.S. commercial real estate industry, reported. The land was bought in two transactions, one for 12 parcels totaling approximately 40.5 acres at a cost of $11.7 million, and another for three parcels totaling nearly 99.5 acres, at a cost of 10 million. The acquisition is in connection with construction of Arundel Gateway, a proposed mixed-use development that will eventually contain 1,600 residential units and office and retail space.

Vertis, ACG merger proceeds

Vertis Inc., a Baltimore-based advertising and marketing services provider, and American Color Graphics Inc., of Brentwood, Tenn., the third-largest insert printer in North American, said they began solicitation of votes on a prepackaged Chapter 11 reorganization designed to solve their financial problems through merger. If approved by creditors and the bankruptcy court, the reorganization will resolve payments defaults on their bonds and reduce debt by almost $1 billion. Vertis will be the survivor in the merger. The companies, in announcing their agreement on the prepackaged reorganization late last month, said they expect to conclude the restructuring in bankruptcy court by late summer.