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Byline: Tom Johnson The New Mexican's recent three-part series ('The Public Records Puzzle,' June 23-25) on the difficulty for citizens to get access to the data we pay governments to [...]

Mirrored paillettes, iridescent beads and eye-catching chain mail shine bright after dark. Model: Ziyi at Linden Staub and Jiashan Liu at Models 1. Casting: Holly Cullen at Webber Represents. Hair: [...]

Byline: Tom Johnson I see by Teya Vitu's story ('A first in surge of apartment projects: Affordable housing,' Nov. 29) that we have some new entries in Santa Fe's growing [...]

Byline: Tom Johnson A few years back, friends in El Salvador were making fun of 20-somethings there, calling them ninis. In Spanish, it comes from the phrase ni estudian ni [...]

Byline: Tom Johnson Surely you too have heard many anecdotes of New Mexicans over 70 or 75, and maybe younger, who have driven to Amarillo or southern Colorado in pursuit [...]

Byline: Tom Johnson Many, even most, decisions made today are driven by data. A baseball manager looks at the scoreboard and decides to bring in a relief pitcher or call [...]

A black-and-white color palette allows dramatic forms -- and the dramatic landscape of the English countryside -- to flourish. Models: Sihana Shalaj at IMG Models, Beatriz Machado and Naomy Garcia [...]

Byline: Tom Johnson Imagine you just bought -- paid for in full -- a large-screen television. Still, the dealer keeps it somewhere behind the counter and will only let you [...]

Byline: Tom Johnson The recent New Mexican story by Justin Horwath ('Accessing records in N.M. often takes time, analysis finds,' Dec. 12) clearly describes impediments to participatory democracy that exist [...]

Set-Aside Alert reported in our Nov. 30, 2018, edition on a study conducted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies: 'New Entrants and Small Business Graduation in the Market [...]

We've wrapped up fiscal year 2019, and the scuttlebutt is that it's been a good year for small business federal contractors. Opinions are floating around, but we won't know the [...]

Pulitzer Prizes: CYNTHIA TUCKER Responses to 'AJC's Tucker, Klibanoff, Atlanta poet win Pulitzers,' Page One, April 17 Respect stands tall against grumbles As an 87-year-old Southern white man, I often [...]

It's the end of fiscal 2019 and about to be the beginning of fiscal 2020. Wow-time flies when you're having fun, right? Hope you've had a great year of contracting [...]

A new calendar year is upon us! It's the perfect time to update your government paperwork, SAM (System for Award Management) and DSBS (Dynamic Small Business Search) listings, contracting reports [...]

First Mariner Bancorp Chairman Edwin F. Hale, Sr. plans to make a move to buy out Glen Burnie Bancorp before long because his bank is getting a little worried about its investment in the Glen Burnie. Canton, OH-based First Mariner, which is now Glen Burnie's largest shareholder after acquiring almost 20% of the bank's outstanding stock, is worried over Glen Burnie's continued loss of loans and deposits, despite having settled several of its financial problems three years ago. Hale also denied rumors that he has plans to sell his bank. On the contrary, the bank is intent on expansion. But First Mariner is prevented from making any moves because Glen Burnie has stated that it will be an unwilling partner to First Mariner.

First Maryland Corp. Chairman Jeremiah E. Casey, who is also a director of Dublin, Ireland-based Allied Irish Bank (AIB), has announced his plan to step down from his post and retire. The announcement clears the way for First Maryland President and CEO Frank P. Bramble to become the bank's top official in the US. Casey, who is nearing AIB's compulsory retirement age of 60, will formally replaced by Bramble as chief executive of AIB's USA Division on Nov. 1, 1998. Casey will keep his posts as chairman and bank director until some time in 1999.

Key Capital Corp. of Owings Mills, MD, has filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission for an initial public offering intended to raise $15 million to $18 million. The bank officials reported that the IPO will be scheduled at the time when the market becomes more attractive. Key Capital intends to use one-third of the IPO proceeds towards the creation of a new banking subsidiary in Northern Virginia. The bank is one of the remaining closely-held firms in Maryland, with Key Capital's 12-member board holding to 70% of the just more than 100,000 outstanding shares offered by the bank when it converted into a stock corporation from a mutual thrift in 1976.

Almost two-thirds of companies in Maryland posted an increase in sales during the third quarter of 1998, while almost half expected recruiting more employees during the same period, according to a survey. The gains are still lower than the figures posted in the previous year, but still represent a significant improvement over the second quarter of 1998. Economists are also presenting a brighter outlook about the state's future economy. A survey official says Maryland is not trade-reliant, which can be a probable explanation for the state's better position compared to other states.

Sterling Bancorp based in Baltimore, MD, has merged with Mason-Dixon Bankshares based in Westminster, MD, under a cash deal worth over $10 million. The merger will provide a chance for some large shareholders of Sterling Bancorp a chance to get out of the banking business. Capital ratios of Mason-Dixon will be reduce due to the all-cash agreement. Branches of Sterling located at Annapolis and Timonium in Maryland will remain operational following the merger, which is scheduled to close by December 31, 1998.

Bank of America's mid-Atlantic president John Morton III has been selected as chairman of the bank's committee aimed at promoting Maryland as the site for the Olympics 2012 aside for maintaining the bank's leadership in the state. Morton is familiar with Maryland after spending 17 years as a commercial banking executive with MNC Financial. Previously, he had supervised NationsBank's private client group in St. Louis, MO. Morton quickly projects potential benefits of over $5 billion, 80,000 new jobs as well as over $200 million in state and local taxes for Maryland if its is selected as the Olympic 2012 site. The bid is a joint undertaking between Baltimore, MD, and Washington, DC.

BGE Corp., which has been hoping for a delay in the probe of its rate structure, encountered a minor setback on Oct. 8, 1998, when the Maryland Public Service Commission (PSC) decided to recommend the conduct of the hearings for the week of Mar. 1, 1998. The new schedule will be at least a month earlier than the scheduled conclusion of the PSC hearing on the company's electric restructuring transition plan. M. Catherine Dowling, counsel for the PSC, found BGE's proposal to combine the rate probe and its stranded coast hearings to be without merit.

Efforts to unionize more than a third of BGE Corp.'s work force has heated up with the launch of radio ads criticizing the company's anti-union position. The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) has no less than two 'campaign-style' ads airing over seven Maryland radio stations. In addition, a number of billboards have been launched designed to convince workers of the Baltimore, MD-based utility to vote for union membership during the union election, which will commence on Oct. 14, 1998.

Bank of Maryland, Mason-Dixon Bancshares' subsidiary in Baltimore, MD, area, has announced President and CEO H. David Shumpert is expected to left his post by end of 1998 and will be replaced by Hunter F. Calloway. The change is part of an internal restructuring plan of Mason Dixon that aims to establish a more efficient structure while allowing Bank of Maryland to grow. Shumpert joined Bank of Maryland in 1991 after leaving MNC Financial's commercial lending division where he worked for 25 years. He also helped realized the sale of Bank of Maryland to Mason-Dixon in 1995.

Provident Bankshares Chairman and CEO Peter Martin stated that his company is presently not seeking a partner to merge its operations with, although it is not eliminating the possibility of consolidating in the future. Industry experts have long touted Provident as a superior acquisition target due to assets worth $4.5 billion despite intense denials from the bank's management, who earlier hoped that Provident's purchase of First Citizens Financial Corp. would verify the firm's claim to be an acquirer and not a seller.

First Mariner Bancorp of Canton, MD, finally received permission from federal regulators to acquire almost 20% of outstanding stock owned by Glen Burnie Bancorp's stockholder Ethel D. Webster. First Mariner will become the biggest single stockholder in Glen Burnie Bancorp after this deal. But First Mariner Chairman and CEO Edwin F. Hale Sr., who has been open in his intent to use the stock acquisition to purchase the entire bank, only has until October 14, 1998 and December 27, 1998 to buy Glen Burnie Bancorp.

Provident Bankshares of Baltimore, MD, is preparing to send its stockholders a four-page financial report that may disprove claims made by dissident investor Jerry Shearer. Provident Chairman and CEO Peter M. Martin stated that he believes the company's present growth strategy is the right one for shareholders as the plan ensures the bank's success in the future. Shearer, who holds approximately 500,000 Provident shares, revealed his impassiveness with Provident's growth strategy on Sep. 28, 1998.

Maryland Public Service Commission (PSC) chairman Glenn F. Ivey prepared a list of reforms concerning the state's retail electric market deregulation voluntarily set by 2000. Ivey spoke at a joint hearing of the Maryland's House of Environmental Matters and Ways and Means committees. Among the reforms in the wish list are the granting of additional authority to the PSC in order to develop and enforce consumer safeguards, adoption of a universal service mechanism as well as the license of electricity suppliers. Ivey stated that the PSC should continue transitioning customers to an open retail competition structure to meet the July 2000 deadline.

First Frederick Financial Corp., the parent firm of First Bank of Frederick in Maryland, is preparing to expand its ATM network to more than triple by December 1998 through its new contract with Kmart Corp. As part of the deal, First Bank of Frederick will install its ATM machines in 26 Super Kmart stores in Maryland and Virginia to increase its fee-income related operations, said First Frederick CEO and president Jack Goldstein. The deal also expands First Bank of Frederick's $100-million exposure outside of its namesake mostly through small-business loans. The bank is modeling its expansion on the successful retail model of Carrollton Bancorp.

The stock market's volatility is slowing down the pace of mergers and acquisitions in the banking industry. As of Sept. 17, 1998, 91 bank mergers have been announced during the third quarter of 1998, a drop from the 119 deals signed a year ago and the 135 deals announced in the previous quarter. Pending deals are also being affected, including that between Crestar Financial Corp. of Richmond, VA, and SunTrust Banks Inc. of Atlanta, GA. When the deal was announced, Crestar was trading at $73.21 and SunTrust $79. On Sept. 17, 1998, Crestar's stock has plunged to $55.69 and SunTrust's to $60.32.

SunTrust Banks Inc.'s proposed acquisition of Richmond, VA-based Crestar Financial Corp. faces major stumbling blocks as a result of the decline in the two companies' share prices. The depreciating stock prices of the firms has resulted to an approximately-28% decline in the proposed deal's initial $9.5-billion face value. Declining stock prices may also have an impact on the companies' stockholders, whose votes are required for the agreement to come into fruition. Another complication is the absence of a provision that will enable SunTrust Banks and Crestar Financial to simply eliminate the proposed deal depending on the gravity of the share-price decline.

Chevy Chase Bank, the largest thrift in Maryland, has declared the $1.06 billion it received from the sale of its credit card business to BancOne, will be used to support its strategy to expand its retail network into the Baltimore, MD, region. Chevy Chase Chief Financial Officer Stephen Halpin Jr., countered rumors that the thrift sold its credit card business to generate enough money to fund a possible acquisition. However, analysts are not convinced that the sale will help the company improve its bottomline, contending the credit card unit has been a major contributor to Chevy Chase's earnings.

Frederick, MD-based F&M Bancorp agreed to acquire Monacacy Bancshares for $83 million, and noted that the deal will be accretive to the earnings of the bank by the end of 1999. The natural synergies of the deal was welcomed by analysts, who believe will furnish F&M with an established franchise in the fast-growing Carroll and Howard county markets. Analysts, while questioning the generous amount being paid for Monacacy, also said the deal will give F&M access to a lucrative commercial real estate portfolio and mortgage banking business.

FCNB Corp. has purchased Frederick, MD-based insurance firm Frederick Underwriters Inc. in a stock agreement valued at around $10.7 million. The acquisition could be a benchmark for similar deals in the state, setting pricing standards for transactions between banks and insurance companies. FCNB's purchase of the dominant insurance agency in central Maryland current worth of slightly under $11 million is about 1.8 times the $6 million revenue the latter in 1997. FCNB will run the insurance agency as a division under the leadership of Jacob R. Ramsburg III and continue to operate primarily with its current book of business.

Interest in the loan and savings association business is renewed despite Congress' move to eliminate the thrift charter. Not only are customers going to Maryland's 65 thrifts, but new thrifts are also sprouting in the industry. Among them are Community First Bank in Pikesville, MD, and Maryland for AmericasBank Corp in Baltimore, MD. According to William Fulwider, spokesman for the US Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS), the federal agency that regulates the thrift industry, there is a renewed interest in the business because of its versatility.

Guardian Savings and Loan Association, a $1.4 billion thrift based in Houston, TX, will expand its banking operations in Maryland's Baltimore/Washington market by acquiring a retail office complex in Cockeysville, MD. Meanwhile, Commercial Savings Bank of Western Maryland will be opened by a group of prominent Western Maryland business leaders. These developments show that there is a renewed confidence in the thrift charter operation not only in Maryland, but also across the US. In the case of Commercial Savings Bank, it decided to open due to the lower capital threshold.

AmericasBank Corp. intends to hold a secondary offering in a move to generate at least $3.5 million in additional capital and convert into a commercial bank by the end of 1998. The stock sale is set to increase the company's overall shareholder's equity to over $5 million, which is the minimum level preferred by regulators when considering a commercial bank charter application. AmericasBank stated that approximately $205,000 of the proceeds is to be allotted for leasing, upgrading and equipping its new 7,000-sq-ft branch in downtown Towson, MD.

First Maryland Bancorp of Baltimore, MD, has introduced a new line of checking accounts that provides incentives to customers based on certain conditions. Customers who avail themselves of the bank's new five accounts can lower their monthly service charge if they perform such banking functions as making a direct deposit or banking electronically. Each of the accounts is tailored to a specific customer profile. Thus, those with low balances are offered a basic checking account, while those with high balances and multiple accounts are offered an interest-bearing account.

First Maryland Bancorp and its primary subsidiary, First National Bank of Maryland, have convinced James T. Brady, Maryland's former secretary of the Department of Business and Economic Development (DBED), to become a member of their boards. Brady will be an important resource for both banks, not so much for his experience in the banking industry, but for his ties to the area business community and extensive knowledge of business development issues. Brady is held in high-esteem in Maryland business circles because of his staunch lobbying for industry concerns at the State House while he was DBED secretary.

Maryland aviation officials hope to force a major airline to start passenger service from BWI to Cumberland, MD, by early 1999. The service would include expanded carrier service from BWI to Hagerstown, St. Mary's County and Salisbury, all in Maryland. The plan was prompted by a demand by Baltimore's business community for easier access to Rocky Gap Resort and Conference Center. If the state gets to attract a major airline to sponsor the service, it would be another step in the state's effort to rejuvenate its economy to one driven by tourism and high technology.

Consumers must benefit via lower electric rates achieved through electric utility deregulation, indicated state regulators. Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation director Ronald W. Wineholt stressed that deregulation may also produce lower tax revenues. Local governments presently get almost $200 million tax revenues per year from utilities shouldering 100% of assessed property value on facilities. This amount is equivalent in certain areas to over 20% of the overall tax base of a county.

Analysts do not see any significant merger or acquisition deals in the Baltimore, MD-area, following SunTrust Banks Inc.'s acquisition of Crestar Financial Corp. The lack of significant deals may be a result of a dried-up market which has very few attractive banks to sell to potential buyers. However, Vernon Plack, an analyst with Scott & Stringfellow in Richmond, VA, said that banks in the area are still vulnerable. Provident Bankshares Corp. in Baltimore is the most possible target. Provident, which has assets of $4.5 billion and 68 branches, would make a good acquisition for a new entrant in Baltimore.

First Mariner Bancorp's plan to acquire Glen Burnie Bancorp shareholder Ethel D. Webster's 19.8% stake in the company is stalled. The company is still waiting for the approval of the Federal Reserve System's highest board to go through with the deal. The case, which was originally filed with the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, VA, was moved to the federal agency's Board of Governors in Washington, after Glen Burnie official opposed the deal. The board recently asked for more information about the case, but a decision is expected to come out soon.