PETER ANGELOS’ LAWSUIT The Orioles owner takes on Otis Elevator. PAGE 3 ON THE WEB: baltimorebusinessjournal.com FACEBOOK TWITTER: bbjonline Vol. 28 No. 37 © 40 Pages January 14-20, 2011 $3.00 In Md., specter of budget cuts looms A $1.6B shortfall has Medicaid accounts for business groups fearful $1.1B of projected gap SCOTT DANCE | STAFF EMILY MULLIN | STAFF [email protected] [email protected] Where the 2010 General Assembly Don’t be surprised if lawmakers’ bud- session had action, in 2011, there will get ax falls hardest on Maryland’s health likely be reaction. care industry this year. There will be scarce time or money That’s because Medicaid, the state’s for more than a select few business ini- health care program for low-income resi- tiatives this year, as the first year of a dents that makes up about half of Mary- new political cycle is focused on dulling land’s annual budget, is responsible for a $1.6 billion budget gap’s blow to public nearly three-fourths of its looming $1.6 education, health care and safety. That billion budget chasm. contrasts with a pre-election 2010 ses- With a $900 million Medicaid budget sion that included a long list of programs hole projected for the fiscal year that be- aimed at helping business- gins July 1, and another $225 million gap es recover from the reces- still to plug in this year’s budget, Mary- sion. NICHOLAS GRINER | STAFF land is staring at a more than $1.1 billion It has business leaders Gov. Martin O’Malley says he will unveil a fiscal 2012 budget that is bal- shortfall in the amount of money it has warning their followers anced solely on cuts. The governor releases his spending plan Jan. 21. to pay for health care services for about to be on alert as the 900,000 of its most vulnerable residents. session gets rolling. glect keeping an eye on what the legisla- of the Greater Baltimore Committee and The projections from a December Lawmakers are hon- ture is going to be doing about the bud- a former state delegate from Harford analysis by the state’s Department of GENERAL ing their focus on get,” said Kathleen T. Snyder, CEO of the County. Some of O’Malley’s proposed Legislative Services have health care ex- protecting top Maryland Chamber of Commerce. cuts could be palatable. But others could perts and professionals throughout the ASSEMBLY priorities, and that The budgeting process will begin send lawmakers and interest groups state hoping for the best but preparing could come at the when, at some point by Jan. 21, Gov. scrambling for alternatives, some of for the worst of cuts that could be pro- 2011 expense of oth- Martin O’Malley unveils his spending which could be harmful to businesses, posed in Gov. Martin O’Malley’s fiscal ers. It was during plan. And the governor has been ada- Fry said. 2012 budget. The governor is expected a similarly dire special session of 2007 mant that it will be balanced, as is legally Political leaders have been mixed on to unveil his budget, which he has said that businesses were saddled with a 6 mandated, entirely with cuts and funds whether those alternatives will include will be balanced entirely with program percent sales tax on computer services, transfers. From there, the General As- new taxes. O’Malley said he plans to cuts, by Jan. 21. sparking a passionate lobbying effort sembly can cut further or shift funds “keep an open mind” when asked by But if the early indications are ac- that ultimately got the tax repealed. around, but it cannot add to the budget. reporters Jan. 11 whether there are any curate, doctors, hospitals, community “It’s going to be a difficult year for the It’s there that issues for businesses budget, and businesspeople cannot ne- could arise, warned Donald C. Fry, CEO Please see BUDGET, Page 13 Please see MEDICAID, Page 12 SAIC’s lease deal boosts firm’s COPT adding another massive search for hundreds of workers office building to Arundel park DANIEL J. SERNOVITZ | STAFF into a large chunk of space it recently DANIEL J. SERNOVITZ | STAFF Anne Arundel County. The company is [email protected] leased at St. John Properties [email protected] banking on the explosive growth being Inc.’s 413-acre business park generated by the military’s Base Realign- Here’s further proof that the long- at Aberdeen Proving Ground. One of the largest enclaves ment and Closure plan and nearby Fort promised BRAC jobs aren’t a myth. The company needs to beef up for the military’s defense con- George G. Meade. Science Applications International its work force in the Aberdeen tracting community just got a No tenants have signed on to lease Corp., one of the nation’s largest defense area as the government agen- little bigger. space in the building yet, but CEO Ran- contractors, is looking to hire 700 people cies it depends on are shifted Columbia developer Corpo- dall M. Griffin said leasing at some of across Maryland and will add to that fig- from Fort Monmouth, N.J., to rate Office Properties Trust the park’s other buildings has continued BRBASE REALIGNMENTA AND CLOSUCRE ure come November. APG. has started construction on at a steady clip. John Ferriter, a senior developer for SA- a 110,000-square-foot office building at IC, said that is when SAIC plans to move Please see JOBS, Page 16 its sprawling National Business Park in Please see COPT, Page 16 Business Leads. .32 STOCK SALES Networking & Events . .30 Lists . 24-25 SHOCK UP Out & About. .31 Why big Retail stores Smart Strategies . .27 Viewpoint. .39 companies expect a are back. better year. PAGE 6 PAGE 24 2 baltimorebusinessjournal.com | BALTIMORE BUSINESS JOURNAL | JANUARY 14-20, 2011 BACK TO WORK BLOG The place for job seekers in Greater Baltimore baltimore.bizjournals.com/baltimore/blog/ Morgan Keegan expanding locally declaring, “Post a job or be destroyed.” If you’re looking for a job in the finan- Some of the jobs posted include: cial services industry, keep an eye on • Project manager for Airplane Corp., a Morgan Keegan & Co. Baltimore advertising agency; The regional brokerage and investment • A mobile application developer for a banking firm, based in Memphis, Tenn., client of Life Search Technologies, a local is ramping up for an expansion that will staffing agency; and, NICHOLAS GRINER | STAFF see it open six offices in the Baltimore- • Multiple Web designers for cli- Washington, D.C., area in the ents of Profiles, a Baltimore who are looking to social media to tell next two years. search firm. them how to find a job, and what benefits Two offices are planned Selway said he is initially Barbara Mikulski they’re entitled to. I think tweeting has me for the Baltimore area, in- targeting staffing agencies TITLE: U.S. Senator atwitter. cluding one in downtown for listings, which cost $50 Baltimore. The first of- each. But the aim is that Democrat-Maryland BBJ: You still live in Baltimore — how fices are expected to open in postings will ramp up as the much do you commute between the two mid-2011, the company said. site gains more traction, and AGE: 74 cities? That will greatly expand Selway hopes it will eventually Mikulski: I live in Baltimore and go to Morgan Keegan’s presence in expand beyond the mid-Atlantic to more Washington every single day and come the area. Currently, the firm has just one of the East Coast. BBJ: How has the Senate changed home every single night, so I’m a com- Maryland office in Rockville. In the coming months, he also plans to since you started? muter like most of Maryland. I fight traf- Morgan Keegan could hire as many as change up the pay-per-posting model, but Mikulski: A lot has changed. When I fic all the time. Sometimes I’m in the car, 108 people to staff its six new branches didn’t want to share too much of his plans. first came on the scene, people ate black- sometimes I’m on a MARC train, lots of since each office has between 13 and 18 berries, they didn’t use them. We used times I’m in a traffic jam. financial advisers and support staff. GARY HABER and SCOTT DANCE compiled this report. carbon paper and typewriters, and now we’re wired with our constituents. We’ve BBJ: How does Baltimore compare to Web developer job site launches gone from being dainty to digital. Washington? As a Web designer, Baltimore resident CORRECTION Mikulski: Oh, I think Baltimore has Jay Selway was finding local jobs post- BBJ: Do you do all your own tweeting? it head and shoulders over Washington, ings in the creative technology industry In the article “State sells Arundel site Mikulski: I have a BlackBerry and D.C. When you’re invited to dinner in scarce. So instead of continuing the for $102.5M,” [Vol. 29 No. 36], informa- because of being on the intelligence com- Baltimore, they say they’re going to have search, he decided he’d rather make a liv- tion regarding the performance of the mittee I have a limited-access BlackBerry, crab cakes and tell you what the menu is; ing helping others in the same boat. Maryland State Retirement and Pension but I do tweet. I’m a strong believer in so- in Washington, when they invite you to Enter PixelPusherJobs.com. Selway System’s real estate investments should cial media.