The Daily Record News Briefs: August 20, 2008

Fitch lowers CEG's rating

Fitch Ratings on Tuesday became the latest ratings service todowngrade Constellation Energy Group. Fitch announced that it islowering its long-term rating of the Baltimore-based energy companyfrom BBB+ to BBB, in view of "the complexity of ConstellationEnergy's risk portfolios that combine both physical and derivativepositions." The announcement went on: "The new ratings recognize thesignificant volatility and business risk in the company's commodityenergy business ...." On Aug. 11, the company disclosed anaccounting error; the next day its shares plunged 18 percent. Thatwas followed by credit rating downgrades by both Standard & Poor'sand UBS Securities. Constellation Energy Group's stock closed onTuesday at $62.62, up $1.05 in New York Stock Exchange trading.

No imported water at MOM's

My Organic Market, a Rockville-based organic grocery chain,announced it will stop selling all bottled water products that arenot sourced and bottled domestically. "Once we thought about theamount of energy, oil and water that go into producing, shipping anddisposing of a product that is readily available by simply turningon your faucet, we knew it was the right decision." said Lisa deLima, MOM's vice president of grocery, in a prepared statement. "Weare hoping that by discontinuing imported waters, customers whoaren't already drinking tap water will consider making the switch."MOM's has replaced the discontinued brands of bottled waters withwater filter options as well as reusable bottles.

Best Buy in Hunt Valley

Consumer electronics retailer Best Buy Inc. has signed a leasefor 45,000 square feet of space for a new store at the Hunt ValleyTowne Centre, it was announced by Greenberg Gibbons CommercialCorp., of Owings Mills, the retail center's developer. The store,expected to open in the summer of 2009, will occupy part of thespace formerly filled by a Wal-Mart department store. GreenbergGibbons acquired the faltering Hunt Valley Mall in 2005, andtransformed it into a 980,000-square-foot retail destination thatincludes 260,000 square feet of space in an open-air "Main Street"environment. The center features a 140,000-square-foot Wegmanssupermarket amid nearly 50 shops and sit-down and casualrestaurants.

Centrifuge plant's impact

USEC Inc., of Bethesda, a global energy company and supplier ofenriched uranium fuel for commercial nuclear power plants, said itsAmerican Centrifuge plant, now under construction in Piketon, Ohio,is expected to create approximately 3,300 direct and indirect jobsin Ohio, and more than 3,000 direct and indirect jobs atmanufacturing sites across the United States. Subcontractorssupplying parts for the plant are located in Alabama, Indiana, Ohio,Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah and West Virginia. The$3.5 billion plant, which will supply uranium fuel for existing andfuture nuclear power generating facilities, is expected to startoperations in the first quarter of 2009 and become fully operationalby the end of 2012, USEC said.

SDAT records going online

Quality Associates Inc., of Fulton, a provider of documentmanagement, imaging and archiving services, and iScan, a Columbia-based document imaging services company, announced theirparticipation in a project for the Maryland State Department ofAssessments and Taxation, to delete sensitive information, such asSocial Security numbers, from nearly 325,000 records that will bedisplayed on the Internet. Completion is expected in the fall.Quality Associates is providing the software and technicalexpertise, while iScan is supplying workers to perform requiredhands-on tasks. IScan is a division of Humanim Inc. a Columbia-based nonprofit organization that employs individuals withdisabilities.

Digital TV alert: Get ready!

The Maryland Department of General Services will host a TVConverter Box Coupon Sign-Up event from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Wednesdayat the Baltimore State Office Center, 201 W. Preston St. Expertswill answer questions about how the forthcoming change from analogto digital television will affect TV set owners. There also will betechnicians on hand to demonstrate how to use the associated digitalconverter box. Starting Feb. 17, homes that do not receive cable orsatellite services and have only analog televisions will needdigital converters to receive over-the-air signals. A federalprogram allows households to apply for up to two $40 coupons to helppay for the converter boxes.

$2.9M Gates grant to CRS

Catholic Relief Services, of Baltimore, the officialinternational humanitarian agency of the U.S. Catholic community,and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, of Seattle, announced a$2.9 million grant to CRS that will help people most affected by theglobal food crisis and support small-scale farmers in developingcountries. The grant is part of a $17.6 million package by thefoundation to humanitarian agencies, including the World FoodProgramme, Mercy Corps and Oxfam America, which are responding tothe global food crisis. CRS said its grant will fund global foodcrisis projects in three countries: Afghanistan, Burkina Faso andHaiti.

Howard road closure announced

A Transco project to upgrade a section of the TranscontinentalPipeline in the Marriottsville area of Howard County is scheduled tobegin on or about Saturday, county public works officials announced.The project will include pipeline upgrades along Marriottsville Roadbetween Warwick Way and Old Frederick Road (Route 99). During theproject, southbound traffic between Warwick Way and Old FrederickRoad will be shifted to the northbound lane. Weather permitting, theproject should be completed by Tuesday afternoon.

More road work on the Shore

The Maryland State Highway Administration is beginning the secondphase of a five-part highway widening project on U.S Route 113. Atwo-mile stretch between Hayes Landing and Goody Hill roads inBerlin will be under construction until December 2009. A second lanewill be added in each direction and a barrier will be installed toseparate the two sides of the highway. A group called "CRASH,"County Residents Action for Safer Highways, began lobbying for theimprovements in 1994.