Downtown : Innovation + Job News

It's time for racing fans to start their engines. Izod IndyCar Series officials, Gov. Martin O'Malley, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and Jay Davidson, CEO fo the Baltimore Grand Prix and Baltimore Racing Development made it official that August 5-7, 2011, The Baltimore Grand Prix will see Indy car racers hit the streets of Baltimore at speeds of more than 230 mph.

"This is an historic day for Baltimore and the State of Maryland, as well as the entire East Coast region, as we have finalized plans for the Izod IndyCar Series racing in Baltimore in 2011," says Davidson.

The August 2011 race will be the first of a planned five-year deal between the City and the Indy Racing League, the sanctioning body for the Izod IndyCar Series. With the deal, Baltimore joins a select group of cities, including Long Beach and Indianapolis, hosting an open-wheel racing event.

"This three-day festival of speed will not just include car racing, but will feature family-friendly activities, offer great entertainment and much, much more," says Davidson.

The Baltimore Grand Prix will offer racing enthusiasts as well as those new to the sport, a combination of racing and festivities that will begin Friday morning and culminate on Sunday with the big event - the Izod IndyCar Series race. Organizers are planning a variety of non-racing activities including a family fun zone, go-karting, beer gardens, extreme sports demonstrations, and professional beach volleyball. Live music will also be a major component all weekend that will feature local artists performing during the day and nationally-known acts in the evenings.

Source: Jay Davidson, Baltimore Grand Prix and Baltimore Racing Development
Writer: Walaika Haskins

 

A new statistical analysis of Baltimore shows that the city has made important improvements in areas central to the city's improvement, including crime, housing, and education prior to the recession. Other social conditions, such as the number of teen births and the number of children with elevated levels of blood lead, have also improved according to the latest "Vital Signs" report by the Baltimore Neighborhood Indicators Alliance-Jacob France Institute. However, the report shows that while there have been significant improvements in a variety of economic and social indicators in Baltimore, not all neighborhoods within the city have benefited equally.

Available on the BNIA-JFI's new website, analyzes data from nearly 80 indicators provided at the Community Statistical Area level. CSAs, created by the Baltimore City Department of Planning, are clusters of neighborhoods organized around Census Tract boundaries, which are consistent statistical boundaries. Neighborhood borders don't always fall neatly into CSAs, but CSAs represent conditions occurring within the particular neighborhoods that comprise a CSA.

"This latest edition of 'Vital Signs' will help us access how our neighborhoods are doing and what we can do to help improve outcomes," says Janice Hamilton Outtz, senior associate for Civic Site and Initiatives at the Annie E. Casey Foundation. "I am excited about the new report."

The 8th edition of "Vital Signs reveals the following important trends currently impacting the city:

• The city's population declined by 3 percent, from 651,154 in 2000, to 631,815 in 2008. While a handful of neighborhoods lost population, several more, including downtown (22 percent), Loch Raven (8.4 percent) and Northwood (9.9 percent), experienced a growth in population.
• Median sales prices for homes in the city increased by well over 100 percent in the past eight years, although the pace of that increase has slowed considerably since the start of the recession.
• Both adult and juvenile crime has decreased in Baltimore City. In particular, Baltimore City's Part 1 crime rate has declined from 106.0 incidents per 1,000 people in 2000 to 78.3 incidents per 1,000 per people in 2008.
• The number of residential properties receiving rehabilitation investment is climbing, and may be continuing as the recession lingers and more homeowners choose to stay in their current home.
• Baltimore's high school completion rate is on the rise, while its rate of truancy in elementary, middle school and high school (including students who drop out of high school) is in decline.
• The teen birth rate dropped from 83.3 teens out of 1,000 in 2000 to 66.1 teens per 1,000 in 2008�a decline of 17.2 percent.

Other measurements, such as the larger number of Baltimore residents visiting local emergency rooms for non-emergency diagnoses and treatment, expose a city that continues to be constrained by larger trends such as rising health care costs and a lack of adequate medical insurance.

"While Baltimore City has made significant improvements in areas such as crime and education, we appear to be hampered by many of the same things that have struck other urban areas in this recession," says Matthew Kachura, program manager for BNIA-JFI at UB. "But we also are seeing some resilience, such as the increase in home prices, median household income, and an impressive number of small businesses based in well-established city neighborhoods like Edmonson Village and Greenmount East, and by the growing number of city residents who claim at least some higher education in their backgrounds."

BNIA-JFI began in 1998 as a partnership between the Annie E. Casey Foundation and the Association of Baltimore Area Grantmakers. In 2006, BNIA joined with the University of Baltimore's Jacob France Institute in an expansion of its capabilities. BNIA-JFI has strengthened the "Vital Signs" report and provided additional services and resources for those who seek data, information, and analysis about the city.

BNIA-JFI's latest product is a new Web site, www.bniajfi.org, which provides a wide variety of data, maps, and information for the City of Baltimore and its neighborhoods. Anyone interested in how Baltimore measures up can find easy-to-use statistical analyses, maps, reports and links relevant to the city.

This information is reflected in the latest "Vital Signs" report. For example, Edmonson Village reports the city's highest percentage of successful small businesses (69.2 percent), while a total of 50.9 percent of all city residents reported some type of college attendance as of 2008.

"These trends of educational attainment, lower crime and rising housing prices may not lead to a total revitalization for the city," Kachura said, "but show that many neighborhoods are improving and these improvements paint both a better and a realistic picture of Baltimore. The larger question is whether these trends can be maintained and translated into long-term improvements for Baltimore and its neighborhoods. For the most part, though, they are good news for the city."

Source: Baltimore Neighborhood Indicators Alliance-Jacob France Institute at the University of Baltimore
Writer: Walaika Haskins

The University of Maryland School of Medicine  has received a $30 million grant to create a center that will coordinate the research of national experts in stem cell research. The university's Michael L. Terrin, MD, CM MPH, professor of epidemiology and preventive medicine was pegged by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) to lead the coordinating center, dubbed the NHLBI Profenitor Cell Biology Consortium, for a consortium of our nation's most prominent scientists in the field of stem cell research.

"This consortium was developed to bring together the best and brightest researchers from around the country, in the new and rapidly advancing field of stem and progenitor cell biology. They come from several specialties -- cardiology, hematology and pulmonary medicine. All are doing cutting edge research in this exciting new field," says Terrin.

Stem cells are uncommitted cells that can change into many types of mature functional cells and can divide indefinitely. Once stem cells start to commit to a cell type, they create progenitor cells. They are partially committed in terms of the types of cells they can become and how many times they can divide.

One major goal of this research consortium is to use these stem and progenitor cells as regenerative therapy to replace damaged tissues and organs.

The researchers will share their strategies and techniques to identify and characterize how these cells differentiate. Together they will address the challenges of discovering new potential therapies.

The NHLBI believes that by sharing information and working together across traditional boundaries, consortium members will advance the field of stem cell and progenitor cell biology at a faster pace and realize the potential for new clinical therapies that much sooner.

Terrin and his on campus colleagues  will organize the collaborative efforts of the nine different research hubs in the Consortium, dividing the responsibilities of the Administrative Coordinating Center into three areas: general administration; computer systems; and biological information science.

"Our team of nationally known experts, and the facilities at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, made our proposal to coordinate this consortium unique," Terrin says. "The resources here are wonderful. I know of no other university or medical school that I would rather have behind my efforts on behalf of this important project."

The research coordination team led by Terrin is composed of individuals who will assure that the information put in the system, as well as records of samples and tissues put into registries (both physical and virtual), will be maintained. They will also ensure that important information from sources outside the Consortium is continually updated.

In addition, Terrin's team will coordinate conference calls, meetings and funding for their research projects and help the investigators publicize their results of their research.

Source: University of Maryland, Baltimore
Writer: Walaika Haskins

The Enoch Pratt Free Library will open a new Computer Commons in the Central Library Main Hall on Wednesday, October 21. The new section will provide 26 additional public computers for patrons.

The Computer Commons, located across from the Circulation Desk, will have 26 computers with hour long timeslots. Currently, the Pratt Library provides more than 500 public computers system wide and offers free wireless internet access at most branches.

The additional computers were purchased using donations from the Joseph and Harvey Meyerhoff Family Charitable Funds and Bank of America Charitable Foundation.

With 40 percent of Baltimore City households lacking internet access at home, the Pratt's more than 500 public computers systemwide are often the only way for some to get online.

"Everyday our patrons line-up outside at all Pratt locations eager to use our public computers," says Carla D. Hayden, Chief Executive Officer of the Enoch Pratt Free Library. "During these difficult economic times, some of our patrons have even told us they have given up internet access at home and now depend on us. We are very committed to our mission of offering free access to all our patrons, from the very youngest to seniors. We're hoping these additional computers will make a difference for patrons seeking anything from personal enrichment to career development."

The Central Library will also begin offering free computer classes this winter. 

Check out the Pratt Library on Facebook, Twitter and MySpace.

FASgen, Inc., a Baltimore-based developer of small molecule therapeutics and diagnostics fatty acid biosynthesis targets, was awarded a $1.4 million Small Business Innovation and Research (SBIR) Phase II NIH grant for continued research for obesity. FASgen has conducted extensive research into the effects of inhibition of the fatty acid biosynthesis pathway on the regulation of appetite and weight loss for some time.

The company has developed numerous families of compounds that act on the well identified targets in the pathway, including fatty acid synthase (FAS), carnitine palmitoyl transferase-1 (CPT-1) and mitochondrial glyceraol-3aclytransferase (GPAT). The current research effort will optimize FASgen's compounds for use in future clinical trials. The research is in part conducted in cooperation with labs at Johns Hopkins University under a research agreement between the FASgen and Johns Hopkins.

"This grant supplements the Company's extensive product development efforts in the metabolic disease field. The weight loss effects seen to date in preclinical in vivo experiments have applications in various indications, including obesity, diabetes, and fatty liver disease, including specifically non-alcoholic steatohepatitis," says Susan Medghalchi, Ph.D., FASgen's principal investigator under the grant.
 
FASgen's Chairman, Eric F. Stoer, also says that the metabolic program runs in parallel with the company's successful efforts to develop a different set of FAS inhibitor compounds for use in the treatment of cancer. The company's oncology program was partnered with J&J last year and that collaboration continues to demonstrate the validity of the principle that FASi can and does safely kill cancer cells.


Source: Susan Medghalchi, PH.D., FASgen
Writer: Walaika Haskins

Premier Rides, an amusement ride design company, will be consolidating their offices in Anne Arundel County to new headquarters at 1007 E. Pratt St., a historic building they are currently rehabilitating and expect to move into by the end of the year. They will lease part of the building and are talking to prospective tenants. Over the next year, they will also be hiring up to 10 more employees.

If you know Chinese, you might soon have a reason to use it for more than ordering food at your local Chinese restaurant. Huarui Century Group, a Chinese real estate firm has chosen Baltimore County as the location for its North American headquarters. Based in Shenyang, China, the company provides site location and related services to the ever increasing number of Chinese firms flocking to establish a base of operations in the U.S.

Writer: Walaika Haskins

Source: Maryland Department of Business & Economic Development

The state's effort to develop business ties between four of the leading biotechnology firms in Taiwan and Maryland's life sciences industry have resulted in over $100,000 in export business over the past three years. Meetings in August, the third collaborative event between the Department of Business Economic and Economic Development's Office of International Investment and Trade and the Taiwanese ROC-USA Business Council, have helped introduce the companies to their Taiwanese and U.S. counterparts.

Taiwanese biotech companies including, Adimmune, a human vaccine manufacturer; Simpson Biotech, a top bio-fermentation company; General Biologicals, an in vitro diagnostic device manufacturer; PhytoHealth, the first publicly traded Taiwan novel drug development company; and the Medical and Pharmaceutical Industry Technology and Development Center, Taiwan's pre-imminent non-profit biotechnology industry organization, are among the companies that have participated in the event.

Writer: Walaika Haskins

Source: Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development

The University of Maryland College Park has teamed with the State to create a new international incubator, part of Gov. Martin O'Malley's new Maryland Growth Strategy. It is the state's first incubator intended solely for foreign-owned businesses and will provide competitively priced leasing space to foreign companies.

The first tenant and anchor for the new incubator is the University of Maryland-China Research Park (UMCRP). Created in collaboration with the China Ministry of Science and Technology, the research park offers help to private Chinese businesses looking to set up shop in Maryland and bring jobs to the state.

The UMCRP will encourage collaboration in areas including, health care, environment, agriculture, energy and fire protection. It will provide hands-on business consulting, funding introductions, investment opportunities and networking with potential customers and partners. It will also offer direct access to the University's world-class faculty, research facilities, students, training and other business resources.

Chinese companies that are relocating to the U.S., creating a U.S. subsidiary or investing in or acquiring a U.S. company are eligible to apply for office space in the Research Park.

Set to launch later this year, the new incubator will be located near the College Park campus.

Writer: Walaika Haskins

Source: University of Maryland College Park

While hiring from private companies has hit a low, Federal agencies are expected to hire more than 273,000 employees to fill mission-critical jobs over the next three years. According to new projections released by the Partnership for Public Service (PPS), attorneys, paralegals, investigators, doctors, nurses, pharmacists, police officers, airport screeners, customs and border patrol agents and intelligence analysts top the Fed's list of "Most Wanted" employees.

The hiring bonanza, a 41 percent increase, will extend through the fall of 2012, says the PPS who based its findings on a survey of 35 federal agencies representing nearly 99 percent of the 1.9 million member federal workforce.

The surge in hiring is in part the result of the large number of baby-boomer federal workers who are reaching retirement age and also reflects the Obama administration's undertakings to repair the financial sector, fight two wars and do something about climate change.

"It has to win the war for talent in order to win the multiple wars it's fighting for the American people," says Max Stier, president and chief executive of the Partnership for Public Service

The Feds will need to fill 54, 114 positions in the medical and public health realm including, workers in dietician/nutrition, occupational and rehabilitation therapy, radiology, industrial hygiene and consumer safety fields.

Security and protection will need 52,077 workers in areas such as international relations, foreign affairs, security administration; and to fill positions including, transportation security officer, park ranger and correctional officer.

Another 31,276 jobs will come from the compliance and enforcement arena. These areas and positions include, inspectors, investigators (including criminal), customs and border patrol and protection, import specialist and customs inspection.

Jobs within the legal field will bring opportunity to another 23, 596 workers in positions such as contact representative, passport/visa examiners, and claims examiners and assistants. 17,287 jobs will be filled in the human resources, equal employment opportunity, management/program analysis, and telecommunications fields including a variety of clerical support jobs.

Writer: Walaika Haskins
Source: Partnership for Public Service

There's a new incubator network in town. The Maryland Clean Energy Technology Incubator Network will offer support to early stage companies working with clean energy technologies and advance green job creation in Maryland.

The production of a partnership between Maryland Clean Energy Center and the bwtech@UMBC the new site, the Maryland Clean Energy Technology Incubator@bwtech (CETI), is the first in a planned statewide network of clean energy incubators designed to strengthen Maryland's "Smart, Green and Growing" energy economy.

"bwtech@UMBC is our first site because we were so impressed with their management and track record there," says Katherine Magruder, executive director of Maryland Clean Energy Center.

""The Maryland Clean Energy Center is striving to partner with energy experts throughout the state in order to fulfill its mission of growing Maryland's clean energy economy through related economic development and job creation. Because bwtech@UMBC has a proven track record of success our Board elected to work with their team to establish our first Clean Energy Incubator Network site at UMB," she adds.

The goal is to draw from the depth and variety of the research presence in the state, and use the incubator network to move discoveries from the bench to the bank in the commercialization pipeline, according to Magruder.

"The program seeks to provide affordable space as well as assistance with business plans, marketing, and management of intellectual property for start-up companies that are focused on a clean or renewable energy product, service or technology," she says.

CETI will provide services specifically tailored to the needs of companies working with solar power, wind power, geothermal, hydro-power, biofuels as well as energy management and storage technologies. A part-time Entrepreneur-in-Residence and an advisory board of experienced researchers and executives in the clean energy sector will also provide tenant companies with assistance.

CETI will occupy about 18,000 square feet of office and wet lab space in the Biotechnology Building of bwtech@UMBC's Incubator and Accelerator, located on the south campus of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC).

Writer: Walaika Hasins
Source: Katherine Magruder, Maryland Clean Energy Center

bwtech@UMBC Research Park has expanded its facilities, launching a new incubator in Class A office space that targets small disadvantaged businesses. The new incubator is designed for early-stage companies owned by minorities, women and veterans and have substantial business activities aimed at providing technology-related products and services to state and federal agencies.

Founding tenants include Premier Management Corporation, a network security consultant for NSA and other government agencies; Farfield Systems, a provider of IT and systems engineering services and training; CardioMed Device Consultants, a regulatory consultant for medical device companies; and the Nixon Group, a multi-faceted company in healthcare and financial services

Since its opening several additional companies have expressed interest in the new incubator, says Deborah Shapiro, a bwtech@UMBC spokesperson.

"Businesses that contract with the federal government are still experiencing growth, despite weakening in the overall market," says Alex Euler, associate director, bwtech@UMBC. "The Advantage Incubator's proximity to a number of federal agencies and research centers such as NSA, NIH, FDA, NASA and DOD is a great asset. Client companies also benefit from the park's federal HUBZone and state Enterprise Zone designations."

The incubator offers participating companies the opportunity to operate in a Class A environment, with shared reception areas, conference rooms and university resources.

According to the Baltimore City Department of General Services (DGS), the City will receive more than $400,000 as a result of participation in BGE's energy capacity savings program. Designed for customers to reduce the drain on the power provider during times of peak electric demand, the program provides alerts from BGE.

DGS reduces demand by activating backup generators at seven City facilities, including the Back River and Patapsco Wastewater Treatment Plants, the Charles Benton and Abel Wolman buildings, and pumping stations at Jones Falls, Leaking Park and Dundalk. The agency's conservation efforts pay off handsomely with the City receiving a credit of more than $34,400 each month.

Last year, the program saved the city $38,000. Savings this year, however, have grown to 10 times that amount, with the agency already reporting savings of $300,000 this year through the implementation of utility bill audits and more than $5 million annually saved through other initiatives including energy performance contracting, installation of LED traffic lights and the waste-to-energy cogeneration facility at the Back River Wastewater Treatment Plant. Other energy conservation efforts currently underway include, evaluating the use of biofuels in City boilers and the weatherization of fire stations with replacement windows and new roofs.

Writer: Walaika Haskins
Source: Baltimore City Department of General Services

Maryland employers added 10,000 jobs, an increase of 4.8 percent, in July. According to the Labor Department estimates, number of jobs created in July was the largest increase in Maryland in the past four years.

Nevertheless, Maryland's unemployment rate grew, rising from 7.2 percent in June to 7.3 percent in July, a high not seen for more than a quarter century. That, however, is still well below the national unemployment rate of 9.4 percent.

Based on Labor Bureau job category definitions, Other Services and Government, two principal sectors that held back job growth in June led the employment increases in July, adding 6,000 jobs, while Government added 4,600 jobs. In addition, Accommodation and Food Services added 4,400 jobs. The state's manufacturing sector employment broke a sustained period of losses to adding 900 jobs during July, its greatest increase in ten years. However, this increase was limited to the durable goods manufacturing sector.

Manufacturing also posted strong gains in other parts of the country including Michigan, Tennessee, Indiana, Missouri, and Kentucky. These gains suggest a rebound in automobile manufacturing.

Writer: Walaika Haskins
Source: DBED

Swedish bioenergy company, Swebo Bioenergy International, has selected Maryland as the location for its U.S. headquarters. The clean technology company, which develops, produces and sells climate neutral bioenergy systems, plans to open its new offices in Annapolis this fall.

Swebo will initially hire 3 employees, but expects to bring on an additional 15 to 20 employees as the company gears up to its begin manufacturing operation in the U.S.

Gov. Martin O'Malley met with Swebo during his economic development mission to Sweden last June. Company representatives came to Maryland, touring several locations throughout the state, including Anne Arundel County and the Eastern Shore before settling on Annapolis.

"I am pleased that our economic development mission to Sweden produced such significant and swift results," says Governor O'Malley. "Swebo International will be a great addition to the business community in Maryland, which, because of Maryland's leadership in the use of smart, green technologies, is quickly becoming a very attractive location for alternative energy companies.

Based in northern Sweden, Swebo specializes in manufacturing products that handle the efficient combustion of waste fuels.

"We are happy with what we have seen in Maryland and our options to establish a U.S. headquarters, followed by manufacturing operations," says Swebo Bioenergy CEO Mattias Lindren. "We looked at other states to establish our U.S. operations, but decided to locate in Maryland because of the support we received from Governor O'Malley."

Writer: Walaika Haskins

Source: DBED