COMING EVENT NOTES:

HEADLINES:

• Legislators Preserve Historic Tax Credit, With Changes
• City Juvenile Officials Note Increasing Youth Violence and Drug Use
• General Assembly Impact, Baltimore Believe are Topics of May "Issues & Answers" segments
• GBC, GBTC Host Seminar on Bioscience in Baltimore
• GBC Media Guide Updated for 2002
• GBC Members Help Fund City Hall Terps Rally
• Orioles Box Seats Available on GBC Website
• Interested in Sponsoring a GBC Event?  Click here for details.

GBC MEMBER NEWS (Click on headlines for the full story):

• "Living Downtown Tours" to begin in May for potential city residents
• Baltimore welcomes first shipment of Porsches to its port
• First Thursdays return to Charles Street
• DASH shuttle sees increase in ridership as service gains popularity
• American Red Cross Central Maryland Chapter provides disaster relief to apartment fire victims
• MPT selects C. Sylvia Brown to chair GBMC Women's Health Conference
• Ballard Spahr leases additional space at offices on East Lombard Street
• Piper Marbury Rudnick & Wolfe LLP changes name to Piper Rudnick LLP
• Frank Strategic Marketing selected to promote ICMA Retirement Corporation
• MedStar Health completes first phase of medication use assessment to improve patient safety
• CareFirst contributions touch 200 charities; Rampone named senior V.P.
• John C. Erickson elected board chairman for University of Maryland Medical System
  
  

Legislators Preserve Historic Tax Credit, With Changes
State legislators continued the heritage tax credit program as an effective tool for community revitalization, however the final version passed by the 2002 General Assembly made significant changes to the program.

Legislators also increased drug treatment funds for Baltimore City by $7 million and provided $2 million for acquisition and demolition costs associated with the development of an East Baltimore Biotechnology Park.

GBC Web Link: GBC News.

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City Juvenile Officials Note Increasing Youth Violence and Drug Use
An increasing proportion of the almost 8,000 cases handled yearly by Baltimore City's juvenile justice system involves youths charged with violent crimes or drug-related offenses, juvenile justice officials recently told the GBC Public Safety Committee.

"Kids who are coming into the juvenile justice system today are far more troubled than 20 years ago," said Assistant State's Attorney for Baltimore City Joyce Wright, who heads the city state's attorney's juvenile division. Approximately 40 percent of cases prosecuted by Wright's team of prosecutors are drug cases, she said.

Wright was among a panel of city juvenile justice officials who briefed the GBC Public Safety Committee.

GBC Web Link: GBC News.

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General Assembly Impact, Baltimore Believe are Topics of May "Issues & Answers" Segments
The impact of this year's Maryland General Assembly session on the budgets and projects of local governments is the focus of some May segments of "Issues & Answers," the GBC's show on Comcast Cable. Government affairs directors from Baltimore City and Howard, Harford and Anne Arundel counties will review their legislative priorities and successes in this year's session. Other May segments focus on Baltimore Believe, a community-centered advertising campaign aimed at reducing drug trafficking, drug violence, and drug use in Baltimore City. A separate segment focuses on the CPHA Rally for the Region scheduled for June 6.

"Issues & Answers" is produced and aired as a public service by Comcast, in partnership with the GBC.

GBC Web Link: GBC News.
Go to the "Issues & Answers" page for times, channels and show schedule.

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GBC, GBTC Host Seminar on Bioscience in Baltimore
On Wednesday, April 24, the Greater Baltimore Committee (GBC) and Greater Baltimore Technology Council (GBTC) presented "The Business of Beakers and Bytes... Bioscience in Greater Baltimore," a seminar aimed at comparing and contrasting Baltimore's technology and bioscience communities.

At the Holiday Inn Select in Timonium, MD, four regional bioscience executives explained how their community views issues such as hiring, human resource development, public relations, financing, and defining and measuring success. Panelists included Caroline Shepherd from BRT Laboratories, Inc.; Anthony Deasey from Celsion Corporation; Judy Britz from Cylex Inc., and Bill McIntosh from FASgen, Inc. The panel moderator was Paul Silber from In Vitro Technologies.

Click here to find out about upcoming events of the GBC...
Click here to go to the Greater Baltimore Technology Council's calendar of events.

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GBC's Media Guide Updated for 2002
A 2002 update to the GBC Media Guide, a comprehensive list of Greater Baltimore's key media outlets, is now available from the Greater Baltimore Committee. The Guide consists of four main sections: Print/News Services, Radio, Television, and Government. Key editors, station managers, deadlines, phone and fax numbers, e-mail and website addresses are included in the 2002 Guide.

GBC Web Link: GBC Publications

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GBC Members Help Fund City Hall Rally
Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley led hundreds of red-clad Terp fans in honoring the NCAA-champion University of Maryland basketball team during a noon rally at City Hall.

Funding assistance for the rally was provided by seven members of the Greater Baltimore Committee - Mercy Health Services, T. Rowe Price Associates, Comcast, The Baltimore Sun, University of Maryland Medical System, CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, and Allfirst Financial.

GBC Web Link: GBC News.