Thursday, February 9th 2012 @ 3:36 AM
Artist's rendering of Constellation/Exelon Bal- timore headquarters planned for construction at bakery magnate's Harbor Point complex.
EAST SIDE OF INNER HARBOR
TO BE HQ FOR MERGED FIRM
Development led by bakery magnate
John Paterakis Sr.; ‘cross-border’
utility merger sets U.S. standard
Chicago-based energy giant Exelon Corp. yesterday unveiled plans for a 22-story Baltimore headquarters on the east side of the city’s Inner Harbor once its historic merger with Constellation Energy becomes complete.
Construction of the half-million- square-foot office building will create 1,000 jobs for area workers, according to a report published Wednesday in the Baltimore Business Journal (click here to read the BBJ report).
Exelon had promised to build the Baltimore headquarters as part of its nearly $8 billion buyout of Constellation Energy Group, which owns local energy supplier BGE (Baltimore Gas & Electric Co.).
The acquisition could set a new standard for so-called “cross-border” utility mergers around the United States.
Advocates for the city’s central business district however expressed disappointment that the soon-to-be-merged firm had chosen the eastside waterfront site — which is between Harbor East and Fells Point — instead of downtown for its new location.
The Harbor East and Harbor Point development projects were spearheaded by Baltimore bakery magnate John Paterakis Sr.
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Tuesday, February 7th 2012 @ 7:18 PM
Allegedly illegal ‘robocalls’ are the subject of election-fraud trial of political operative Julius Henson, the second campaign aide of former Gov. Bob Ehrlich to be prosecuted for deception and conspiracy to violate election laws. Henson and his attorney claim it's ‘free speech.’
JUDGE DECLINES
TO DISMISS CASE
A choice… to be stupid
— Henson def. atty.
By Alan Z. Forman
Prospective jurors in the election-fraud trial of political operative Julius Henson will be asked if the defendant’s dread- locks might prevent them from judging fairly, the court decided late today after earlier deny- ing defense motions for dismissal.
Jurors will also be asked whether they have ever participated in a political campaign and if they believe their party affiliation would prevent them from judging the defendant in a fair and impartial manner once the trial begins.
It was unclear however whether the trial will proceed tomorrow with voir dire (impanelment of the jury) as scheduled because one of the expected witnesses is ill, as reported in an email to Voice of Baltimore by veteran court watcher Stephen J. Gewirtz late Tuesday.
Earlier in the day Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Emanuel Brown rejected arguments by Henson defense attorney Edward Smith Jr. that the “robocalls,” or automated telephone messages, that went out under Henson’s direction on Election Day 2010 were protected by the 1st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and were in fact “free speech.”
Asserting that political operatives like Henson have a right to tell voters “not to go to the polls” even if “they’re wrong… [and] it’s a lie,” Smith argued that the defendant’s activities on behalf of former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. were not illegal.
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Thursday, February 2nd 2012 @ 8:47 PM
Baltimore-based money manager T. Rowe Price was revealed Thursday to be a major shareholder of Facebook, the social network giant that filed an historic multi-billion-dollar IPO with the SEC Wed.
HOPES TO RAISE $10 BILLION
FROM SALE OF FB SHARES
Would be 5 times higher
than Google’s 2004 IPO
BALTIMORE’S T. ROWE PRICE
A PRINCIPAL SHAREHOLDER
Facebook’s historic $5 billion initial public offering (IPO) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission yesterday names Baltimore money manager T. Rowe Price as one of the principal stockholders in the eight-year-old social networking giant.
According to the Facebook IPO, released Thursday by the United States SEC, T. Rowe Price Associates Inc. owns more than 6 million shares of FB’s Class A stock in addition to over 12 million shares of Class B, accounting for 5.2 percent and 0.7 percent, respectively, of shares outstanding.
Comparatively, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg owns 28 percent of Class B shares, and he and 10 executive officers and directors of the Internet giant collectively own 70 percent of those shares.
Zuckerberg and the officers and directors also own over 36 percent of the Class A shares, which carry one vote apiece. The B Class shares however are worth 10 votes each.
The A Class shares are the ones being offered in the IPO.
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Tuesday, January 31st 2012 @ 10:01 PM
VoB SELECTS: INVESTIGATIVE NEWS FROM AROUND THE WEB
Former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney routs challenger Newt Gingrich in today's Florida primary, 47-32%.
CAN FORMER HOUSE SPEAKER
COME BACK A THIRD TIME?
Virtually all political pundits say No
UPDATE (Sat., Feb. 4th @ 10:30 PM):
GINGRICH LOSES 2nd STRAIGHT IN NEVADA
Major win for frontrunner; Romney on a roll
Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney ran roughshod over ex-House of Representatives Speaker Newt Gingrich Tuesday in the Florida presidential primary, likely putting an effective end to the race for a Republican nominee to take on President Barack Obama next November.
With 79 percent of Florida’s precincts reporting, Romney had 47 percent of the vote to Gingrich’s 32 percent, with former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum and Texas Rep. Ron Paul — neither of whom ran a serious campaign in the state — polling 13 percent and 7 percent respectively.
Gingrich however vowed to continue his fight for the nomination all the way to the Republican National Convention, scheduled for Tampa Bay at the end of August.
If he is able to come back, it would be the third time in less than a year. Virtually all political pundits say there’s no way he can do it.
“The calendar works against Gingrich rebounding anytime soon,” reports the Associated Press in its pre-election coverage earlier today. “After a steady march through four state contests in January, the pace quickens before taking a long breather next month.
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Friday, January 27th 2012 @ 8:19 PM
CENSORED TWEETS OF PARTICIPATING USERS
WILL BE COUNTRY-SPECIFIC IN COMPLIANCE
WITH LAWS OF INDIVIDUAL JURISDICTIONS
In place of comment posted, users will see
‘Tweet withheld’ or ‘@Username withheld’
VIEW VOICE OF BALTIMORE’S POLICY ON CENSORSHIP:
CLICK “Post a Comment” (under Main Menu at top left)
“Starting today, we give ourselves the ability to reactively withhold” — i.e., censor — messages posted by users, the social networking giant Twitter announced late Thursday, causing worldwide outrage at the company that until now has prided itself on promoting totally free expression.
“We haven’t yet used this ability,” Twitter said in a posting on its blog (click here), “but if and when we are required to withhold a Tweet…, we will attempt to let the user know, and we will clearly mark when the content has been withheld.”
Censorship will be country-specific, in accordance with different nations’ laws.
“What will people see if content is withheld?” Twitter asked rhetorically on the blog, then answered its own question:
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