Tiny Iowa town has the chargers, awaiting drivers

BY: Associated Press
POSTED: November 20, 2009

ELK HORN, Iowa — Hoping to see the USA in your Chevrolet Volt or Nissan Leaf? The tiny Iowa town of Elk Horn will have plenty of electric charging stations and no wait — if you can get there.

The town, more than 1,500 miles from the electric car mecca of California and hundreds of miles [...]

Breaking: Dixon jury sent home until Monday

BY: Brendan Kearney
POSTED: November 20, 2009

Judge Dennis Sweeney dismissed jurors until Monday after a note from the one of the jurors said that ‘things’ were getting ‘a little overheated.’

Go to twitter.com/mddailyrecord to read our tweets from inside the courthouse.

BDC announces applicants for stimulus funds

BY: Robbie Whelan
POSTED: November 20, 2009

The Baltimore Development Corp. Friday announced that interest from developers in federal Recovery Zone Facility Bonds far outstrips the available money to be offered under the stimulus program.
The city received 19 applications, totaling $185.4 million, seeking uses for the city’s $30.8 million in tax exempt bond funds authorized under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, [...]

Jury notes continue in Dixon trial

BY: Brendan Kearney
POSTED: November 20, 2009
Comments: 1

A note from the jury foreperson in the theft case against Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon indicates that the first day of deliberations was marked by some tension.

U.S. survey shows southern counties most obese

BY: Associated Press
POSTED: November 19, 2009

The first county-by-county survey of obesity reflects past studies that show the rate of obesity is highest in the Southeast and Appalachia.
High rates of obesity and diabetes were reported in more than 80 percent of counties in the Appalachian region that includes Kentucky, Tennessee and West Virginia, according to the new research from the U.S. [...]

Fraser Smith: A case built on a house of cards 

BY: C. Fraser Smith
POSTED: November 19, 2009

No one ever wants to acknowledge the elephant in the room.
Closing arguments Thursday in the trial of Mayor Sheila Dixon left out almost entirely the underlying issue: Cozy relationships between developers and public officials are corrosive and costly to the taxpayer — and to the system.
If millions of dollars in taxes are forgiven in exchange [...]

Cordish courting applicants for casino jobs at Arundel Mills

BY: Nicholas Sohr
POSTED: November 19, 2009
Comments: 1

Cordish officials courted applicants for 4,000 jobs on Thursday — from butchers to bartenders, equity partners to concrete workers — for a proposed Anne Arundel County casino that has yet to receive state and local approvals.

French firm Areva getting ready for Calvert Cliffs 3

BY: Danielle Ulman
POSTED: November 19, 2009

When — and if — UniStar Nuclear Energy gives the go ahead to build Calvert Cliffs 3, French design and construction firm Areva wants to be ready.
Areva, which has partnered with UniStar’s Electricite de France on other nuclear projects, held a “supplier day” in Baltimore Thursday to identify potential vendors for the Lusby reactor. Interest [...]

Dixon judge lays down the law: no more cell-phone use in court 

BY: Caryn Tamber
POSTED: November 19, 2009
Comments: 1

After a week and a half of reporters sending Twitter updates from Mayor Sheila A. Dixon’s trial using their cell phones, the judge in the case issued a stern reminder Thursday that the practice is forbidden.
“You should not be using any electronic device or cell phone in the courtroom,” Visiting Judge Dennis M. Sweeney said. [...]

Farmer asks Campbell Soup to help restore barn

BY: Capital News Service
POSTED: November 19, 2009

For most of his life, Jay Mackenzie wanted to own a farm.
“I have wanted a farm since I was about 10. When I was 20, I was going to have a 500-acre farm,” said Mackenzie, 50, of Union Bridge. “As you get older, it gets smaller and smaller.”
When he finally managed to purchase his 125-acre [...]