Innovation + Job News

Baltimore, the City of Firsts, is now home to one of Habitat for Humanity's first award-winning sustainable housing showcases of 2011.

The renovated rowhome at 1810 Laurens Street in the Sandtown-Winchester section of West Baltimore is the first house in the entire city that meets the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum standard, and it is the first Habitat for Humanity house in Maryland to achieve LEED Silver standing. Jonas Risen of the Ziger/Snead architecture firm led a team that incorporated renewable energy, efficient water usage techniques, and high indoor air quality standards into the existing rowhome dimensions.

By working with Baltimore's most prevalent form of housing, the Laurens Street project serves as a model for how low-cost housing can incorporate modern, green features to alleviate "sick building syndrome" and help raise home values in economically depressed areas. "This project shows how much people care about sustainability in affordable housing," Risen says. In addition to being a showcase Habitat house with a family set to move in, "the Greenest House in Baltimore" also won the USGBC Maryland chapter's People's Choice award, meaning that the architecture community is impressed by the house and will take lessons from its design elements.

Writer: Sam Hopkins
Source: Jonas Risen, Ziger/Snead

Forget about your New Year's dieting resolution -- it's Restaurant Week again in Baltimore County and Baltimore City.

The County launched its first two-week celebration of area restaurants on Jan. 14. The two week-long event offers diners deals on prix fixe menus ranging from $10 for lunch to $35 for dinner at more than 40 restaurants from across the County.

"From fine dining to family dining, you will find something to suit your taste and wallet during Baltimore County Restaurant Week," says Keith Scott, president and CEO of the Baltimore County Chamber of Commerce. A full list of participating restaurants, menus and reservation links can be found at www.BaltimoreCountyRestaurantWeek.com.

In FY 2010, Baltimore County's restaurant sales brought in $1.2 billion, ranking second highest in Maryland; Montgomery County led with $1.5 billion.

"As a lifelong County resident, I am always pleased to find new ways to enjoy all the County has to offer," says John Olszewski, Sr., chair of the Baltimore County Council. "Baltimore County Restaurant Week is a great opportunity for folks to try something new or visit a favorite spot."

Baltimore City's Winter Restaurant Week will welcome diners to more than 85 area restaurants for the third year starting Jan. 21. Participating establishments located throughout Baltimore will offer special three-course dinner prix fixe menus for $35.11 (liquor, tax, and gratuity not included). Many will also offer three-course lunch prix fixe menus for $20.11. Select restaurants will also offer additional value-added opportunities including chef's dinner, wine flights, and wine pairings to accompany the prix fixe meals.

A complete list of participating restaurants for Baltimore's Winter Restaurant Week is available online at www.BaltimoreRestaurantWeek.com. The site will include menus for most of the participating restaurants, parking information, and a map of restaurant locations. Consumers are urged to book their reservations early before the restaurants are booked.

As an added bonus, for every restaurant that participates in Baltimore's Winter Restaurant Week, Visit Baltimore and Downtown Partnership will donate $50 to The Journey Home, an agency that provides services to assist the homeless in finding permanent and supportive homes. Diners can also make a $10 donation by texting the word JOIN to 20222. Money raised from Friday, January 21, 2011 to Sunday January 30, 2011 will benefit The Journey Home.

Source: Baltimore County Office of Economic Development, BACVA and Downtown Partnership
Writer: Walaika Haskins

Baltimore-based Moodlerooms, Inc., an open-source e-Learning solutions developer, has released its joule Mobile application for Android and Blackberry devices.

Available to any joule user, joule Mobile harnesses the capabilities of smart phones to deliver a feature set that satisfies the evolving e-Learning needs of students and faculty while enabling campus leaders to carry out administrative necessities.

"Moodlerooms' release of joule Mobile for Android and Blackberry provides faculty, administrators, and students convenient, 24/7 mobile access on and off campus through multi-platform mobile technology applications," says Lou Pugliese, president.

joule Mobile engages students by delivering access to courses, interactive maps, and campus-wide news, alerts and notifications, while educators are provided with a mechanism for delivering course related information and materials through the Moodle-based, enterprise e-Learning platform, joule. Administrators are also enabled to keep their respective campus informed with timely notifications and alerts. The application can also be configured to display themes, color schemes and logos specific to a particular institution. joule Mobile is the portal to your campus.

joule Mobile is also supported on the Apple iPhone mobile platform.

Source: Moodlerooms
Writer: Walaika Haskins

Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) has committed $300,000 to support a new active-learning initiative at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) that draws on the latest technology and education research to help students succeed in critical introductory mathematics and science classes.

Creating an environment that engages and supports students as they begin studying these subjects is part of UMBC's College of Natural and Mathematical Sciences (CNMS) Active Science Teaching and Learning Environment (CASTLE) effort to increase the number of students majoring in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). More graduates are needed in these areas to help the U.S. maintain economic strength and an innovative edge.

"In this age of increasing global competition, it is essential that we support the students who will move our country forward in science and technology," says Larry Cox, SAIC senior vice president and business unit general manager. "This commitment to UMBC is an investment in both the number and quality of future scientists and engineers who will be available to work at companies like SAIC."

This collaboration builds on UMBC and SAIC's existing relationship, including SAIC's participation on UMBC advisory boards and the 2010-11 Visionaries in Information Technology Forum. UMBC students are active participants in SAIC's summer internship program.

"We are delighted to collaborate with SAIC to explore innovative ways to help our students excel in introductory math and science courses," says UMBC President Freeman Hrabowski. "As a leader in technology, SAIC is demonstrating a commitment to preparing more students for careers in these critical fields."

Source: University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Writer: Walaika Haskins

The Maryland Economic Development Association (MEDA)  has issued a call for nominations for its 2011 MEDA Awards.

Recognizing the innovation, synergy, and leadership at play when economic development transforms communities, the annual MEDA Awards will be presented in seven categories:

• Economic Development Projects/Programs;
• Economic Development Redevelopment Projects/Programs;
• Economic Development Marketing;
• 50th Anniversary Economic Impact Award;
• Hall of Fame;
• Volunteer of the Year;
• Life Member.

In honor of MEDA's 50th Anniversary, the MEDA Economic Impact Award was created to celebrate a project or program bringing lasting investment, momentous impact, and luster to a region and to the state at large. Eligible submissions create and nurture economic growth, prosperity, and renewal on a sweeping scale, improving Marylanders' lives far beyond regional borders.

"The MEDA Awards recognize members' efforts to attract and support businesses, redevelop business districts, market communities, and promote workforce development, tourism, and agriculture," says President David S. Iannucci. "If you know of a red carpet-worthy project or program in any category, nominate it today."

Nominations for the 2011 MEDA Awards must be submitted by January 31, 2011. Awards will be announced and award-winning entries will be displayed during the 2011 MEDA Annual Conference at the Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay on June 6, 2011.

Source: MEDA
Writer: Walaika Haskins

Over the past few years Baltimore's reputation as a hub of creativity -- both artistic and technological -- has grown. But, while the work of the city's artists and techies has done much to help the city as it marches forward, the efforts of the two communities have largely been separate. What would happen if the two groups came together, sharing their strengths and ideas?

That's the question Andrew Hazlett and Scott Burkholder, J. Buck Jabaily and Dave Troy hope to begin answering this Saturday, Jan. 15 at CreateBaltimore, a conference for artists, coders, crafters, curators, designers, entrepreneurs, hackers, connectors, activists, makers, educators, museum staff, performers, tinkerers, writers, and others who want to work together to enrich life in Baltimore.

"We were at a Greater Baltimore Cultural Alliance event, talking about futurism, networks and participatory cultural organizations, and it occurred to us simultaneously that a lot of these things were starting to sound familiar. We both are in the arts and culture sphere but had spent time hanging out with the tech and entrepreneurial community in Baltimore. We realized that there are a lot of ways in which these two communities are more alike than they realize, but at the same time have a lot to learn from each other," says Hazlett, co-organizer of CreateBaltimore.

"It's not just that museums and artists need to become more adept with social media. Or, that web designers need to understand art and design better, it's deeper than that. So many different topics came to us that we think people would like to talk about," he continues.

The two contacted J. Buck Jubaily, executive director of Greater Baltimore Cultural Alliance, and Dave Troy, an entrepreneur and leader in the local tech community who started TEDx Mid-Atlantic. The group decided that the best way to kickstart the conversation would be with a BarCamp or unConference-style event that allows participants to create the agenda, make presentations, and generate the discussions that interest them the most.

"We're hoping there will be some really good connections made between people who have more in common than they realize. We want it to have both short and long term impact. Conversation is great, but you have to have concrete next steps that take place. We view this as the start of an ongoing process. We'd like to see some theoretical back and forth, but also have some specific ideas about how entrepreneurs and the DIY, Etsy, craftmaker community can collaborate to take advantage of the storefront offers the city government has been working on. That could result in some concrete economic activity in the city," says Hazlett.

The event, which will be held at the Maryland Institute of Art's Brown Center, is sold out, however, Hazlett encourages anyone who would like to attend to sign up for the waitlist.

Source: Andrew Hazlett, CreateBaltimore
Writer: Walaika Haskins

With local deal sites proliferating on the Internet as the latest business trend, it's important to do something to set a new site apart. That's the thought behind Edgewater-based Citycents. Rather than simply provide users with valuable offers, Citycents is the first pay-to-play local auction model allowing people to bid on the offers and win them at a fraction of the discount price. 

"We saw all the Groupon clones that are popping up everywhere and we wanted to put a unique spin on it. We thought the auction model would give us an opportunity to attract customers that are willing to score deals for just a few cents," says Brian Salta, Citycents

The site, launched last Wednesday, offers users two ways to purchase its deals. They can opt for the traditional method purchasing a deal for the listed discount price, or the site gives them the opportunity to take part in auctions of its daily discount deals.To participate in the auctions, users purchase bids, for 70 cents each, in bundles. All auctions start at zero dollars and there's no reserve. Each bid increases the auction price by one penny regardless of the cost of the deal. Bidders who don't win the auction also have the option to purchase the  deal for the "By It Now" price, cashing in their used bids for a discount on the deal price. Citycents also offer a variety of daily deals, another factor designed to set it apart from other deal sites.

"It gives us the opportunity to feature more merchants. We're in the process of working with local merchants in Baltimore and D.C. to bring our users more exclusive deals," says Salta.

Through its unique auction platform, Citycents says it helps the everyday consumer gain access and awareness to exceptional local and nationwide brands with deals at up to 99% off. Citycents deals are available in Baltimore and Washington, DC metropolitan areas and feature offers from local restaurants to spa services and events, including nationwide deals covering major brands such as Apple, Sony, Gucci, Burberry, and more.

According to Salta, the site has plans to offer deals in Boston, New York, and Philadelphia, but needs to garner more interest from consumers in those areas before they can launch in those locations.

Source: Brian Salta, Citycents
Writer: Walaika Haskins

Gov. Martin O'Malley convened a forum on sustainability, the third in a five-part series designed to elicit feedback and ideas as he prepares for his second term. The forum focused on laying the groundwork for a sustainable future and gathering input from various stakeholders, including recommendations for legislation and actions related to clean energy, natural resource management, agriculture, and smart growth.

"As a State, we must move forward on a smart, sustainable path," says Gov. O'Malley. "Building upon our recent successes, we need to create a foundation for both our future and our children's future. We have to make tough decisions, governing through green initiatives and living our own lives as examples."

The event gathered together more than 750 participants, including conservationists, farmers, and business owners, who attended plenary sessions and discipline-specific workgroups. Discussion topics for the breakout groups included Smart Growth, Bay Restoration, Clean Energy/Climate Change, and Resource Based Industries.

Following the work sessions, Gov. O'Malley convened a discussion of outcomes and recommendations with all forum participants.

Recommendations included:

Bay Restoration: Continue to ramp up Bay Restoration efforts, including building upon Maryland's Phase 1 Watershed Implementation Plan, to ensure reaching our Bay Restoration goals by 2020 �five years earlier than any other State in the watershed.

Clean Energy/Climate Change: Aggressively pursue the development of offshore wind generation as a clean energy solution as well an avenue to create thousands of green jobs.

Smart Growth: Increase support for development projects in transit oriented, sustainable communities through funding, financing, tax credits, and other incentives. Continue to promote public transit ridership, which has increased 17 percent since 2006.

Resource Based Industries: Develop new policies and programs that provide economic incentives for rural landowners, including farmers, to conserve their land instead of developing it; develop new programs to support environmentally friendly resource-based industries, including sustainable agriculture and forestry, aquaculture, and nature-based tourism.

"The world is changing as a result of these issues, and Maryland can choose to be either a leader or a follower in the resulting New Economy that is upon us," says Gov. O'Malley.

Source: Office of the Governor
Writer: Walaika Haskins

It's time we started giving credit where its due in the Baltimore area.

That's the thought behind the Economic Alliance of Greater Baltimore's (EAGB) new "Pride of Baltimore" campaign that will honor five area leaders as "rock stars who make things happen in Greater Baltimore."

The campaign, announced at the organization's 2011 Annual Meeting, will highlight people from industry, education, community leaders, government, and other sectors who help make Baltimore City great and an area that can outperform competing markets economically. It will include profiles of area leaders in ads, marketing materials, and web content.

"Our role is to promote this region as a place in which to grow a business, invest, and bring jobs. We found the best way to do that is to get the people behind our positive testimonials to tell their stories and give it more of a community feel. If we can connect those leaders, together we can better address opportunities that come along," says Thomas Sadowski, EAGB president and CEO.

The initial five "rock stars" recognized by the EAGB are: Maryland State School Superintendent Dr. Nancy S. Grasmick; former Baltimore County Executive James T. Smith; Thomas Wilcox, President and CEO of the Baltimore Community Foundation; Brian Rogers and the T. Rowe Price Leadership Team; and Juxtopia Founder Jayfus Doswell. According to Sadowski, featured leaders are either nominated or are people the organization considers standouts.

"We're working on a new list of honorees that will come out in the next week or so. Obviously they're certain people who stand out, and we began with the list that we did because they're obvious or should be obvious to most. T. Rowe Price and their contribution to the business community. Nancy Grasmick and everything she's done for education with us being No. 1 in public education, that's significant. BCF is doing great things in the community not just from a social perspective, but what they're doing in the tech community to foster innovation and entrepreneurship. We'd heard Jayfus Doswell's story a couple of times now and felt like it was a good one. Here's a guy who's doing great things in business and to give back to the community. They're a lot of people like Jayfus who're doing great things for our community and we want to tell their story," Sadowski says.

The idea to celebrate the region's heroes came from a trip to Austin, Texas where Sadowski says they've invested a lot in highlighting these members of their community. "A lot of them were grown out of Dell and some of the other companies that have launched there. These firms have made great strides and are now giving back to the community. They're readily known in the business community and are serving as mentors. We have a lot of that going on in Baltimore, but we're a bigger market and a little bit more diverse given the federal government agencies in the area. We thought it was a great idea and figured let's do what we can to start introducing these champion leaders to one another," Sadowski says.

Source: Thomas Sadowski, Economic Alliance of Greater Baltimore
Writer: Walaika Haskins

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has awarded Baltimore City's Miller's Court its 2010 Smart Growth Achievement Award for Smart Growth and Green Building. According to the government agency, Miller's Court is a model of integrating mixed-use redevelopment with preservation of a landmark historic building and sustainable design principles to help revitalize an entire community.

The EPA created the National Award for Smart Growth Achievement in 2002 to recognize exceptional approaches to development that respect the environment, foster economic vitality, and enhance quality of life.

The building, located in Charles Village, is a model for adaptive reuse of historic structures in urban neighborhoods, the EPA says. In a transitioning area of the city, this project directed development towards the existing neighborhood and revitalized a long-abandoned property to create new office and residential spaces. The project has also been a catalyst for surrounding neighborhood development by creating a sense of stability and demonstrating long-term commitment to the community.

Source: Environmental Protection Agency
Writer: Walaika Haskins

WebAdvantage.net, an Internet marketing and advertising agency based in Havre de Grace, has launched its new Social Media Roadmap product. The consulting service is designed to assist brand owners interested in creating effective social media strategies.

The Social Media Roadmap utilizes the organization's marketing goals to identify the best social media channels, tactics, and strategies for engaging the target audience, while providing built-in metrics for tracking, measuring, and analyzing the results. The service expands WebAdvantage.net's suite of Social Media Marketing services including Social Media Optimization and Blog Support used by Baltimore-area clients like K'NEX, Visit Baltimore, and Freedom Federal Credit Union.

"Our agency has been providing social media services to clients long before 'social media' was defined. Our new service addresses the growing market need for business guidance and best practices in creating and executing social media strategies," says Hollis Thomases, president of WebAdvantage.net.

Source: WebAdvantage.net
Writer: Walaika Haskins

The University of Maryland, College Park officially launched the new Maryland Cybersecurity Center (MC2) last week.

MC2 will promote education, research, and technology development in the emerging field of cybersecurity in partnership with government agencies and industry. The new center will adopt a "more than tech," interdisciplinary approach, capitalizing on College Park's close proximity to Washington, D.C. and key government agencies engaged in cybersecurity.

MC2 will bring together experts from engineering and computer science with colleagues from across the College Park campus in fields such as information sciences, business, public policy, social sciences, and economic policy to develop innovative new solutions to cybersecurity.

With the initiative, the university aims to stimulate public-private partnerships and address national vulnerabilities, including those facing industry. The idea is to help "connect the dots" in the region's burgeoning federal and private cyber sector.

"The nation's information systems have outgrown our ability to assure their security, and no one institution or sector can undertake a task of this magnitude alone," says Nariman Farvardin, interim president of the University of Maryland, provost and senior vice president for academic affairs. "As one of the nation's top research universities, and with our strategic location, we are perfectly positioned to provide the education, expertise and collaboration that will help advance national and regional cybersecurity efforts."

Source: University of Maryland, College Park
Writer: Walaika Haskins

It's been a record year for the Port of Baltimore. For the second time this year, more automobiles passed through the public marine terminals at the Port of Baltimore in a single month than in any other month in the Port's history. In October, 42,830 cars traveled through Baltimore's public docks, breaking the record of 38,053 cars that was set in March. Before March, the Port's previous record for most cars handled was 37,552 in July 2008, before the national economic recession. October's total is also 25 percent higher than October 2009's total of 34,057 cars.

"These automobile numbers demonstrate that the Port of Baltimore is successfully weathering the storm that is the recent national economic downturn," says Gov.r Martin O'Malley. "This is good news for the thousands of men and women that depend on the Port-related jobs to support their families. A strong Port of Baltimore helps build a stronger Maryland."

The news highlights the important role the Port's auto business plays in the local economy. Auto shipments are up 33 percent over the same period in 2009. Earlier this year, BMW began fulfilling its five-year commitment to ship 50,000 new cars annually through Baltimore. The agreement has led to the creation of some 200 new jobs. In addition, Ford began shipping their Fiesta car through the Port this year. All total, approximately 1,150 jobs have been created as a direct result of the Port's automotive contracts..

In 2009, the Port of Baltimore handled about 375,000 cars. Baltimore ranks second among all U.S. ports for exporting cars.

During the summer, the Port announced it had handled more TEU containers for three consecutive months than at any other time in its history.

The Port of Baltimore generates about 16,700 direct jobs. Out of about 360 U.S. ports, Baltimore is ranked number one for handling imported roll on/roll off (farm and construction equipment) and imported forest products, gypsum, and sugar. The Port is responsible for about $3.7 billion in personal wage and salary income. Activities at the Port of Baltimore generate nearly $400 million in state and local taxes.

Source: Maryland Port Authority
Writer: Walaika Haskins

Citing its strong public commitments to and major achievements in reducing medical errors, and other innovations in patient safety and quality, The University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC) has been named a "Leapfrog Top Hospital of the Decade" by The Leapfrog Group. Virginia Mason Medical Center (VMMC) in Seattle also received the award. The awards were presented on November 30th at a Washington, DC ceremony marking Leapfrog's 10-year anniversary.

According to Leapfrog, the two hospitals are among 1200 leading institutions that voluntarily participate in the annual Leapfrog Hospital Survey. UMMC and VMMC are the only two hospitals in America to consistently perform in the top ranks of survey responders since Leapfrog began its Top Hospitals awards program in 2006.

The Leapfrog Group is a coalition of public and private purchasers of employee health benefits founded a decade ago to work for improvements in health care safety, quality, and affordability. Initially organized by the Business Roundtable, it is now an independent, national not-for-profit organization working with a broad range of partners, including hospitals and insurers. The annual survey is the only voluntary effort of its kind. Leapfrog officials say they plan to expand their efforts in the months ahead to work with consumer groups.

Leapfrog Group Board Chair David Knowlton, president of the New Jersey Health Care Quality Institute, describes the efforts of the two hospitals as "extraordinary in every sense of the word."

"The new era of health care reform in our nation is going to require providers, insurers, employers and others to work together as never before to improve the quality and efficiency of care," Knowlton says. "Hospitals such as The University of Maryland Medical Center and Virginia Mason Medical Center chose to blaze that trail long ago by committing themselves to change, accountability and transparency. They have done the work that others must now undertake."

According to Leapfrog CEO Leah Binder, the kind of top notch performances achieved in Baltimore and Seattle are tributes not only to employers and health care purchasers who championed Leapfrog, but to the Boards of Trustees and management teams at these hospitals, and to every physician, nurse and employee working every day on the frontlines of care. Binder noted, "These hospitals are role models: they don't compromise on patient care and they never relax their determination to do better and better every year. They are courageous enough to be transparent throughout the process." Leapfrog publishes its hospital results by hospital at www.leapfroggroup.org.

Source: The Leapfrog Group
Writer: Walaika Haskins