The Maryland Public Service Commission issued its much-anticipated approval of the sale of Constellation Energy Group's nuclear assets to EDF Friday afternoon with conditions that look a great deal like half a loaf.

Constellation's first reaction was about as non-committal as humanly possible. The official statement acknowledged only that the company had received the order and was reviewing it. Well, guess the cross-town traffic didn't get in the way of delivery.

More interesting, however, is how the PSC has ordered CEG to come up with $110 million in one-time rate relief (about $100 for the average Baltimore Gas & Electric customer) instead of the $200 million Gov. Martin O'Malley had sought. Where did the figure come from? Easy. Staff just added up all the sweeteners EDF has already offered from a visitors center at Calvert Cliffs to charitable donations.

Sweet.

The order also includes much of what everyone involved expected -- ring-fencing around the utility and more capital dedicated to BGE to protect the company from its parent and its parent's finances. But as with any complex financial matter, the devil is in the details and it will take time for all parties to review the specifics.

Continue reading "PSC aims at compromise" »

Posted by Peter Jensen at 2:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Business
        

So much concern was expressed this summer about crime around the Inner Harbor -- or at least the perception of a safety problem -- that one might reasonably jump to the conclusion that Baltimore's waterfront attractions are losing customers, particularly in the midst of so disastrous an economic recession.

But here's the latest news from the National Aquarium: Attendance is up and so are memberships, despite a recent increase in both ticket and membership prices. Even a recent name change -- from National Aquarium in Baltimore to just plain National Aquarium -- hasn't rocked the boat with the local crowd.

Appearing before The Sun's editorial board Wednesday morning, National Aquarium Executive Director David M. Pittenger and William R. Roberts, chair of the aquarium's board, said the Baltimore and Washington (in the basement of the U.S. Commerce Department) sites have attracted more than 1.6 million visitors this year, a modest increase from the previous year.

As for incidents involving possible gangs or violence, aquarium visitors don't seem to be overly concerned, or in most cases even aware, of any problems. At least they're not complaining to aquarium management or worse, choosing to stay home. It's a sign that much of the media attention given the incidents may have been overblown.

Continue reading "What recession or image problem?" »

Posted by Peter Jensen at 11:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Business
        

Two reports came out yesterday that seemed to present a puzzling paradox. On the one hand, the Tax Foundation issued its annual rankings of state business friendliness based on taxes, and it pegged Maryland as sixth worst. On the other hand, the Census Bureau released figures showing that, once again, Maryland is the richest state in the nation, with a median household income of $70,545, about $1,500 more than last year. What gives?

Sure, there are plenty of reasons in Maryland's case why business friendliness and prosperity wouldn't necessarily go together. The presence of the federal government provides an ocean of cash, whether Maryland is friendly to business or not. But there's a more curious overlap between these two rankings than just Maryland. New Jersey was ranked the worst state for business. It's also the second wealthiest. California also makes the top 10 in wealth and the bottom 10 in business climate. With the exception of Iowa and Ohio, all of the worst states for business are wealthier than the national average. Some of the best business states are also wealthy (New Hampshire and Alaska, for example) and some are not (South Dakota tops the business friendliness list but ranks 39th in median household income).

What does this prove? Nothing, really. And neither does a ranking that a state is bad for business. That's only one way to look at the health and wealth of a state and shouldn't be the only consideration of whether a policy is good or bad. As much as some complain about taxes and regulations in Maryland, things could be a lot worse. Income is going up. The number lacking health insurance is down. Education is up, too -- 35.2 percent of Marylanders have a bachelor's degree, good for fifth in the nation. We're number three in advanced degrees. The only thing we're really bad at is commuting -- Maryland's 31.5 minutes-a-day average is second only to New York. The easiest way to fix that would be to raise taxes for more roads and mass transit. Of course, that might hurt our business ranking.

Posted by Andy Green at 1:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)
Categories: Business
        

On Friday, the federal minimum wage will rise to $7.25 per hour from the current $6.55 an hour, a 70-cent or 10.7 percent increase. Considering the nation is in the midst of a recession and high unemployment, there are some who will see this as economically counterproductive, particularly for part-timers, college students and other young wage earners.

But such criticisms imply that the country has a fair minimum wage today. It does not. For years, the minimum wage has failed to keep up with inflation, giving us a humongous gap in salaries from top to bottom.

If the minimum wage from Dwight Eisenhower's time in the White House had simply kept pace with inflation, it would be closer to $10 today. Indeed, critics of the minimum wage use the job-loss argument against the standard in good times and bad. The reality is there's little evidence that it's held back economic growth in this country at any point in history.

Continue reading "Despite recession, minimum wage goes up" »

Posted by Peter Jensen at 3:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)
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Remember when upscale shopping in Towson meant a trip to Hutzler's? Towson Town Center started life as an open-air mall. Even relatively recently, Towson might have a Hecht's, but if shoppers wanted something ritzier they had to go elsewhere to find a Saks Fifth Avenue or a Lord & Taylor.

Well, you can forget those days. On Wednesday, Louis Vuitton opened in what can only be described as the luxury wing of Towson Town Center. The French designer is to leather handbags and accessories what Taittinger is to champagne and beluga sturgeon are to caviar.

Think women's wallets for $535 or more and a man's billfold for $315 - and that's the cheap stuff. When relatively simple handbags cost more than $2,000, you know you're not in Wal-Mart country anymore.

But what's notable about this is not only that Vuitton is willing to make such an investment at the height of an economic recession (although that's plenty amazing, too), but that Towson shoppers are perceived as willing and financially able to support such a venture. You can bet that the company has done plenty of surveys and studies to back up the decision, too.

Continue reading "Towson, home to caviar and champagne set?" »

Posted by Peter Jensen at 11:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Business