Columbia Foundation Announces New President/CEO
The board of trustees of The Columbia Foundation has hired Beverley Francis as the new president and CEO, effective in June. Francis will replace Barbara Lawson, the outgoing president and CEO, who has been at the helm of the nonprofit since 1989.

Francis comes from the Triangle Community Foundation in Research Triangle Park, N.C., where she has worked for 10 years and is currently director of philanthropic services. The entity has grown from $85 million when she started in her position to $130 million during her tenure, and has more than 700 funds of which she personally managed 250.

In her prior position as executive director for Women-in-Action, an organization in Durham, N.C., dedicated to the prevention of violence, Francis was responsible for the organization’s fundraising and marketing, including bringing in seven-figure gifts.

In her new role, she will oversee the continued growth of the $16 million endowment and more than $700,000 in annual grant programs.

BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport Adds Real-Time Flight Tracker, Weather Displays
BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport has installed several flight tracker and weather display monitors throughout the passenger terminal. The monitors, located alongside traditional airport flight information display systems (FIDS), provide a real-time, visual image of air traffic and weather conditions.

The new monitors present maps and up-to-the-minute graphical information, including the airline and the flight number for commercial flights arriving at and departing from the airport. The flight tracker and weather display technologies are produced with RLM Software’s FlightView brand of flight tracking solutions. Additional information on the technology is available at www.FlightView.com.

The Columbia Bank Opens First Anne Arundel Branch
The Columbia Bank has opened its first full-service branch banking office in Anne Arundel County. The institution’s 27th branch is located at 7692 Dorchester Boulevard and is part of Arundel Preserve, a 280-acre mixed-use community near the intersection of the Baltimore-Washington Parkway and Arundel Mills Boulevard.

Upon completion, Arundel Preserve will feature more than 2.3 million square feet of office and retail space, approximately 1,000 housing units and two hotels. The retail component is nearing completion, with tenants to include Starbucks Coffee, Arundel Preserve Wine & Spirits, Pearl Nails and Spa, Red Parrot Asian Café and Maiwand Kabob. A Hyatt Summerfield Suites hotel is sited adjacent to The Columbia Bank.


Plant Sensory Systems Receives NSF Grant
Plant Sensory Systems, a resident of bwtech@UMBC’s incubator, has received a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from the National Science Foundation. The $100,000 grant, which is a six-month grant (referred to as Phase I) that takes effect July 1, will help the company test new genetic modifications on its laboratory plants.

The research is a crucial first step in creating plants that are more productive and environmentally friendly. Plant Sensory Systems is focused on creating plants that are more nitrogen use-efficient as well as drought-resistant. More efficient use of nitrogen, the main ingredient in fertilizer, means less run-off into rivers and streams, and increased drought resistance could reduce crop losses significantly in drought years.

RLTV Launches Web Health Info Resource for Seniors
Columbia-based Retirement Living TV (RLTV) has launched “Our Freedom Years” (www.FreedomYears.com), a portal for health information and user interaction regarding issues on aging.

The web site features a search engine for researching health from sources such as Erickson Health, the nation’s largest practice of geriatric physicians; the National Institutes of Health; the RLTV program “Healthline”; and other news outlets.

The site serves as a vertical site for www.rl.tv, which was recently named among the top 10 boomer sites by PCMagazine.com. Specifically designed for interactivity and user experience, the portal’s goal is to bring people together to talk about health and to provide them with relevant information and resources.

“For the first time, all of Erickson’s institutional knowledge about aging, from sources like Erickson Health, the Erickson Tribune and Retirement Living TV, is being collected in a single online destination at FreedomYears.com,” said Dr. Matt Narrett, chief medical officer of Erickson Retirement Communities.

O’Malley Signs Order Establishing Partnership for Children in Nature
Gov. Martin O’Malley recently signed an executive order establishing the Maryland Partnership for Children in Nature, a coalition of state, local, private and nonprofit partners charged with promoting the well-being of youth by accelerating environmental learning and expanding opportunities for outdoor experiences.

O’Malley recently testified at the U.S. House Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education’s field hearing held at the Patuxent Wildlife Refuge near Laurel on the No Child Left Inside Act of 2007 (H.R. 3036), federal legislation co-sponsored by Congressman John Sarbanes.

The act, introduced by Sarbanes, makes environmental education grants available for student activities and teacher training to states that develop statewide environmental literacy plans.

“Adoption of the federal No Child Left Inside Act will help students in every state, regardless of socio-economic status, have the opportunity to experience the great outdoors. It will also provide much needed federal funding to help our teachers be prepared to provide these experiences for our children,” said O’Malley.

MTA Places $95 Million Order for New Trains With Wabtec
A subsidiary of Wilmerding, Pa.-based Wabtec Corp., MotivePower, has received an order worth $95 million for 26 MPXpress commuter locomotives from the Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) for its Maryland Rail Commuter Service (MARC) commuter rail service.

The locomotives, to be built in Boise, Idaho, will be delivered by next year. MARC’s three lines are known as the Brunswick, the Camden and the Penn; the latter two connect stations in Baltimore City (Penn Station and Camden Yards, respectively) with Union Station in Washington and serve approximately 24,000 commuters between them daily in the Corridor.

GP Opens Managed Services Center in India
Elkridge-based global performance improvement solutions provider General Physics Corp. (GP), the operating subsidiary of GP Strategies Corp., has announced the opening of a managed services center in Chennai, India. It will allow GP to further expand its India-based operations by providing training administration, course administration, call center services, instructor resource management and learning management system support for its global client base.

GP Senior Vice President Dan Miller said the center “is the first GP facility of this type in the Asia-Pacific region. GP will leverage our U.S.-based managed services center experience and processes to expand our capability to support our customers worldwide.”

Loyola College Could Become Loyola University
The Board of Trustees of Loyola College in Maryland, which has a campus in Columbia, has given preliminary approval to a plan to change the name of the Baltimore-based school to Loyola University as part of its strategic planning process.

The college, in collaboration with higher education marketing firm SimpsonScarborough, has embarked on an extensive integrated marketing research project that involves asking the opinions and impressions of current students, faculty, administrators, parents and alumni, as well as prospective students, members of the secondary education community and regional business leaders.

Sleepy’s Inks Big Warehouse Deal in Columbia Gateway
Sleepy’s, a large specialty mattress retailer with more than 600 locations in 11 states, has signed a lease with RREEF for 119,000 square feet of warehouse space in the Columbia Gateway Business Center.

The company will occupy a portion of 8700 Robert Fulton Drive, which offers 700,000 square feet of space and is part of the three-building Gateway Commerce Center portfolio.

Comfort Suites Laurel Lakes Acquired by Northstar Hotels Group
Northstar Hotels Group recently added the Comfort Suites Laurel Lakes hotel to its portfolio. The company will also manage the 119-suite hotel, which is located along the busy Route 1 Corridor in Laurel.

The company is discussing plans to renovate and to make the hotel more eco-friendly, with the new plans slated to be announced shortly.

NAMIWALKS for the Mind of America
The 2008 Maryland NAMIWalks for the Mind of America walkathon will be held at Centennial Park on Saturday, May 3. The goal of the 2.4-mile walk is to raise money and awareness regarding the need for America to build a world-class treatment and recovery system for children and adults with mental illness.

Registration begins at 10 a.m. with the start time set for 11 a.m., rain or shine. There is no walker registration fee, but participants are encouraged to collect donations from family members, friends, co-workers and business associates in support of their participation.

All the proceeds from the walk will be used to fund NAMI’s programs here in Maryland. These programs include support, education, research and advocacy involving schizophrenia, bipolar disorder (manic depression), major depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder and severe anxiety disorders.

For further information, call NAMI-Howard County at 410-772-9300 or visit www.nami.org/walks.

Laurel Regional Hospital Holds 30-Year Anniversary Celebration
In commemoration of its 30 years of service, Laurel Regional Hospital will invite the community to be present at its Founders Day celebration and Open House on Tuesday, May 13. Activities will begin at 11 a.m. and will continue until 7 p.m.

The doors of the hospital will be open for the community to come in to receive free health screenings, tour the recently upgraded clinical service departments and view newly acquired state-of-the-art equipment, as well as learn about the many services and programs offered.

The highlight of the day’s activities will be the honorary acknowledgement of the founders and many of the supporters and contributors who have assisted in establishing the foundation on which Laurel Regional Hospital stands today. The hospital is located at 7300 Van Dusen Road in Laurel. For more information, call 301-497-7914.

Computer Mania Day for Middle School Girls
Computer Mania Day will be held on Sat., May 3, 9 a.m.-2:30 p.m. The event is an annual day of free, hands-on, high-tech fun activities for adults and kids sponsored by UMBC's Center for Women and Information Technology (CWIT). The half-day event helps to get girls interested in technology and computing careers while helping parents and teachers learn how to prepare their kids for college and technical careers and keep them safe online. While boys are welcome, the focus is on girls because of their continuing under-representation in engineering and information technology fields. Admission to the event is free, but registration is required in advance. Adults and children should visit www.computer-mania.info to register.