Maryland Has Poor Record of Disciplining Physicians

Written by Jesse Barron from on April 21st, 2009 | 27 Comments

As someone with Crohn’s Disease, I’ve had the best of doctors and the worst of doctors.  I am forever grateful for the best doctors and despise the worst.  There seems to be little that can be done when you end up with a bad doctor.  
Have you ever tried asking for a refund when you [...]

Buddy’s Crabs & Ribs in Downtown Annapolis Needs Your Help!

Written by Jesse Barron from on April 20th, 2009 | 20 Comments

Our friends at Eye on Annapolis have been trying to get the word out about the great Buddy’s Crabs and Ribs in downtown Annapolis possibly losing their liquor license:
Buddy’s Crabs & Ribs has been a fixture on Main Street for 21 years and has been an exemplary neighbor to our community. They employ 150 people and [...]

Store to Visit – Arhaus at Annapolis Towne Centre at Parole

Written by Jesse Barron from on April 18th, 2009 | 83 Comments

If you are looking for great furniture, you must check out the new Arhaus (if you are like me and cannot figure out how to pronounce it, I will save you the embarrassing question I asked: it’s pronounced “our house”) in the Annapolis Towne Centre at Parole.

We got lost for about an hour in there today. [...]

Goldman Sachs Follow-up

Written by Jesse Barron from on April 15th, 2009 | 24 Comments

Earlier today I posted How the Banks Are Posting Profits.
I just stumbled upon an excellent New York Times op-ed piece that goes into further detail about Goldman Sachs sudden profit and touches on how AIG (who has received $170 billion in bailout funds thus far) helped.  I think it is a must read:
Big Profits, Big [...]

How the Banks Are Posting Profits

Written by Jesse Barron from on April 15th, 2009 | 15 Comments

It sure seemed fishy to me that banks are suddenly declaring profitable quarters after being on the brink of collapse just a few months ago.
Here’s how they are doing it:
Goldman Sachs, which is posting a $1.81 billion profit for the first quarter is in a rush to repay bailout funds.  To most, this would appear [...]

Starbucks to Close Mall Location

Written by Jesse Barron from on April 14th, 2009 | 16 Comments

Starbucks is closing 195 stores across the U.S., including seven in Maryland.
One of the stores to find itself on the chopping block is the one at Westfield Annapolis Mall.
This is on top of the 600 underperforming stores it began closing last summer and it is part of the 300 stores in the U.S. and overseas [...]

Another Sign of the Times

Written by Jesse Barron from on April 13th, 2009 | 3 Comments

A lot of parents tell their kids to be a doctor or a lawyer, as both are thought to be recession proof.

Then we had this recession.
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, one of the most well known and respected law firms in the world, is offering its associates a unique deal:

Any associate who decides to take off [...]

Double Dipping Banks

Written by Jesse Barron from on April 12th, 2009 | 15 Comments

Some of the banks that have received TARP funds are sending interest rates through the roof and creating bogus fees:

Last week, Bank of America sent letters to customers notifying them that the interest rate on their credit card would nearly double to 14%.  They are also going to begin charging a $10 fee for many common [...]

No Energy Re-Regulation in Maryland

Written by Jesse Barron from on April 12th, 2009 | 14 Comments

Governor O’Malley threw his support behind a bill that would have re-regulated Maryland energy markets.
That bill has been defeated in committee.  
The House Economic Matters Committee voted 21-2 against the bill.  Members of the legislature had previously complained that they did not have enough time to review the bill and cited that as a reason [...]

No Resolution to BGE Shutoffs

Written by Jesse Barron from on April 8th, 2009 | 35 Comments

Yesterday, the PSC had their follow-up meeting with state utilities about shutoffs for non-paying accounts.
The proposal put forth by the utilities during yesterday’s meeting was to allow customers to catch-up on past due accounts, interest free, so long as they are caught up by next winter, when energy bills are expected to increase again.
The Baltimore [...]