Startling Prince George’s Foreclosure Numbers

Written by Jesse Barron from on November 30th, 2009 | 47 Comments

I just stumbled across a piece by Danny Jacobs at The Daily Record that made me cringe.
The gist of it is the number of foreclosure filings in PG County — our neighbor — and the numbers included an interesting note (in bold):

In 2006, the clerk’s office received 4,148 filings. (That’s more than Baltimore County has [...]

Seven Bancorp Under Federal Supervision

Written by Jesse Barron from on November 24th, 2009 | 18 Comments

Annapolis based Severn Bankcorp, Inc., the parent of Seven Bank, has joined the growing list of banks that are now under federal supervision.
The Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) announced that it has supervisory agreements in place and that the bank must revise its policies regarding its problem assets, including revising its allowance for losses and [...]

Oprah and KFC Are Feeding Entire Country for Free (and for Real)

Written by Jesse Barron from on May 5th, 2009 | 12 Comments

Today, Oprah’s show was one of her “Oprah’s Hookups” specials where she helps people do what they have always wanted to do.
She commented that viewers never get free stuff and that they must be upset.
Then she announced that she and KFC were feeding the entire country for free.
That’s right, each person can download up to [...]

PLEASE HELP! Do you know ANYONE with extra office space?

Written by Jesse Barron from on May 5th, 2009 | 17 Comments

There seems to be a lot of empty office spaces and storefronts around Annapolis because of the recession we’re in.
This recession is also causing low-income residents to lean on community resources more than ever.
One of those great community resources may cease to exist if a solution is not found soon!
A low-cost pediatric clinic ran out [...]

PSC: BGE May Resume Gas and Electric Shutoffs

Written by Jesse Barron from on April 28th, 2009 | 55 Comments

The PSC has authorized BGE and other utility providers in Maryland to begin shutting off the utilities for past due accounts.  
There had been a moratorium on shutoffs due to an usually high number of customers with past due accounts.  More than 80,000 customers of BGE alone faced risked shutoffs before the PSC intervened.
but…

Before Baltimore [...]

An Invaluable Community Resource Needs Help!

Written by Jesse Barron from on April 21st, 2009 | 13 Comments

On March 17th I posted about a little gem I did not know about right in my own neck of the woods: Shanahan Children’s Clinic — a low cost health clinic serving low-income families in and around Annapolis.
How things have changed in a little over a month…

Eye on Annapolis is reporting that Allen Apartments, the [...]

Goldman Sachs Follow-up

Written by Jesse Barron from on April 15th, 2009 | 16 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 | 12 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 [...]

Local Annapolis Bank Recommendations?

Written by Jesse Barron from on April 12th, 2009 | 57 Comments

Does anyone have a good, small local bank in Annapolis that they love?  I do not want to bank with one of the “big boys.”
I want a small, local bank that has great personal and business checking accounts.  I currently pay no monthly maintenance fees, but would probably pay a reasonable fee to a great [...]

Double Dipping Banks

Written by Jesse Barron from on April 12th, 2009 | 9 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 [...]