Rams Head Tavern Owner Charged With Installing Restroom Camera
According to a charging document released to the press, Howard County Police have charged Kyle Muelhauser, 37, of Severna Park, with installing an illegal recording device in the women’s restroom of the Rams Head Tavern at Savage Mill.
Muelhauser faces six counts of visual surveillance with prurient intent following a 10-month investigation conducted by the county police department. County police were tipped off by a female patron, who discovered the recording device in May 2014. He is part owner of the Rams Head Group, which also operates restaurants/live entertainment at several locations throughout the state and region.
Rams Head Group released a statement acknowledging the community’s concerns. “Since the incident in May 2014, we have been focused on ensuring that all of our facilities are safe and secure,” the statement read. “No other locations or incidents are involved.” Rams Head Group has pledged its cooperation in the investigation.
Kittleman Expands Food Scrap Collection to Clarksville Middle School
Howard County Executive Allan Kittleman has announced that the food scrap collection program begun at Pointers Run Elementary School in the fall will be expanded immediately to Clarksville Middle School. Clarksville Middle is across the street, and approximately 60% of Pointers Run students will ultimately go there.
The food scraps are mixed with yard trim to make compost at the Alpha Ridge Landfill. That compost is then used for county projects and is available for sale to the public. With the addition of food scrap collection, students at Pointers Run Elementary School have increased their recycling rate to 75%, and trash collections have been reduced from three to two a week.
The food scrap collection program is saving Howard County money. It previously cost Howard County $44 per ton to remove regular household waste to a landfill, but it now costs $28.50 to process food scraps and yard trim at Alpha Ridge. Up to 400 tons of material a year is diverted from landfills and being used to create mulch, topsoil and other by-products. Howard County made nearly $60,000 in selling those products last year.
Landmark Food Businesses Reopen in Howard County
Two shuttered landmark food businesses in Howard County reopened in February. Dave Webb, former general manager of Frank’s Seafood in Jessup, which closed in September 2014, confirmed that he has taken over the retail market under a new name, Wild Seafood.
Also, patrons of Bonaparte Breads, at Savage Mill, unexpectedly found the French specialty bakery closed on Jan. 31. A sign posted on the door of the bakery’s Fells Point location by an anonymous employee alleged that the former owner, Pierre Lafilliatre, had returned to France because he was more than $40,000 in arrears in back taxes.
An online search of court records against the owner’s Wagram Associates business appears to indicate a series of liens totaling more than $87,000 and dating back to 2001, filed by the Maryland State Comptroller of the Treasury. Annette Blondel has been retained as manager of the Savage Mill location and confirmed that the Savage bakery is operating again, under new ownership.
Vheda Health Awarded $100,000 Grant
The Howard County Economic Development Authority has announced that Vheda Health has been awarded a $100,000 grant from the Maryland Industrial Partnerships (MIPS) program. The MIPS program accelerates the commercialization of technology in Maryland by jointly funding collaborative research and development projects between companies and University System of Maryland faculty.
Vheda Health will partner with the Center for Health Information and Decision Systems (CHIDS) at the Robert H. Smith School of Business, University of Maryland College Park. “Although mobile technologies represent the next frontier in patient engagement, especially for the management of chronic diseases, surprisingly, we have very limited understanding of what works, when, and for whom,” said Ritu Agarwal, professor and the Robert H. Smith dean’s chair of information systems. “We are excited about the new evidence and insights that this research will produce.”
Howard County Seeks Public Input on Pedestrian Plans
The Howard County Office of Transportation has invited the public to join them at community meetings to gather input regarding improvements to the Pedestrian Master Plan, also known as WalkHoward.
The office will host two meetings; the first will take place on Monday, March 16, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at Slayton House in Wilde Lake Village Center, 10400 Cross Fox Lane in Columbia. A second meeting will be held on Saturday, March 28, from 1:30 to 3 p.m. at the North Laurel Community Center, 9411 Whiskey Bottom Road in Laurel.
Those unable to attend either meeting may also provide input online at www.walkhoward.org. For more information about WalkHoward, visit www.walkhoward.org or call 410-313-3130.
Aquilent Wins General Services Administration BPA for Cloud Services
Laurel-based Aquilent, a provider of mobile, web, cloud and portal solutions, has been awarded a $100 million Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) for Cloud Services through the General Services Administration (GSA) Office of Citizen Services and Innovative Technologies (OCSIT).
The $100 million BPA is a new, single-award, five-year contract. It includes a broad range of cloud services, from cloud hosting to cloud-managed services to cloud architecture, development and security, as well as access to Aquilent’s Olympus cloud management portal.
The new BPA is a GSA-wide procurement vehicle, which allows any group or sub-agency within GSA to quickly and easily procure any cloud offering within Aquilent’s and its cloud partners’ full breadth of cloud services. As part of the GSA BPA, Aquilent will be leveraging the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Cloud.
Howard County Tourism Releases This Year’s Visitors Guide
The “2015 Official Visitors + Residents Guide, Where Maryland Comes Together! Howard County,” is now available. Inside the 94-page destination and lifestyle guide is information on shopping, dining, lodging, sightseeing and living in Howard County.
This year’s edition features stories such as “Take a Hike, Bring Your Bike: Explore Howard County’s 100+ miles of trails,” “Dock to Dish: Chesapeake Bay favorites from our top chefs,” and “Arts Al Fresco: Creativity at Merriweather Post Pavilion and beyond.” This year’s edition also features a “Residents” section with information on governmental departments, schools, senior living, recreation and more, as well as a detachable Howard County map.
Published by local marketing firm Custom Media Options, 100,000 copies of the guide were printed and are available at local tourism businesses, Welcome Centers throughout Maryland, Merriweather Post Pavilion summer concerts, Howard County and BWI area hotels, as well as well as residential communities. For copies, call Howard County Tourism at 410-313-1900.
Annapolis, Chesapeake Bay’s 2015 Visitors Guides Available
Individuals who like to stay on top of all that Annapolis and the Chesapeake Bay have to offer are invited to stop by the Annapolis & Anne Arundel County Conference and Visitors Bureau’s (CVB) 26 West Street Visitors Center to pick up a copy of the “2015 Annapolis & the Chesapeake Bay Visitors Guide.”
Approximately 120,000 copies of the 72-page, full-color piece are available. For the first time this year, the publication’s self-guided walking tour section has been translated into French, Spanish and Mandarin. Produced by Annapolis-based Chesapeake Bay Media, the “Visitors Guide” is a companion piece to the CVB’s VisitAnnapolis.org web site and Annapolis NOW App.
The CVB is also distributing the guides at BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport; State of Maryland Welcome Centers; county visitor’s centers throughout Maryland; and AAA offices in Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia and beyond. Individuals requesting bulk quantities should contact CVB Director of Visitors Services Sue McKenzie in advance at [email protected] to arrange for a pickup.
HCEDA’s 3D Maryland Launches Engineer-in-Residence Program
The Howard County Economic Development Authority (HCEDA) has announced the appointment of Sharon Brackett, CEO/president of Tiresias Technologies, as engineer-in-residence at the 3D Maryland Innovation + Prototyping Lab, in Columbia.
“[Brackett’s] interdisciplinary experience makes her the ideal candidate to help us connect Maryland businesses to 3-D printing,” said Jan Baum, executive director of 3D Maryland. “We believe this technology can become a mainstay of the tools companies use to develop their products and improve their processes, and Sharon will help us deliver that message.”
Brackett has more than 25 years of engineering expertise in developing technology systems, ranging from medical imaging and scientific instrumentation to electronic systems and product development. She has been active with 3D Maryland, serving on the oversight committee for the 3D Printing Innovators Users Group.
BWI Marshall Works With WTMD Radio to Showcase Local Music
BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport has created a partnership with WTMD Radio, of Towson, to highlight local musicians from throughout the Baltimore and Washington, D.C., region. On the last Friday of each month, at 7 p.m., BWI Marshall and the station will feature live music from a local band on the lower level of the terminal, near Baggage Claim 5.
BWI Marshall is also working with WTMD to share music from local artists in several portions of the airport terminal. The partnership is presenting recorded music in the terminal to area residents and travelers from around the globe. WTMD is a non-commercial radio station licensed to Towson University. The radio station serves the Baltimore metropolitan area and central Maryland.
The remaining schedule of performances, include the following shows:
- March 27: June Star
- April 24: Among Wolves
- May 29: Cruise
Baltimore Magazine: Tenable Among Baltimore’s Best Workplaces
Columbia-based Tenable Network Security has been named a 2015 Best Place to Work by Baltimore Magazine, marking its third regional “top workplace” award in the past year, including a similar citation from the Baltimore Sun in December and another from the Washington Post last July. Tenable’s growth in the continuous network monitoring sector is due, in part, to lower than average turnover that helps the culture remain stable as the company expands internationally.
“Growth is a top priority because with growth comes opportunity, both for Tenable and for individual employees,” said Ron Gula, Tenable CEO. “We set aggressive goals this year, so our [human resources] team is on the lookout for innovative, dedicated, ambitious people who can help us grow without losing sight of the values that make Tenable a great place to work.”
New Civic Association Addresses Southern Howard Issues
The inaugural meeting of the Southern Howard County Civic Association will be held at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 7, at the North Laurel Community Center. The non-political organization is focused on community issues in southern Howard County and has filed for nonprofit status.
Officers for the Association include Bibi Perrotte-Foston, president; Gregory Jennings, treasurer; and Muriel Michelle Midon, secretary.
Voting membership is extended to residents within the boundaries of Route 32 in the north, Ten Oaks Road/Brighton Dam Road to the west, the Prince George’s and Montgomery County lines to the south and the Anne Arundel County line in the east. The Civic Association also accepts non-voting, paid memberships outside of these boundaries, as well as honorary memberships.
“We plan to hold an annual picnic in September and will announce the date as soon possible,” Perrotte-Foston said, adding that County Executive Allan Kittleman will be invited to speak at a future meeting. Meetings will be held on the first Tuesday of each month.
Howard Bank Is Future 50 Winner for Ninth Year
Howard Bank has been named a Future 50 winner for the ninth year by Baltimore SmartCEO Magazine.
The magazine’s Future 50 companies represent the top local growth companies, based on a combined three-year average of revenue and employee growth. “The companies we honored this year are growing in spite of the economic hardships we have all been facing. They deserve to be recognized and celebrated because they are moving the economy and the region forward,” according to the announcement of the awardees.
“Last year represented a watershed period in the short history of Howard Bancorp,” says Howard Bank president and CEO Mary Ann Scully. “We have consistently promised to increase value through organic and acquired growth and to do so in a sustainable fashion to benefit all of our stakeholders, and we have once again delivered upon our promise.”
Spirit Airlines Adds Service Between BWI Marshall and Atlanta. L.A.
Spirit Airlines will begin offering daily nonstop service between BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport and two new markets: Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and Los Angeles International Airport. Spirit’s service to Atlanta will begin June 18, and the Los Angeles service will begin in July.
The first Spirit arrival from Los Angeles will be on July 9, with the first departure set for July 10. Spirit will fly one daily round-trip flight between BWI Marshall and both cities. The airline offers ultra-low base airfares, with a number of optional, fee-based services. Atlanta and Los Angeles are the eighth and ninth destinations served by Spirit Airlines from BWI Marshall.
Ribis, Jones & Maresca Merges With McQuade Brennan
The merger of Ribis, Jones & Maresca and McQuade Brennan will result in a new firm called Jones, Maresca & McQuade, which will operate from Washington, D.C., Largo and Columbia.
Ribis, Jones & Maresca, and McQuade Brennan LLP had been operating in the Washington, D.C., market. The new entity will serve an expanded client base with a broadened suite of tax and accounting services. “Serving our clients’ diverse needs has always been our priority,” said Brian McQuade, managing partner of McQuade Brennan. “The combination of our practices will enable us to expand our offerings and specializations in order to best meet the unique challenges that our clients face.”