Baltimore County Expands Small Business Loan Program

Middle River-based Colliflower Inc. is just one of many local businesses that have benefited from the program, which was established in 1996.

Hunter Cochrane said his hoses and hydraulic fitting business, Colliflower Inc., was busting at the seams at its Yellow Brick Road facility in 1998. Back then, the company was located in a 3,000-square-foot building and employed 16 people. Cochrane knew that for his business to continue to grow he would need a new location for his corporate headquarters. So, he turned to the Baltimore County Small Business Loan Partnership for help. With a small business loan through that program, Cochrane was able to build a 15,000-square-foot facility along Pulaski Highway in Middle River and now has 30 employees working at the site. That expansion, Cochrane said, would not have gone as smoothly without the assistance of the program. Colliflower, which …

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Support Your Favorite Small Business with a Patch Shout Out

With Small Business Saturday coming this weekend, you can encourage shoppers to stop by a local store.

Is Black Friday worth the trouble? You just ate a feast's worth of turkey and stayed up a good part of the night watching football or talking with relatives you haven't seen in months. And now it's a good idea to be caught waking up at the crack of dawn and waiting in a long line outside of a department store in the chilly November weather for that bargain? Sleep in on Black Friday and do some holiday shopping on Small Business Saturday instead. Small Business Saturday, a calendar event conceived by American Express, encourages holiday shoppers to avoid the busy parking lots at outlets and instead take a trip down local streets. Review your favorite local businesses in Patch Places.

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Finding the Perfect Thanksgiving Wine in Essex

Adding the right bottle of wine can help improve the quality of a holiday meal.

Finding the right turkey is just part of putting together the perfect Thanksgiving meal. Selecting the right bottle of wine can be the perfect complement for any dish. But knowing what wine to pick can be difficult for many people. After consulting with several wine experts, here are six selections to consider for your holiday meal. Those selections, with a complete description of the wine, include: Here are five places in the Essex-Middle River area to assist you in your search for the perfect bottle of wine:

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Out To Eat on Thanksgiving in Essex, Middle River

There are plenty of quality local restaurant options for those who wish to go out to eat for the holiday.

For many people, Thanksgiving is a time to gather around the dining room table, joined by family and friends, to reflect on what we are most thankful for each year. But there are also many who would rather go out to eat with loved ones at a local restaurant. Those who wish to take the latter route have several options in and around the Essex-Middle River area. Here are a few of those options. In each case, reservations are recommended: 1. The Williamsburg Inn Address: 11131 Pulaski Highway, White Marsh Deal: The restaurant will offer a selected Thanksgiving menu that will include such main entrée items like turkey, prime rib and roast pork loin along with sides like mashed potatoes and cranberry sauce. Hours: Noon to 8 p.m. Price: Starting…

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Pump Watch

$4.50 a Gallon for Gas on the Horizon?

Improved economic indicators and continued volatility for crude oil prices could lead fuel prices to soar to record highs in 2012, AAA reports.

Gas prices could be back on the way to $4 a gallon, or even higher, according to AAA. The price of regular unleaded gas averaged $3.42 a gallon nationally on Sunday, up 1 cent from a week ago, according to the latest AAA survey. The same survey also reported that the cost to fill up spiked to $3.38 a gallon in Maryland, a 2-cent increase from he week before. The prices, AAA reports, are at their highest level for this time of year, as motorists prepare for the Thanksgiving holiday. AAA also believes that prices could soar to $4.25 to $4.50 a gallon in 2012 because of "crude oil volatility and increased demand due to positive economic indicators." This would be a far greater increase from the record high average of $4.11 a gallon, set back …

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O’Malley Launches 'Maryland Made Easy' Small Business Initiative

Maryland's governor introduces members of the state Small Business Commission – the outgrowth of a two-year task force.

Small business in Maryland is getting a big boost from a state plan called "Maryland Made Easy," designed to create a more business-friendly environment, Gov. Martin O'Malley says. O'Malley launched the economic development initiative and introduced the 17 members of the newly formed Maryland Small Business Commission Friday in Baltimore. “As we transition our state into the new economy, we have to listen to the men and women on the front line of job creation,” the governor said at a session with some 80 business owners, entrepreneurs and developers. O’Malley said he looked to the group gathered on Boston Street in Canton at DAP Products Inc. for advice and strategies “on how to improve infrastructure, to support our innovation economy, …

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