Weekly Roundup Of Business Odds And Ends

Mall Lands Retailer

WEST OCEAN CITY – Communications Electronics, a premier AT&T retailer, has expanded and relocated its retail store to White Marlin Mall.

The updated store has moved from its previous location at Trader Lee’s Village in West Ocean City and can now be found at White Marlin Mall next to Park Place Jewelers.

Regional Manager John Watson leads the new AT&T store at White Marlin Mall. His staff of five employees is trained to assist customers with purchasing decisions, customer service and technical support. Also sharing management duties at the new White Marlin Mall AT&T store is Regional Manager Dawn Reed.

While traditional phones continue to sell quickly, the advances in technology and changing society make smart phones more popular, Watson said.

“All the phones remain popular today but as the world becomes more connected, people demand phones that offer more services,” Watson said. “Today’s customers need phones that allow them to do everything on the go and that is what phones like the iPhone and Blackberry offer.”

Accordingly, the new AT&T store is welcomed as another valuable addition to the family of shops and stores at White Marlin Mall, according to Matt Mittenthal, asset manager at Greenberg Gibbons Commercial, the mall’s leasing and property management firm.

“We are happy to announce our newest retailer, Communications Electronics, a premier AT&T retailer, is Ocean City’s source for AT&T Smartphones, accessories and wireless communications solutions for individuals, families and local businesses,” Mittenthal said.

There are eight AT&T retail stores on the Eastern Shore and Communications Electronics move to White Marlin Mall has been beneficial.

“We were looking for a location that would attract more walk-in traffic,” Watson said. “White Marlin Mall offered the opportunity for us to grow into more than a destination-only store. Now, people can come to the mall to go to one store and decide to stop by our location.”

Open less than two weeks in its new location, White Marlin Mall Communications Electronics is already experiencing positive change.

“We are experiencing more people walking into our store every day,“ Watson said. “We are making great progress.”

Real Estate Announcements

BERLIN – Shamrock Realty Group has named Julie Sadler as top producer in listings, and Linda Westerside as top producer in sales for the month of June.

In other company news, Shamrock Realty Group announced Joseph Mulford has joined its office in the Gray’s Corner Professional Center in Berlin. Mulford brings with him over 20 years of real estate sales experience in the Ocean City and Ocean Pines areas.

Higher Utility Bills Warned

SALISBURY – Delmarva Power officials are warning of higher-than-usual summer energy bills, citing electricity use is up 12 percent among its residential customers from this same time last year.

“Given the number of heat waves we’ve already experienced this summer, it goes without saying that air conditioners, fans and other cooling appliances are running harder and longer. Unfortunately, when electricity use is high, so is that monthly energy bill,” said John Allen, Vice President, Delmarva Power Region.

Allen said the company regularly encourages customers to reduce their energy use to save on their monthly bill. It does this through many communication channels, such as the company website, social media, news releases, customer newsletters, bill messages and bill insertions.

“We recognize the hardship higher energy bills can pose for our customers, particularly during a hot summer, which is why we continue to provide them with ways they can reduce their energy use to save on their bill,” Allen said.

Allen added that customers who struggle to pay their electricity bills should contact the company’s Customer Care center at 1-800-375-7117 for information on financial assistance or to arrange a flexible payment plan.

University Lauded

SALISBURY – Students returning to Salisbury University (SU) this month can celebrate another year of attending one of the best colleges in the region.

That distinction comes from The Princeton Review, which has named SU one of the area’s top 218 institutions in its 2011 Best Northeastern Colleges guide. Salisbury also received the honor in the 2010 guide.

The accolade comes just one day after The Princeton Review announced its ranking of SU among The Best 373 Colleges in the nation for the 12th consecutive year.

“We’re pleased to recommend Salisbury University to readers of our book and users of our Web site as one of the best schools to earn their undergrad degree,” said Robert Franek, The Princeton Review’s senior vice president for publishing. “We chose it and the other terrific institutions we name as ‘regional best’ colleges mainly for their excellent academic programs.”

Along with the University of Maryland, College Park, the University of Maryland, Baltimore County and Towson University, SU is one of four University System of Maryland campuses represented on the Northeastern list this year.