Sparrows Point

Not sure how many of you saw the short notice in the Washington Post's business section the other day about the imminent sale of the Sparrows Point steel plant in Baltimore to the Russian steel company OAO Severstal, which is controlled by the super wealthy Alexei Mordashov (top 100 of Forbe's richest people in the world). The Sparrows plant was once the pride of Bethlehem steel, one of the great American steel firms that went bankrupt in 2001--though it had long before that ceased to be a force in the steel industry. For someone who grew up near the main plant of the "steel," as it was always known, in Bethlehem, PA, and as someone who knew a lot of older men who worked there to support their families through the twentieth century, it has always felt a little unsettling that the management of the company could end up letting that company come to nothing. Strangely, this purchase of the Sparrows Point plant could benefit a lot of people in Baltimore and also turn out to be a very good deal for the US steel-making industry