New Corporate Partner, Expanded Support Announced for Healthy Howard
Howard County announced that Healthy Howard, a plan that will provide access to health care for many of the county’s uninsured residents, has a new corporate contributor as well as expanded support from The Horizon Foundation.

Aetna will offer Healthy Howard participants access to dental care. Details are still being worked out by county officials and Aetna representatives. In addition, the foundation will award an additional $500,000 to Healthy Howard to supplement $283,000 in funding that it has provided to the Howard County Health Department since January 2007.

“Our organization likes innovation,” said Horizon Foundation President and CEO Richard Krieg, “and Healthy Howard exemplifies how government can innovate to address core community issues. The grant is predicated on awareness that the foundation and the health department share some fundamental goals, among them, improving health care access for underserved county residents.”

Healthy Howard will offer primary care services, discounted prescription drugs and hospital care, as well as specialty care services, for 2,000 patients in its first year of operation. The plan places emphasis on personal responsibility, with participants required to set health and wellness goals in tandem with health coaches working for the program.

Leopold Creates Task Force to Study Erroneous Permit Approvals
Anne Arundel County Executive John Leopold has signed an executive order to create a nine-person task force to study erroneous permit approvals. It is intended to reduce the inconvenience and expense to permit applicants who proceed with construction activity based on wrongly-issued permits.

“I am frustrated that the current county law precludes me from providing equity to citizens who incur expenses based on the unintentional, but erroneous, actions of the Department of Inspections and Permits,” said Leopold. “The purpose of the task force is to provide other legal remedies that would be helpful to citizens in these instances.”

Currently, citizens have the right to seek variances from the administrative hearing officer, Steve LeGendre, if they are unhappy with an inspection or permit application decision, and can appeal to the Board of Appeals if dissatisfied with the ruling of the hearing officer.

According to Executive Order 27, the task force will serve as an advisory body to the county executive and will consist of nine individuals appointed by the executive. They will include the director of inspection and permits, who will serve as the chair of the task force; a representative of the Anne Arundel County Chapter of the Home Builders Association of Maryland; and three citizen representatives.

State of Maryland, Constellation Energy Reach Settlement Agreement
Gov. Martin O’Malley, Senate President Mike Miller, House Speaker Michael Busch and PSC Chairman Steven Larsen have announced that the state of Maryland has reached a global settlement with Constellation Energy Group for Maryland ratepayers and families.

Under the terms of the agreement, BGE residential ratepayers will receive a one-time “rate rebate” of approximately $170 by the end of the year. This refund amounts to $187 million in rate relief for Maryland’s families and represents a more than 10% reduction in this year’s total bill for more than 50% of all BGE customers — more than 580,000 ratepayers.

“The proposed settlement between the state of Maryland and Constellation Energy provides short- and long-term rate relief for our families and helps secure Maryland’s energy future,” said O’Malley. “Under this proposed agreement, we have secured much-needed rate relief for our families, modernized Maryland’s laws governing our utilities, strengthened PSC oversight, and demonstrated our commitment to protecting ratepayers and addressing Maryland’s energy needs today and into the future.”

 The proposed agreement ends Maryland ratepayers’ obligations for decommissioning nuclear power facilities at Calvert Cliffs, saving Maryland ratepayers $1.5 billion in future costs. Ratepayers were projected to begin payments of $33 million annually from 2016 through 2036. As a result of this settlement, Constellation Energy Group will be liable for these costs.

In addition, 90% of credits due to Maryland ratepayers — totaling $346 million — will continue to be paid by BGE. The initial lawsuits over the $386 million in credits established by Senate Bill 1 will be dropped by both parties.

Sandy Spring Bancorp CEO Hollar to Retire at End of Year
Sandy Spring Bancorp, the parent company of Sandy Spring Bank, has announced that its board of directors has appointed Daniel Schrider president of the holding company and the bank, succeeding Hunter Hollar, who plans to retire at the end of 2008.

Hollar, 59, will continue as CEO of the holding company and the bank, and is expected to be re-elected as a director of Sandy Spring Bancorp Inc. at the upcoming annual meeting of shareholders to be held on April 23, 2008.

Following the annual meeting, the board is expected to appoint Hollar as its chairman to succeed Drew Stabler, 70, who will be retiring from the board at the close of the annual meeting as required by the corporation’s bylaws. Stabler has served as a director since 1986 and was elected chairman in 1997. Hollar has served as president and CEO since Jan. 1, 1994.

Schrider, 43, began his career in retail banking in 1986 and was hired by Sandy Spring in 1989 as part of its commercial banking division. In 2003, Schrider was appointed executive vice president and chief credit officer. In January of this year, he was named chief revenue officer, which encompasses oversight of all income-producing activities.

RLTV Hooks Up With Verizon FiOS
Retirement Living TV (RLTV) has announced that Verizon FiOS has begun to fully distribute RLTV programming 24 hours a day, seven days a week on Channel 216.

“Our partnership with Verizon is a critical component of our plans to expand current distribution throughout the U.S.,” said Betsy Brightman, vice president of affiliate relations and distribution for RLTV.

“It will allow us to continue offering our customers captivating and informative programming while inspiring viewers to explore the world around them,” said Brightman. “The 55-plus audience rewards companies that respect and support them and we’re proud that a partner like Verizon continues to be an industry leader by working with a network that’s all about this demo.”

In addition to the agreement, Verizon and RLTV will be launching jointly-run subscriber acquisition campaigns in key Verizon markets. These campaigns will be centered around Verizon’s launch of RLTV with a focus on attracting the age 55-plus consumer. There will also be a joint effort to educate the 55-plus market about the upcoming digital transition and the opportunities available to current non-subscribers.

Ruppersberger to Announce $5.7 Million for BRAC
Congressman C.A. “Dutch” Ruppersberger has announced $5.7 million in federal funding to help prepare for the more than 20,000 jobs heading to Maryland through the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process.

The positions will be focused around Fort Meade in Anne Arundel County and Aberdeen Proving Ground in Harford County. The funding will pay for everything from roads and mass transit to workforce training to health care needs.

The funding will include $121,000 to pay for training equipment at the Center for Health, Science and Homeland Security at Anne Arundel Community College. The college trains students to be nurses (30% of which in Maryland are trained at its community colleges), physician assistants, radiologic technicians and physical therapist assistants.

Workers in those fields are in high demand. Last semester, the programs were completely full. The college was forced to turn away more than 270 qualified candidates because of a lack of equipment, space and instructors.

Tactical Solution Partners Announces New Corporate Name
 Hanover-based Tactical Solution Partners Inc. (TSP), a homeland security technology and services firm, has announced plans to change the company’s name to Brekford International Corp. The name “Brekford” recognizes founders C.B. Brechin and Scott Rutherford and is expected to support the future promotion of a readily identifiable brand name for the company’s products and services in the United States and internationally.

“We are very pleased to propose a corporate name change to Brekford International, a name that we believe will enable us to be more marketable on a global scale,” said CEO William Shafley. “Additionally, the name change comes at an opportune time when we are making significant expansions to our product and service offerings, such as full vehicle upfitting, ultra-lightweight body armor and other initiatives.”

Conmed Garners Contract With Sheriff’s Office in Virginia
Conmed Healthcare Management, a service provider of correctional facility health care services to county detention centers in five states, was recently awarded a five-year, $18 million medical services agreement with the city of Chesapeake, Va.’s sheriff’s office jail.

The value of the deal could grow as the inmate population expands. Conmed, of Hanover, services detention centers and correctional facilities in 30 counties in Washington state, Oregon, Kansas, Virginia and Maryland. As of Sept. 30, 2007, Conmed had medical service contracts with potential future service contract revenue of $131 million, with a weighted average term of 5.9 years, of which approximately $113 million relates to the option renewal periods.

Proteus Expands Corporate and Engineering Office Facilities
Annapolis Junction-based Proteus Technologies, a provider of software and systems engineering solutions, has expanded its Maryland-based corporate headquarters by acquiring an additional 17,500 square feet at 133 National Business Parkway in The National Business Park — less than one mile from its primary client, the Department of Defense (DoD) at Fort Meade. This acquisition will bring the company’s combined office facilities to well over 35,000 square feet.

The additional space will bring the software and systems engineering company’s total occupancy of the building to approximately 26,000 square feet and make Proteus the majority stakeholder in the building. The company will maintain its Engineering Solutions Office in Columbia as well.

PharmaAthene Obtains Department of Defense $5.8 Million Contract
 PharmAthene, a biodefense company and graduate of the Chesapeake Innovation Center, has been awarded a contract modification providing an additional value of $5.8 million for continued development of Protexia, the company’s broad spectrum chemical nerve agent prophylaxis.

In September 2006, PharmAthene was awarded a multi-year contract from the Department of Defense (DoD) U.S. Army Space and Missile Command for advanced development of Protexia valued at up to $213 million. Additional funds have boosted the value of the deal to $219 million, assuming all milestones are achieved and that all contract extensions and options are exercised by the DoD.

Tecore Wins Exclusive Supply Agreement From Alaska Wireless
Columbia-based Tecore Networks, a provider of multi-technology mobile networks, has announced that Alaska Wireless, a wireless communications service provider serving the Dutch Harbor and Unalaska regions, has selected Tecore’s Rural Village System (RVS) as the exclusive infrastructure solution for the build-out of the remote regions of Alaska.

“For Alaska Wireless, extending our service footprint to remote and isolated areas while maintaining coverage and service levels is a key factor in the growth of our network,” said Mark Horne, president of Alaska Wireless. “Tecore Networks provided us with a robust end-to-end product set along with comprehensive services and support.”

Fitch Rates Maryland’s Revolving Loan Fund Revs AAA
 Fitch Ratings has assigned its AAA rating to Maryland Water Quality Financing Administration’s (MWQFA) $48.6 million of revolving loan fund revenue bonds. The bonds are scheduled to price on April 9 via negotiation. The rating outlook is stable.

With this issue, MWQFA establishes a new indenture for its clean water and drinking water state revolving fund. Bond proceeds from the current issue will fund loans to local wastewater facilities throughout the state. The administration plans to issue all future wastewater and drinking water bonds under the 2008 indenture and does not anticipate issuing additional bonds under its existing 1990 bond indenture (revolving revenue bonds currently rated AAA by Fitch).

Howard Technology Council Seminar Set for April
The Howard Technology Council will be hosting “Building a Monthly Assessment System: Assessments and Merit Increase Management,” on Thursday, April 17, from 8 to 10 a.m. at The Center for Business and Technology Development at 9250 Bendix Road North in Columbia.

Focusing on monthly assessments, Maury Weinstein, president of System Source, will make the case for improving assessment tools and merit increase systems, including the radical process of holding monthly assessment meetings for all staff. He will cover the areas of performance goals and strokes, merit increase and the process behind it, and results.

Registration is free. Pre-registration is required. To register, visit www.hceda.org/cbtd/busEvents.aspx or contact Tasha Taylor at the center at 410-313-6550 or ttaylor@hceda.org.