News Summary

Daily Record, The (Baltimore), Jun 20, 2006 by Daily Record Staff

Depot sale to begin

An online auction of a 1.9-million-square-foot former Glenn L. Martin Co. aircraft factory in on Eastern Boulevard in Middle River will begin tomorrow. The complex, known as the Depot, and now more grandly renamed Middle River Station, is owned by the U.S. General Services Administration. GSA and Baltimore County officials will open the 50-acre property tomorrow for tours starting at 9:30 a.m. Interested development teams are invited to participate.

Johnson fills in

Officials of MedChi, the Maryland State Medical Society, said Stephen H. Johnson, MedChi's general counsel and director of its Law and Advocacy Division, will become interim executive director while the board of trustees searches for a permanent replacement for T. Michael Preston. Preston, who held the top job for 10 years, is moving in early July to New York City, where his wife has a new job. Officials said a permanent replacement should be in place in the fall.

Mail tracker

Trackmymail.com, of Gaithersburg, a provider of mail tracking services for direct mailers, said it was selected by Florida-based Cox Target Media, a direct mail marketing company and distributor of Valpak network products, to provide tracking services for all Valpak mailings beginning in July. Financial details were not disclosed. Cox Target Media annually mails more than 525 million of its familiar blue Valpak envelopes to over 45 million unique addresses throughout the U.S. (including Puerto Rico) and Canada.

$6 million for Avatech

Avatech Solutions Inc., of Owings Mills, a provider of design automation software and technical support for the manufacturing, building design and engineering markets, said it obtained $6 million from four investors, which it will use to pay off outstanding debt. Tail Wind Fund Ltd. and Solomon Strategic Holdings Inc., both of London, purchased $4 million worth of preferred stock, and San Francisco-based Pacific Asset Partners and New York-based Sigma Opportunity Fund LLC bought $2 million worth of common stock.

Disaster preparedness

TVI Corp., of Glenn Dale, a supplier of first responder systems for homeland security, hospitals, the military, police and fire departments, and public health agencies, said it received an order valued at more than $600,000 from the state of Florida for bio- isolation shelter systems, decontamination systems, command/ logistic shelters and accessories.

Physician honored

Dr. Ronald Cohn, a resident in the combined pediatrics and genetics program and chief resident at the McKusick-Nathans Institute for Genetic Medicine at the Johns Hopkins Hospital, has been awarded the first Harvard-Partners Center for Genetics and Genomics Award in medical genetics. Cohn, whose research focuses on muscle regeneration in various muscle diseases, will receive a $20,000 cash prize at a dinner in his honor in Boston tomorrow and will present at grand rounds at Harvard Medical School that day.

New building for tenant

Corporate Office Properties Trust, of Columbia, a suburban office real estate investment trust, announced a long-term lease with Northrop Grumman Corp. for a 193,000-square-foot office building to be built on 26 acres at the Meadowville Technology Park south of Richmond, Va. The building, which is expected to be completed in June 2007, will house both the Virginia Information Technologies Agency and operations of Northrop Grumman, a major defense contractor and one of COPT's largest tenants.

Hail to the Queen

Telkonet Inc., of Germantown, which develops products for high- speed Internet access over electrical power lines, said its iWire System was installed at the Queen Mary, the 70-year-old ocean liner that is permanently docked in Long Beach, Calif., and which is now a historic hotel, floating museum, meeting facility and world-class entertainment destination. Telkonet's system is delivering high- speed wired and wireless Internet access throughout the 365 suites and staterooms spread over three different decks and public areas, including the expansive promenade deck, the hotel lobby and the business center.

Housing drive

Sandtown Habitat for Humanity, a nonprofit Christian housing organization whose purpose is to rebuild vacant housing in the Sandtown-Winchester neighborhood of West Baltimore, will hold its 15th annual Summer Building Week for June 26-30. Over 800 volunteers are expected to participate, shaving renovation costs to around $50,000 per house, about one-third of the cost of traditional construction. Towson-based Black and Decker Corp. is a major sponsor, contributing tools and about 170 employee volunteers.