The Daily Record News Briefs: October 15, 2008

Daily Record, The (Baltimore), Oct 15, 2008

Office vacancies rise

Office vacancies in U.S. downtowns rose to 10.6 percent in the third quarter, up from 10.2 percent in the previous quarter and 9.8 percent a year earlier, as employment fell nationwide and companies put office space up for sublease, according to New York-based real estate broker Cushman & Wakefield. The largest rises from the previous three months were in Palm Beach, Fla., where vacancies rose to 18.8 percent from 16.2 percent; Baltimore, where they grew to 13.5 percent from 11 percent; and Bellevue, Wash., where they increased to 9.5 percent from 7.1 percent.

AAI receives $242.1M order

Defense contractor AAI Corp., of Hunt Valley, announced it received a contract valued at $242.1 million for 17 additional Shadow Tactical Unmanned Aircraft Systems. Of the 17 systems, 13 will be delivered to the U.S. Army and four to the U.S. Marine Corps. Deliveries on this award are expected to begin in December 2009 and end in November 2010. Up to two systems are planned to be delivered per month. To date, AAI has contracted for a total of 113 Shadow TUAS and delivered a total of 71. The Shadow system consists of unmanned aircraft, ground control stations and associated components and support equipment.

Standard Solar raises $8.5M

Standard Solar Inc., of Gaithersburg, a turnkey provider of solar energy systems, said it raised $8.5 million in a second round of financing organized by Truecast Capital, of Middleburg, Va., with investments from several private and institutional investors, to fund geographic expansion and scale up its marketing initiatives. The 2-year-old company said it employed 12 persons at the start of 2008 and currently employs 42. A recent project was the completion of installation of more than 800 solar panels atop the headquarters of the U.S. Department of Energy in Washington, one of the largest solar systems in the mid-Atlantic region.

JHU, Tulane reach accord

The Johns Hopkins University is partnering with Tulane University to help Tulane undergraduates complete degrees in several engineering fields that were dropped from the New Orleans school after Hurricane Katrina struck in 2005. Beginning this fall, students in Tulane's School of Science and Engineering will spend three years at Tulane, then two at either Hopkins or Vanderbilt University in Nashville, which will also be part of the program. Students will finish with a bachelor's degree in physics from Tulane and a bachelor's degree in their engineering field from the other university, according to a Hopkins release.

Neuralstem licenses inventions

Neuralstem Inc., of Rockville, a biotherapeutic company developing products to treat central nervous system disorders with patented stem cell technology, announced it has licensed the rights to three inventions from the Cleveland Clinic pertaining to Targeted Spinal Cord Therapeutics Delivery. Neuralstem said it will use this technology in its clinical trial for ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's disease). The company said it anticipates filing its Investigational New Drug application with the Food and Drug Administration for the ALS trial in the next few weeks, and hopes to start the trial early in 2009.

Bay report open for comment

A long-awaited report that offers strategies to revive the Chesapeake Bay's badly depleted oyster population will be the subject of a public comment period that begins Friday and lasts for 60 days. Officials want to hear from the public to get a sense of what course should be taken to tackle a challenging ecological and economic problem. Among strategies offered is the possibility of introducing Asian oysters. The study by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Virginia Marine Resource and the Maryland Department of Natural Resources has been underway for five years. It involved about 90 scientists.

Merritt's new defense facility

Baltimore-based Merritt Properties announced it is building a $15 million, 57,000-square-foot defense training facility complete with a firing range, fully equipped gym and luxury private club in Beaumeade Corporate Park near Route 28 in Ashburn, Va. Owned by the Silver Eagle Group, the facility will primarily serve military, security and law enforcement agencies, but will be available for use by novice shooters, sportsmen and individuals seeking personal defense training. Construction is expected to be completed in November.

CCBC, TU unveil partnership

In an innovative approach to easing the transition for transfer students, the Community College of Baltimore County and Towson University have entered into a partnership that allows some CCBC students to live and attend classes on the Towson campus before they are even enrolled in the university. Although schools frequently collaborate on transfers, the Towson University Freshman Transition Program offers community college students some features not often seen, such as an opportunity to enjoy the support services, like counseling, and social events that are available to regular Towson students.