Daily Record News Briefs: October 21, 2008

Daily Record, The (Baltimore), Oct 21, 2008

St. Joseph's malaria initiative

A 16-member humanitarian team from Towson-based St. Joseph Medical Center will leave for Tanzania on Oct. 25 to distribute 62,000 insecticide-treated bed nets with the goal of reducing deaths from malaria. The effort will target 21 villages with a total population of 70,000 people. It is an extension of the Village Wellness Program established by St. Joseph's in 2002, which has provided more than $1 million of aid to the same district in Tanzania. A $300,000 grant from Catholic Health Initiatives, parent company of St. Joseph's, was put toward the project.

Army awards Mack

Swedish truck maker Volvo says the U.S. Army has awarded two contracts totaling nearly $30 million to its Mack Trucks division. The larger contract, worth $28.5 million, is for 152 tractor- trailer rigs to be built at the company's New River Valley assembly plant in Dublin, Va. The Army also awarded Mack a $1 million contract for research-and-development work in Hagerstown, on making a heavy-duty diesel engine run on jet fuel. Volvo spokesman John Walsh says the engine conversion would meet a military efficiency requirement to have its aircraft, watercraft and vehicles all run on a single fuel.

Telkonet SmartEnergy

Germantown-based Telkonet Inc. inked an energy management contract with Columbia Sussex, a national developer and manager of more than 70 hotels and casinos across 30 states. Approximately 1,300 guestrooms in the Doubletree in Rochester, N.Y., the Sheraton in Philadelphia City Center, and the Westin in St. Maarten have been equipped with Telkonet SmartEnergy (TSE) systems. The system aims to cut down on wasteful cooling and heating of unoccupied rooms by using occupancy sensors along with thermostats. Additional properties are scheduled for TSE implementation by the end of the year.

Vertis merger

Vertis Communications has successfully merged with American Color Graphics. The merger integrates American Color's 15 production facilities, a total market coverage location and pre-media facilities, as well as numerous managed service sites into Vertis. The new combined company will be headquartered in Baltimore and unified under the Vertis Communications brand. Vertis filed prepackaged Chapter 11 cases on July 15, 2008, with a reorganization plan supported by more than 98 percent of its voting noteholders. American Color filed its cases concurrently.

McShea & Co. leasing deal

The Gaithersburg-based commercial brokerage and management firm McShea & Company Inc. will be the leasing and property management agent for W.C. & A.N. Miller Companies' 415,000-square-foot office and retail portfolio. The retail and office space is located in D.C.'s Spring Valley area, near American University, and the Sangamore Road area of Bethesda, according to a McShea's release. Bob Dickman, Brian McCarthy and Tim Connolly will head up leasing on the project, and Scott McLellan will handle "management responsibilities."

Macro International contract

Calverton-based Macro International was awarded a $6.2 million, five-year contract to continue supporting the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's Office of Communications with its communications needs. Macro has been providing publications and media outreach support under the existing Materials Development and Marketing Support (MDMS) contract for the past five years.

Iridium's new phone

Iridium Satellite LLC unveiled its smallest, most powerful satellite phone - the Iridium "9555" - at its annual Partner Conference in Miami, Fla. on Monday. The 9555 offers a significantly reduced size, a more hand-friendly form factor, an intuitive user interface, and new features such as an internally stowed antenna. The 9555 handset will be available from Iridium service partners starting in November 2008.

Election fraud task force

The Maryland U.S. attorney's office is setting up a task force to review any allegations of election fraud in the state on Election Day. The U.S. attorney's office announced Monday it will be working with the Maryland State Board of Elections in case any fraud or voting rights abuses come up. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Steven Dunne and Tonya Kelly Kowitz will be district election officers and lead a federal task force. A team of federal prosecutors and FBI agents will be on duty while the polls are open.

Give me my Man Cave

Timonium-based Bill Me Later Inc. announced Ryan Akers from New Castle, Ind., is the second weekly winner of its IWantMyManCave.com contest. As a weekly winner, he receives prizes from Fathead. However, he is also eligible to win the grand prize: a Man Cave makeover valued at up to $15,000. Bill Me Later has lined up retail partners such as Dick's Sporting Goods, Lenovo and Sports Authority in preparation for putting together a male-centric room for the grand prize winner, which will be announced on Dec. 2.

Annapolis Painting workers file suit

Three workers have filed a putative class action lawsuit against Annapolis Painting and its president, Robert Bontempo Jr., claiming they violated state and federal laws regarding overtime and working hours spent off the job sites, such as material runs. Annapolis Painting, one of the region's largest painting contractors, was the target of an immigration raid in June 2008. "This case exemplifies the stark contrast between the government's aggressive efforts to enforce immigration law and its laissez faire attitude toward enforcing labor protections," according to a statement from Brown, Goldstein & Levy partner Melissa Crow, one of the plaintiffs' lawyers.