The Daily Record Business News Briefs: June 23, 2009

Daily Record, The (Baltimore), Jun 23, 2009

Lockheed to continue FBI work

Lockheed Martin Corp., of Bethesda, has won a five-year, $47 million contract to continue managing the card-scanning service at the FBI's Criminal Justice Information Services Division in Clarksburg, W.Va. The FBI said the work involves converting paper fingerprint, palm print and photo records into high-quality electronic records. In digital form, those records can go into a national criminal history database maintained by the FBI.

Foundation Coal deal advances

Coal producers Alpha Natural Resources and Foundation Coal Holdings Inc. said the federal antitrust waiting period for Alpha's proposed $1.4 billion acquisition of Foundation has expired. The companies said Monday the waiting period ended at midnight Friday, allowing the deal to go ahead, pending shareholder approval. Abingdon, Va.-based Alpha and Linthicum Heights-based Foundation have scheduled shareholder votes for July 31. If approved, the companies say the deal will close that day. Combined, Foundation and Alpha would be the nation's third-largest coal producer, with mines in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Virginia, Kentucky and Wyoming.

BAE Systems' executive shift

BAE Systems Inc., of Rockville, the North American headquarters of BAE Systems PLC, a British defense company, announced the imminent departure of Walt Havenstein, its president and CEO. The company said retired U.S. Marine Corps Gen. Anthony "Tony" Zinni, a member of the BAE Systems board, has been appointed board chairman and, pending the appointment of a permanent successor to Havenstein, will be acting president and CEO of the company. Zinni, a four-star general, was commander in chief of the U.S. Central Command and also served as the U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East.

Gift to Hopkins center

J. Michael Schweder, president of AT&T Mid Atlantic, announced a $286,816 AT&T Foundation grant to the Johns Hopkins University Center for Social Organization of Schools to continue its work at the Baltimore Talent Development High School. The announcement was made during the Maryland Department of Education/America's Promise Dropout Prevention summit, which brought together 600 educators and community leaders from throughout Maryland to discuss strategies for keeping Maryland's students in school. The grant to Hopkins is part of the AT&T Foundation's signature initiative, AT&T Aspire, which helps address high school success and work force readiness.

Md. woman elected head of NOW

The National Organization for Women has elected a 56-year-old woman from Montgomery County as its next president in a close win over a rival who had been endorsed by the group's current president. NOW said Terry O'Neill defeated Latifa Lyles, 33, of Washington, D.C., during the organization's three-day national conference in Indianapolis. The group did not release totals from Saturday's vote. O'Neill, who has taught law at Tulane University, has been chief of staff for Montgomery County Councilwoman Duchy Trachtenberg. She was NOW's vice president for membership from 2001-05.

Oriole Park in virtual 3-D

Fans of the Baltimore Orioles who are planning to visit Oriole Park at Camden Yards can now take a realistic virtual 3-D tour of the area -- including the ballpark, surrounding attractions, traffic routes and parking options --- from the comfort of their own homes. The Orioles are the first professional baseball team to employ this new virtual 3-D geospatial visualization technology to enhance fans' experience. Harris Corp., an international communications and information technology company, created multiple 3-D flyover videos of the Camden Yards vicinity, which are now available on the Orioles' Virtual Birdland Web site (www.orioles.com/ virtualbirdland).

E&Y gift to Smith School

The Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland, College Park announced a $250,000 gift from accounting firm Ernst & Young to create the Ernst & Young Freshman Fellows Orientation Program and endowment. The gift will support orientation programs and presentations for Smith's two-year Freshman Fellows program, an innovative combination of cohort-style classes, experiential learning, co-curricular activities and events that create a cohesive learning community linking students, faculty, staff, corporate partners and alumni. The donation brings Ernst & Young's gifts to the Smith School to more than $1 million, school officials said.

P.G. group gets $100K grant

The Prince George's Community Foundation, an affiliate of The Community Foundation for the National Capital Region, announced that The World Bank's Community Connections Fund has awarded a $100,000 grant to The Partnership for Prince George's County. The foundation said the money will be invested in the county's most effective safety-net nonprofits. The partnership is a diverse group of Washington-area private, corporate and foundation funding sources, and is dedicated to strengthening nonprofit organizations in Prince George's County.

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