NewsWatch

Company officials aren’t disclosing the banks they are negotiating with to take over the 54 Chevy Chase Bank branches throughout the grocer’s Maryland and Washington, D.C., region stores, said Jamie Miller, spokesman for Giant.

Chevy Chase and Giant are holding off on finalizing a closing schedule for the branches to minimize disruption, although the contract expires in August. Giant initially introduced bank branches into its stores for customer convenience, saying they were popular.

Banks’ ability to prosper in the grocery realm may depend on the markets for those stores, said Alison Tavik, spokeswoman for the Maryland Bankers Association.

Sandy Spring boostsloan-loss provision to $6.2M

The sagging economy and residential real estate market has forced Sandy Spring Bank to incur a second-quarter provision for loan losses of $6.2 million, the Olney bank reported. That increases its allowance for loan and lease losses to 1.38 percent of outstanding loans and leases at June 30.

The move ‘‘is primarily attributable to our residential real estate development portfolio,” CEO Hunter R. Hollar said in a statement. ‘‘Our provision also reflects our recognition of the impact that the current economic downturn is having on our loan portfolios.”

The bank’s parent, Sandy Spring Bancorp, has $3.2 billion in assets and is the second largest publicly traded banking company headquartered in Maryland.

Hughes deal worthmore than $40 million

Hughes Network Systems of Germantown won a contract it expects to exceed $40 million over five years to provide operational support services for the Social Security Administration’s distance learning network.

With an initial task order for $4 million, Hughes will provide video and broadband satellite network systems for the agency’s Interactive Video Tele-training Network, which reaches more than 1,650 agency offices.

Chemical firm to pay$200K, clean up pollution

Velsicol Chemical Co. of Rosemont, Ill., will pay $200,000 and clean up contaminated groundwater at its Chestertown facility under a settlement with the Maryland Attorney General’s Office, state officials announced.

The state’s complaint, filed in November in the Circuit Court for Kent County, alleged violations of the state’s water pollution control and hazardous substance control laws.

TSA taps Lockheed Martinfor $1.2B HR contract

Lockheed Martin won $1.2 billion from the Transportation Security Administration to manage its Integrated Hiring Operations and Personnel Program for up to eight years.

Lockheed Martin is to develop systems supporting the recruiting, assessing, hiring, paying and promoting of all TSA employees.

The Bethesda company has supported the TSA since its inception in 2002 on programs such as screener training and checkpoint reconfiguration.

Former teller guiltyof embezzlement

A Westminster woman pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to defrauding the bank where she was a teller supervisor of at least $400,000; prosecutors put the figure at more than $1 million.

Karen L. Baer, 46, embezzled the money from PNC Bank or one of its predecessors, Westminster Union Bank and Mercantile Bank, from 1998 until she was fired Oct. 25, according to a statement by federal prosecutors. Starting in 2002, she began removing cash from the Westminster branch, usually $10,000 at a time, at least several hundred times. She spent the money on living expenses, vacation and her children’s college tuition.

Baer’s conduct was uncovered when PNC began an audit in September in connection with its acquisition of Mercantile.

As part of her plea agreement, Baer agreed to forfeit her interest in a residence, nine bank accounts, a 2004 Hummer H2 and a Chevrolet Corvette, plus several snowmobiles and all-terrain vehicles. She faces up to 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine. Sentencing is set for October.

Veterinary board rebutsmassage therapist’s suit

The Maryland State Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners says it ‘‘unequivocally has never interfered” with the right of Mercedes Clemens of Rockville to massage horses and considers her lawsuit against the board ‘‘premature.”

Clemens, a massage therapist, has sued the board and the state Board of Chiropractic and Massage Therapy Examiners in Montgomery Circuit Court, claiming she is not legally allowed to massage horses without a veterinary license.

Chris H. Runde, chairman of the veterinary board, said in a statement that it ‘‘does not regulate equine massage by non-veterinarians if the massage is intended solely for the purpose of helping the animal relax or generally feel better.” However, such massage could violate state law if it’s offered ‘‘for the purpose of diagnosing and treating a specific ailment or injury of a horse.”

Clemens’ lawsuit doesn’t claim that she is offering massage to treat ailments or injuries, so ‘‘regulatory oversight is not an issue at this time.”

‘‘Unfortunately, the [board] is not aware of any effort by Ms. Clemens, or her attorneys, to discuss her situation directly” with the board, Runde said. ‘‘As chairman, I would have been happy to meet with her in an effort to make the [board’s] position clear and explain to her that she is not prohibited from massaging horses for the purposes she describes in her lawsuit.”

Clemens is represented by the Institute for Justice of Arlington, Va.

Indian IT firms comingto Rockville incubator

Five Indian information technology companies will be welcomed to the Rockville Innovation Center business incubator on Monday by Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett (D) and other county officials.

The companies are members of the Indian Electronics and Computer Software Export Promotion Council, which county representatives met with during their trade mission to India in November. The council has a pilot program to help small and medium-size IT companies launch their North American operations.

The companies are Interra Information Technologies, Jiva Internet Solutions, Alliance Infotech, PT Puretesting Software and Heuristics Informatics.