NewsWatch: Verizon to continue talks despite strike authorization

About 91 percent of Maryland Verizon employees who are members of the Communications Workers of America have voted to authorize a strike, said Candice Johnson, a union spokeswoman, this week. The union represents about 50,000 workers of the telecommunications company nationwide.

Members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers have also authorized a strike if talks fail to yield an agreement. But neither union has set a strike date. The contract covers Verizon employees from Virginia to Maine.

Verizon is one of the top private employers in Maryland with about 10,000 employees. It has called for increases in health insurance payments by employees and reductions in coverage for retirees, according to union reports.

Sanaria, UMBIreceive $600K grant

Rockville biotech Sanaria and the University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute have received a $600,000 multi-year Small Business Innovation Research grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases of the National Institutes of Health.

The grant is to support research and development efforts to genetically engineer mosquitoes that can enhance Sanaria’s whole-parasite malaria vaccine production process, according to Sanaria information.

‘‘We have now competed successfully for over ... $12 million” in peer-reviewed SBIR grants from the institute, CEO Stephen L. Hoffman said in a statement.

Nonemployer firmsgenerated $970B in ’06

More than 20.7 U.S. businesses without a payroll generated total revenues of $970 billion in 2006, the Census Bureau reported Thursday.

Those businesses comprise 18.2 million sole proprietorships, 1.4 million corporations and 1.2 million partnerships. Three sectors, with a total of 7.9 million businesses, accounted for almost half of the receipts: real estate and rental and leasing, $193 billion; construction, $159 billion; and professional, scientific and technical services, $124 billion. Nationally, nonemployer businesses reported average receipts of $46,724.

The report is available at www.census.gov⁄epcd⁄nonemployer⁄index.html.

Osiris sells Osteocelfor up to $137 million

Shareholders of Osiris Therapeutics of Columbia have approved the sale of its Osteocel business to NuVasive Inc. of San Diego in a deal worth up to $137 million. As a result, Osiris received a $35 million payment from NuVasive.

Osiris can now focus on launching its ‘‘next-generation” stem cell therapies, including Prochymal and Chondrogen, the company said in a statement.

The deal comprises two parts: an asset purchase agreement worth up to $85 million and an 18-month product supply agreement worth an additional $52 million in revenue.

Verizon FiOS approved for Rockville

The Rockville City Council on Monday unanimously approved the franchise agreement with Verizon to install its high-speed, fiber optics cable service for the city’s approximately 23,000 households.

Verizon FiOS will be able to provide telephone, high-speed Internet and cable television to most Rockville homes, except in the King Farm community, which is served by Verizon’s Gaithersburg office, company officials have said. The company will begin construction there next year.

Construction in Rockville is set to begin in September, according to city spokeswoman Marylou Berg. The project is expected to be completed within a year.

Westminster firm wins $7.24M NASA contract

NASA has selected Carleton Technologies of Westminster for a $7.24 million contract to design, develop, fabricate and deliver a propellant tank for a spacecraft mission managed by the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt.

The tank will contain all of the fuel used for maneuvering a global positioning measurement spacecraft, one of the next generation of satellite-based Earth science missions that will study global rain, snow and ice. The mission is slated for launch in July 2013.

Bennigan’s filesfor bankruptcy

The Bennigan’s restaurant chain has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy and is closing its eateries, but independently owned franchises remain open.

The Plano, Texas, chain’s Web site lists four restaurants in Maryland, including one in Greenbelt; calls there were not answered this week. A store in Waldorf had ‘‘closed” signs on its doors, and callers to the Rockville restaurant heard that the number was ‘‘disconnected.”

Justin Sappington, operator and general manager of Glen Burnie Restaurant LLC, which owns and operates a Bennigan’s in Glen Burnie, said his restaurant plans to remain open.

A Bennigan spokeswoman said the bankruptcy filing, under which the chain will liquidate its holdings, also affects its Steak & Ale and Tavern restaurants, which are closing.

GMAC Mortgage closesfour offices in state

GMAC Mortgage is closing four offices in Maryland as part of a restructuring due to the slowdown in the housing market, a company spokesman said.

The closing of the offices in Frederick, Germantown, Waldorf and Prince George’s County resulted in nine loan officers being laid off, said Brett Weinberg, manager of public relations for GMAC ResCAP, parent of GMAC Mortgage.

The company will still have one Maryland office, in Lutherville, he said.

‘‘They were closed as a result of ongoing challenges in the marketplace,” Weinberg said. ‘‘For customers it will be completely seamless.” Mortgages ‘‘in the pipeline” will continue to be processed.

Sun Edison conducts100-city solar tour

SunEdison of Greenbelt, a global solar energy provider, will be conducting a 100-day Solar City Tour at more than 50 cities throughout the Southwest and West starting today.

The tour is to educate municipal leaders and public about making solar energy a significant power source for their communities. Two biodiesel-fueled trucks will be transporting numerous exhibits such as computer touch screens and other programming for all ages, a SunEdison spokeswoman said.

SunEdison will be teaming up with other solar energy providers such as Evergreen Solar, United Solar Ovonic, SMA America and Xantrex Technology.