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Ridgewells of Bethesda will cater the next three U.S. Open golf championships, starting with this year's at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda.

Under a deal with the U.S. Golf Association worth from $7 million to $10 million in revenues, Ridgewells also will cater the tournaments at the Olympic Club in San Francisco next year and Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pa., in 2013.

"We are delighted and honored to once again have landed this major business with the USGA's U.S. Open Championship," CEO Susan Lacz said in a statement. "This is especially great since Congressional Country Club will be hosting the Open this June right in our backyard."

Each tournament will have a local economic impact of about $150 million, according to the statement. Ridgewells plans to hire from 400 to 700 people for each event.

Since 1993, Ridgewells has catered 14 U.S. Opens, including the 2009 tournament at Bethpage State Park in Farmingdale, N.Y.

Perdue Farms taps Standard Solar of Rockville was selected by Perdue Farms to install more than 11,000 solar panels this summer at its headquarters in Salisbury and feed mill in Bridgeville, Del., Perdue officials said in a statement.

The total capacity will be 2.76 megawatts, or enough to power 340 homes, officials said.

The systems will be owned and operated by Washington Gas Energy Services of Herndon, Va., which signed a 15-year agreement with Perdue under which the poultry company will purchase electricity from the project. Washington Gas Energy Services is financing the $10 million-plus project, spokeswoman Leah Gibbons said.

Former Montgomery Councilman William Hanna Jr. dies

Remembered for his work in economic development and the arts, former Montgomery County Councilman and Rockville Mayor William E. Hanna Jr., 89, died Saturday. Hanna, who was Rockville's mayor from 1974 to 1982, was a member of the County Council from 1982 to 1998.

"[Hanna] pioneered the county's investment in life sciences, which directly led to our preeminent position as one of the world's leading biotech centers," said County Executive Isiah Leggett (D), who served with Hanna on the County Council.

"I worked with him on downtown Silver Spring," said Steven A. Silverman, Montgomery's director of economic development, and before that a county councilman. "He was powerful force in helping to shape Montgomery County's future for the better, a tremendous supporter of job creation."

As a council member, Hanna championed the county's Moderately Priced Dwelling Units Program, which was seen as a national model.

State's winery sales up 11 percent in fiscal 2010

Maryland wineries' sales rose to $17 million in fiscal 2010, up 11 percent over fiscal '09, according to a new report from the Comptroller's Office.

Sales increased year-over-year by more than 100,000 bottles and the state's wineries grew their share of the Maryland wine market to 2.2 percent.

Nine new wineries were licensed in 2010, according to Kevin Atticks, executive director of the Maryland Wineries Association. New changes in the state's alcohol laws will spur more growth, he said.

Title executives indicted in alleged fraud scheme

The owner of a title company and two employees have been indicted on federal mail and wire fraud charges in connection with an alleged scheme to cheat lenders and a title insurance company out of more than $4 million.

Stephen J. Troese Sr., 71, of Davidsonville was a lawyer who owned or controlled title companies he opened in the 1980s and '90s in Camp Springs, Greenbelt and Ellicott City. James K. Hughes, 52, of Crownsville was president of the Greenbelt company, Troese/Hughes Title Services. Brenda Lukenich, 60, of Hughesville, was the escrow accountant for the companies.

The fraud involved manipulating escrow accounts that had shortfalls starting in 2004, according to the indictment, filed in U.S. District Court in Baltimore. Among the alleged victims was Chicago Title Co., with which the Troese companies had an agreement authorizing them to sell title insurance policies to lenders and buyers.

The defendants face up to 20 years in prison on each of the eight mail fraud counts and four wire fraud counts, according to prosecutors.

Geologist guilty in kickback conspiracy

A geologist who worked for Lehigh Cement faces up to five years in prison after pleading guilty Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Baltimore to taking kickbacks and bribes for helping an Indiana company win excavating and hauling contracts with Lehigh.

Michael W. Kilbourne, 48, of Toronto pleaded guilty to conspiracy for steering contracts at Lehigh's quarry in Union Bridge to LMS Contracting, according to court documents. All told, Kilbourne admitted receiving from $100,000 to $120,000 in the scheme.

Kilbourne agreed to pay $180,000 in restitution to Lehigh. His sentencing is set for May 17.

The owner and president of LMS, Larry D. Spann, 62, of Madison, Ind., has pleaded guilty to wire fraud in the case and is to be sentenced June 30.

Marriott, Spanish firm combine for new AC Hotels brand

Spanish hotel group AC Hotels and Marriott International of Bethesda announced a joint venture to manage and franchise a new lodging co-brand, AC Hotels by Marriott, across Europe and Latin America.

More than 90 existing AC Hotels in Spain, Italy and Portugal will be rebranded and the hotels will enter into long-term management or franchise agreements with the joint venture.

"We are thrilled to be partnering with Marriott," Antonio Catalan, chairman of AC Hotels, said in a joint statement. "The new AC Hotels by Marriott co-brand combines the strengths of both AC Hotels and Marriott International — AC Hotels' exceptional product and expertise and the power of Marriott's engines, global footprint and the power of its development organization."

The 9,100-room venture is a significant driver of Marriott's European growth strategy. At launch, it will represent almost one-quarter of the progress toward the company's goal of doubling its European portfolio within five years to 80,000 rooms.

Constellation Energy to build two solar energy systems

Constellation Energy of Baltimore said it will develop a 750-kilowatt on-site solar installation at Anne Arundel County's Combined Support Services Complex in Millersville and a 500-kilowatt on-site solar installation at Coppin State University in Baltimore.

The projects are both funded in part by grants through the Maryland Energy Administration's Project Sunburst initiative, which promotes the installation of large-scale solar photovoltaic energy systems. Constellation Energy will finance as well as own and operate the on-site solar installations. In return, both organizations will purchase the electricity produced by the systems at a reduced cost from Constellation Energy over a 20-year period, according to Constellation information.

In total, the Anne Arundel and Coppin State solar installations are expected to generate roughly 1.5 million kilowatt-hours of electricity annually. Generating the same amount of electricity using non-renewable sources would result in the release of 1,077 metric tons of carbon dioxide, or the equivalent emissions from 206 passenger vehicles. Both on-site solar power systems are scheduled to begin producing electricity in spring 2011

Vocus subsidiary partners with San Francisco Chronicle

PRWeb, a news release distribution service owned by Vocus of Greenbelt, has partnered with the San Francisco Chronicle to sell news releases.

The Chronicle will sell PRWeb news releases under the newspaper's GateList division. PRWeb news releases will be bundled into a marketing package that includes Web ads, search ads and pay-per-click ads, according to a Vocus statement.

Middletown company awarded $16.3M contract

Consulting Network of Middletown recently won a $16.33 million contract from the Navy for software and hardware development.

The company also will provide systems engineering and commercial products to support Virginia-class submarines and other submarine and surface ship systems, company officials said in a statement.

Smith School students claim top prize in Chinese contest

A team from the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business in College Park won the top prize of $3,000, plus the People's Choice Award of $1,000, in the 2011 China Business Plan Competition in Beijing. The team's business, VeggieCool, would provide cold storage and transportation for produce grown in rural India.

The university's Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship and Guanghua School of Management at Peking University provide $10,000 in awards for the competition, now in its sixth year. Thirty-one teams competed.

Frederick dealer sues Ford for $2.9M over Mercury issue

A Frederick auto dealer has sued Ford Motor Co. for what it calls "grossly inadequate" compensation following the automaker's discontinuation of the Mercury vehicle brand.

Francis Scott Key Lincoln/Mercury Inc. on Urbana Pike filed the $2.9 million federal lawsuit Jan. 12 in U.S. District Court in Maryland.

Ford offered "a comprehensive benefits package to all Mercury dealers who resign their Mercury franchise," according to the suit. Ford allegedly offered Francis Scott Key officials $181,026, which included credits for Mercury sales parts returns.

The auto dealer called the compensation "grossly inadequate ... for the harm that will result from the loss of the Mercury line." The termination followed the dealership's $5.5 million investment in an expanded facility, which Ford required, the suit claims.