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Maryland's home mortgage foreclosure rate fell 22.7 percent last month from December, according to new figures from RealtyTrac of Irvine, Calif.

However, the state's rate of one filing per 446 households was up 41.4 percent from January 2009. Maryland had the 13th highest rate in the nation last month, below the U.S. average of one filing per 409 households. The national average fell 9.7 percent in January from December.

For the first time in more than a year, Prince George's County did not have the highest rate in the state. The county's rate of one filing per 285 households was second to Baltimore city's rate of one per 235.

Business leaders oppose combined reporting

Business executives testified Tuesday at a House Appropriations Committee hearing against legislation that would implement a new corporate income tax proposal called combined reporting and extend the state surcharge on people earning more than $1 million.

The revenue would be used to help shore up the state employee pension fund, according to the bill filed by Del. Roger Manno (D-Dist. 19) of Silver Spring.

Ronald Wineholt, vice president of government affairs for the Maryland Chamber of Commerce, was among those speaking against it. Representatives with other business groups also oppose the legislation, which has not attracted any co-sponsors.

The "millionaire's tax," which expires at the end of the year, falls disproportionately on small businesses set up as S corporations and limited liability companies that need to reinvest funds into their businesses to create jobs, according to the chamber. The Maryland Business Tax Reform Commission, which is scheduled to issue an interim report by December, should be allowed to review the corporate tax structure before anything is done on combined reporting, chamber officials say.

The state should transition away from more expensive defined benefit pension plans, as many private employers have done, according to the chamber.

CoStar buys building in D.C. for headquarters

Real estate information service provider CoStar Group of Bethesda has purchased an office building for its new headquarters in Washington, D.C., through a wholly owned subsidiary, for $41.25 million.

The company said that, as an incentive, the Council of the District of Columbia approved $6.1 million in property-tax abatements over a 10-year period, provided CoStar hires 100 Washington residents, among other conditions. In addition, CoStar may be eligible for additional incentives such as a five-year limitation on its local corporate income tax and certain sales and use tax exemptions.

"We are excited about a Washington, D.C., location for our new headquarters," CEO Andrew Florance said in a statement. "We are also fortunate to ... secure an exceptional asset at a greatly reduced price."

Steven A. Silverman, Montgomery County's economic development chief, said, "It is always disappointing to have a company move, but not surprising in this case since they told us they hadn't found a building in Montgomery County they wanted to buy. And they never responded to our offer to discuss incentives."

Harkins Builders wins $11.7M deal at Fort Detrick

Harkins Builders of Marriottsville has won an $11.7 million contract from the Army Corps of Engineers to build a new Satellite Earth Terminal Station at Fort Detrick in Frederick.

The 34,000-square-foot, high-tech, high-security facility will replace a smaller, out-of-date building and will have emergency backup systems to support current and future Defense Satellite Communication missions, according to company information. The facility will be built to qualify for silver certification under the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program.

Harkins recently completed an armed forces reserve center at Fort Detrick.

Arizona REIT pays $29M for Baltimore tech center

Healthcare Trust of America, a real estate investment trust in Scottsdale, Ariz., has acquired the Triad Technology Center in Baltimore for $29.25 million, subject to closing conditions.

The approximately 101,400-square-foot facility in the Johns Hopkins University Bayview Medical Center Research Campus is fully leased to federal agencies, including the National Institutes of Health's Institute on Aging's Intramural Research Program, Institute on Drug Abuse and National Human Genome Research Institute.

"This is an opportunity to acquire a unique asset that supports federal research on healthcare issues facing our society today," said Mark D. Engstrom, Healthcare Trust's executive vice president of acquisitions, in a statement. "This acquisition is our second in the Baltimore/Washington D.C. marketplace and we continue to look for strategic opportunities to partner with strong healthcare organizations."

The trust's portfolio comprises 7.4 million square feet and 160 medical office buildings, six hospitals, nine skilled nursing and assisted living facilities, and four other office buildings in 21 states.

Sinclair, Cool Music hook up for Cool TV

Sinclair Television Group of Baltimore and Cool Music Network of Lawrence, Kan., have agreed to provide THECOOLTV in 34 of Sinclair's markets. This partnership will put the programming in 24 million homes, or about 22 percent of U.S. television households, according to Sinclair information.

THECOOLTV is a new round-the-clock music television network. It customizes its programming to reflect local demographics, music events and artists.

Montgomery General partners with rehabilitation hospital

Montgomery General Hospital in Olney announced a partnership with National Rehabilitation Hospital in Washington, D.C., to manage physical, occupational and speech therapy as well as cardiac rehabilitation on the Montgomery General campus. Montgomery General is a 165-bed, nonprofit profit hospital serving the Greater Baltimore and Washington metropolitan areas.

In addition, the Washington hospital will manage, staff, operate the outpatient therapy site in the Olney hospital's physician office building. Montgomery General rehabilitation patients also will benefit when the hospital's new outpatient center opens in April, according to a hospital statement.

"No one does rehabilitation better within the metropolitan area" than National Rehabilitation, said Peter W. Monge, president of MGH Health Services, in the statement.

Sun Cab adding Priuses to all-hybrid fleet

Not worried about recently reported problems, Sun Cab of Montgomery County has decided to order an additional six Toyota Hybrid Prius cabs.

Beginning March 15, Sun Cab, which has 43 taxis, will have a fleet of 10 hybrid vehicles that average 50 miles per gallon. In addition, Sun Cab has three wheelchair-accessible cabs and 30 sedan cabs, according to company information.

"Sun Cab is aware of the recent Toyota recalls and has been carefully reviewing and implementing precautions relayed to from local and national agencies on this recall matter," the company said in a statement.

"At this time, Sun Cab's fleet of four Priuses has complied with all notifications issued from Toyota. The Prius drivers at Sun Cab have not experienced any safety concerns related to braking and accelerating. At this time, there is no information to show that this Prius hybrid fleet will be affected by this matter."

Survey: CFOs see higher revenue in 2010

More than 69 percent of CFOs at leading U.S. technology businesses anticipate increased sales in 2010, according to the an annual survey by BDO, an accounting and consulting organization. Overall, the average anticipated sales gain in 2010 is 8.7 percent, up from 1.6 percent in 2009.

The survey found 81 percent of technology CFOs expect merger and acquisition activity in the technology sector to increase in 2010. Last year, only 43 percent predicted increased merger and acquisition activity for 2009, compared with 41 percent in 2008. "As the economy continues to stabilize, we can expect to see some creative deal-making throughout 2010," said Douglas Sirotta, a BDO partner, in a statement.

CFOs are still concerned about an uncertain future. Thirty-eight percent cite managing risk as their greatest challenge in 2010, according to the survey. In 2008, the leading risk to technology sector growth was recruitment and retention. Thirty-two percent of CFOs anticipate seeking additional capital in 2010, which is slightly fewer than 34 percent in 2009.

Human Services Coalition receives $500,000 federal grant

The Human Services Coalition of Prince George's has received a $500,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Service Compassion Capital Fund.

The grant will provide for the expansion of the coalition's nonprofit incubator program from eight participants to 25, according to a coalition statement.