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The entertainment software industry added about $106 million to the state economy in 2009, according to a study released Tuesday by the Entertainment Software Association in Washington, D.C. The state's industry also has grown 3 percent annually since 2005, nearly three times the growth of Maryland's overall economy.

Companies in the field directly and indirectly employ more than 2,300 people and provided more than $117 million in direct and indirection compensation in 2009.

"Maryland's computer and video game companies make an increasingly important contribution to the state's economy, and play a vital role in maintaining the strength of the entertainment software industry as a whole," said Michael D. Gallagher, president and CEO of the association, in a statement.

ASRC lands $250M award for NASA Goddard work

ASRC Management Services of Greenbelt has received a $250 million contract to develop and validate new technologies for NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt.

Through this five-year contract, ASRC will support the design, development, flight and non-flight fabrication, testing and operations of spaceflight and ground system operations. The deal will provide continued or new employment for about 200 people, with work beginning Aug. 23, according to company information.

Also, parent ASRC Federal Holding agreed to acquire Mission Solutions Engineering of Arlington, Va., from CSC of Falls Church, Va. Terms were not disclosed.

Foreclosure rate up 10.4 percent from June

Maryland's home foreclosure rate in July rose 10.4 percent from June and 35.1 percent from a year earlier, according to new data from RealtyTrac of Irvine, Calif.

With one filing per 335 households, the state had the 10th highest rate in the U.S. The national rate of one filing per 397 households was up 3.6 percent from June, but down 9.7 percent from July 2009.

Prince George's County again had the state's highest rate in July, with one filing per 153 households. That was up 18.4 percent from June and 14.5 percent from a year earlier.

Sonic opens location with 120 jobs in Randallstown

Sonic Corp. of Oklahoma City has opened a drive-in restaurant in Randallstown, its second in Maryland. The locally owned franchise will initially bring 120 new jobs to the Liberty Road Commercial Revitalization District, according to information from the Baltimore County Department of Economic Development.

The chain's first restaurant in the state was in Easton. The Baltimore County agency helped the franchisees with a $60,000 building investment loan.

SGT to get up to $183M for 5-year NASA contract

Stinger Ghaffarian Technologies of Greenbelt has received a task order contract worth up to $183 million to provide NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va., with computing support services for complex information technology systems and applications.

The contract runs up to five years and will include the support of high-end systems at Langley.

Emergent BioSolutions to buy Tribuion for up to $135.5M

Anthrax-vaccine developer Emergent BioSolutions of Rockville said it has agreed to acquire Trubion Pharmaceuticals of Seattle for $96.8 million, plus up to $38.7 million of success-based milestones, for total consideration of up to $135.5 million.

The deal will diversify Emergent's product development pipeline with the addition of Trubion's two clinical-stage candidates focused on oncology and autoimmunity, according to Emergent information.

In other news, Emergent and Temasek Life Science Ventures of Singapore agreed to form a joint venture called Epic Bio to develop, manufacture and commercialize a human vaccine to protect against influenza caused by a broad range of H5 strains, such as avian flu.

SunEdison partners on solar plants in the West

SunEdison of Beltsville has partnered with DRI Energy of Irvine, Calif., to deploy solar power plants in California, Hawaii and Arizona with an initial capacity of 19 megawatts.

SunEdison, a subsidiary of MEMC Electronic Materials of St. Peters, Mo., will finance contracts facilitated by DRI with commercial, government and utility clients.

SunEdison will own, operate and maintain the plants, which DRI Energy will design, engineer and build. SunEdison and DRI Energy have several other joint projects under construction.

Projects from $41.5M in bonds to create 3,354 jobs in Prince George's

A total of 3,354 jobs are expected to result from four Prince George's County projects set to be supported by $41.5 million in Federal Recovery Zone Facility Bonds.

The tax-exempt loans, part of the federal stimulus package, will help businesses get reduced-interest bank loans so they can create and retain jobs and expand capacity, according to county information.

The projects are a 22-acre commercial site that will be transformed into a mixed-use development; infrastructure enhancements to preserve buildings; and two sites that will be revitalized to create almost 2,600 jobs.

County officials would not provide further details about the projects, citing an ongoing vetting process.

W. R. Grace opens new China facility

W. R. Grace of Columbia has opened a new plant in Chongqing, China, to manufacture cement additives and concrete admixtures. The facility also has a quality control lab and office areas for administrative and sales personnel.

The additives are used by cement producers to improve grinding efficiency, reduce production costs, enhance the quality of cement and reduce energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions, according to company information. The admixtures improve the quality, strength, durability and appearance of concretes.

In previous months, Grace has announced other construction-related developments in international markets, including the formation of a joint venture and manufacturing operations in Saudi Arabia.

BioServe opens European headquarters

BioServe of Beltsville and NGC Medical of Italy have announced the opening of BioServe-Europe in Milan.

The new branch will provide the European bioscience industry with molecular services, including the processing of new personal genetic tests, high-throughput genotyping and DNA and RNA extractions, plus biospecimens from BioServe's Global BioRepository and partner networks, according to BioServe information.

BioServe began its collaboration with NGC Medial in April.

Ex-CFO sentenced in $2.7M embezzlement

Ernest Theodore Solo, 60, of Boyds was sentenced Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt to three years in prison after pleading guilty in April to wire fraud. Solo embezzled more than $2.7 million from Chesapeake Petroleum of Gaithersburg, where he was CFO.

U.S. District Judge Peter J. Messitte also ordered Solo to pay restitution of $2.7 million, according to a statement from prosecutors.

From at least 2000 through 2008, Solo authorized and signed company checks totaling $2.4 million made payable to himself or to a bank to which he owed money, according to his plea. Solo also stole about $333,000 from the company's petty cash fund, over which he had exclusive control.

He tried to hide the scheme by falsifying financial records, destroying records of the checks and hiding the fraud from outside auditors.

Solo could have received a 20-year sentence.

UM develops online master's program for bioengineers

The Fischell Department of Bioengineering at the University of Maryland, College Park, has developed an online master's program for working bioengineers.

The program will focus on the chemical and materials, health care, biotechnology, electronics and devices, and military and security industries, plus federal agencies.