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Hughes Network Systems of Germantown won a $58.7 million contract as the only national provider of high-speed satellite Internet service under the 2009 federal stimulus package, according to a company statement.

The contract, administered by the Department of Agriculture's Rural Utilities Service, is part of the federal investment in broadband projects to help create jobs and economic opportunity, Hughes said.

"We congratulate USDA's Rural Utilities Service ... in recognizing the essential role that satellite plays in bridging the digital divide in America ...," CEO Pradman Kaul said in the statement.

Citing federal statistics, Hughes said that between 14 million to 24 million U.S. households and small businesses do not have access to land-based broadband services.

Avatech, Rand Worldwide in reverse merger

Two engineering services providers, publicly held Avatech Solutions of Owings Mills and privately held Rand Worldwide of Framingham, Mass., have themselves engineered a reverse merger.

The combined public company will be Rand Worldwide. Its top executives will be CEO Marc Dulude, formerly with Rand, and president and CFO Larry Rychlak, formerly with Avatech. They also will be directors, as will former Avatech CEO George Davis. The chairman will be Richard Charpie, a managing general partner with Ampersand of Wellesley, a private equity firm and largest shareholder in Rand. Among the departing Avatech directors is Aris Melissaratos of Johns Hopkins University and former secretary of the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development.

The combined company is the largest value-added reseller of Autodesk products in the world, with offices in 47 cities, according to a joint statement. The companies' combined sales in the past 12 months totaled about $82 million.

2011 Baltimore Grand Prix set for Labor Day weekend

Planners for the inaugural Baltimore Grand Prix wanted to stage the race on Labor Day weekend, and now they have their wish. The IndyCar event has been moved to Sept. 2-4, 2011, from the previously announced dates of Aug. 5-7, according to an announcement Monday by Baltimore Racing Development and city officials.

"We are very excited to be able to schedule [the event] for the weekend that we originally wanted," said Jay Davidson, president of the racing group and the Baltimore Grand Prix, in a statement. "We are expecting race fans from throughout the region and around the world ... [this] makes it even easier for fans to make travel plans to attend this action-packed ‘three day festival of speed' in downtown Baltimore."

The racing group also announced a series of improvements to the track layout, with a new pit location, so the course now will encircle Oriole Park at Camden Yards and "two new turns have been added on Conway Street to slow the cars as they approach pit lane, which will also create additional excitement for fans watching from the planned hospitality areas ..."

HR professionals show confidence in job growth

Human resource professionals are showing confidence in the U.S. job market, according to the Labor Market Outlook Report released this week by the Society of Human Resource Management.

The report indicates 56 percent of respondents expect job growth in the third quarter, with 49 percent somewhat optimistic about job growth and 7 percent very optimistic.

The figures represent a sharp increase from the third quarter of 2009, when a combined 37 percent of respondents expressed some level of optimism about job growth. The new report also indicated 31 percent of employers surveyed plan to conduct hiring this quarter, up from 21 percent in the third quarter of 2009.

Bank of America laying off 50 workers in Hunt Valley

Bank of America is laying off 50 workers in Hunt Valley, part of a consolidation in the bank's credit claims unit, according to a Bank of America spokeswoman.

The Charlotte, N.C., banking giant will continue to employ more than 1,000 workers in Hunt Valley, Nicole Nastacie said in an e-mail. The workers are to be laid off as of Sept. 20, with some possibly hired by another business unit within the company.

In other employment news, steel facility Severstal Sparrows Point is laying off about 500 workers for two weeks. "Due to softening market conditions," said spokeswoman Marika Diamond, "we are temporarily idling some of the finishing operations."

BAE Systems lands contract with Marines worth up to $30M

BAE Systems of Rockville will provide engineering and technical services to support the Marine Corps' air traffic control systems under a contract worth up to $30 million, according to company information.

The contract was awarded by the Naval Air Warfare Center's Aircraft Division in St. Inigoes, which BAE Systems has supported for many years. The company's services will include systems design and analysis, on-site technical assistance and training.

The contract includes an initial one-year term plus four option years. If all of the options are exercised, the total value could reach about $30 million. The work will be performed at the Patuxent River Naval Air Station and other U.S. military bases.

Little Gym franchise bankrupt, shuts down

The Little Gym in Mount Airy filed for Chapter 7 liquidation last week in U.S. Bankruptcy Court.

The franchise, which provided recreational services for children, had up to 49 creditors, estimated assets of up to $50,000 and estimated liabilities of $500,000 to $1 million, according to court documents.

Owner Richard Metz could not be reached for comment.

The franchise was part of Little Gym International of Scottsdale, Ariz., which has locations worldwide and ranked at the top of the children's fitness category in Entrepreneur Magazine's Franchise 500 list last year.