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Capital One Financial of McLean, Va., plans to close six Chevy Chase Bank branches in Maryland by early January "in an effort to improve branch efficiency and performance, while also managing costs," a spokeswoman said.

"Capital One has one or more existing branches in close proximity to each of the branches that are being closed," spokeswoman Julie Rakes said in an e-mail. "We remain very excited about the opportunities to grow our banking business in the metro Washington, D.C., area, and our commitment to Maryland hasn't changed."

Branches scheduled to close Dec. 19 are on Arlington Road in Bethesda, at 11751 Rockville Pike in Rockville and in Laurel and Hagerstown. Branches at Westfield Montgomery mall in Bethesda and in Waldorf are slated to close Jan. 9.

Montgomery chamber announces annual awards

H. Thomas Watkins, CEO and president of Human Genome Sciences of Rockville, will receive the 2009 Business Leader of the Year award from the Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce at its annual awards dinner Nov. 11 in North Bethesda.

The award is given to a business leader "who has made unique and lasting contributions in the areas of leadership, innovation and commitment to good corporate citizenship in Montgomery County," according to the chamber.

Other winners are Enos Fry of EFRY Inc. Consulting, Emeritus Business Leader; Judy Stephenson, president of Officepro, Small Business Leader of the Year; TerpSys, Corporate Social Responsibility; Sue Healey, president of MyEyeDr., Spirit of Free Enterprise; The JBG Cos., Corporate Achievement; and Radius Technology Group, Verl Zanders Emerging Business of the Year.

BGE lands $200 million from stimulus grants

Baltimore Gas and Electric has won a $200 million federal stimulus grant as part of the Obama administration's $3.4 billion in Smart Grid Investment Grant awards from the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act.

In July, BGE unveiled its plan to install 2 million "smart" meters in residents' homes, with the goal to provide more than $2.6 billion in savings. Smart meters, which indicate electric consumption, can help determine the high and low periods of usage, resulting in more efficient energy use, according to information from BGE.

Hughes, Canadian firm agree on $100M deal

Satellite services provider Hughes Network Systems of Germantown has signed a $100 million agreement with Barrett Xplore, one of Canada's largest rural broadband providers, to provide more than 10 gigabits per second of capacity on a high-throughput satellite from Hughes.

The satellite, Jupiter, is designed with more than 100 Gbps of capacity, representing a tenfold increase over existing satellites, and is scheduled for launch in 2012.

"Jupiter will enable Barrett Xplore to provide significantly enhanced service offerings to our current customers, and offer additional capacity to serve hundreds of thousands of rural Canadian households," said John Maduri, CEO of Barrett Xplore, in a statement.

Hagerstown kicks off incentive program

The city of Hagerstown has launched an incentive program to help attract more businesses to its downtown. The program, Partners in Economic Progress, offers an array of incentives for businesses and developers.

Approved by the City Council in September, the program offers investors more flexibility and communication with city departments to facilitate the location of new tenants quickly and includes incentives for commercial, mixed-use and residential properties, according to the city's Economic Development Commission.

Information: www.hagerstownedc.org.

Aquilent lands $13M more in federal contracts

Aquilent of Laurel has won $13 million in combined contracts to provide various federal agencies with Web, technology strategy and program management office systems.

The agencies are the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Department of the Interior.

Weatherbug forms deals with weather stations

WeatherBug of Germantown, providers of the largest private weather network in the world, has partnered with Northern Ireland Electricity, BT and UTV New Media.

The weather stations, integrated into the WeatherBug worldwide weather network, will provide real-time weather information to Northern Ireland Electricity to assist in planning and preparing for severe weather that could damage the electricity network.