Contract

Baltimore officials plan Wednesday to extend the contract of two firms that provide many of the city's information technology workers, saying they need more time before allowing other companies to compete for the work. Under the terms of a $2.4 million deal, Digicon Corp. will continue to provide the Mayor's Office of Information Technology with staffers for an additional six months. The administration also is moving to extend the contract of another IT staffing firm, Telecommunication Systems Inc., for $2.7 million over six months.

Federal Contracts Report is a weekly summary of selected contracts recently awarded by the federal government to companies and other vendors in the Baltimore area.* United Book Press of Baltimore won a $347,438 contract from the U.S. Government Printing Office to provide book printing services.* Paco Contractors of Baltimore won a $153,000 contract from the Army to provide construction of a two-story office structure inside Building 315 at Aberdeen Proving Ground.* Simms Industries Inc. of Columbia won a $958,687 contract from the Navy to provide systems analyses.

The Orioles today announced they have re-signed free agent left-handed pitcher Mark Hendrickson to a one-year contract for the 2010 season with a club option for the 2011 season. Details of the contract were worked out last week pending a physical. Earlier today the team announced it had agreed on a deal with 32-year old left-hander Will Ohman. Hendrickson, 35, went 6-5 with a 4.37 ERA in 53 games, including 11 starts, for the Orioles in 2009. In 42 relief appearances, Hendrickson was 4-0 with a 3.44 ERA. Hendrickson is the only major league pitcher to make at least 10 starts and five relief appearances in each of the last four seasons.

A circuit judge blocked the award of a contract worth up to a half-billion dollars to a Miami-based company to build and operate two travel plazas on Interstate 95, saying it appeared the state did not follow its own procurement law. The decision Wednesday afternoon in Rockville by Circuit Judge Eric Johnson came hours after a vote by the state Board of Public Works to delay its contract vote for two weeks to give losing bidder HMSHost time to...

This is a weekly summary of selected prime contracts recently awarded by the federal government to companies and other vendors in Maryland.Maryland contractsJohns Hopkins University in Laurel won a $32,269,253 from the Navy to provide research, development, engineering and technical services in support of tactical and strategic systems, space science, geophysics, biophysics and microelectronics.Westinghouse Electric Corp. in Baltimore won a $15,076,122 contract to lease operating, support, and maintenance of three sea-based Small Aerostat Surveillance Systems for an eight-month period to support Defense Department drug-interdiction efforts.

The theory that players suffer a drop in production after signing big contracts apparently doesn't apply to Sam Koch. Through six games, the Ravens punter is enjoying career highs in both punting average (47.3 yards) and net average (41.4) after agreeing in February to a five-year deal believed to be in the range of almost $12 million. Koch has plenty of reasons to perform well, and one of those is the absence of guaranteed contracts in the NFL. “It is a little bit of security, but then again, that contract really doesn't mean much because if you don't go out there and perform week in and week out, that contract could be voided within a day,” Koch said Thursday.

The Baltimore Teachers Union announced Friday that it has reached a tentative 2010-2011 contract with city school officials that is expected to be ratified and approved in the coming weeks. Negotiations have been ongoing for months, and last year's contract had to be extended while officials reached an agreement. The statement included few details about the new contract, but the union called it "landmark" and BTU President Marietta English she was "excited" about the agreement.

The union that represents 1,700 Baltimore County employees in corrections, the 911 center, sanitation and animal control has ratified a new contract that includes a 2 percent raise but leaves a dispute over emergency leave unresolved. "Members decided to ratify the contract and get the raise," said John Ripley, president of the Baltimore Federation of Public Employees. "The impasse we have been fighting for 18 months will just be taken up with the next administration. We are not happy with this administration."

Baseball Nationals give former Oriole Hairston one-year contract The Washington Nationals agreed to a one-year, $2 million contract with utility player Jerry Hairston Jr. , a 34-year-old former Oriole with a career .257 batting average, 59 homers and 341RBIs across 13 seasons with six clubs. He hit .244 with 10 homers and a career-high 50 RBIs for the San Diego Padres last season. General manager Mike Rizzo said Hairston, a member of the 2009 World Series champion New York Yankees, would be "very, very comfortable and very effective" playing any position in the field other than first base or catcher.

The Washington Redskins have signed quarterback John Beck to a three-year contract worth $3.35 million. The deal is essentially a two-year extension and puts Beck under contract through the 2012 season. More importantly, it appears to solidify his spot on the roster as the third-string quarterback. He had been competing with Richard Bartel for the No. 3 spot behind Donovan McNabb and Rex Grossman . Beck was acquired Aug. 2 in a trade with the Ravens. Beck was with Baltimore last year and previously sent two seasons with the Miami Dolphins, who drafted him in the second round out of Brigham Young in 2007.