Contractor

An $11.6 million runway extension project at Baltimore-Washington International Airport that will increase foreign flights may be back on track with a new contractor.The Maryland Aviation Administration last week approved the selection of the Hardaway Co. of Odenton to replace the Driggs Corp. of Capitol Heights, MAA spokeswoman Adrienne Walker-Pittman said.Unspecified contracting problems caused work to halt last fall and led to the firing of Driggs on Oct. 22."The contractor did not complete this season's work as required," Ms. Walker-Pittman said, refusing to elaborate.

A union contractor alleges that officials connected to the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network, which is majority-owned by the Orioles, backed out on a deal in which the contractor was to help construct a new studio in downtown Baltimore. The contractor, Arctic Refrigeration of Ellicott City, said in a recent Circuit Court action that it is owed more than $1 million because it supplied labor and material for the proposed studio in a building on the 200 block of North Charles Street. Arctic - which provides heating, ventilation, air conditioning and plumbing - says it began work earlier this year after receiving a letter of intent from Artemis Properties Inc., a construction project manager.

Maryland's Department of Juvenile Services will take over management of the Charles H. Hickey Jr. School later this month until a replacement can be found for the outgoing contractor, Youth Services International, officials said yesterday. Hickey, in the Cub Hill area of Baltimore County, is a state juvenile detention center in housing about 260 youths charged with offenses ranging from drug possession to armed robbery. It has been managed by Youth Services, a subsidiary of Correctional Services Corp.

SAN DIEGO -- A defense contractor and a former top-ranking CIA official were indicted yesterday on corruption charges in a case that also involved bribes to disgraced former congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham. Brent Roger Wilkes was charged with bribing Cunningham, a California Republican, and Kyle Dustin "Dusty" Foggo to get contracts for his companies. Until he resigned in May amid a federal investigation, Foggo was the CIA's third highest-ranking official. Wilkes provided Cunningham with prostitutes, vacations, corporate jet travel, limousine service, cash, meals, furniture and equipment for his boat, the indictment said.

The parents of a 17-year-old Pennsylvania boy electrocuted by a light pole at an Ocean City boardwalk condominium last summer have filed a federal lawsuit, claiming that the deadly accident happened because of slipshod repair work.Ryan Burkhardt died July 23 after he touched the pole while playing football with friends at Decatur House, a 12th Street condominium complex where Ryan and his family were vacationing. The parents are suing Decatur House and an Eastern Shore contractor who worked on the pole.

TVI Corp., a small, financially struggling military contractor in Beltsville, yesterday announced a restructuring of its top management, including the resignation of its chief executive.Brent Molovinsky will be succeeded as president, chairman and chief executive by Allen E. Bender, a retired Navy officer with a degree in finance. Mr. Bender was appointed to TVI's board on April 4.Mr. Molovinsky, who will serve the company as a consultant, said in his resignation statement that he was leaving "to pursue other business interests not related to TVI."

The contractor involved in the bridge collapse over the Baltimore-Washington Parkway near Laurel two years ago has been fined $710 by a state hearing examiner, who threw out the state job safety agency's assessment of over $900,000 for multiple violations.It was by far the largest fine ever sought by the Maryland Occupational Safety and Health office.The Aug. 31, 1989, accident occurred as concrete was poured on the top deck of Route 198. Fourteen people were hurt, including one woman with permanent brain damage whose family has already settled its lawsuit against the contractors for $5.3 million.

A memorial Mass for Francis J. Hamill, a retired contractor whose interests included travel, playing the violin and collecting Colonial furniture, will be offered at 11 a.m. Saturday at SS. Philip and James Roman Catholic Church.Mr. Hamill, a Baltimore native who lived in Homeland for nearly 60 years, died of respiratory illness Dec. 1 at the Meridian Nursing Center-Long Green. He was 95.He retired in the 1950s as owner or part owner of several construction companies -- the Hamill Construction Co., Carozza-Hamill Construction Co., Chesapeake Contractors and the Columbia Construction Co., all formed after World War II.At various times earlier in his career, he was an official of the Consolidated Engineering Co., the Ligon and Ligon Construction and the Mullan Contracting Co.In addition to many bridges, roads and dams in Maryland and nearby states, projects he worked on included the War Memorial Plaza and the water tower in Curtis Bay. During World War II, his companies did a lot of work at Army posts in Maryland and in Puerto Rico.

Defense contractor TAPE, LLC has opened an office in Belcamp to service a major Army contract. The new office is at 101 Bata Blvd., Suite 102, in the Water's Edge corporate campus. According to a company news release, in 2010, TAPE, an acronym for Technical and Project Engineering, was awarded as a prime contractor, a $400 million U.S. Army research and development contract atAberdeen Proving Ground. The contract, awarded by the Army Research Laboratory, or ARL, develops and supports new concepts for application of advanced technology for special operations forces, combatant commanders and the intelligence community.

Because of the expense of moving and of new housing, many homeowners have decided it is cheaper and easier to fix up than to move up. But finding the right contractor to do the job can be difficult.Ideally, it's wise to obtain three competitive bids on a project. Comparing three bids will give you an idea of costs, expose you to three opinions and three sets of ideas and give you a chance to decide whom you would like to work with.If you have worked with a particular contractor before and are confident of that person's abilities and prices, then one bid may be sufficient.