Landover

Giant Food Inc. said yesterday that its fourth-quarter earnings, to be reported March 25, will be hurt by the five-week truck drivers strike.The company gave no indication of how significantly sales and earnings have been affected by the Teamsters Local 639 strike, but it said margins would continue to be depressed as the Landover-based grocery store chain tries to recapture its market share with store promotions.The strike, which ended Jan. 19, brought increased costs in distribution, store payroll, security, overtime and legal expenses.

Yurie Systems Inc., a Landover provider of high-speed network-access equipment, yesterday announced a resale agreement with Ericsson Inc.Under the three-year deal, Ericsson will market Yurie products worldwide under its own name. Ericsson Inc. is the Richardson, Texas-based American subsidiary of Sweden's LM Ericsson.The agreement, which goes into effect immediately, does not compel Ericsson to purchase any specific quantity of Yurie products.Kwok Li, Yurie vice chairman and chief technical officer, said, "We need a way to leverage our growth and part of the way to do that is to partner with global players.

Maryland contractsThis is a weekly summary of selected prime contracts recently awarded by the federal government to companies and other vendors in Maryland.Maryland contractsMartin Marietta Ordnance Systems Inc. in Milan, Tenn., won a $12,253,316 contract from the Army to operate and maintain an Army ammunition facility.Martin Marietta Corp. in Englewood, Colo., won a $6,917,640 contract from the Air Force to supply Air Force equipment management systems.Optelecom Inc. in Gaithersburg won a $1,899,180 contract from the Army to develop optical fiber systems.

Giant Food LLC, the area's largest supermarket chain, said yesterday that it would cut some of its 650 corporate administrative positions over the next few months. The announcement comes as Giant prepares to move much of its corporate operation to Massachusetts, where it will consolidate administrative and managerial functions with a sister company, Stop & Shop Supermarket Co. in Quincy, Mass. Many industry experts said layoffs were inevitable. Giant officials said they would not know until the end of next month or early summer how many people would lose their jobs.

C-Mart closes Landover store Closeout retailer C-Mart said that it will shut its year-old Landover store to focus on expanding its Web business and becoming national rather than regional in focus. C-Mart's owner, the Asset Store LLC, plan to open stores in other parts of the country but decided that the Landover store was too close to the store in Joppa. Home sales start to rise U.S. home sales increased unexpectedly last month for the first time since the middle of last year, a sign that homebuyers are taking advantage of big drops in prices.

LANDOVER -- Veteran Washington Bullets guard Darrell Walker tested his strained right knee in a vigorous half-hour workout before the game with the Miami Heat last night and declared himself free of pain.Walker has been sidelined since Feb. 1 when he injured his knee in New York. He exhibited good mobility cutting and jumping while using a knee brace for the first time in his seven-year playing career."The knee feels fine," said Walker, who was leading the team in rebounding before his injury.

LANDOVER -- A blizzard is expected to hit Baltimore today, but it will be business as usual for the Washington Bullets and Cleveland Cavaliers at the Baltimore Arena tonight."

LANDOVER -- Washington Capitals defenseman Sylvain Cote, who suffered a fractured orbital bone under his right eye Sunday night, skated and took part in a scaled-down scrimmage yesterday.Initially, doctors said Cote could not skate for at least two weeks and would not be available to play for at least three.But after a re-examination, Cote was cleared to take the ice. He will be examined again by Dr. James Karesh of Sinai Hospital today for a further determination of his playing status.Cote still has double vision, but he could be back playing when that clears up."

LANDOVER - An overflow crowd at yesterday's state indoor track championships at the Prince George's Sports and Learning Complex forced officials to put out "sold out" signs. "The fire marshall directed us to close down for a period of time," said Ned Sparks, Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association executive director. "But everybody did get in eventually." The field house holds 3,500, but by early afternoon the facility was wall-to-wall people. It was the first time the state held its indoor championship for all three classifications on the same day under one roof.

LANDOVER -- They are still a team looking to spoil the playoff dreams of others rather than a team latching on to their own. They are still a team in the midst of a disappointing season, but for one afternoon at FedEx Field, the Washington Redskins forgot what had transpired the past three months. Led by a much-maligned defense that came into the game ranked 30th in the league and an offense that made a few big plays down the stretch, the Redskins finally resembled the team they were supposed to be this season in a 17-13 victory yesterday over the Carolina Panthers.