Northrop Grumman

Banking and finance * PNC announced the appointments of Tracy A. Sorzano as trust director for the greater Maryland region and Lisa H.R. Hayes, a senior wealth planner, as senior vice president in the regional bank's wealth management division. * Provident Bank named James McGovern, credit risk review division, Amy Creason, emerging business division, and Roxanne Naiman-Roloff, business banking division, as vice presidents within their respective divisions. Construction * Harkins Builders Inc. announced that Steve Rubin joined the staff of the Marriottsville-based general contractor as business development manager.

Track down tax refund or stimulus check More than $4 million worth of stimulus checks and tax refunds belonging to thousands of Marylanders have been returned to the Internal Revenue Service as undeliverable. If your tax rebate or refund hasn't arrived, check with the IRS to make sure it has your correct address. Review the status of your check or refund online at www.irs.gov, clicking on "Where's My Stimulus Payment?" or "Where's My Refund?" Those without Internet access can call 866-234-2942 to find out about their stimulus check and 800-829-1954 to inquire about a refund.

Federal spending on contractors in Maryland fell last year for the second time in a row, a troubling trend for a state dependent on government business. Procurement spending dropped $1.3 billion, or 6 percent, in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, 2007, the U.S. Census Bureau said in a report set to be released today. Such spending had declined 3 percent the year before. The figures are adjusted to account for inflation. Federal dollars to contractors, which include such items as computer services and radar systems, totaled $21.1 billion last year.

Harry B. Smith, a former Westinghouse Electric Corp. executive who was known as the "father of pulse-Doppler radar," died Friday of a stroke at St. Agnes Hospital. He was 86. Mr. Smith helped develop the radar system for high-altitude surveillance aircraft before becoming president of the Defense and Electronics Center of Westinghouse, now Northrop Grumman Electronic Systems in Linthicum. "He was a great leader and a down-to-earth individual, and his work had a most significant impact on our business," said James F. Pitts, corporate vice president and president of Northrop Grumman.

BOGOTA, Colombia - Colombian soldiers tricked leftist guerrillas in a jungle camp into freeing 15 hostages, including a former presidential candidate and three U.S. military contractors, officials said yesterday. Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos said the military rescued former presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt, three Americans employed by Northrop Grumman Corp. and 11 soldiers and police officers held for years by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC. "This was an unprecedented operation," Santos told reporters.

The Government Accountability Office has backed Boeing's protest of the awarding of a multibillion-dollar contract for refueling tankers to Northrop Grumman and a European partner, saying the Air Force made errors during the process. The GAO, the investigative arm of Congress, recommended yesterday that the Air Force reopen the bidding and obtain revised proposals. The $40 billion tanker program is the Air Force's No. 1 priority, intended to replace a fleet of aerial refueling tankers - which provide fuel to fighter jets and cargo planes in midair - that date back to the Eisenhower administration and which are being stressed in wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

It took close to five years of development and 14 months of live testing for Northrop Grumman to prove it could build a system that airline pilots might use to deflect terrorist missiles. Selling it may be even tougher. Congress would have to require the cash-strapped aviation industry to install the nearly $1 million systems on each of the nation's 7,800 passenger and cargo aircraft. The airlines and pilot groups say they shouldn't pay for expensive technology that doesn't address the most pressing terrorist threats.

Anne Arundel Community College will host its annual college fair from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday. This free event, co-sponsored by AACC and the county public schools, will help students explore more than 150 higher education options, gather and compare data, and visit with university representatives. The fair will be held in the David S. Jenkins Gymnasium on the Arnold campus, 101 College Parkway. Parking is free. Information: 410-777-2246. Essays sought for state competition The Maryland Colonial Society Inc., and the Maryland State Archives are seeking submissions to their annual essay contest for high school students.

Paul D. Behringer, who had worked for Northrop Grumman Corp. for nearly three decades, died of cancer Jan. 7 at his Severna Park home. He was 50. Mr. Behringer was born in Baltimore and raised in Linthicum. He was a 1975 graduate of Andover High School and earned a bachelor's degree in business in 1979 from the University of Baltimore. Since 1980, Mr. Behringer had been employed at Northrop Grumman Corp. in Linthicum, where he was a deployment manager of postal services. He was an avid fisherman and flower gardener.