Rockville

The U.S. Justice Department will award $2.3 million in grants to a dozen local governments across the country in an effort to reduce domestic violence homicides, Vice President Joe Biden and Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr., announced Wednesday at an event in Rockville. Officials said the program was modeled after a similar initiative in Maryland that monitors high-risk offenders and attempts to identify potential victims before crimes take place. A dozen jurisdictions -- none in Maryland -- will receive grants of roughly $200,000 each.

Vice President Joe Biden's press secretary apologized to a Capital News Service reporter and the University of Maryland's Philip Merrill College of Journalism on Wednesday after a press office staffer demanded the reporter delete photos taken at an event in Rockville. The reporter, a credentialed member of the press who is a student at the University of Maryland, College Park, was covering a domestic violence event featuring Biden, Attorney General Eric Holder and U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin.

ROCKVILLE -- A portion of a partially constructed parking garage in a commercial area collapsed yesterday afternoon, killing two workers and critically injuring a third, authorities said. A fourth worker was missing, and authorities last night were using canine units to search the wreckage. "We're still hopeful" the missing worker will be found alive, said Pete Piringer, a spokesman for the Montgomery County Fire Department. Early last night, the dogs picked up a scent, and rescue teams were bringing in heat and sound detectors in an effort to pinpoint the location, Piringer said.

The U.S. Justice Department will award $2.3 million in grants to a dozen local governments across the country in an effort to reduce domestic violence homicides, Vice President Joe Biden and Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr., announced Wednesday at an event in Rockville. Officials said the program was modeled after a similar initiative in Maryland that monitors high-risk offenders and attempts to identify potential victims before crimes take place. A dozen jurisdictions -- none in Maryland -- will receive grants of roughly $200,000 each.

Emergent BioSolutions Inc. of Rockville said Monday it won a five-year contract worth up to $1.25 billion to provide millions of doses of an anthrax vaccine for government stockpiles. The company said it would supply 44.75 million doses of BioThrax, the only vaccine licensed by the Food and Drug Administration to prevent anthrax infection. The company makes the vaccine at a facility in Michigan. Emergent is renovating a facility in Baltimore, where it plans to produce a tuberculosis vaccine, the company said.

Southern enjoyed a brief lead, 2-0, over Rockville after sophomore guard Chatney Howard (15 points) fired up the first basket of last night's Class 2A Region III boys basketball semifinal.From there, however, the fourth-seeded Bulldogs (13-11) were ripped by the home-standing Rams (18-4), who sank 11 three-pointers en route to a 63-45 victory.Rockville, the tournament's top seed, built its biggest lead, 63-43, in the fourth period behind Bryan Sims (18 points), DeMond Gibson(16) and Sonny O'Dell (10)

ROCKVILLE -- A boarded-up hotel here has been taken off the rolls of the Resolution Trust Corp., the federal entity that liquidates assets of failed savings and loan organizations, and is being converted into 60 low-income apartments.In January, the Montgomery Housing Partnership, a local nonprofit agency, bought the 30-year-old, 82-room Town Center Inn, which had been vacant nine months, and an adjoining 14-unit apartment house for $1.35 million with public financing and bank loans. The first units are expected to be ready this summer, and the project is set for completion in January.

CTA Inc., a Rockville-based satellite communications company, said yesterday that it has realigned its corporate structure to focus on areas with high growth potential.As part of the plan, CTA will launch a new business unit called the CTA Space and Telecommunications Co., which will combine several existing divisions. The new business will focus on satellite and ground station manufacturing, spacecraft design, test and flight operations and satellite-related equipment and software.CTA Chief Executive C. E. "Tom" Velez said the company has hired Ricardo de Bastos, a veteran satellite industry executive, to serve as president of the new company.

ROCKVILLE -- Northeast's bid to return to the state semifinals for the sixth straight season was halted yesterday at Rockville High School. The Eagles were beaten, 10-6, by Rockville in the Class 2A, Region III final.Rockville (13-5) had two big innings -- a five-run second and a four-run fourth -- and that was too much for the Eagles to overcome.The loss ended one of the most frustrating seasons for Eagles manager Harry Lentz. Northeast had a 56-3 record the past three seasons, and with 10 seniors -- including three starters -- back this year, Lentz expected success.

Police in Montgomery County are investigating the death of a North Potomacwoman whose body was found inside a burning building yesterday in Rockville. Firefighters responding to a fire in a commercial building on West Montgomery Avenue discovered the body of Vanessa Yvette Johnson, 39, of the 14000 block of Masterpiece Lane. Police said Johnson was the owner of a consignment shop in the building. Johnson's injuries did not appear to be related to the fire, police said, and her death is being treated as a homicide.

The O'Malley administration is all for enforcing infractions on state residents - but holds itself to an entirely less stringent moral and legal standard. The push to double E-ZPass fines is a case in point. The Maryland Transportation Authority (MdTA) would like to increase late fees for E-ZPass infractions to $50 and potentially suspend vehicle registrations for nonpayment in legislation yet to be introduced this session. For starters, the proposed punishment far exceeds the crime.

Rockville-based Human Genome Sciences has warned state regulators that it plans to cut 114 jobs beginning in October, three months after striking a deal to be acquired by GlaxoSmithKline. Human Genome, which employs about 1,000 people in Rockville, could not be reached for comment Wednesday. But it told the state Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation that the layoffs — to start Oct. 30 — were part of an internal restructuring. GlaxoSmithKline, a London pharmaceutical firm, also could not immediately be reached for comment.

More than two dozen people working as consultants in the Mayor's Office of Information Technology are employees of Rockville-based Digicon Corp. - the company from which the office bought hundreds of thousands of dollars of phone-related equipment under a no-bid deal, city documents show. City Comptroller Joan M. Pratt said Wednesday the purchases raise concerns given the large number of Digicon employees working for the technology office. The office bought more than $650,000 in equipment from Digicon last year as Pratt was seeking bids on a multimillion-dollar contract to convert the city's phones to a digital system.

Corporate Office Properties Trust said Monday that it had sold two office buildings and land in Rockville for about $48.7 million, part of the Columbia-based real estate investment trust's strategy of selling off non-core assets. COPT, which develops, owns and manages office buildings primarily for government agencies and contractors in the defense information sector, has sold $116.9 million worth of properties and land since the beginning of the year. Since last April, the company has been selling suburban office buildings to focus on high-security offices for defense tenants.

Shares of Human Genome Sciences doubled in Thursday morning trading on news that a major British biopharmaceutical company offered to buy it for $2.6 billion, which the Rockville company rejected as too low. Human Genome, which uses the human DNA sequence to develop targeted drugs, said in a news statement that GlaxoSmithKline PLC offered to buy the company for $13 a share in cash. The company declined the offer, saying it did not "reflect the value inherent" in Human Genome, and added that it had begun exploring strategic alternatives, including a possible sale.

The likely new owner reassured staffers of the Baltimore Jewish Times on Monday that nothing will change in the 93-year-old weekly's commitment to reporting on the local community. Louis Mayberg met with employees around lunchtime at the Park Avenue office of Alter Communications Inc., which publishes the Jewish Times and Style Magazine, answering questions about possible changes and explaining his business background. Mayberg's Rockville-based company, an affiliate of Washington Jewish Week, won the three-way bidding at a bankruptcy auction Monday morning with an offer of $1.26 million.

Cambridge Biotech Corp. laid off 25 workers in Rockville yesterday and said more layoffs were expected as the company moves most of its manufacturing to Ireland and Massachusetts.In all, the company's work force in Rockville is expected to be reduced by more than 80 people, Cambridge Biotech said. Until yesterday, 130 people were employed there."The facility will be basically shut down or have a much smaller staff a year from now," said Gary Bouchard, treasurer of the Worcester, Mass.-based company, which makes diagnostic tests for infectious diseases and supplies drug companies with an agent that improves the productivity of vaccines.

A Rockville man remained in critical condition yesterday at Maryland Shock Trauma Center after he was injured Monday in a motorcycle accident southwest of Sykesville.State police said that John J. Moss, whose age was unavailable, was wearing a helmet but it apparently cracked during the accident.Police were on the lookout for a speeding motorcycle traveling north on Route 97 when a Ducati 955 operated by Moss came upon stopped traffic on Route 97 north of Hoods Mill Road at 1: 06 p.m.The motorcycle tried to pass a line of vehicles, but struck a Lincoln Continental, veered into southbound lanes and struck a truck, police said.

The founder of a payment processing firm in Rockville has filed a $300 million lawsuit against Baltimore-based private equity firm Sterling Partners, alleging that he was fraudulently induced into selling SecureNet Payment Systems. The lawsuit, filed last week in Baltimore City Circuit Court, alleges that SecureNet's founder and chief executive, Marc Potash, was duped into selling a 52 percent interest of his company to Sterling Partners for $56 million in September 2010. The lawsuit says the deal stipulated that Potash was to remain CEO and have day-to-day control but was wrongly fired a year later and was unable to collect millions in installment payments.

WNBA The WNBA Washington Mystics on Wednesday added free-agent forward-center Laura Harper , who started on Maryland's national championship team in 2005-06. Harper, the 10th overall pick in the 2008 WNBA draft, has played for the Sacramento Monarchs and San Antonio Silver Stars. She is averaging 13.6 points and 10.3 rebounds this season for Antakya in Turkey. The Mystics also added free-agent post player Ashley Walker and re-signed forward Kerri Gardin . College basketball Mount's Burke on administrative leave Mount St. Mary's placed men's basketball coach Robert Burke on paid administrative leave Wednesday and named assistant Matt Henry the team's acting coach.