Maryland news briefs

Standard Solar expands in Colo.
Rockville solar energy company Standard Solar Inc. is expanding its partnership with a Denver-based Pivot Energy to co-develop solar electricity sites in Colorado. It announced Tuesday it is working to develop five more community solar sites, totaling about 8.9 megawatts. Community solar facilities are shared by subscribers who receive credit on their electricity bills for the power produced by the facility. Standard Solar will finance, own and maintain the facilities that Pivot Energy will develop and construct.  Pivot Energy will handle customer enrollment and subscriptions. The first two projects in the expanded portfolio will begin construction at the end of summer, Standard Solar said in a news release. All five projects are expected to be completed by summer of next year.
— Daily Record staff

MUIH now in Yellow Ribbon program
Maryland University of Integrative Health announced Tuesday it will participate in the Yellow Ribbon Program, a program that allows approved institutions of higher learning and Veterans Affairs to partially or fully fund tuition and fee expenses that exceed the established thresholds under the Post-9/11 GI Bill. University CEO Marc Levin said participation in the Yellow Ribbon Program is just one example of its commitment to serving veterans and their family members on active duty.
— Daily Record staff

Hughes’ service coming to Colombia
Germantown-based broadband satellite networks and services company Hughes Network Systems LLC announced Tuesday Axesat, a Latin American-based satellite connectivity and telecommunications firm, will offer Hughes satellite connectivity to enterprise customers throughout Colombia. The Ka-band service will be delivered using capacity on the Hughes 63 West satellite, which provides coverage across 96% of the population of Colombia.
— Daily Record staff

Curbio wins iOi Summit Pitch Battle
Curbio Inc., a Potomac-based real estate technology company that specializes in pre-sale home renovation, won the National Association of Realtors’ second annual iOi Summit Pitch Battle. Competing against 14 finalists in front of conference attendees and thousands of virtual attendees through livestream, Curbio's Vice President of Marketing Rikki Rogers convinced the panel of judges how Curbio's tech-enabled platform brings a modern customer experience to the industry by providing same day estimates, virtualk walkthroughs and real-time project communication.
— Daily Record staff


FEI Systems marks milestone year
FEI Systems, a Columbia-based provider of health IT solutions held a 20th anniversary celebration with more than 300 attendees, including corporate partners and federal, state, and county officials, as well as former and current employees. FEI Systems provides behavioral health technology solutions to more than 35 States and Counties and delivers a long-term services and supports solution to seven States. FEI Systems also manages numerous Federal Government contracts providing mission-critical health information technology services and solutions.
Daily Record staff

CCBC president gets ACCT award
Community College of Baltimore County President Sandra Kurtinitis is the recipient of a 2019 Regional Chief Executive Officer Award from the Association of Community College Trustees. ACCT’s Regional Awards recognize the tremendous contributions made by community colleges and their leaders to meet the needs of their communities. Winner for ACCT’s Northeast Region, Kurtinitis’ community college career exceeds 50 years. Her work within community colleges has been recognized both locally and nationally. She currently serves as past-chair of the American Association of Community Colleges board of trustees.
 — Daily Record staff


TEDCO awarded SBA FAST grant
The Maryland Technology Development Corporation (TEDCO) was awarded a grant of up to $125,000 Tuesday by the U.S. Small Business Administration under its Federal and State Technology (FAST) Partnership Program. The program’s objective is to improve outcomes for underrepresented entrepreneurs in SBA's Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Programs and increase participation for women-owned, rural-based, and socially and economically disadvantaged firms. FAST provides specialized training, outreach, mentoring, and technical assistance for R&D focused small businesses.  The program provides one-year funding to organizations to execute state/regional programs that support potential SBIR applicants and awardees.  The FAST award project and budget periods are for a base period of 12 months, beginning Sept. 30.
— Daily Record staff

Baltimore magazine up for awards
Baltimore magazine was nominated for 15 Folio: Eddie & Ozzie Awards, the largest editorial and design competition in the industry, surpassing its total of 12  in 2018. For more than 25 years, Folio: Magazine has handed out both Eddie (editorial) and Ozzie (design) awards to recognize excellence in “uncompromising journalism and gorgeous design” across all sectors of the publishing industry, and this year, a panel of some 250 judges assessed more than 2,500 entries for its 33 categories. Judges will announce the winners of the Eddie & Ozzie Awards Oct. 30 at the Hilton Midtown in New York City.
 — Daily Record staff

FDA accepts Viela Bio application
The Food and Drug Administration has accepted for review a biologics license application from Gaithersburg-based Viela Bio Inc. for a drug in development. The application is for inebilizumab, a drug for the treatment of patients with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder, a  rare disease that can lead to severe disability, including blindness and paralysis. Dr. Jorn Drappa, chief medical officer and head of research and development at Viela Bio, said the acceptance of the filing for review represents a big milestone for inebilizumab. The application includes safety and efficacy results from a global, placebo-controlled study of patients with and without an antibody known as a marker for the disease. The results found that the drug reduced the risk of a neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder attack by 77 percent when compared to a placebo.
— Daily Record staff