Arlington-based software and information technology management company Excella announced Wednesday it was awarded a contract worth up to $20 billion from the National Institutes of Health Information Technology Acquisition and Assessment Center (NITAAC).
“We pride ourselves on our industry-leading expertise in modernizing IT across the federal government,” Excella co-founder and CEO Burton White said in a statement. “This new contract gives more federal partners access to our innovative and reliable solutions for years to come.”
NITAAC is authorized by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to administer three Government-Wide Acquisition Contracts (GWACs) to acquire IT products and services for all federal agencies.
Under the 10-year Chief Information Officer–Solutions and Partners 3 (CIO-SP3) contract, Excella will provide IT services for biomedical research, health sciences and health care. The company will also offer chief information officer support, imaging, outsourcing, IT operations and maintenance, integration services, critical infrastructure protection and information assurance, enterprise resource planning and software development.
“We look forward to furthering our work as a trusted adviser to the federal government and continuing to help agencies with their digital transformation needs,” Excella Chief Operating Officer Sandy Gillespie said in a statement.
Excella was founded in 2002 and specializes in agile transformations, modernizing IT systems and artificial intelligence.
Richmond-based pharmaceutical company Kaléo announced Wednesday it is expanding its market to Canada, offering its epinephrine auto-injector Allerject. The product used to treat severe allergic reactions will be available in pharmacies across Canada starting May 19.
In response to a shortage of EpiPen in Canada in 2018, Kaléo’s original epinephrine auto-injector Auvi-Q was available in Canada through an Interim Order of Health Canada — the department of the Government of Canada responsible for federal health policy — through August 31, 2019, Kaléo spokesperson Caryn Foster Durham said. After two years of working with Health Canada to get the product to Canadian customers, Durham said the company was able to secure approval from Health Canada.
The only other product available in Canada for anaphylaxis, a serious allergic reaction, is EpiPen, according to Food Allergy Canada.
“Over the last two years, we have been strongly advocating to have a minimum of two suppliers of epinephrine auto-injectors available for the over 2 million Canadians impacted by food allergy,” Jennifer Gerdts, executive director of Food Allergy Canada, said in a statement. “Everyone should always be able to access life-saving medication. With the availability of Allerject, Canadian families now have a different option for an epinephrine auto-injector, providing them with choice that comes from no longer being vulnerable in a single-source market. It’s a significant step for the food allergy community.”
Allerject is marketed in the U.S. as Auvi-Q, which was Kaléo’s first product. Both products have voice-activated prompts about dosage amounts and usage for users. Allerject will available in the 0.15 mg and 0.3 mg dosages in Canada.
As many as 2.6 million Canadians may have at least one food allergy, according to Kaléo.
“At Kaléo, we understand the uncertainties patients at risk for anaphylaxis face each day,” Omar Khalil, general manager of allergy and pediatrics at Kaléo, said in a statement. “Anaphylactic reactions to food or other allergens can happen anywhere, at any time. It’s critical that people at-risk – and those close to them – have and will carry a device like Allerject to help them respond on a moment’s notice.”
Kaléo was founded in 2005. The company also manufactures and markets Evzio, a prescription medicine used to treat opioid emergencies, such as overdoses.
“I am very excited about this program — the first of its kind in Fairfax County,” Board Chairman Jeffrey McKay said. “Our hope is that these grants will help small businesses and nonprofits be able to emerge from these difficult times by retaining employees and preparing to grow in the future. We want to support the many small businesses and nonprofits that are crucial to the Fairfax County community and economy.”
Eligible businesses and nonprofits based in the county will be able to apply for the newFairfax Relief Initiative to Support Employers (Fairfax RISE) grants beginning in early June. The Fairfax RISE grant program will be funded by a portion of the $200 million in federal stimulus funding the county received through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act.
Under the program guidelines, Fairfax County will allocate $10,000 to businesses with one to 10 employees, $15,000 to businesses with 11 to 25 employees and $20,000 to businesses with 26 to 49 employees. One-third of the funding — $7.25 million — will be set aside for companies that typically have trouble receiving funding, including women- and minority-owned businesses.
“I appreciate that because I was talking to a Vietnamese American leader in the community last week who said that their businesses don’t know about these grant opportunities,” Vice Chairman Penelope A. Gross said during the meeting. “So we need to make sure that we know where the holes are, and fill those holes, by getting the information out there.”
A concern from several board members was ensuring that adequate outreach is made to women- and minority-owned businesses about the program to make them aware of the grant opportunities.
“We’ll be doing significant outreach and will be consistently updating the board not only on outreach, but feedback we receive. That will be ongoing,” Rebecca Moudry, director of the Fairfax County Department of Economic Initiatives, said during the meeting. “We’re very committed to multilingual outreach as well.” She added that county staff will be able to participate in the administrative tasks that running this grant program will take — including working through application submissions with small businesses and awarding grants.
And although Supervisor Rodney L. Lusk, who represents the Lee District, said that the funding will be a good tool to help small businesses survive the pandemic, he fears that $25 million won’t be enough. The original proposal suggested that the county could allocate up to $30 million for the program.
“I think the number is too low,” Lusk said during the meeting. “We recognize that each $5 million will help roughly 420 companies, so what we’re basically saying with the $25 million — and not going to $30 million — is that we’ll help 420 less companies. At some point we’re going to really have to think about how we’re going to help our companies expand and grow. We’re going to lose some companies.”
Reston-based IT infrastructure company Internap Corp. (INAP) announced Tuesday it has emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection with a new CEO and $300 million in liquidity. The company originally filed for bankruptcy protection March 16.
“When we began the restructuring process, we did so with a clear objective of strengthening our capital structure and best positioning INAP for long-term growth and success,” Peter D. Aquino, outgoing INAP chairman and CEO, said in a statement. “Our ability to achieve this goal and emerge from Chapter 11 as quickly as we did is a testament to our incredibly talented team and the strong relationships we have cultivated with our customers and partners.”
In addition to the financial restructuring, INAP has also promoted Michael Sicoli, former president and chief financial officer, to CEO.
“With our new capital structure in place, we are stronger than ever and poised to grow by delivering the most compelling combination of colocation, cloud and network services in the industry,” Sicoli said in a statement.
In the March 16 statement INAP released confirming it would be filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the company said it would continue to function and had joined up with a group of lenders that hold 77% of the company’s outstanding term loans. The lenders would provide the company with debt financing of approximately $75 million, according to the INAP release.
INAP planned and implemented a debt-for-equity financial restructuring process, which was confirmed by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York on May 4. The company has closed on a five-year, $225 million term loan facility (a formal financial assistance program) and a three-year $75 million exit facility, which the company says will continue to enhance its liquidity.
INAP operates a total of more than 1 million square feet of data center space among its 49 centers globally.
Roughly one in four U.S. workers employed in February were unemployed by the end of April, according to a biweekly survey conducted by Virginia Commonwealth University and Arizona State University economists. Employment is declining, but it’s doing so at a slower pace, the survey found.
The survey, which covers the week of April 26 through May 2, indicates that the unemployment rate rose to 23.6%, while the labor force participation rate remained fairly flat. And 44% of people who were employed in February have reported a loss in earnings.
“This suggests that we are past the worst period of job losses, at least for the time being,” said Adam Blandin, the VCU School of Business assistant professor who conducted the survey with Alexander Bick, an associate economics professor at Arizona State. “However, the damage that has been done is unprecedented. Our estimates imply that, at the end of April, roughly one in four people who were working in February are no longer working.”
The most recent U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics labor market figures that relate to the week of April 12 suggest that unemployment rose to 14.7%. Those figures, however are “already three weeks out of date,” Blandin said in a statement, adding that the next round of government estimates won’t be published until June 5. “In the meantime, some states will begin to reopen their economy, while others will remain largely closed. The time lag of government data means that it will not be able to shed light on the effects of these policies for four crucial weeks.”
This is the third Real Time Population Survey that Blandin and Bick have conducted.
The next round of survey results will be released on May 22, covering the period from May 10 through May 16.
McLean-based mobile technology company CIBT Global Inc. announced Tuesday that Lee Spirer will be the company’s new president and CEO. Spirer will split time between the company’s McLean and New York City offices.
Succeeding John Donoghue, Spirer was most recently the executive vice president and chief growth and transformation officer at Navigant. He has also held executive roles at Kroll Inc., Dun & Bradstreet Corp. and International Business Machines Corp. (IBM). Donoghue will transition into the role of chairman of the company’s board of directors.
Spirer earned his bachelor’s degree in economics from Brandeis University and his master’s degree in business administration from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Founded in 1989, CIBT Global provides mobile services for visa, passport and immigration documentation and employs more than 1,600 immigration and visa professionals, attorneys and migration consultants. CIBT was acquired in June 2017 by Kohlberg & Co. LLC, a private equity firm in New York, and Kohlberg & Co. LLC purchased CIBT from Abry Partners LLC.
The Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) national trade association announced Tuesday that its Construction Backlog Indicator (CBI) fell to 7.8 months in April, the lowest it’s been in nearly eight years. The CBI is a forward-looking national economic indicator that shows work construction companies are contracted to do in the future, measured in dollars.
“Backlog has not been quite the protective shield that it normally is during the early stages of an economic downturn,” ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu said in a statement.
Although the CBI fell in April, results from the most recent ABC member survey that was conducted April 20 through May 4 indicate that confidence among U.S. construction industry leaders was slightly higher than in March. But it’s still low — 55% of contractors expect their sales to decline during the next six months. Only one-third of survey respondents expect sales to increase.
The survey also collected results for the Construction Confidence Index (CCI), which reflects construction contractors’ perceptions of the business environment during a six-month period and prospects for commercial and industrial construction spending growth. The CCI is determined based on survey results. For April, the CCI findings included:
The CCI for sales expectations increased from 38.1 to 41.1 in April.
The CCI for profit margin expectations increased from 36.6 to 39.8.
The CCI for staffing levels increased from 45.2 to 51.4.
Readings above 50 indicate growth, while readings below 50 are unfavorable.
“Given the large quantity of businesses that will likely not survive the public health and economic crisis, demand for construction services could be suppressed for quite some time,” Basu said in a statement. “Vacant storefronts, empty office suites and shattered state and local government finances do not serve as a solid foundation for robust demand for construction services.”
And although the CCI results show that sales, profit margins and staffing level expectations each increased from the March survey, the survey results still remain low, according to ABC.
“For construction activity to rebound briskly, the federal government is going to have to step forward and provide substantial assistance to state and local governments, including to finance infrastructure improvements,” Basu said in a statement.
Richmond artist Noah Scalin was commissioned by Richmond-based advertising company The Martin Agency to create an art installation, released Tuesday, announcing Old Navy’s donation of $30 million worth of clothing to families in need during the pandemic.
Known for creating large-scale pieces made from ordinary items, as well as his Skull-A-Day project, Scalin created a 40-by-20-foot piece entirely from Old Navy clothing for the project (see video below). His art is made using an anamorphic perspective, which appears distorted from up close and looks correct only from a particular vantage point. In this case, the Old Navy commercial shows the installation from an overhead view.
“I really loved this idea that they were going to be donating all this clothing to families in need, which was really exciting to me,” Scalin said. “And so it immediately got me thinking about how I do my portraiture and how we might combine that with their message of family and try something new.”
Old Navy, which is owned by The Gap Inc., hired The Martin Agency in February as a creative agency partner.
“Family has been at the heart of everything we do since 1994, and we know that families across America are hurting right now and are in need of essentials,” an Old Navy spokesperson said in a statement.
“This was similar in that it was that technique I’ve been developing, but very different in that now it was a family and much larger than the previous pieces I’ve done and included a background as well,” Scalin said. “All of this was new for me in the most ambitious piece I’ve done in this style yet.”
Also, Scalin didn’t know which pieces of clothing he’d be working with until he arrived at the site where the art installation would be created and filmed.
“Many large boxes showed up, filled with clothes I’d never seen before and I had to basically go through them and figure out what colors were available, organize them by color, and then start working,” Scalin said. “Once I’m working, I’m making choices the entire time about what color palette I have to work with. I basically treat each piece of clothes like a stroke from a paintbrush.”
Typically, art installations take Scalin anywhere from 15 to 20 hours to complete — not including all the time it takes to prepare and plan. Social distancing measures stretched the length of Scalin’s project because assistants weren’t around to help him out during the five days he worked on the project. It was also the first time he’s had to wear a mask and gloves for the entirety of a project, he added.
“You have no idea what to expect until the end when everything clicks and it’s mesmerizing,” said Martin Agency Art Director Sally Lee. “It’s almost like watching someone complete a puzzle — except it’s 40 feet big, made of clothing pieces and for a cause. In a time when we’re so limited in our production capabilities, and every commercial is starting to look the same, it’s nice to be able to do something that’s completely different.”
Now that the art installation has been completed and has been documented by Old Navy, the stockpile of 1,000 clothing items used for the project will be donated. Old Navy is working with nonprofit organizations including Good360 and Baby2Baby, as well as transportation company Penske Logistics to distribute the clothing.
“It was a great discovery for me to see what I was capable of doing and knowing that in the future as I make pieces like this that I could be even more ambitious with them,” Scalin said. “But it was a really wonderful thing to have that opportunity. And then the trust of both Martin and Old Navy in me to create something for them — with this kind of work, you don’t know what the end result is until it’s actually done. That requires a great deal of trust.”
The Hotel Roanoke & Conference Center, Curio Collection by Hilton, announced Monday its $3.9 million plans to renovate The Pine Room Pub and the Palm Court Lobby.
“The renovation will build upon the hotel’s premier four diamond status as a destination, dining and meeting facility in Virginia’s Blue Ridge and will create a new and exciting location for events and celebrations,” Brian Wells, general manager of The Hotel Roanoke & Conference Center, said in a statement.
Roanoke-based general contractor and commercial construction Lionberger Construction bid on the project earlier this year and were awarded the project in early March, Barbara Dooley, Lionberger project manager said.
Lionberger will renovate the 4,000-square foot space by installing a 40-seat lobby bar, a culinary bar, an open kitchen and an outdoor patio and event space.
“They’ve never had that at the Pine Room before, where you can walk out and have outdoor seating, so that’s going to be a nice addition,” Dooley said.
The Pine Room Pub will be closed for the next five months during the interior and exterior renovations. Lionberger is currently in the demolition phase of the project.
The renovations also include recreating one of the murals that has been in the hotel since the 1800s, Dooley said. A North Carolina artist has been contracted for that part of the project, she added.
During renovations, hotel patrons can instead visit The Regency Overlook for food and beverages.
“The investment by ownership of The Hotel Roanoke & Conference Center demonstrates their longstanding commitment to the hotel and our community,” Wells said in a statement. “We are excited to share more details of the future space, including concepts, themes and menus, in the coming months.”
The project is expected to be completed by September.
The multiphase recovery plan is dependent on the trajectory of infections in its service areas. For now, Metro passengers should continue to only use the system for essential trips. Passengers are asked to wear face masks and practice hand hygiene. Metro employees will continue to have modified work schedules.
While ridership is low, Metro will work on track maintenance and upgrade construction projects. For any shutdown zones, buses will be available for essential travel. There isn’t yet an official date released on closures, but L’Enfant Plaza, Waterfront and Navy Yard stations are expected to be closed for travel starting the week of June 7.
During the next phase, “managed reentry,” Metro will open all of the Metro stations that have closed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This phase will begin when regional businesses and governments have fewer people telecommuting and schools reopen.
As part of the “recovery” phase, Metro will increase service and will return to its pre-pandemic hours of service. This will not happen until a treatment and/or vaccine is widely available.
Finally, during the “resilience” phase, Metro plans to analyze the response to COVID-19 to make the system more safe during any future pandemics.
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