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(UPDATED ITEMS IN ITALICS)Four current, past Rite Aid executives indicted, accused of accounting fraud at No. 3 drug store chainA federal grand jury on Friday indicted four current or former executives of the drug store company Rite Aid in what authorities described as a far-reaching securities and accounting fraud that prompted the largest restatement of corporate earnings in American history. Two former executives, Martin L. Grass, 47, the former chairman and chief executive officer, and Franklin Brown, 74, the former chief counsel and vice chairman at the nation’s third-largest drugstore chain face the most serious charges, including conspiracy to defraud, making false statements to the Securities and Exchange Commission, tampering with witnesses and obstructing various investigations. Also charged were Franklyn Bergonzi, 57, a former executive vice president and chief financial officer, and Eric S. Sorkin, 53, executive vice president for pharmacy services.Safer streetsDowntown Baltimore’s Video Patrol program received a boost as 16 new street cameras started watching for criminal activity along Calvert Street to Gay, Baltimore and Lombard streets in the city’s Financial District, bringing to 64 the number of anti-crime surveillance cameras operating in the downtown area. Top teachersCamille Basoco, an English teacher at the School for the Arts in Baltimore; Rachael Younkers, a social studies teacher at Plum Point Middle School in Calvert County; and Charles Greiner, a psychology and social sciences teacher at James M. Bennett High School in Wicomico County, have been named Milken National Educators. Each will receive a $25,000 award from the Milken Family Foundation.Out of this worldBethesda-based Lockheed Martin Corp.’s Space Systems Advanced Technology Center in Palo Alto, Calif. is a member of a team headed by the University of Arizona that is designing and building a near-infrared camera for the newest space telescope ordered by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.Health benefits onlineRockville-based Mid Atlantic Medical Services Inc. expanded its Web-based services for employers, adding an online enrollment system that allows employers to enroll or omit an employee or dependent on a health or dental policy in real time, with an identification card automatically sent to all newly enrolled members.Terrapin survival planGov. Parris N. Glendening unveiled a plan for the long-term survival of the Diamondback Terrapin, Maryland’s state reptile, focusing on habitat restoration and conservation measures. The University of Maryland College Park will donate a portion of the proceeds from its “Fear The Turtle” merchandising campaign to the state Department of Natural Resources for terrapin conservation and stewardship efforts.Big-bucks backersNew Enterprise Associates, a Baltimore-based venture capital firm that invests primarily in information technology, biotechnology and medical/life sciences companies, led a team that invested $35 million in second-round financing in T-RAM Inc., a San Jose, Calif.-based company that is developing an innovative semiconductor memory technology.Data distributionInforMax Inc., a Bethesda-based provider of bioinformatics software for the analysis and interpretation of genomic, proteomic and other biomolecular data, entered into a distribution agreement with United Bioinformatica Inc., of Calgary, Canada, enabling UBI to give researchers in the emerging Canadian life science market access to InforMax’s desktop analysis tools for genomic and proteomic research.PRSA awardsEisner Petrou and Associates, a strategic marketing communications agency based in Washington and Baltimore, was the big winner at the 2002 Public Relations Society of America Best in Maryland Awards. The agency won a total of 10 awards in the annual competition, the most of any company. Speaking of whichOther big award winners in the 2002 Public Relations Society of America Best in Maryland Awards were Imre Communications and MGH Public Relations, both of Baltimore, each earning eight awards. Imre also took home the top Best in Show Award for its “Community Build Playground Project,” developed for Home Depot.Agreement to mergePharmaKinetics Laboratories Inc., a Baltimore-based company that contracts with pharmaceutical and biotech companies to provide a range of clinical research and development services, signed a definitive agreement to merge with Indiana-based Bioanalytical Systems Inc., and will become a wholly owned subsidiary of that company. Bioanalytical Systems provides contract research services and analytical systems to pharmaceutical, drug development and medical device companies.Energy alternativesThe Newspaper Association of America and Salisbury-based Affiliated Power Purchasers International, an independent energy consulting firm, have entered into a partnership to assist NAA members in finding and purchasing affordable energy. APPI evaluates electricity and natural gas suppliers to select reliable, low-cost alternatives for its customers.Paging iSKYiSKY Europe, a subsidiary of Laurel-based iSKY Group, a provider of outsourced customer management services, was selected by London-based Scan Mobile, a developer of instant messaging wireless technology, to support Shop160, a mobile shopping service in the U.K., and clubtickets.co.uk, its new, short-messaging club ticketing service.Constellation’s new CFOJames K. Walkington will join Baltimore-based Constellation Energy Group, effective July 1, as chief financial officer. Walkington was formerly vice president and chief financial officer of the Raymond Professional Group Inc., a Chicago-based architectural/engineering company.Name changeGoPin Inc., a Timonium-based technology company that develops and offers payment services to e-commerce, catalog and multichannel retail merchants, has changed its name to I4 Commerce Inc.Media Cybernetics growsSilver Spring-based Media Cybernetics Inc., a developer of image processing software, has opened a new office in San Diego, its third in the United States. The company also has four offices in foreign countries.