10 stories you've been following

1. Augustine: Bailouts are shortsighted
Norman Augustine, former Lockheed Martin chief executive officer, said the bailouts of the banking and auto industries are just Band-Aids. What the country needs is $40 billion for basic research, facilities and education.

2. More fixed-price contracts in your future
The stimulus plan ratchets up the use of fixed-price contracts by requiring agencies to use them as much as possible when spending the package’s money. The government is trying to curtail the use of time-and-materials and cost-plus-fee contracts.

3. Stimulus package: Attention getter
Our coverage of the economic stimulus package as it worked its way through Congress and even after the president signed it attracted plenty of Web traffic. Individual stories and a chart showing a breakdown of the information technology spending earned the topic the No. 3 spot on our traffic chart.

4. Grassley scolds Microsoft
Immigration continues to be a hot-button issue. Case-in-point: Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) chided Microsoft for seeking an increase in the number of H-1B visas issued to foreign workers while laying off existing employees.

5. Security breach hits SRA
A company known for its security work notified Maryland officials that personal information on about 1,400 state residents might have been hacked. However, the company has not found evidence that hackers have used the compromised information.

6. BearingPoint regroups
The consulting company might have taken an important step toward shaking off several years of poor financial performance when it filed for restructuring under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code. The filing will reduce the company’s debt and allow it to meet debt obligations before an April 15 deadline.

7. States struggle with budget shortfalls
Sources of revenue are diminishing for state governments as they face dire economic straits. For more, read our cover story on Page 20.

8. GSA says no to Networx protests
Networx is exempt from some provisions of the Acquisition Improvement and Accountability Act that give losing bidders the right to protest task-order awards. The agency made the move in part to speed the transition from FTS 2001, the old telecommunications contract, to Networx.

9. How to take the bull by the horns
The Treasury Department is grappling with how to manage the Troubled Asset Relief Program. It is seeking input on what kind of applications and systems it should build to make sure the remaining $350 billion is spent wisely.

10. Alliant Small Business a go
The much-delayed task-order contract is now open for business, with 72 small businesses ready to compete for work. The question on many people’s minds is: Where is its big-business counterpart? The General Services Administration is still working on awarding the Alliant Full and Open contract, which has been beset by protests.

These daily news stories received the most traffic on Washington Technology’s Web site in February.