Maryland businesses selling certain essential goods or services will be prohibited from raising their prices above 15% during a state of emergency if the General Assembly passes a proposal from Attorney General Anthony Brown before the end of the legislative session in a few weeks. Each chamber has already passed a version of the bill. The Senate Finance Committee on Thursday voted to send a version of the bill from the House of Delegates, HB 775, to the Senate floor for a vote.

Three years after the pandemic sent shockwaves through the world and temporarily turned downtowns into ghost towns, Baltimore’s central business district is still trying to regain its footing. Hybrid work arrangements have kept commuter traffic well below pre-pandemic levels. Public transit ridership hasn’t rebounded. High-profile office vacancies dot many skylines. But some cities are more primed for a rebound than others, based on a new analysis by The Business Journals.

With a late budget maneuver, Maryland lawmakers are forcing a hard look at a three-year-old scheme to redevelop Pimlico Race Course, home of the middle jewel of horse racing’s Triple Crown. The Maryland Senate voted to strip out a House of Delegates amendment from the state budget Wednesday that would have withheld $17 million from the Maryland Stadium Authority unless required agreements for the project — which also includes redevelopment of the track at Laurel Park — are signed in the next seven months.