Without raising taxes, the Montgomery County Council voted to add $26.3 million dollars to the Maryland county executive’s proposed budget plan for FY2025. While the 11-member council was able to reach a consensus in its “straw” vote — the action before next week’s final decision — some concerns about the $7.1 billion spending plan were also voiced.
At the Maryland Institute College of Art’s graduation on Monday, interim President Cecilia McCormick asked the undergraduate class of 2024 to look into a mirror. “To be an artist, you have to be true to who you are,” McCormick said. The 200-year-old art and design school, which promotes itself online as “an institution that continually re-invented itself to meet the challenges of changing times,” has had its own self-reflecting to do in recent years.
Horse racing powerhouse the Stronach Group has spent millions of dollars trying to lure younger fans and higher-profile horses to the Preakness Stakes, the second jewel of the sport’s Triple Crown and one of Maryland’s marquee sporting events. It seems to have been a bad bet. Long viewed as the anchor of the state’s storied but declining thoroughbred racing industry, Preakness has gone from a moneymaker to a financial loser in recent years.
Under Armour is preparing to layoff an unspecified number of employees following a drop in sales in North America, the Baltimore-based company’s largest market. The company’s overall revenues were down 5% to $1.3 billion for the fiscal year ending in 2024. Under Armour expects to spend $70 to $90 million as it restructures operations and finances.
The last time Nick Mosby attended an election night party at Melba’s Place on Greenmount Avenue, it was for his then-wife, Marilyn Mosby. Their daughters and supporters watched as votes trickled in and her chances diminished. The former Baltimore state’s attorney lost that 2022 election badly, finishing third in a three-way race.
One of Maryland’s most prolific developers confirmed it will break ground in 2025 on Viva White Oak, a multibillion-dollar project next to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in Silver Spring that’s languished for more than a decade. We reported in January that Baltimore-based MCB Real Estate was taking up the torch for the stalled project, and that it was anticipated to break ground in the latter half of next year, citing County Executive Marc Elrich’s budget proposal at the time.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore signed hundreds of bills during a ceremony at the State House on Thursday — among them the state budget, the authorization for a firearm prevention and intervention center, and several bills of interest to the Eastern Shore. Maryland Senate President Bill Ferguson, D-Baltimore City, called a balanced budget the “one constitutional duty” of the state Legislature during his remarks prior to a multi-hour signing ceremony.
Start planning now — the Baltimore Ravens’ 2024 regular season schedule is here. The Ravens have seven games that will be nationally broadcast, including five during primetime. The NFL previously announced the Ravens will face the Kansas City Chiefs Week 1 in the league’s season opener. The team also revealed a 2023 playoff rematch at the Houston Texans on Christmas Day, to be broadcast exclusively on Netflix.
Alcohol and Preakness weekend go together like Old Bay and crabs. You don’t need one to have the other, but it sure does help. Bars, restaurants and breweries in the Baltimore area are using the 149th running of the Preakness Stakes as an opportunity to carry on old traditions (like black-eyed Susans) and create new ones (like rye flights). They hope to gin up support at a time when interest in horse racing — and boozing — is on the wane.
Royal Caribbean International is bringing its cruises back to the Port of Baltimore this month in anticipation that crews will re-open a channel blocked since the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in March. The cruise line’s Vision of the Seas will leave the Cruise Maryland Terminal on May 25 for a five-night trip to Bermuda, the Port of Baltimore said Wednesday.