As the workplace continues to evolve, the Baltimore Business Journal is spotlighting 50 companies that have managed to keep employee engagement high with our 2024 Best Places to Work awards. Each year, the many nominations we receive for these awards are delivered to our partner, Omaha, Nebraska-based Quantum Workplace. Quantum then surveys each qualifying company’s employees directly to ascertain employee engagement, scoring on leadership, culture, benefits, diversity, equity and inclusion, and more. T

The only maritime shipping terminal currently operating in the Port of Baltimore is preparing to process an influx of ships as crews continue clearing the mangled wreckage of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge. Tradepoint Atlantic will unload and process an estimated 10,000 vehicles over the next 15 days, according to a company statement.

The Patapsco River near the Francis Scott Key collapse site is safe and contains no contaminants, officials said on Wednesday. Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott says he received messages from residents concerned about the water’s safety and the wildlife in it. Meanwhile, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore says water sampling up and down river from the bridge collapse site has been conducted and those samples contained no contaminants, including fuel.

 

Even before the tragic collapse of the Key Bridge last week, the outstretched, cramped traveling lanes of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge had been known to make nervous drivers grip their steering wheels a little tighter. The dual-spanned, 4-mile-long bridge, which opened in 1952, is among the world’s longest over-water structures. Like the Key Bridge, it is among the 3% of bridges in the country to fall under the “fracture critical” category, meaning the entire structure could collapse if certain supports give way.

The sun rose over the wreckage as two Baltimoreans stood shoulder-to-shoulder on the edges of the Patapsco River, gazing out at a previously unimaginable problem that was, in many ways, now theirs to fix. Baltimore’s iconic Francis Scott Key Bridge had collapsed just hours before. Rescue efforts were still in their frenzied first stages as Gov. Wes Moore and Mayor Brandon Scott walked along the water.

Baltimore City is furthering efforts to assist those impacted by the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse. The Board of Estimates approved a $1 million grant Wednesday morning to help workers and businesses affected by the disaster. Mayor Brandon Scott said the program will be modeled on the one that helped people who had their work disrupted during the COVID-19 pandemic. The $1 million will come from the general fund of the Baltimore Civic Fund. Like the COVID relief program, it will allow businesses affected by the Port of Baltimore’s closure to retain employees and make sure they’re paid. To qualify, you must be a Baltimore City resident.

Howard County government officials are directing more money toward homeownership and renovation programs designed to provide relief to buyers and residents in a challenging real estate economy. County Executive Calvin Ball unveiled changes to two existing county initiatives Wednesday, one that provides low-interest down payment assistance to eligible buyers and another that offers rehabilitation loans for homeowners seeking to make repairs.

The Baltimore Convention Center is about to get a multimillion-dollar face-lift. On Wednesday, the city’s spending board unanimously approved $25.7 million in state funds to tackle a number of projects at the facility. Lawmakers earmarked the money in a 2023 spending bill after the city-owned convention center flagged several pressing needs. They included sprucing up the bathrooms, modernizing the phone system, upgrading its lighting and renovating the “failing” bridges that span Charles Street.

The Maryland Department of Agriculture’s Mosquito Control Program is urging residents to act now to reduce mosquito populations by reducing standing water on their properties. Officials say mosquitoes can carry a number of diseases that are harmful to humans and animals, including West Nile Virus and Eastern Equine Encephalitis. “Now is the time to be proactive about protecting yourself and your family from mosquito-borne diseases by eliminating places they may breed,” said Maryland Department of Agriculture Secretary Kevin Atticks.

 

As Maryland lawmakers consider a plan for the state to take ownership of the historic Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, another potential owner has entered the discussion: Churchill Downs. Churchill Downs Inc., the publicly traded parent company of the Louisville track that hosts the Kentucky Derby, has made an “overture” to buy Pimlico, home of the Preakness Stakes, according to two sources in the state capital familiar with the negotiations.