When Port Covington was renamed Baltimore Peninsula last year, it was as much about the development’s physical features as it was about selling the idea of the city. More ideas, and bigger ones, are what Baltimore needs in order to spur a revival, Under Armour Inc. founder (NYSE: UAA) and executive chairman Kevin Plank said Tuesday morning during a moderated chat at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall. Developing the South Baltimore peninsula has been one of Plank’s big ideas and his company will eventually move its headquarters there.

Frederick’s participation in a national program will help young residents gain an important foothold in the job market, Mayor Michael O’Connor said Tuesday. The Good Jobs, Great Cities Academy program works with 16 cities around the country to develop new and effective ways to create jobs that increase or redevelop workers’ skills. The goal is to help them get jobs in infrastructure, clean energy, and advanced manufacturing jobs, according to the program’s website.

 

New sidewalks, direct routes and safety measures for street crossings will be installed to help improve pedestrian safety as part of the Pedestrian Master Plan the Montgomery County Council unanimously passed on Tuesday. “The Pedestrian Master Plan is a visionary document with a level of specificity to help coordinate county government at all levels and in all departments and agencies to ensure our streets are safe for everybody. And these are really important if we want to enact our Vision Zero goals,” said Council President Evan Glass (D-At-large) .

Frederick County is working to develop zoning requirements for cannabis dispensaries and facilities that grow or process the plant, which was legalized for adult recreational use in Maryland earlier this year. State law authorizes county and municipal governments to “establish reasonable zoning requirements for cannabis businesses” that are not overly burdensome to cannabis licensees.

 

The county’s Department of Housing and Community Affairs (DHCA) has provided funding for the construction of an apartment building along the Purple Line Corridor in Silver Spring. Park Montgomery West, an affordable rental apartment building at 8856 Piney Branch Rd., will help preserve and meet the growing demand for affordable, transit-oriented housing, county officials announced.

A week after a shooting on Morgan State University grounds, the school announced plans to enclose 90 percent of the campus to limit “unfettered access,” President David K. Wilson said during a campus town hall Tuesday evening. The plan includes an extension of the Morgan Wall, a physical barrier on Hillen Road. The construction is in progress around the west campus, and the proposal calls for an extension down Argonne Drive and Cold Spring Lane, Wilson said. It also calls for “strategic placement” of security personnel at entry and exit points, as well as more guard booths and blue security lights, Wilson said.

American CEOs are far more optimistic about office returns than they were just a year ago, and many also plan to reward employees for coming back. Those are two of the top takeaways from the 2023 U.S. CEO Outlook survey by corporate-services firm KPMG, which found 62% of respondents believe corporate employees whose roles used to be based in the office would again be working in the office in the next three years — a huge jump from the 34% who believed that in 2022.

Dozens of newsmakers spanning the public, private and nonprofit sectors came together Tuesday for iMPACT Maryland, The Baltimore Banner’s new event for thought leaders to swap insights and discuss innovative ideas for the state’s future. The summit’s inaugural lineup of speakers included figures from national, state and local government, including keynote speakers such as U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Maryland Gov. Wes Moore.

I am writing this as Annapolis just experienced the worst tidal flooding it has seen since Hurricane Isabel in 2003. We are coming off a summer that will be remembered by smoke-filled skies, costly flooding in the Northeast and record heat. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2023 was the Northern Hemisphere’s hottest meteorological summer on record, at 2.59 degrees Fahrenheit above average.

Senate President Bill Ferguson on Monday predicted that the General Assembly would give serious consideration next year to bills changing the way legislative vacancies are filled in Maryland. Speaking to a breakfast meeting of the District 18 Democratic Club in Chevy Chase, Ferguson (D-Baltimore City) said he is uncomfortable with the power local party central committees possess over vacancies in the House and Senate.