Baltimore weight loss company Medifast Inc. plans to increase prices on all its products amid a drop in profits and a slowdown in revenue. Medifast (NYSE: MED) revenues declined in the third quarter by 5.6% to $390.4 million compared to $413.4 million a year ago. The company reported a profit of $36.2 million, or $3.27 per share, compared to $42 million, or $3.56 per share, a year ago, a drop of nearly 14%. On an adjusted basis, Medifast saw a profit of $36.8 million or $3.32 per share. The company also cut its full year outlook for both revenue and profit. The decline comes after a 15% jump in revenue in the second quarter and follows a year of massive growth for the Harbor East company when it hit a record $1.5 billion in sales. It marks the second straight quarter Medifast saw profits decline as inflation, supply chain and the cost of raw materials affected its bottom line.
Medifast to raise prices amid profit, revenue decline
Fitzwater, Hough vie for votes ahead of Frederick Co. executive race
A tight Maryland race to succeed Frederick County Executive Jan Gardner is near its finish ahead of Tuesday’s election. Two-term Republican state Sen. Michael Hough is running against two-term Frederick County councilwoman and Democratic candidate Jessica Fitzwater to succeed the term-limited Gardner — who is also a Democrat. Fitzwater told WTOP that she’s ready to “get to work” and wants Frederick County to continue “on a path of progress.” An elementary music teacher and former union activist, Fitzwater said she wants to use a “common-sense approach that’s going to bring people together to solve problems and make life better for people.” More affordable housing, protecting the environment and investing in education are some of the key areas Fitzwater said she would focus on if elected, according to her campaign website.
As open enrollment arrives, many remote workers are anxious. Here’s why.
Communication is a critical ingredient in the remote-work era, and experts say it’s particularly important as open enrollment season begins. Remote workers are more anxious about their finances than onsite or hybrid workers, according to a recent survey by MetLife, and experts say gaps like that illustrate why it’s pivotal for companies to ensure remote workers have access to the same information and opportunities as their in-office counterparts. Continued recruiting and retention challenges only further underscore the stakes when it comes to communication about benefits. “We’re at a critical moment in the employee-employer relationship. As we look to build more inclusive cultures and further support today’s workforce – including how and where our employees work – benefit communication is vital,” said Jenn Kischell, vice president, workforce engagement at MetLife, in a press release.
Employers keep hiring briskly even in face of Fed rate hikes
America’s employers kept hiring vigorously in October, adding 261,000 positions, a sign that as Election Day nears, the economy remains a picture of solid job growth and painful inflation. Friday’s report from the government showed that hiring was brisk across industries last month, though the overall gain declined from 315,000 in September. The unemployment rate rose from a five-decade low of 3.5% to a still-healthy 3.7%. A strong job market is deepening the challenges the Federal Reserve faces as it raises interest rates at the fastest pace since the 1980s to try to bring inflation down from near a 40-hear high. Steady hiring, solid pay growth and low unemployment have been good for workers. But they have also contributed to rising prices.
Opinion: Why did Md. fall faster than anyplace else in the national report card?
Scores from the National Assessment of Educational Progress indicate what many in the nation have long predicted: student learning during the pandemic suffered across the country. The story is more concerning in Maryland, where the pandemic has capped a decade of precipitous decline since 2011. Declines in Maryland student achievement outpace most other states since 2011. In 4th grade reading and math, our progress since 2011 is the lowest in the nation, ranking 51st of 51 states and Washington, D.C., in both subjects. In 4th grade, math scale scores are down 18 points and reading scores down 19. In 8th grade, Maryland ranks tied for 51st in math and tied for 48th in reading. Eighth grade math scores are down 19 points and 8th grade reading is down 12 points.
Unofficial artist-in-residence at Druid Hill Park has found a simple life and freedom
You’ve likely seen his colorful sculpture garden as you enter Druid Hill Park on Swann Drive going toward the Rawlings Conservatory. On the strip of grass next to four brick pillars with lime green moss on their bases, the sculpture garden features anything Colin Williams is in the mood to create: shards of broken glass or old bicycle chains painted with deep oranges and blues in a frame, or a spray-painted bench with a tie-dye-like curtain. People might dismiss the space as a collection of junk, but Williams is creating a curated corner in the park. He calls himself the “unofficial, official artist-in-residence at Druid Hill Park.”
Wes Moore, Dan Cox dash across Maryland as the campaign for governor nears finish line
Wes Moore swayed in the pew, hands lifted as he sang along with the choir: “When nothing else could help, love lifted me!” The Democratic nominee for governor of Maryland spent the last Sunday of the fall campaign worshipping at a pair of Prince George’s County churches and urging congregants to vote on Tuesday. “Generations came before us, so we could have Tuesday,” said Moore, who hopes to become the state’s first Black governor, when he was given the microphone at Mt. Ennis Baptist Church. “Generations fought so we could have Tuesday. Generations bled so we could have Tuesday. Generations have marched so we could have Tuesday. Generations have sacrificed so we could have Tuesday.” Moore’s pitch to the largely Black congregation at Mt. Ennis was among the final speeches he’ll give in a campaign that concludes with traditional Election Day voting on Tuesday.
Topchik: Into the darkness
I purchased my first newspaper at the behest of my father at the age of 6. The newspaper was the New York Daily News, known as the paper of the working man. At the time, the early 1950s, there was an astonishing array of newspapers covering the entire range of political sentiment, including foreign language publications that served ethnic and immigrant communities. Record-breaking union bargaining agreements in the 1960s led to the demise of a number of daily newspapers. It was the beginning of a trend that continues today. Two significant changes have been the loss of afternoon newspapers (no one at home to read them) and two-newspaper cities. For those readers who wish to condemn unions for destroying daily journalism, readers should know that the average pay for an entry-level newspaper reporter and editor in 1953 was around $60 a week in major cities and less elsewhere.
Lane: Is InstaGratification hurting us in the age of social media?
First, let me say this. I LOVE SOCIAL MEDIA. Here’s a few reasons why: 1) anyone with a smartphone can find their niche and create a name for themselves. 2) There is a new and catchy trend every week (most of them I can’t keep up with but I still love them). 3) Validation. I love to see people — especially underdogs — climb their way to the top and grow their audiences. 4) The money. There is money to be made through social media. A lot of it. But living in the age of social media might be hurting us more than it is helping us. And what I came to recently discover may have confirmed that.
Alsobrooks: The new FBI site is a matter of equity
Thanks to President Biden’s leadership, the selection of a location for the new FBI headquarters is again moving forward after plans were stalled in 2017 under President Donald Trump. However, I am deeply concerned with recent developments in the site-selection process that undermine the Biden administration’s commitment to advancing equity. The process for selecting a new FBI headquarters dates back to 2012, with 35 sites under initial consideration now down to three finalists. Prince George’s County has two of the three sites under consideration, in Greenbelt and Landover; the third site is in Virginia, in Springfield. Throughout the past decade, the General Services Administration (GSA) has said it would focus on access to transit, cost and environmental impact when selecting a new site.