Business

On a sunny March afternoon, the Locust Point Community Garden showed its first signs of bloom after a mild winter.  Little purple buds peeked out from a rosemary bush. Bees buzzed about four hives. Black-eyed Susans began to grow. One gardener had started planting vegetables for the spring and summer months. At the thought of the space in full bloom, garden manager Dave Arndt let out a sigh. “It’s just so beautiful,” he said.

The Western Maryland Scenic Railroad is among 63 Maryland employers to receive grant awards from the state Department of Labor from the $15 million Jobs That Build Employer fund. The railroad was awarded $60,000, which will be used for job retention, Wes Heinz, CEO and general manager, said. “We’re very pleased to receive this funding,” Heinz said. “The grant will help with job retention and incentivizing employees to maintain their residence here while continuing their education.”

A bill that would allow counties on the Eastern Shore to hike their hotel tax rates by 1% faces an uncertain future after a debate in the Maryland Senate on Wednesday. The bill would have amounted to a nearly $5 million tax on Maryland residents who vacation in Ocean City, Montgomery County Sen. Benjamin F. Kramer (D-Montgomery) said, as he questioned the policy on the Senate floor.

Tastee Diner in Silver Spring, where locals have been gathering since it opened in 1946, closed its doors Wednesday afternoon. The diner, located at 8601 Cameron St., closed Wednesday at 2 p.m., an employee confirmed. No reason was provided, and many employees didn’t know it was happening until Wednesday morning. The diner has become a staple of the neighborhood and was declared a historic landmark by the Montgomery County Council in 1994.

A new restaurant and tiki bar highlight improvements to an iconic Boardwalk hotel. On Tuesday, the Ocean City Planning and Zoning Commission voted unanimously to approve a site plan for the existing Lankford Hotel, located between 8th and 9th streets on the Boardwalk. Zoning Administrator Kay Gordy said project calls for a change of use of first-floor tenant spaces and the addition of an outdoor bar associated with restaurant use.

Silver Spring’s Aziyo Biologics Inc. (NASDAQ: AZYO) is laying off a chunk of its workforce, the latest in a string of local biotechs shaving their headcounts to bank more cash. The company initiated a “a significant reduction” in its workforce earlier this week that will affect about 12% of its workforce, Chief Financial Officer Matt Ferguson said on a fourth-quarter earnings call Wednesday.

Rudolph P. “Rudy” Lamone, a professor at the University of Maryland who served as dean of its business school for nearly two decades and helped create a center for entrepreneurship at the school, died Jan. 30 at a hospital in Annapolis. He was 91 and lived in Annapolis. The cause was complications from covid, said his wife, Linda. “When Rudy came to Maryland, it was a mediocre business school that was overwhelmed with students, had limited resources and was far from the business school we wanted it to be,” said William E. “Brit” Kirwin, former president of the University of Maryland.