Business

Patients in Johns Hopkins medical offices may soon have to decide if the questions they type out to their doctors about their health are worth the potential costs. Johns Hopkins Medicine is joining a national trend this month when it begins charging a fee to send some messages through its online patient portal, MyChart, much like it does for in-person or telehealth visits, according to a memo to staff obtained by The Baltimore Banner.

H&M Intermodal Services (H&M), an IMC Company, Monday announced it has expanded its North Atlantic operations with a new location in Baltimore. This new, centrally located facility at 1201 Ponca St. is two miles from the Port of Baltimore and features a fenced yard with 24-hour security-controlled access, truck parking and room for storage of 150 containers on chassis, allowing H&M to provide secured storage services for its clients.

Starting Saturday, most business owners around the state will have six months to prepare for a coming jump in the state’s minimum wage. The Fair Wage Act of 2023, passed earlier this year, was a priority for Gov. Wes Moore (D) in his first year in office. The change accelerates the move to $15 per hour as phased in under a 2019 law.

Actress Anna Faris, a Baltimore native who rose to fame in the comedic “Scary Movie” series, said that her stay at the new Great Wolf Lodge Maryland in Perryville gained her “total Mom points” with her 10-year-old. “This is a mom win in every way,” Faris said. “We’ve had a blast. It’s just a wonderful vibe for him and a great experience for me.” Faris, joined by Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, Great Wolf Lodge CEO John Murphy, and the resort’s mascot Wiley the Wolf, initiated the grand opening of Great Wolf Lodge’s 20th resort on Thursday by pressing a comically large button triggering a tipping bucket with 1,000 gallons of water onto the water fort treehouse, Otter Cave Waterworks.

McCormick & Co. raised its profit outlook for the year after turning in a second-quarter performance that beat Wall Street’s expectations and reflected strong demand for spices and flavorings. Sales jumped 8% to $1.66 billion in the three months that ended May 31, the Hunt Valley-based manufacturer said Thursday. Income increased to $152.1 million, or 56 cents per share, compared with $118.5 million, or 44 cents per share, in the second quarter of 2022.

A manufacturer of a variety of cannabis products has opened in Mexico Farms with the operation potentially hiring up to 75 employees in the future. News of the venture was announced Wednesday in a joint press release issued by the Allegany County Department of Economic & Community Development and Organic Remedies Maryland. Organic Remedies received approval to operate by the Maryland Cannabis Administration and will begin manufacturing immediately at its location on PPG Road just south of Cumberland.

McCormick & Company has promoted Brendan Foley to CEO, ending Lawrence E. Kurzius’ seven-year tenure that saw the Hunt Valley-based spicemaker embark on a spree of acquisitions and launch a pandemic-driven cost-cutting drive. Kurzius will remain as the company’s executive chairman, according to an announcement late Friday afternoon from McCormick’s Board of Directors.

Pikesville resident Sam Barsky recalls first learning of TikTok, the social media app that’s taken off across the globe, during an interview with 60 Second Docs, which produces short documentaries, in 2019. By the following year, Barsky, 48, was uploading TikTok videos of his nature walks and, eventually, of his hand-knit sweaters, which portray landmarks and destinations from Italy’s Leaning Tower of Pisa to the Inner Harbor of Baltimore.