Business

Stu Czapski recalled numerous vacant buildings and “for sale” signs that afflicted Baltimore Street downtown in recent years. Today, all but two of those properties have been purchased, he said. “That in and of itself is telling,” Czapski, economic development specialist for the Cumberland Economic Development Corp., said Wednesday of the impact a plan to revitalize downtown has made so far.

Mt. Washington Pediatric Hospital (MWPH), co-owned by University of Maryland Medical System and Johns Hopkins Medicine, Wednesday announced Dr. Scott M. Klein, MD, MHSA, has been selected as the new president and CEO at Mt. Washington Pediatric Hospital. Klein, who was chosen following a comprehensive national search, will begin July 1.

A few weeks ago, I took note in this column of Baltimore’s growing wealth of bakeries. That story focused on the newcomers, but it’s impossible to overlook the city’s share of baking businesses that have been run by the same family for generations. Many have become synonymous with favorite treats: If you’re searching for cannolis, try Vaccaro’s, in business since 1965; for sweet buns, there’s Woodlea, run by the Hergenroeder family since 1943; for marshmallow-stuffed doughnuts, go to Herman’s, owned and operated by the Herman family for a century.

Maryland lawmakers passed a bill last week to increase the maximum fines for repeat liquor license violations in Baltimore from $3,000 to $20,000. Democratic Gov. Wes Moore is expected to sign it into law; it would take effect July 1. It’s one of multiple bills that passed during the Maryland General Assembly that impact Baltimore’s liquor laws. After the pandemic saw a loosening of those laws across the state, a push was made to improve the enforcement capabilities of the liquor board.

Inflation probably ticked down yet again last month, but the next moves for the Federal Reserve’s fight to slow the economy are still clouded by a recent shock in the banking sector and uncertainty about the path ahead. New data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics is expected to show that prices rose around 5.2 percent in March, compared to the year before.

Lorien Health Services, a family-owned and operated assisted living/nursing home company, Monday announced Lorien Columbia has been named one of America’s Best Nursing Homes 2023 by Newsweek magazine and Statista, a global data research firm. The announcement comes on the heels of five Lorien Health Services locations earning Best Nursing Homes status in a U.S. News & World Report survey achieving the highest possible rating of “High Performing” for Short-Term Rehabilitation and/or Long-Term Care, including Bel Air, Bulle Rock, Columbia, Mays Chapel, and Mt. Airy.

As she raises two sons, there’s a time Jamyla Bennu and her husband, Pierre, like to keep sacred as a family: doing their hair. The styling methods range from barber cuts to dreadlocks; as the boys aged, the background noise evolved from “The Backyardigans” to “Saturday Night Live” episodes. But they always do it together. “One of my kids would be getting a haircut from dad and one was getting his hair twisted with mom, and we’d be watching a movie and stuff,” Bennu, 47, said.