Business

In November, Maryland became the 20th state to legalize adult-use recreational cannabis. Maryland follows states such as Colorado and Washington, which each legalized in 2012. Medical cannabis became available in Maryland in 2017. “The world of legalized cannabis, it changes daily, and comparing it to what it was in 2014 or 2012, it’s a different world,” said Justin Tepe, a lawyer at Baltimore law firm Goodell DeVries who works with cannabis companies.

Salisbury-based Green Street Housing and Rockville-headquartered TM Associates Development, two of Maryland’s largest affordable rental housing developers, will host a groundbreaking ceremony March 29 at the second and third phases of Slippery Hill in Queenstown. The new construction includes two additional phases to the existing first phase. The first of the new phases will provide mixed-income, mixed-use residential apartment homes. The third phase will provide senior living apartments.

A nonprofit developer will soon file early-stage plans for a sizable new Metro-accessible affordable housing project in downtown Wheaton, involving a land swap with the county government and co-location of a new county arts and cultural facility. Montgomery Housing Partnership Inc., a nonprofit developer and service provider, owns the 1960s-era Amherst Square garden apartments, just east of and adjacent to a vacant publicly owned lot, which property records show the county government acquired from the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority in 2020.

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.