Business

The U.S. government took extraordinary steps Sunday to stop a potential banking crisis after the historic failure of Silicon Valley Bank, assuring all depositors at the failed institution that they could access all their money quickly, even as another major bank was shut down. The announcement came amid fears that the factors that caused the Santa Clara, California-based bank to fail could spread.

The COVID-19 pandemic shrank the restaurant industry, and many still don’t have enough workers as more Marylanders return to dine in person. According to the National Restaurant Association’s new State of the Restaurant Industry report, many restaurant owners are looking to grow their business as conditions get closer to normal, but they face a big challenge.

Kari Snyder really didn’t want to spend $62,000 on this vacant rowhouse. She was on vacation last summer in a beach town and was supposed to be eating dinner with her family when a middleman called her. The boarded-up house in Southeast Baltimore was on the verge of collapsing, and he had the contract to sell it. Snyder couldn’t stomach another investor swooping in, buying the home, and sitting on it.

Baltimore Mayor Brandon M. Scott and Department of Public Works (DPW) Director Jason W. Mitchell announced the DPW Unbundling Initiative, a program to mentor Baltimore-based diverse and small businesses and prepare them to compete on their own as general or prime contractors. The DPW Unbundling Initiative will expand the capacity of Baltimore’s local and diverse contractor community to compete as general or prime contractors for the Department’s water and wastewater utility contracts. On large DPW and other city contracts, small businesses tend to serve as subcontractors to general contractors.

Anne Arundel County’s economic development agency has tapped a top Howard County planning and zoning official as its new CEO. Anne Arundel County Executive Steuart Pittman appointed Amy Gowan to lead Anne Arundel Economic Development Corp., a quasi-governmental agency funded by tax dollars. Her appointment is effective in April. Gowan makes the switch to Anne Arundel after seven years with Howard County Government, where she led the 50-person Office of Planning and Zoning for four years.

Imagine if Harborplace, the once popular tourist spot on Baltimore’s waterfront, was converted into living quarters for the elderly. What if it hosted bull riding competitions? Or was home to an arcade with a view of a Ferris wheel on a bustling boardwalk? These are all suggestions that came in after we asked readers how they envision a redeveloped Harborplace as developer P. David Bramble readies to embark on a reincarnation of the property.