Wednesday, October 30, 2024 | Baltimore, MD
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As salaries continue to grow nationally, Greater Baltimore sees a decline

After months of soaring salary offers, wage growth started to slow nationally at the end of 2022 — and in Baltimore, it completely stopped. The Baltimore-Columbia-Towson metro area saw average private-sector earnings drop by 2.9% year over year in December, from $1,140.36 to $1,107.22, according to the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.  Nationally, private-sector earnings rose by an average 2.9% in metro areas between December 2021 and December 2022. That’s down significantly from the strong salary surges that were taking place in spring and summer 2022, causing significant headaches for employers and driving up inflation.  The pace of year-over-year growth has slowed even since November when the average metro posted a 3.4% increase in private-sector wages.

HR trends: COVID no longer top office concern — mental health ranks higher

The COVID-19 pandemic is no longer the top office concern, according to a recent survey of executives and HR professionals by the Alexandria, Virginia-based Society for Human Resource Management. “What was clearly the top priority from 2020 all the way down to 2022 has now taken a step back and is now the fourth most-common priority,” said Alex Alonso, chief knowledge officer at the Society for Human Resource Management. “They are talking about how they go about managing it, as opposed to something that is taking lives or having to focus on vaccine mandates.” What has emerged as a top priority for employers this year, is the mental health of their employees.

Read More: WTOP News
End of Amazon Smile program leaves some Baltimore groups frowning

Amazon Smile, the charitable platform that paid out a half-of-one-percent donation on top of shoppers’ Amazon purchases to the charity of their choice, will be ceasing operation on Feb. 20, and some Baltimore beneficiaries are not happy. Amazon said in a press release that, with now over one million charities listed on its recipient list, the corporation’s ability to have an impact was “being spread too thin.” In the almost 10 years since its start in 2013, Amazon Smile states it has raised $400 million for U.S. charities. That makes the average benefit to each local charity just $400 over the entirety of over nine years of donating.

camden yards, baltimore, maryland
As legal battle delved further into Angelos family’s personal, financial dealings, they agree to drop lawsuits

Soon, Georgia Angelos, the wife of Orioles owner Peter Angelos, would have been put under oath and questioned. A river of documents had begun flowing — to lawyers involved in the case, if not to the public — with details including everything from private email conversations to bank records to negotiations over a possible sale of the team. That was the backdrop to Monday’s abrupt end to the legal fight that erupted within the Angelos family in the wake of the 93-year-old patriarch’s illness and subsequent incapacitation.

Read More: Baltimore Sun
Hagerstown, Salisbury enterprise zones fuel growth. Will door close on incentive?

In the last week before Gov. Larry Hogan left office, the Department of Commerce announced expanded enterprise zones in both Hagerstown and Salisbury. Now, the business development program, which started in 1982 to provide tax incentives to companies locating in the state’s most economically distressed communities, has come under scrutiny. “The enterprise zone program is one of the most expensive business tax credits in our state,” said Delegate Julie Palakovich Carr, sponsor of a bill to alter the program, during a House Ways and Means Committee hearing Thursday in Annapolis. “It’s not working as intended.”

Read More: Herald Mail
Towson pub will no longer host Jan. 6 political fundraiser; controversy affects Baltimore bar with similar name

After facing strong criticism on social media, a Towson bar says it will no longer host a fundraiser for people who were arrested for participating in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. In an email Monday evening, leaders of the Charles Village Pub & Patio in Towson said they had decided not to provide a venue for the Republican Women of Baltimore County and the Patriot Club of America to host the fundraiser, which was scheduled to take place at the pub Tuesday from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Read More: Baltimore Sun
Making Montgomery Co. a destination for businesses — and a pledge to cut red tape

Montgomery County Council President Evan Glass says he’s determined to push harder to attract and retain businesses — and on Monday, he announced a “road map” to boost the Maryland county’s economic development. During a news briefing, Glass explained he had moved to split one of the county council committees, making the Economic Development a free-standing panel. Glass said his next steps would include seeking a review of compliance issues to ease regulatory burdens, especially on small and minority businesses.

Read More: WTOP
Five things businesses should know about the Maryland recreational cannabis bill

The first major bill outlining what the recreational cannabis market in Maryland might look like was introduced in the General Assembly on Friday. The 88-page bill goes into detail about most elements of the new legal market, from licensing to the tax structure. Here are five things business owners should know about the proposal, which is set for a hearing in the House of Delegates on Feb. 17. The House version of the bill, House Bill 556, was sponsored by Dels. C.T. Wilson, D-Charles County, and Vanessa Atterbeary, D-Howard County. An identical bill was cross-filed in the senate as Senate Bill 516, which is sponsored by Sens. Brian Feldman, D-Montgomery, and Antonio Hayes, D-Baltimore.

Bank of America branch’s closure in Brooklyn leads to birth of something new

South Baltimore’s Brooklyn neighborhood is getting a huge boost in the rare donation of a bank building. The building on Hanover Street opened in 1952 and served as the backbone of Brooklyn. Prior to Bank of America buying it, the building was a community meeting hall, hosting everything from birthdays and dances to memorials for community members.

Read More: WBAL
Open shop
SBA is revamping its disaster recovery office. Here’s what businesses need to know.

The Small Business Administration is making some changes to its Office of Disaster Assistance as part of a broader effort to strengthen the agency’s disaster relief efforts. In addition to rebranding the office as the Office of Disaster Recovery and Resilience, the SBA plans additional coordination and alignment of its disaster recovery, planning and resilience activities to help business owners recover from natural disasters. One goal is to create a better customer experience. “The transformation of our SBA disaster enterprise to align all of our capital programs will help us implement President Biden’s call to ensure disaster survivors can easily and swiftly connect to vital financial relief,” said SBA Administrator Isabel Guzman.

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