Business

Having assumed executive leadership of the Prince George’s County Chamber of Commerce, Alexander Austin faces several challenges, including helping the organization find its post-Covid footing and discerning and navigating a changed political context with a newly elected county council. Austin, a Prince George’s native, began his new job Dec. 19, succeeding David Harrington, who died suddenly in September, having helmed the chamber for 11 years and only just begun a new job for Kaiser Permanente Mid-Atlantic Region.

Boeing pleaded not guilty Thursday to a fraud charge in an unusual case in which families of passengers who died in two plane crashes are trying to throw out a settlement the company reached to avoid prosecution. At a hearing dominated by emotional, wrenching testimony from passengers’ relatives, a federal district judge took the plea and ordered Boeing not to break any laws for the next year.

A confluence of supply chain issues, continued Covid-19 disruptions and inflation took a toll on McCormick & Co. Inc. at year end as the Hunt Valley spice and seasonings manufacturer maker struggled to get its products to customers and missed financial targets. After a strong third quarter, McCormick (NYSE:MKC) reported Thursday that it ended the year with decreases in sales and profits.

Prince George’s County will receive up to $400 million in state bonds to boost the Blue Line Corridor project, a victory for County Executive Angela D. Alsobrooks that ensures redevelopment near FedEx Field in Landover even if the Washington Commanders leave town. Maryland’s Board of Public Works approved the much-anticipated investment on Wednesday — a final step that allows the county to start negotiating deals and requesting proposals to redevelop a five-mile area stretching from Capitol Heights to Largo.

Potomac’s Willco Cos. has regained control of a site near Pike & Rose in North Bethesda, having sold and then subsequently foreclosed on it, and now must decide what to do with it, in the context of major surrounding redevelopment under way or slated. The parcel comprises about 3.5 vacant acres just northwest of the intersection of Josiah Henson Parkway (formerly Montrose Parkway) and Towne Road. It has preliminary plan approval for three residential towers totaling some 565 units, plus a bit of retail.

Workforce development for life-sustaining careers and a stubborn digital divide remain two of Maryland’s biggest access-related challenges to solve. On Thursday, Maryland Tech Council’s 2023 Annapolis Day Advocacy Summit convened technologists and organizations from around the state to listen to panel discussions on the life sciences workforce and equitable internet access, among other issues. “This has been a growing passion project for me, to see this industry grow and succeed in the state,” said Brad Stewart, the life sciences panel moderator, who is also SVP of business development at the Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation.

Morgan State University has lost the chance to win a lucrative partnership with the United States Air Force that could have brought billions of dollars to Baltimore. The Air Force instead choose to work with Howard University to build a university-affiliated research center, or UARC, to develop new engineering and technology innovations for the military. The Air Force will funnel $12 million a year over five years to Howard to fund faculty, research, and student stipends around tactical autonomy. The university will receive an additional $2 million a year from both the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment and the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering for the center.

Maryland’s unemployment rate dropped to 4% in December 2022, according to preliminary data released Tuesday by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. The department also announced that the state’s number of total jobs remained effectively stagnant, decreasing by just 200. The mining, logging and construction sector experienced the most growth with an increase of 2,200 jobs. Other sectors adding jobs include other services (1,600), education and health services (1,100), and government (400). Sectors that experienced a decline were professional and business services (1,200), trade, transportation and utilities (1,200), information (1,000), financial activities (800), manufacturing (700), and leisure and hospitality (600).