Business

Hundreds of new apartments, redesigned streetscapes and improved pedestrian and bus access are among the sweeping changes proposed for a nearly 26-acre area surrounding the Reisterstown Plaza Metro Station, according to a conceptual state plan released this week. State planners envision transforming a large, underused parking lot into six apartment buildings, a parking garage and more than 50,000 square feet of retail space.

After settling a lawsuit in 2022 over an ineffective unemployment insurance system and agreeing to reform the state’s overwhelmed claims process, the Maryland Department of Labor is still failing to make timely payments to thousands of people who are out of work and awaiting their benefits. Claimants and attorneys who sued the state in 2021 have blamed then-Labor Secretary Tiffany Robinson, who was in the role during former Republican Gov.

JetBlue Airways Corp. said Wednesday it is seeking to add a second daily nonstop flight between Regan National Airport and Luis Muñoz Marín International in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The low-cost carrier said it will apply to the Department of Transportation for the additional route. President Joe Biden in May signed a bill reauthorizing the Federal Aviation Administration. It included a measure to add five additional round-trip flights beyond DCA’s longstanding 1,250-mile perimeter rule.

Minimum wage workers in Montgomery County will see a bit of a pay bump next month as hourly pay will be increased starting July 1. The minimum wage rate for large employers, who staff 51 or more workers, will increase to $17.15 per hour. Additionally, employers who staff 11-50 workers, also known as mid-sized employers, their minimum wage requirement will increase to $15.50 per hour.

Maryland saw a statewide decline in transportation, warehousing and utility jobs in the two months following the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, though it’s not yet clear exactly how many Port of Baltimore workers lost their jobs during the 11 weeks the port’s main channel was fully or partially closed. Most of the roughly 20,000 jobs at and around the port are in transportation, warehousing and utilities, and the broader sector comprises about 109,000 jobs statewide, according to the Maryland Department of Labor.

Brandon Chasen is one of most dominant players in Baltimore real estate. His namesake company has developed boutique apartment buildings in Fells Point and is overhauling historic properties like the old Meyer Seed Co. warehouse and the One Calvert Plaza skyscraper downtown. The 38-year-old Potomac native, who leads the firm with his best friend from prep school, has made waves for his embrace of a luxury lifestyle: penthouse suites, designer clothes and yachts. His ambitions grew to include what he said would be a $100 million investment in projects across the country.

As some D.C. leaders continue their push to bring the Washington Commanders back to the District, there is growing uncertainty about the city’s chances of regaining control of the RFK site for a football stadium. For the Commanders to consider leaving their FedEx Field home in Prince George’s County to return to their RFK roots in D.C., they will need Congress to clear the way by approving legislation giving long term control of the site to D.C. government.