Business

As Election Day draws near, Sinclair Broadcast Group’s Baltimore flagship, WBFF-TV (Fox45), is drawing criticism for the way it has covered Question K, a local ballot initiative funded almost exclusively by the network’s majority owner, David Smith. If enacted, the measure would limit Baltimore mayors, council members and the comptroller to two four-year terms. Smith, who lives in the Baltimore suburbs, where Sinclair’s corporate offices are headquartered, has doled out more than $500,000 from his personal fortune to launch the campaign.

A massive tornado that ravaged Annapolis homes and businesses on Sept. 1, 2021, could have spelled the end for the newest international grocery store in Annapolis. But Walter Vasquez, owner of the six-month-old Annapolis International Market, pooled his resources and used outside assistance to rebuild the West Street grocery better than it was before. Vasquez and his business partner, Wilmer Romero, worked for months, aided by community organizations that helped with extensive repairs, to reopen the Annapolis International Market more than a year later on Sept. 28.

Dozens of projects in communities affected by coal-related job losses are receiving nearly $47 million from the Appalachian Regional Commission. The awards through the ARC’s Partnerships for Opportunity and Workforce and Economic Revitalization Initiative go to 52 projects in 181 counties, the commission said. It is the largest single awards package from the initiative since it began in 2015, according to the ARC. Among the largest awards was $2.4 million to expand broadband in Summers County, West Virginia. The project will connect 489 homes and 179 businesses to affordable broadband. Another fiber optic project, in Carroll County, Ohio, was awarded $1.9 million to connect 11 communities to affordable broadband, serving 384 homes and 53 businesses.

Maryland’s unemployment rate fell from 4.3% to 4% last month as the state, buoyed by hiring in the hospitality sector, added 5,300 jobs, according to preliminary data released Friday by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. The nation’s unemployment rate as of September was 3.5%. The leisure and hospitality sector in Maryland had the most jobs gained in September, state officials said, with 3,500 jobs added from the accommodation and food services (2,600) and arts, entertainment, and recreation (900) subsectors. Other gains were reported in the professional and business services (800) and trade, transportation, and utilities (700). Some sectors saw losses, chiefly the financial activities sector, which decreased by 2,000 jobs, and the manufacturing sector, which lost 200 jobs.

The booming tech and biotech markets in Central North Carolina have lured another Maryland developer south to start digging for new business. Woodlawn-based St. John Properties this month opened a new office in Raleigh, joining other Baltimore developers like Merritt Properties, Greenberg Gibbons and Heritage Properties doing work in the southern state’s Research Triangle. The area was cited in a new report this month as the fourth fastest-growing market in the United States. Dustin Atkielski, a regional partner for St. John, will head the new office and is already scouting for available land. He will also oversee development and leasing in the coming months for the single-story Class A projects that have been the signature of St. John’s multiple developments in Greater Baltimore.

Bertha’s Mussels, an iconic Fells Point seafood restaurant and bar, is closing after 50 years in business, the owners announced on Facebook Thursday. The restaurant will remain open through the end of the year and go to auction with bids to start Nov. 12. Three family generations have worked at Bertha’s Mussels since 1972 when Tony and Laura Norris, both musicians, opened the bar on South Broadway Street to create an outlet where local musicians can perform.

Baltimore City Department of Transportation officials are asking for public input on a new plan to make curbside dining in some areas permanent. Transportation officials said they’re getting a lot of mixed reactions to the idea. This all happens as the city prepares to end the COVID-19 policies that first made it possible.