Business

Another union has approved the deal it made with the major freight railroads last month that helped prevent a strike to secure 24% raises and $5,000 in bonuses for the workers it represents. The American Train Dispatchers Association said Tuesday that 64% of its roughly 1,600 members approved the deal with Union Pacific, BNSF, Kansas City Southern, CSX, Norfolk Southern and other railroads. The union said dispatchers will receive an average payout of $17,500 when the five-year deal becomes final because it is retroactive to 2020. Four smaller railroad unions have now approved their deals with the railroads, but the two biggest unions that represent engineers and conductors won’t vote on their tentative agreements until mid-November.

Bull on the Beach — a mecca for pit beef and steamed shrimp in Ocean City for 42 years — is closing its 2nd Street location this month, with plans to relocate the restaurant to another spot on or off the boardwalk. “We’re down but we’re not out,” General Manager Brad Wells said on Tuesday. “We’re looking for another spot to build our brand.” But Wells acknowledged that finding a new location of about 2,000 to 3,000 square feet on the boardwalk, which he dubbed Ocean City’s “Times Square,” will be a challenge because of the rising real estate prices in the resort town. But Bull on the Beach didn’t really have a choice but to make a move. The boardwalk location closes on Oct. 23.

The oldest members of Generation X are within 10 years of turning 65 years old. Still, according to studies and financial planners, that cohort of Americans trails previous generations in preparing to retire. Members of Generation X, those born between 1965 and 1980, generally accumulated more student debt and often incurred larger credit card bills than members of the Baby Boomer or Silent Generations. As a result, their retirement savings are lagging, and they’re usually not receiving the financial advice they need to catch up. “Generation X is kind of overlooked in the way financial planning advice is given,” Dale Horn, managing director of UBS Financial Services Inc., said.

A Columbia artificial intelligence company has won a $14.8 million contract with the U.S. Army just weeks after a major shakeup of its C-suite and just over a month after it laid off 7% of its staff due to financial difficulties. BigBear.ai will work with Denver-based Palantir Technologies to replace aging, out-of-date systems with an automated platform to provide data for up to 160,000 Army users and allow them to make decisions more efficiently. BigBear.ai specializes in the government, manufacturing and health care sectors, and previously worked with the U.S Army in 2021.

510 Johnnys, a defunct Harford County pub known for its live music, is heading back to the auction block after negotiations with a buyer didn’t lead to a sale. Paul Cooper, of Alex Cooper Auctioneers Inc., said there is still a buyer interested in the property at 510 Marketplace Drive in Bel Air but added, “we wanted to give it another opportunity in the marketplace.” Cooper said he couldn’t disclose more information about the buyer or what transpired with the talks in August. The auction of the Bel Air sports bar and restaurant’s long-term lease as well as furniture, fixtures and equipment ended up being postponed in the final hours of bidding.

BetRivers mobile app, part of Rush Street Interactive, is currently legal in 12 states and will soon be adding BetRivers Sportsbook Maryland to its growing industry footprint. BetRivers was the first online sportsbook to launch in four states, including Pennsylvania, and has a “first” to claim in Maryland, as well. Due to its partnership with Bingo World, BetRivers operates the first non-casino retail sportsbook in the state.

Despite a plummeting stock market, rising inflation and the Biden administration’s college loan relief plan, Maryland financial advisers say they are not adjusting their counsel about saving for education. Their message to clients? Stay the course. “Our advice really has not changed,” said Ryan Staton, of StatonWalsh in Timonium. Inflation in particular does not faze him. “The cost of college has outpaced inflation for a very long time,” Staton said. “We’ve always educated clients on that. You have to keep in mind that you’re saving for a moving target, one that moves at a much faster rate than your average, everyday spending.”