Business

Six community groups in South Baltimore have thrown their support behind a planned high-speed maglev train line as the controversial project remains embroiled in a lawsuit with a developer who has other plans for the proposed railway property. The board of the nonprofit umbrella group South Baltimore 7 Coalition, or SB7, voted to endorse the maglev project and a potential rail station in Cherry Hill and announced it will soon work to negotiate a community benefits agreement with maglev developer Baltimore-Washington Rapid Rail, or BWRR.

Notre Dame of Maryland University, eyeing declining enrollment trends at private colleges nationwide, plans to admit men to its undergraduate program next year, a move that upsets some alums who favor the school’s more than 125-year all-women’s tradition. Notre Dame President Marylou Yam said welcoming male undergraduates in fall 2023 will protect the school from ongoing trends of downward enrollment.

Hotel Ulysses will open in Mount Vernon this month along with an all-day cafe and late-night bar, the first Baltimore concepts from trendy New York developer Ash. The 116-room hotel is located in the historic Latrobe Building and will open Sept. 21 along with the cafe, called Ash Bar, and the cocktail bar, Bloom’s. Also still to come is the conversion of a neighboring building that will see the former Mount Vernon Stable & Saloon space reopened with a new bar concept.

The Baltimore County Council passed a resolution on Sep. 6 to finalize the remaining details of the first collective bargaining agreement covering about 460 Baltimore County Public Library employees. “I thank the Baltimore County Council members for voting to pass this resolution, which finalizes a contract that gives BCPL workers a voice in the workplace, as well as the strong wages and benefits they greatly deserve,” IAM International President Robert Martinez Jr., said in a statement.

Chasen Cos. received the go-ahead from the city’s historic commission to build more apartments in Fells Point — and a top exec at the development company says existing units aren’t staying vacant for long. “They are flying off the shelves in Fells Point,” said Drew Peace, chief business development officer at Chasen, after a meeting of the Commission for Historical and Architectural Preservation, or CHAP, on Tuesday. “This is another opportunity to add more units in the area.”

Steph Curry is reportedly about to sign a $1 billion lifetime endorsement deal with apparel maker Under Armour Inc., a contract that would vault the Golden State Warriors star into a rarefied class of sports celebrity pitchmen. The impending deal, which would extend a 10-year alliance between Baltimore-based Under Armour (NYSE: UAA) and Curry that expires in 2024, was referred to more than once in a lengthy Rolling Stone interview and profile, though not directly attributed to Curry. It’s reportedly been under negotiation for a while.

The menu at Fishnet in Mount Vernon Marketplace offers a tempting array of freshly made fish sandwiches, tacos and salads. Less appetizing are the fish heads, bones and unusable parts from the whole fish filleted in the kitchen. Keyia Yalcin built the Baltimore restaurant on a model of sustainability and couldn’t tolerate the waste, so she began “upcycling” the castoffs and four other simple ingredients into crunchy, fish-shaped dog treat

Some of the largest tech companies in the country met with a variety of Maryland entrepreneurs on Monday to answer questions about how their technology can help startups at the inaugural Maryland Technology Development Corp. (TEDCO) Tech Fair. Representatives from Microsoft, Google, PayPal, TikTok, Meta, Amazon, Ebay and Square all showcased how their companies could help small businesses and startups. The event in College Park gave many startups the chance to spruce up their understanding of how to use social media as a tool to promote their business or to ensure the safety of data stored in the cloud. TEDCO CEO Troy LeMaile-Stovall said the festival was an opportunity for small businesses to get close access to large companies that can often be difficult to reach.