Business

MedStar Health’s Montgomery County hospital just got a step closer to bringing an expanded $3 million cancer pavilion to its campus, thanks to an important donation from a longtime supporter. MedStar Montgomery Medical Center in Olney has received a $250,000 gift from Sandy Spring Bank to help fund the renovation of the facility’s existing cancer care space, designed to make care more accessible and less cumbersome for patients. It brings the project’s total financing to about $2.75 million, said T.J. Senker, the hospital’s president.

Facebook and Instagram’s parent company Meta posted its first revenue decline in history Thursday, dragged by a drop in ad spending as the economy falters — and as competition from rival TikTok intensifies. The company’s stock dropped slightly in after-hours trading following the results, suggesting Wall Street was largely expecting the weak earnings report.

Spirit Airlines canceled its multibillion-dollar plan to merge with ultra-low-cost competitor Frontier Airlines after failing to win over shareholders. The company will instead pursue a deal with JetBlue Airways Corp. “While we are disappointed that we had to terminate our proposed merger with Frontier, we are proud of the dedicated work of our team members on the transaction over the past many months,” said Ted Christie, CEO of Spirit Airlines.

Lithium ion batteries are found in many products, including cellphones and other portable electronics, as well as electric vehicles. The batteries, which use liquid electrolytes, have drawbacks, however.  One of the biggest is their tendency to overheat, which can lead to fires. To address that problem, Beltsville-based Ion Storage Systems has developed a solid-state battery that uses nonflammable materials. The technology was created by Eric Wachsman, who founded the company in 2019 and serves as its executive chairman.

Firing the latest salvo in the legal battle over the fortune of Peter Angelos, his younger son is asking a judge to invalidate changes that the Baltimore Orioles owner’s wife and his elder son made over control of the trust in which the team and other possessions have been placed. In a motion filed Monday in Baltimore County Circuit Court, Louis Angelos argues that his brother, John, the Orioles’ chairman and CEO, has gone against their ailing father’s desire that his two sons share equally in the decision-making and distribution of his vast holdings.

A Maryland energy company and Frostburg State University have received grants from the Maryland Energy Administration to jointly explore the feasibility of converting a coal plant to house a small nuclear reactor to generate electricity. The Rockville-based company, X-energy, develops advanced small modular reactors, or SMRs. The nuclear reactors, smaller than conventional reactors, are designed to be built off-site and transported to the installation location. Proponents maintain they are safer and more cost-effective than conventional reactors.

Developers of the Port Covington waterfront community in South Baltimore have provided $2.5 million in grants and other funding to help revitalize neighborhoods near the site where offices, shops and apartments are under construction. The distribution over the past year was announced Thursday and marks the latest round of investments through a community benefits agreement between the developers and neighborhoods of Brooklyn, Cherry Hill, Curtis Bay, Lakeland, Mount Winans and Westport. The money is designed to boost economic development, education and transportation.

If only we could glide around on the ice on this scorching hot day. But it won’t be long before tourists and residents alike will be able to take to the ice at Baltimore’s Inner Harbor thanks to $300,000 in grants from two of the city’s largest philanthropic names. The Pearlstone Family Fund and the Joseph & Harvey Meyerhoff Family Charitable Funds have each committed $150,000 to keep the Inner Harbor Ice Rink going through the winter holiday season for the next three years, the Waterfront Partnership of Baltimore announced on Monday.