Business

Two days after citywide unrest following Freddie Gray’s death catapulted Baltimore into the national headlines, Bob Jacobson headed to the neighborhood market in Charles Village, saxophone in hand. Outside the store, he and his musician partner, guitarist Michael Spittel, began to play the jazzy trills and Latin rhythms they were known for: swing, samba, Brazilian bossa nova. The cash tips — typically scarce — poured in.

The newspaper industry, which has been struggling with deep ad revenue declines in the digital age, is backing proposed legislation that would force Big Tech to pay publishers for aggregating their news stories online. The Journalism Competition and Preservation Act seeks to level the playing field by allowing local newspapers, broadcasters and other online publishers to negotiate collectively for an annual content fee from Google and Meta/Facebook, which dominate the digital advertising market.

Jeanna Tillery said it feels like she’s going through a spell of heartbreaks. An African American woman in her 70s, Tillery is a retired health professional and Baltimore City native. She and her husband moved to Maryland’s Harford County in 2014, lured by its country feel and a vast forested area next to their three-story single-family home in a neighborhood called Pomeroy Manor.

Founder of Real Time Medical Systems, Provider Partners Health Plans and long-time health care entrepreneur Dr. Scott Rifkin and his wife Frances Rifkin, R.N. Monday pledged $5.7 million to The Johns Hopkins University and The Johns Hopkins Health System to support research and treatment in the institution’s neurology spine oncology program. The gift, to be paid in full by June 30, 2024, is personal to the Rifkins. A close family member has and continues to be treated in this program led by Dr. Nicholas Theodore, director of the Johns Hopkins Neurosurgical Spine Center with whom they now have a close relationship.

Maryland’s unemployment rate dipped below 4% last month for the first time since the start of the pandemic as a strong labor market helped quell fears of an impending recession. New figures released by the U.S. Department of Labor on Friday show Maryland’s unemployment rate was at 3.9% in July, a slight drop after holding steady at 4% in May and June. The state’s unemployment rate has now dropped 1.5 percentage points since January but remains above the national rate of 3.5% and higher than Maryland’s pre-pandemic mark of 3.3% in February 2020. Maryland is one of 10 states and D.C. that have unemployment rates higher than the national rate.

Baltimore County announced plans Friday to acquire the former Sears property at Security Square Mall as part of an effort to revitalize the 40-year-old Woodlawn center. Under the $10 million contract with property owner TF Baltimore MD LLC, Baltimore County will acquire about 18 acres of land that includes a 202,653 square-foot building directly connected to the mall, according to a Friday news release from Baltimore County. “The Security Square Mall site is a critical anchor for the communities on the west side of Baltimore County, and our administration is committed to revitalizing the area and making sure it will serve as a vibrant community hub for years to come,” County Executive Johnny Olszewski said in a news release.

Beloved southern-style chicken finger joint Raising Cane’s is opening a location in Gambrills in January, a restaurant spokesperson said. The restaurant, known for its chicken fingers, crinkle-cut fries and Texas toast, will employ about 115 people at the new location near the intersection of Crain Highway and Johns Hopkins Road, spokesperson Julia Doyle said. A Towson storefront will open this winter. And a third site in Bowie on Crain Highway and Heritage Boulevard will follow in early 2024.