Business

Under Armour founder Kevin Plank and Baltimore Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti have invested in a fund aimed at supporting companies that use technology to break down barriers in areas such as health care, food and education. Conscious. Venture Partners on Tuesday announced that Conscious Venture Fund II has raised $15.8 million toward a $50 million goal. The fund, which expects to become the largest minority-managed fund in Baltimore, supports companies that use innovations to create a more equitable society in the health care, food, technology, media, mobility and education industries.

Fliers will have to wait a little longer to land at the Capital One Lounge at Dulles International Airport. The airport amenity space from the McLean, Virginia, banking giant aimed at providing travelers with relaxation and rejuvenation will not open until sometime next year, according to an update last month on Capital One’s website. The lounge had initially planned an opening in 2022. Thrifty Traveler was the first outlet to report the new opening date on Monday. A Capital One Lounge at Denver International Airport, also initially planned for a 2022 opening, will not open until next year.

State lotteries are driving a multibillion-dollar wealth transfer from low-income U.S. communities to multinational companies. While the growing expansion of casinos and state-sanctioned sports betting steal the spotlight, state lotteries have nearly doubled in size over the past two decades, driving a multibillion-dollar wealth transfer from low-income U.S. communities to powerful multinational companies. A nationwide investigation of state lotteries by the Howard Center for Investigative Journalism at the University of Maryland found that lottery retailers are disproportionately clustered in lower-income communities in nearly every state.

Poppy & Stella is bringing its clothing, accessories, shoes and more to Towson. The Baltimore fashion boutique said it will open its fifth and largest store at The Shops at Kenilworth this fall, Owner Kelley Heuisler said Monday that though she has received requests from customers to open in the Towson area for years, the timing was never right.

A long-standing Port Covington landmark is about to meet the wrecking ball. The massive Locke Insulators building that once held a manufacturing plant in South Baltimore is being prepared for demolition next month, said Mark Sapperstein, developer and principal of 28 Walker that is planning a redo of the site.

One of Johns Hopkins Carey Business School’s graduate programs is ranked among those with the best returns on investment, a recent study from Georgetown University found. The study calculated net earnings based on median salaries two years after graduation compared to average amounts of debt at a given school offering associate’s, bachelor’s or master’s business degrees. Over 5,500 degree programs at more than 1,700 institutions were reviewed and ranked as part of the study.

Dangerously Delicious Pies, one of the best-known pie shops in the region, is shutting down its Annapolis location two years after it opened on West Street. Owners Christopher and Kimberly Miller announced the closure of the shop in a social media post on Sunday. The location opened in May of 2020 shortly after the COVID-19 pandemic struck the city, emerging into a difficult climate with indoor capacity restrictions and other limitations that set the business back.