Business

Athletic directors at Maryland’s public universities have been tested like never before during the Covid-19 pandemic but a policy change could be coming to make managing their budgets a bit easier in the future. The University System of Maryland’s Committee on Intercollegiate Athletics and Student-Athlete Health and Welfare received an update on the financial condition of the athletic departments at state universities on Monday. The briefing provided a glimpse into ways athletic directors coped with lost revenue from spectator bans and other issues related to Covid-19.

Bars and strip clubs on The Block in Baltimore would be able to dodge a threatened 10 p.m. early closing time by meeting a slate of security requirements under a revised version of a bill cracking down on the city’s adult entertainment district that passed the Maryland Senate on Tuesday. The bars and clubs would no longer face the possibility of having to pay for two off-duty city police officers to patrol the short stretch of East Baltimore Street during the busiest 15 hours of each week.

Almost a quarter of the teams playing in this year’s NCAA men’s basketball tournament will don the Under Armour Inc. logo on their uniforms. Baltimore-based Under Armour (NYSE: UAA) will outfit 16 of the 68 teams, or 23.5% of this year’s field, according to Apex Marketing Group. That’s six more teams than the sportswear maker outfitted last year and represents the second-most teams it has ever had representing the brand in the NCAA Tournament. Under Armour’s high mark came in in 2019 when it had 17 teams participate.

Rockville’s Emmes is sticking to its growth strategy for the past year with its fourth acquisition since a pandemic-era leadership change — and its first so far this year. The contract research organization, which conducts research and clinical trials for public and private sector customers, said Thursday it has purchased Plymouth, Massachusetts-based Casimir LLC, a fellow CRO focused on rare diseases, for an undisclosed amount.

In an effort to help area residents get back into the workforce and provide needed services, Carroll County government has contracted with Carroll Community College to provide commercial drivers license training free of charge to up to 12 students. Carroll County Workforce Development requested that county commissioners approve the contract last week, awarding up to $62,800 to Carroll Community College to provide CDL-A training for 12 students. Training will be provided to six students for $5,166.67 each ($31,000 total); six more students may be added for $5,300 each ($31,800 total).

The 750-room Baltimore Marriott Waterfront hotel in Harbor East has sold to an undisclosed buyer just as a lucrative 25-year tax break the city granted to the property owners is set to expire. The landmark tower that helped kick off redevelopment of what today is known as Harbor East changed hands recently to an unknown buyer for an undisclosed price, said CBRE officials, who brokered the deal, but declined to release more specifics. The deed on the sale with details of the deal had yet to be recorded.

Spice maker and Hunt Valley-based McCormick is suspending operations in Russia, the company said in a statement. Right after the invasion began, McCormick said they stopped all advertising and other investments in Russia. They are also pausing company operations in Ukraine in order to focus on the safety of their colleagues and their families. The company is also making donations to several organizations that provide food and shelter.

Few people pass 405 E. Oliver St. It’s hard to spot, tucked on what is a side street between the Amtrak railroad tracks and Green Mount Cemetery. For the past two decades, maybe more, this enclave within the larger Greenmount West neighborhood has been ground zero for local artists. It took nearly a year and $3.8 million for a neighborhood-based nonprofit community group to bank the funds to preserve 405 Oliver St. as the industrial building it is — a place for creatives to have their artist studios and workshops.