Business

The Maryland Department of Commerce has launched a program of tax credits designed to help foster the growth of the state’s technology sectors by incentivizing investment in early-stage companies. The Maryland Innovation Investment Tax Credit program, which has $2 million in funding for fiscal year 2022, will also help increase overall investments in current and emerging tech sectors, and boost the number of individual investors in Maryland tech companies, state officials hope.

When The Baltimore Banner launches next year, its plan is to cover news of the Baltimore region intensely. Stewart Bainum Jr., the millionaire force behind it, just hired a top editor from The Los Angeles Times to lead the reporting–and says he expects her to take risks, “If we’re not willing to experiment and be willing to fail different experiments, this won’t succeed because there’s no map for making a local digital online news site financially stable and sustainable.’ Sheilah Kast is the host of On The Record, Monday-Friday, 9:30-10:00 am.

A trio of workers in sterile suits wipe down a room full of large metal vats and other equipment. It could be the start to a small batch of an artisanal beer, but the brews made at this plant in Harmans near BWI Marshall Airport are far more life-altering. This is a Catalent manufacturing plant, where officials plan to announce a $230 million expansion Tuesday to their “suites,” or lines, where small amounts of the most advanced medical therapies are produced for some of the biggest pharmaceutical companies.

The Downtown Partnership of Baltimore will work to strengthen the appeal of the city’s central business district amid a recent wave of corporate departures to newer developments east of the Inner Harbor. “In thriving cities, shift happens,” Downtown Partnership President Shelonda Stokes told local business leaders and city officials gathered Tuesday night for the organization’s annual meeting at One Charles Center Plaza.

The last 18 months have been challenging for restaurants to say the least. We have had to deal with Covid-19 infections, lockdowns and mask mandates amid constant anxiety about keeping our business alive. As we recently celebrated Maryland Restaurant Week in the middle of another wave of infections, our business has figured out how to stay safe, continue to serve our customers and even expand. The No. 1 challenge now is finding and hanging onto good employees, a problem that has been well-documented by the media.

“My great-grandmother Lucille was born in Sumter, South Carolina, in 1922, and moved here when she was a child in the mid-1920s,” says entrepreneur Tyrell Dixon, his voice overlaying footage of Baltimore city streets, accompanied by a subtle piano score. “And, like a lot of Black families during that time, came here looking for opportunities that didn’t exist in the South.”