Business

The demand for cruises is still going strong — and it doesn’t appear to be letting up anytime soon. The industry was the last to recover from the Covid pandemic, but once it did, it has been enjoying strong pricing and booking momentum. While pricing growth is starting to normalize somewhat, it is still well above the rate of inflation, said Patrick Scholes, travel and leisure analyst at Truist.

Amazon Fresh is planting a flag in Greater Baltimore. The high-tech grocery chain will open Nov. 7 in Glen Burnie at 6711 Ritchie Highway with fresh produce, meats, seafood, prepared foods and pantry items. It will be the first Baltimore-area location of the brick-and-mortar grocery chain from Seattle-based Amazon — and will feature over 35 local and regional brands like Tessemae’s and True Made Foods.

The Maryland Stem Cell Research Fund has issued a grant to Washington-based Regenerative Orthopedics & Sports Medicine (ROSM) for non-surgical orthopedic research, aimed at advancing treatments for partial-thickness rotator cuff tears using orthobiologic procedures. The two-year randomized, placebo-controlled trial, set to conclude in December 2026, will explore the efficacy of microfat stem cells in treating rotator cuff injuries, an issue that affects more than 2 million Americans annually.

A downtown restaurant space inside a hotel is getting new life. Redwood Charlie’s will take the place of the former Telltale Restaurant at the recently opened Sonesta Hotel Baltimore Inner Harbor at 1 E. Redwood St. Kim Pabst, the restaurant’s general manager, and her husband Bill, who will oversee the business behind the scenes, hope to open the restaurant next month.

Maryland Apprenticeship Connector (MAC) announced the launch of “Apprentice Connect,” a new website designed to serve as a comprehensive resource for employers, educators, and career seekers interested in Maryland’s apprenticeship opportunities. The launch of Apprentice Connect is funded through the Maryland State Department of Education’s (MSDE) Maryland Works Grant to invest in foundational systems and processes needed to structure and sustain high-quality college and career pathways that are responsive to market demand.

Maryland and Virginia lawmakers have sent a letter to President Joe Biden calling for his administration to address an “influx of crabmeat from Venezuela, which has threatened the viability of local fisheries across the Chesapeake Bay.” The officials, including Maryland Sens. Chris Van Hollen and Ben Cardin, as well as several Maryland Reps., called on Biden to direct the U.S. International Trade Commission to investigate any harm caused by the imports, recommend remedies and “use the full array of informal activities available” to address the problem, including “negotiations, utilization of World Trade Organization Committees, bilateral dialogues, and other activities.”

Boeing machinists voted against a new labor deal that included 35% wage increases over four years, their union said Wednesday, extending a more than five-week strike that has halted most of the company’s aircraft production, which is centered in the Seattle area. The contract’s rejection by 64% of the voters is another major setback for the company, which warned earlier Wednesday that it would continue to burn cash through 2025 and reported a $6 billion quarterly loss, its largest since 2020.