Business

Maryland regulators are investigating whether SoLo Funds Inc., a fast-growing online lending marketplace started by a Baltimore native, charges excessive interest rates and late charges and failed to disclose finance charges. The Office of Financial Regulation, part of the state Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation, has ordered the peer-to-peer platform to stop offering products to consumers in Maryland pending the outcome of the case.

Marking its first foray into the Texas renewable energy market, Rockville-based Standard Solar on Tuesday announced its latest acquisition Tuesday of a 9.9-megawatt (MWac) behind-the-meter solar project to sustainably power part of an industrial process load for Messer Americas in Texas. As a leader in the ownership, operation, funding and development of commercial and community solar assets across 23 states, this acquisition of the Bluebonnet project from EDF Renewables North America signifies a significant stride in Standard Solar’s dedication to sustainable energy solutions.

A group of Virginia state lawmakers voted Monday in favor of a deal to bring the Washington Capitals and Wizards to a new arena in Northern Virginia, according to four people with knowledge of the situation. Under the plan, which would still require approval from the full General Assembly and local officials, both teams would move to a new facility anchoring a massive mixed-use development in Alexandria’s Potomac Yard neighborhood, according to three of those people and four others.

The Johns Hopkins University is renaming a facility to honor Pava LaPere, a Hopkins alumnus and tech CEO who was killed in September. Fast Forward U, a hub in Remington for students interested in creating startup companies, will be named Pava Marie LePere Center for Entrepreneurship. The university unveiled the honor Saturday at a memorial service for LaPere, which was attended by Gov. Wes Moore and Mayor Brandon Scott.

With 10 days to go before Baltimore’s Planning Commission is scheduled to take a key vote that will affect the Inner Harbor, Mayor Brandon Scott and developer P. David Bramble are holding a public forum to answer questions about Bramble’s $500 million plan to redevelop Harborplace. The two-hour event, called the “Mayor’s Public Forum on Harborplace,” will take place at the Middle Branch Fitness and Wellness Center, 201 Reedbird Ave., on Tuesday, Dec. 12, from 6 to 8 p.m. Scott and Bramble, a managing partner of MCB Real Estate, will lead the discussion.

Bethesda-based global security and aerospace company Lockheed Martin presented Belgium’s first F-35A Lightning II to the Belgian government during a rollout ceremony Monday at Lockheed Martin’s F-35 production facility. This event marks a significant milestone in the Belgian Air Force’s history and strengthens the alliance between the United States and Belgium, a key NATO ally.

The Baltimore County Police Department is warning Asian American business owners of an increase in burglaries that has become an apparent national trend of targeting. In what appears to be a national trend, organized criminal groups are surveilling Asian-owned businesses to learn the owner’s daily routine. According to the police department, “burglars will sometimes enter the business owner’s car, while the victim is working, in order to learn where the owner lives.

Ibrahim Abdus-Sabur may not normally be a teacher, but he feels right at home in Morgan State University classrooms. “I love being on campus with so many people of color, just walking around campus on a normal day; Black people from all types of life,” Abdus-Sabur said. “I went to a PWI (predominantly white institution) and Google isn’t the most diverse place, so it’s really great for me.”