Business

At rush hour one June day in 2012, authorities held traffic over the Francis Scott Key Bridge while a transport ship passed underneath, delivering a set of 14-story super cranes that would herald a new era for the Port of Baltimore. These gantry cranes were final pieces in a much-anticipated expansion of Baltimore’s Seagirt Marine Terminal. The port would soon be able to accommodate some of the newest — and biggest — cargo ships on the ocean.

In 1817, Baltimore became the first city in America with public gas-fed street lighting – a monumental achievement in infrastructure. Today, the tallest building in the city and state of Maryland, 100 Light Street, is keeping that flame alive with the introduction of 1817: a new sky-high, panoramic amenity space perched on the building’s 18th and 17th floors.

There was golf, a swanky evening soiree complete with a band, committee meetings and interview sessions with the media. And, of course, the annual grilling of NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. This year’s league meetings at the lush Ritz Carlton Grande Lakes was, as usual, a gathering of football cognoscenti, and it provided no shortage of storylines, most notably the implementation of wild new kickoff rules and the banning of a controversial tackle beginning next season.

Royal Caribbean is the latest cruise line to change course due to the closure of the Port of Baltimore. The port’s Cruise Maryland Terminal is inaccessible because it’s blocked by the remains of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, which collapsed into the Patapsco River after being rammed into by a massive container ship early Tuesday morning.

It’s no secret that commercial real estate is in a bit of a slump right now. And it’s not just the market, but the activity, or lack thereof — fewer cranes, fewer new office buildings and fewer big projects in general. “I would characterize the outlook as paralyzed. The market knows what it needs — generally ‘more’ of everything — but everyone is waiting for greater certainty to act,” said Robert Gilbane Jr., senior vice president of development for Gilbane Development Co.

Soon after the container ship Dali struck and toppled the Francis Scott Key Bridge early Tuesday, Paul Brashier was among many in the shipping industry who shifted into overdrive. From Texas, Brashier turned his attention to the cargo — tires, dog food, home goods, cookware — packed into containers on ships headed to the Port of Baltimore and handled by his logistics company.

Meeting up with friends before an Orioles game at Camden Yards? If you want to avoid the long lines and sky-high prices of food and drink inside the ballpark, you’ll need to plan accordingly. Fortunately, the neighborhoods surrounding the Yard offer breweries, pubs, restaurants and cafés where fans can grab a quick bite or a pint.