Business

Advocates pushing for a higher minimum wage for tipped workers announced Tuesday that they will press to take the question directly to Maryland voters in November after lawmakers scrapped a bill that would have raised the pay floor. The shift follows a tepid bill hearing in the state Senate on Feb. 1, where skeptical lawmakers questioned how much local support the effort had after few Maryland restaurant workers showed up to testify in favor of the legislation.

Bethesda-based hospitality giant Marriott International Inc. on Tuesday reported fourth-quarter earnings of $848 million. On a per-share basis, the company said it had profit of $2.87. Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring costs, were $3.57 per share. The results topped Wall Street expectations.

Just over 1,700 people applied for a cannabis license in Maryland’s first round designed to foster social equity, which lawmakers championed as an argument for legalizing recreational marijuana in the state. Only 179 of those admitted to a state-run lottery will ultimately receive a coveted license or micro-license in this round.

A lifelong Baltimore resident is ready to continue the growth of one of the city’s largest accounting firms. Dominic DuBois recently took over as Baltimore office head for RSM US LLP, the third-largest accounting firm in Greater Baltimore with 216 local employees as of early February. DuBois succeeds Marty Brunk, who led the Baltimore office for Chicago-based RSM for 18 years. DuBois wants to build off the momentum that Brunk built and plans to focus on adding new and young talent even as the accounting industry is facing a shortage of new grads entering the field.

Live Baltimore is a nonprofit group that encourages people to buy homes in Baltimore’s neighborhoods. And while it offers tours and promotes the city’s residential communities, it also tracks real estate activity in Baltimore, neighborhood by neighborhood. Its annual report took a look at 2023 and came up with some facts about neighborhood pricing, sales volume and popularity based upon days on the market.

Baltimore dropped more than 40 spots on a highly regarded ranking released Tuesday that measures U.S. metro areas on economic performance. Baltimore fell from No. 131 to No. 174 on the list put together by California-based nonprofit think tank Milken Institute. It’s the lowest rank for Baltimore since 2012, according to Maggie Switek, senior director of the nonprofit’s research department and co-author of the report. It’s the second consecutive steep drop for the city, which fell from No. 106 to No. 131 in last year’s report.

Montgomery County public officials are interested in getting a bigger slice of the lucrative sports tourism pie, with focus not just on headline-grabbing professional arenas and stadiums, but also on a broader spectrum of sports and recreation. We’ve spilled a lot of ink about the pending deal to move the Washington Wizards and Capitals to a new arena in Alexandria and the huge stadium-anchored entertainmentplex the Washington Commanders are anticipated to seek — not unjustly, since those franchises and facilities indeed represent big business and big dollars.