Business

A coalition of consumer advocates wants Maryland utility regulators to do away with a method of setting rates used by Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. that covers multiple years, saying the process has led to excessive rate hikes. So-called “multiyear rate plans” have been allowed since 2020 through a pilot program.

Cats are often said to have nine lives. Ruth Wang and Brendan Morrison may not have lived quite that many, but they decided to open a cat cafe together after wandering several other paths. Wang studied physical therapy before becoming a barista and then pursuing a career as an artist. Morrison spent a decade as a martial arts performer and YouTube personality before working in car sales.

Clark Construction has been selected to complete the first stage of construction services for the rebuild of Pimlico Race Course, putting the company in the driver’s seat for the state-backed building project. Following stop-and-start-efforts in recent years to renovate the dilapidated racetrack, the state has now budgeted $400 million in bonds to fund a two-part project: Pimlico will be rebuilt using at least $250 million, and a horse racing training facility will be constructed elsewhere in the state using at least $110 million.

Dockworkers in Baltimore and along the East Coast began walking picket lines Tuesday in a strike over wages and job automation that has nervous businesses and consumers hoping for a quick resolution. For the Port of Baltimore, the anxiety is particularly acute. The strike comes as the port was working to recapture shipping business it had lost during the 11 weeks the facility was mostly closed because of a catastrophic bridge collapse.

The Baltimore Business Journal has unveiled its 2024 class of 40 Under 40 honorees, spotlighting the very best of the next generation of local business leaders. This year’s honorees were chosen from nearly 300 nominations by the BBJ’s editorial staff and come from a variety of industries, from real estate and law to hospitality and cannabis.

Lonza, a healthcare manufacturing company headquartered in Switzerland, said it plans to expand its endotoxin assay production operation in Walkersville. An endotoxin assay is a laboratory test that can be used to detect the presence of contaminants like E. coli and salmonella in injectable vaccines, medical devices and other pharmaceutical products.

The International Longshoremen’s Association and its 45,000 members from Maine to Texas went on strike Tuesday after a last-minute exchange of contract offers with the U.S. Maritime Association failed to produce a contract agreement. The strike shuts down operations at the Port of Baltimore just months after federal and state agencies managed to reopen the facility that had been closed by the March 26 collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge into the Patapsco River, blocking shipping channels in and out of marine terminals there.

Striking longshoremen in Baltimore are likely to continue handling cruise ships and vessels with military cargo, according to William Doyle, the former director of the Port of Baltimore. Doyle, now the CEO of Dredging Contractors of America, says he has been in contact with local leaders on both sides of the labor dispute.