Business

Many people are familiar with Mt. Vernon’s major landmarks — Mount Vernon Place, the Washington Monument, the Peabody. Some residents know it for the 20th-century gay and arts revivals that nicknamed it Baltimore’s Greenwich Village. But fewer know Read Street and its 19th-century Black history. Read Street has become a vibrant community of Black-owned residences, buildings, and businesses with at least five Black-owned stores opening in the just two years since pandemic lockdowns abated. Many of them take in each other’s mail, clean each other’s garbage, collaborate on events and, just generally, look out for one another.

The threat to global trade in the Red Sea remains high, even with efforts to protect commercial vessels from attacks by Iranian-backed Houthi militants based in Yemen. Danish shipping giant Maersk’s decision on Tuesday to pause Red Sea and Gulf of Aden transits until further notice underscores the difficulty for the U.S.-led initiative, called Operation Prosperity Guardian. U.S. Navy helicopters, returning fire, sank three of the four Houthi boats that attacked the Maersk Hanzghou over the weekend, the U.S. military said.

It’s the Monday morning before Christmas, and EcoMap Technologies’ new CEO starts the day alone in his new, private office. It can be lonely at the top. But for Sherrod Davis, especially so. He’s filling a role once occupied by Pava LaPere, his professional partner and friend, whose September death sent shock waves throughout Baltimore. This office, this job title, this moment: It was never supposed to be like this.

Bethesda hotel software firm Stayntouch is looking to get into the M&A game. After being acquired twice, it’s now planning to start doing the acquiring. The 14-year-old company cinched $48 million in equity investment in December led by New York technology investor Sixth Street Growth, a firm that has also backed Airbnb Inc. and Spotify. The hefty financing deal will allow Stayntouch to scale much further, CEO Jacob Messina said. Sixth Street Growth’s Michael Bauer is joining Stayntouch’s board as part of the deal.

Silver Spring regenerative medicine company Elutia Inc. (NASDAQ: ELUT) has regained compliance with the Nasdaq after teetering on the edge of a delisting, thanks to a recent uptick in its stock price. The firm, formerly called Aziyo Biologics, was able to maintain its spot on the exchange after its market value climbed to and stayed above $35 million for 10 consecutive trading days, according to a Dec. 27 Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

Blues guitarist and co-owner of The Logo Shack, Michael Tash will headline the newly opened Live at Hub City Vinyl venue in Hagerstown on Jan. 5. Tash, known for his performances with the Bad Influence band, will treat audiences to an evening of blues music. Aside from his role overseeing sales and marketing at The Logo Shack, Tash is an accomplished musician, dedicating more than 100 nights a year to performing.

Mortgage rates have been dropping in recent weeks, but that’s only slightly improving affordability in many Greater Baltimore neighborhoods. Greater Baltimore — defined here as Baltimore City plus Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll, Cecil, Harford and Howard counties — has 11 ZIP codes where it takes at least $200,000 in annual income to afford a median priced home, according to an analysis of data from Zillow Group Inc. and RocketMortgage by The Business Journals.

About the business: History Associates Inc., led by President and CEO Beth Maser and staffed by a team of historians and archivists, works with museums to build exhibits and corporations to create historical retrospectives — in addition to archiving and information management for private sector clients. History Associates isn’t scared of getting involved in sticky situations.

They’re huge. They’re ugly. Big trucks go in and out of them at all hours of the day. They’re also among the biggest employers in some Maryland counties. Their property taxes fund schools and local governments. And they’re the reason why you can push a button and have a TV, diapers or almost any other product delivered to your doorstep within a day.