THE MOVE REPORT: News for Maryland business leaders

Maryland Business

• Baltimore takes a $275,000 equity stake in Hampden's Baltimore Watch CompanyThe Baltimore Development Corporation bought into the local watchmaker and its leader called it the first of many such investments, a new option for city firms.
  The Baltimore Banner
• Prince George's approves up to $215M in bonds for $1.4B SphereThe council voted 8-0 to back the National Harbor venue with bonds the company repays, after weeks of disputes over labor terms.
  Maryland Matters
• Maryland's Manning Media buys three Pennsylvania radio stationsThe deal gives the group eight stations reaching Hagerstown, Frederick, Chambersburg and Martinsburg, with no job cuts planned.
  Hagerstown Herald-Mail
• Old Sunset Restaurant site in Glen Burnie to become kitchen for 50 food startupsA $2.125 million purchase will turn the building into a shared commercial kitchen where food trucks, caterers and new brands can grow for up to three years.
  WBAL NewsRadio
• 52 businesses wait for a spot in Charles County's LaunchPad programCharles County commissioners asked for costs to run a second entrepreneur training cohort after the first graduated eight firms and left 52 on a waitlist.
  TheBayNet
• Baltimore visitors spent $4.3 billion, up 32.6% since 2019Visit Baltimore's annual report counts $4.3 billion in visitor spending and 123,000 regional tourism jobs, nearly half of Maryland's hospitality workforce.
  AFRO News
• Hopkins loses $500M in federal research, urges Maryland to diversifyHopkins lost $500 million in federal research funding last year, and its president says Maryland must turn more lab work into local startups and jobs.
  citybiz

Policy and Taxes

• Judge refuses to halt Frederick's data center pause; hearing Nov. 10A judge denied a developer's emergency bid to block Frederick County's pause on new data center applications, which runs to July 2027; a hearing is set Nov. 10.
  The Frederick News-Post
• Prince George's bans tobacco sales at small convenience storesStand-alone stores under 5,000 square feet that sell no gas or alcohol lose tobacco sales; owners warned it could close them.
  WTOP
• Montgomery becomes first Maryland county to ban algorithmic rent-settingThe council unanimously passed Bill 8-26, barring landlords from rent software that draws on competitors' nonpublic data.
  Conduit Street (MACo)
• Maryland opens $200M grant auction for new solar and battery powerDevelopers can now apply for state grants awarded to projects that deliver the most power per dollar, a medium-term bid to ease Maryland electric costs.
  Maryland Matters
• BGE customers push back on $156M rate hike at first PSC hearingIf approved, the increase adds about $8 a month to average electric bills, separate from a $9 Baltimore conduit surcharge planned for the new year.
  WJZ
• Anne Arundel opens $150,000 security grants for churches and nonprofitsA new county pilot helps houses of worship, faith groups and nonprofits pay for security upgrades and protective services out of the FY2027 budget.
  Eye On Annapolis
• Calvert moves to ban data centers in every zoning districtCalvert's planning commission sent a permanent countywide data center ban to public hearing, turning a six-month pause into a prohibition after Amazon dropped its Lusby plans.
  Southern Maryland Chronicle

Workforce and Talent

• U.S. sues Google for sidelining an Army reservist after military leaveIn a rare USERRA suit, federal prosecutors say Google kept a returning reservist's pay and title but stripped his accounts, a reminder that comparable duties count too.
  CNA
• Hundreds of Anne Arundel layoffs ahead, led by Amentum's 382 jobsState notices list cuts through January at Amentum in Hanover, Peraton at Fort Meade, J. Alexander's and Crosby Marketing, freeing experienced workers locally.
  Patch
• Microsoft offers buyouts to 60,000 workers as AI costs climbAbout 27% of Microsoft staff can take a voluntary exit by Dec. 31, a sign of how AI spending is reshaping big-company workforces.
  CNBC
• Southern Maryland must refill 8,882 defense jobs as workers retireA Towson study for three Southern Maryland counties and the Navy finds retirements, not growth, will drive defense hiring through 2035, with cleared talent and housing in short supply.
  Southern Maryland Chronicle
• Maryland awards $4.7M in EARN grants to train 1,700 workersState grants fund employer-led training in cyber, skilled trades and health care, placing nearly 600 people in jobs and upskilling about 1,000 current workers.
  47abc (WMDT)
• Maryland lost 13,900 jobs in a year, third-worst rate in U.S.Federal data show Maryland shed 0.5% of its jobs in the year through September, the third-steepest percentage drop nationally as federal cuts weigh on the region.
  citybiz
• Prince George's projects 13,000 trade jobs from $10B building boomCounty workforce leaders expect nearly 13,000 construction and skilled trade openings through 2030 as Sphere, the former Six Flags site and other projects advance.
  The Baltimore Banner

Leadership

• Research ties owner loneliness to health and performance; peers helpA review of 163 studies found running a company leaves owners prone to loneliness that can hurt health and performance; networking and mentoring help.
  US Chamber CO
• Study: trust between teams beats compliance for cyber securityResearchers found strong working relationships between business units tracked with better security outcomes far more than training and policy compliance did.
  Harvard Business Review
• Jerry Colonna: empathy means having the hard talk kindlyAn executive coach argues that avoiding tough feedback or hiding hard staffing news is not kindness, and that honest, caring talks serve teams better.
  Inc.
• 90% of CEOs think staff trust them; only 46% of employees doNew BCG data shows a wide gap between how much CEOs believe they are trusted and how employees feel, with daily leader habits as the fix.
  Fortune
• Hopkins worker puts 3,182 patients' data into unapproved AI toolOne Bayview employee's spreadsheet upload to an outside AI tool exposed patient records, a warning for any company without clear rules on approved AI tools.
  WMAR 2 News
• Founding Farmers co-owner: fuel at 2.5 times budget, but no couponsDan Simons says diesel costs are running far over budget across his nine restaurants, yet he is competing on scratch cooking and value rather than discounts.
  WTOP
• 73% of small firms spend $100 a month or less on AIA Goldman Sachs survey of 2,474 small business owners found 86% use AI, mostly for notes, email and marketing copy, while spending little on it.
  Axios

Money and Markets

• Richmond Fed: only 52% of small firms got full loan approval in 2025The Fed bank covering Maryland finds small firms less optimistic than large ones, squeezed by floating rate loans and tighter lending, and leaning on personal funds.
  Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond
• Employer health costs projected to rise 9.5% in 2027, topping $19,000 per workerAon projects a fourth straight year of near double-digit increases, and workers already pay about $5,300 a year, so plan design matters this enrollment season.
  USA Today
• Fed holds rates at 3.75% to 4%; two voters wanted a hikeThe Fed left its benchmark rate unchanged and called inflation elevated, with two officials favoring a hike, so loan and credit line costs hold for now.
  CNBC
• Consumer confidence rebounds to 91.7 as gas prices easeThe Conference Board index rose 7.5 points from September, its lowest reading since 2014, though shoppers remain uneasy after years of high prices.
  AP
• Bill restoring $7.5M small-business bankruptcy limit awaits signatureRaising the Subchapter V debt ceiling from $2.7 million brings back a quicker, cheaper restructuring option for struggling small companies.
  Inc.
• Appeals court voids Fed's 21-cent debit swipe fee capThe Eighth Circuit ordered the Fed to rewrite its debit interchange rule using narrower bank costs, a win for merchants seeking lower card fees.
  Payments Dive
• Some Canadian plywood, crates and machinery freed from 50% tariffs Oct. 30The White House is lifting 50% tariffs on some Canadian goods, including plywood, packing crates and some machinery, starting Oct. 30.
  PBS News

Dates to watch

• Oct 30Some Canada tariff exemptions take effect
  PBS News
• Nov 1Worker Freedom Act notice must be posted
  The National Law Review
• Nov 10Frederick data center pause: court hearing
  The Frederick News-Post
• Nov 15FAMLI private-plan declaration due
  Southern Maryland Chronicle
• Jan 1FAMLI payroll contributions begin
  Southern Maryland Chronicle

Faith and Work

• Churches with shrinking congregations find second lives for their buildingsWith up to 100,000 church buildings projected to be sold or converted by 2030, congregations are repurposing space for child care, arts and community use.
  Christianity Today
• Developer's church life shaped his startup building row homes for familiesBobby Fijan, whose city church kept his young family rooted, cofounded American Housing Corporation to factory-build affordable row homes designed for families.
  Christianity Today
• Catholic AI founder urges business leaders to weigh workers' goodLongbeard CEO Matthew Harvey Sanders told Legatus members AI will reshape work and urged balancing new technology with the common good of workers.
  Detroit Catholic
• AI labs turn to faith leaders to teach chatbots right from wrongAP reports AI companies are seeking input from religious leaders on model ethics, while scholars question what the firms think religion offers.
  WTOP
• Lifeway: 54% of pastors say the economy is hurting their churchLifeway's annual survey finds most Protestant pastors see the economy straining congregations, with median church giving flat in 2026 while inflation runs 3.7%.
  Baptist Press
• Christian CEO calls God her company's chairmanEthical Apparel Africa CEO Keren Pybus reinvests margins, grows local leaders and keeps daily devotionals voluntary, one of several values-first leaders profiled.
  Deseret News
• Founder credits parish small group for his startupEntravia founder Kasey Devine, winner of a pitch contest run by Virginia-based Catholic founders group SENT, says his parish group and prayer shaped his company.
  National Catholic Register

Mission Driven

• SMECO employees raise $65,000 for Southern Maryland families in needWorkers at the electric co-op raised the gift for the tri-county community action agency, which helps about 27,000 households with heating bills, food and job training.
  TheBayNet
• Drugstore chain's 4,775 employee-owners share in its growthKinney Drugs workers earn company stock after 1,000 hours without buying shares, and its CEO credits ownership for growth and long tenures.
  Syracuse.com
• Hanover pharmacy supplier builds a team that includes workers with disabilitiesCorrect Rx Pharmacy Services hires through local programs like Fello, whose support staff help new workers train, and praises its custodian's reliability.
  WBAL-TV 11
• Family firm with no layoffs in 75 years draws 200 executive teamsSt. Louis manufacturer Gund Co. grew to 1,300 workers without a layoff by staffing lean, posting results on plant walls and widening employee ownership.
  The Independent
• Hampden co-op lets vendors keep all their profitsThree Baltimore owners are opening a shared shop that rents space to vendors with no commission and hopes to offer work to adults with disabilities.
  WMAR 2 News
• Family farm and food bank launch a nonprofit farmHavre de Grace's Kent Meadows Farm and the Harford County Food Bank formed a joint nonprofit farm to grow fresh food for neighbors facing hunger.
  Baltimore Business Journal
• Pappas Seafood sold to Teamshares; staff to gain ownershipNew York firm Teamshares bought the Baltimore crab cake maker, giving staff a 10% stake at once with a goal of up to 80% employee ownership over time.
  NottinghamMD.com

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