Baltimore Checkbook

St. John Properties may have interest in buying...

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St. John Properties may be interested in buying 45 acres of prime real estate in White Marsh designated for a 100-store outlet mall should plans for the project fall through, an executive with the development company said Wednesday. The Baltimore Sun reported on Wednesday that New York-based Lightstone Group, parent company of Paragon Outlet Partners LLC, was considering selling the White Marsh property after it had received “several unsolicited inquiries.” Rick Williamson, a senior vice president…

Larry Hogan appoints small business ombudsman for...

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Gov. Larry Hogan has appointed businessman Randall K. Nixon as Maryland’s small business ombudsman. Nixon fills the vacancy created by Roger Campos, who became assistant secretary in the Department of Housing and Community Development. As business ombudsman, Nixon will likely play a part in Hogan’s efforts to improve the business climate in Maryland. Nixon will be responsible for resolving problems encountered by businesses interacting with state agencies and making sure they are responsive to…

Mark Zuckerberg takes the stand in Rockville...

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Mark Zuckerberg faced a barrage of questions Tuesday about the ties of Facebook’s virtual reality wing to technology built by an affiliate of a Rockville-based company. The Facebook CEO took the stand in a downtown Dallas courtroom during the second week of a trial about the origins of Oculus, the virtual reality company Facebook bought for $2 billion. The case pits Rockville-based ZeniMax Media Inc., which owns the Richardson, Texas-based gaming company id Software, versus Oculus, its CEO Brendan…

Under Armour signs top NFL prospect Leonard...

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Under Armour Inc. has signed multi-year endorsement deal with Louisiana State University star running back Leonard Fournette, a projected top 10 draft pick in April’s 2017 NFL Draft. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The signing comes ahead of the NFL’s Scouting Combine, scheduled to begin on Feb. 28. Baltimore-based Under Armour is the official apparel supplier for the combine. Fournette was an Under Armour All-American when he came out of high school. Fournette, a junior at LSU, declared…

Baltimore draws 300 applications for vacant...

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More than 300 people have applied to be Baltimore’s next housing commissioner — and Mayor Catherine Pugh is prepared to start thumbing through all of them. Pugh said at her weekly press conference Wednesday she and her chief of staff, Tisha Edwards, will start reviewing the first 90 applicants for the position Thursday. She will continue to look at all applicants to narrow down the list to a few candidates who will interview for the position. “I’m hoping we can get the right person,” Pugh said. Anthony…

Tydings and Rosenberg close to inking lease at 1...

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Tydings and Rosenberg LLP is nearing a deal to move its offices across the street to 1 E. Pratt St. Tydings will take about 19,000 square feet on the ninth floor of the Inner Harbor building. Tydings is downsizing from its current space at 100 E. Pratt St. where it occupies 33,300 square feet across the top three floors of the trophy waterfront tower. Tydings has been in the space since 1991. The move will allow the law firm to have all of its attorneys on one floor and improve its culture, said…

Evergreen finalizes deal with investors, leaves...

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Evergreen Health Cooperative announced late Monday it has finalized a deal with a group of investors, a move the insurer said is vital for its future. Under the deal, the company will be renamed Evergreen Health Inc. The company decided to bring on investors and become a for-profit business in October last year, after experiencing extreme financial stress as a health cooperative — one of the last co-ops still operating in the country. Evergreen has not named the investors. Evergreen CEO Peter…

8 things you need to know this morning

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Happy Wednesday! Expect partly cloudy skies with unseasonably warm temperatures around the mid-50s. Here are eight things to know this morning. • Reed Cordish, an executive at Baltimore development firm Cordish Cos. and a longtime friend of the Trump family, is joining President-elect Donald Trump’s administration as assistant to the president for intragovernmental and technology initiatives. [Baltimore Sun] • Former Ravens President David Modell was laid to rest on Tuesday at a ceremony at…

See where Mayor Catherine Pugh ranks among her...

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A career in city government is rarely a road to riches, what with the perpetual budget challenges and ethics constraints that go hand-in-hand with public service. That said, some cities are more generous than others — and Mayor Catherine Pugh happens to be in one of those cities. An American City Business Journal analysis of mayoral salaries in 60 major U.S. cities has highlighted a wide disparity in pay in public office, particularly for the men and women elected to run City Hall. ACBJ’s research…

Here's why Wells Fargo thinks it has paid its...

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Wells Fargo Corp. believes the bank has reimbursed the customers it is required to repay under at least one of three settlements related to its fake-accounts scandal, so far making $3.2 million of refunds under an agreement reached with the Los Angeles City Attorney. The San Francisco-based bank made the comments during a call with analysts last week, after releasing its earnings results early Friday. In that call, Wells Fargo executives said they were satisfied with the customer remediation so…