Architecture festival opens lottery to tour Domino factory

Good morning Baltimore and happy Thursday.

Ravens wide receiver (and former favorite Giants player of one local newsletter writer) Odell Beckham Jr. has a date for his civil suit against Nike. The Baltimore Sun reports that Beckham's trial will begin in Oregon July 8, 2024, as he seeks $20 million in damages from the company for an alleged breach of contract.

But that's not the biggest sports apparel news today. Just down I-95 in D.C., AARP — famous for its youthful and cutting edge outlook — inked a deal to be the jersey sponsor for D.C. Pickleball Team, the District’s Major League Pickleball franchise. The terms of the deal were not disclosed, but one can only assume it's somewhere in the billions.

Now for the news.

Architecture festival opens lottery for Domino Sugar factory tour

Baltimoreans and sight-seers from far and wide can now enter a lottery for a chance to tour the historic Domino Sugar factory. As part of Doors Open Baltimore, a citywide architecture festival organized by the Baltimore Architecture Foundation, lucky lottery winners will get a guided tour of the refinery Wednesday, Oct. 4 at 5 p.m., according to an announcement from the group. From personal experience, some things to avoid if you are selected: insulting the zany factory owner (he wears a purple overcoat and a top hat), eating the products without asking (at risk of ballooning into a human-sized berry) and drinking from the chocolate river. Oh, and keep an eye on your grandpa if he hasn't been out of bed in a while.

Why this Greater Baltimore bank is doubling down on CRE lending

A Hunt Valley bank that sat out the commercial real estate lending boom during the pandemic is now using its high levels of capital to give out loans during a time when most institutions are pulling back, BBJ's bank whisperer Garrett Dvorkin writes. Eastern Savings Bank nearly tripled its commercial real estate lending portfolio this past year, according to Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. data. How is Eastern Savings taking advantage as distressed CRE loans are driving other lenders out of the space? Read on for details of the bank's unorthodox plunge.

Baltimore region's largest bank raises U.S. minimum wage

Bank of America Corp. will boost its minimum hourly wage to $23 this fall, another step in the company's ongoing plan to reach a minimum wage of $25 per hour by 2025, Charlotte Business Journal's Symone Graham reports. The bank is Greater Baltimore's largest by deposits, with nearly 30% market share as of June 2022. The wage hike will take effect in October and will increase the minimum salary of full-time employees to nearly $48,000 a year — up from about $45,000 a year ago. Read more on the bank's pay plans.

Maryland gains 12K jobs in August, largest addition since July 2022

Maryland added 12,400 jobs in August, the Maryland Department of Labor announced this week. The jump, the largest since last summer, is the seventh straight month of record-low unemployment for the state, pushing the unemployment rate down to 1.7%. According to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, that makes Maryland the third-fastest growing state. The sectors that added the most jobs were professional and business services (6,300), and the public sector (2,400). Trade, transportation and utilities lost the most (500).?

Locust Point cafe owner to open Italian market at Cross Keys

An Italian marketplace will join the lineup of new eateries opening in the Village of Cross Keys as the retail center's comeback continues, our Morgan Simpson reports. The owner of Locust Point's Amber Cafe has signed a lease to open ZaVino Italian Marketplace at Cross Keys next year, Caves Valley Partners, the center's developer, announced on Wednesday. The around 3,800-square-foot space is under construction and plans to open in the spring. This is a big deal for the BBJ's famous "Italian Three" caucus, folks. More on the marketplace here.

WBAL-TV shuffles morning anchor lineup

Channel 11 will have a new morning look starting next week. Megan Rivers, the station's breaking news anchor on 11 News Today will join anchor Lacee Griffith at the desk as a co-anchor on the 4:30 a.m. - 7 a.m. show, the station announced Wednesday. Morning anchor Jason Newton will move to the evening slot on 11 News at 5:00 p.m. as co-anchor. The shuffling is likely to change morning routines of TV news watchers across the market, but for us cable-less youngsters, the only thing that could throw off my routine is Dunkin Donuts running out of its pumpkin spice flavoring.

Stem cell commission awards $4M in grants for treatment, tech research

Twelve scientists at Maryland-based research organizations will receive a combined $4 million in grants, the Maryland Stem Cell Research Commission, an arm of the Maryland Technology Development Corp. (TEDCO), announced Wednesday. Researchers and scientists at Johns Hopkins, the University System of Maryland and early-stage biotech companies will use the grants to create treatments for "a diverse range of illnesses including those involving the liver, eyes, blood, bones, heart, nervous system, autoimmune system, and cancer," according to the announcement. The grants will support research and products at various stages of development and approval.

Maryland Zoo unveils new fall events

Lest we forget about the animal kingdom (of which we homo sapiens are also members of), the Maryland Zoo has announced its fall lineup with returning favorites and new bashes. In addition to familiar events like OktoBEAR Fest and Zoo BOO!, the zoo is debuting Girls' Night In (limited to ages 21+) and Wild Workshop. According to the announcement, Girls' Night In includes "unlimited cocktails" and a dance party. Sadly, I won't be admitted into that one. I'll likely take advantage of the "unlimited sampling" of craft beers and dominate the trivia portion of OktoBEAR Fest.

This newsletter was written by Joe Ilardi, digital producer for the Baltimore Business Journal. I can be reached at [email protected].