Magic Johnson joins local bid to buy Commanders; Hampden ale house closes

Good morning Baltimore!

Temperatures are going to peak at just over 60 degrees today. It should be a gorgeous, sunny spring day.

Now, for today's top headlines.

Magic Johnson joins Josh Harris-led bid to buy Washington Commanders

Basketball legend-turned-entrepreneur Earvin "Magic" Johnson has joined a bid from billionaire investor and Maryland native Josh Harris to acquire the Washington Commanders, according to multiple news reports and our sister paper the Washington Business Journal . Forbes estimates the franchise, which Dan Snyder paid $750 million for in 1999, is worth $5.6 billion today. Snyder and his wife Tanya have been under pressure to sell the Washington Commanders amid investigations into ownership's business practices and allegations of sexual misconduct among team personnel and Dan Snyder himself.

Morgan State nabs state funding for new research centers

Morgan State University will get an additional $6.8 million in state funding to support the launch of two new research centers. The funding comes from Gov. Wes Moore's FY24 budget, the Baltimore HBCU announced late last week. About $3.1 million will go toward the school's Center for Research and Education in Microelectronics, which will focus on the design and fabrication of semiconductors, and about $3.7 million will go to Morgan State University 's National Center for the Elimination of Educational Disparities. The university will now operate nine state-funded research centers, five of which were launched over the past five years.

Maryland hospital, radiology practice to pay more than $2 million to resolve allegations

Lanham-based Luminis Health Doctors Community Medical Center Inc., and Diagnostic Imaging Associates LLC (DIA) will pay the U.S. over $2 million to resolve allegations the companies violated the federal False Claims Act. According to a release from the Department of Justice, the settlement agreement says essentially that DIA was billing Medicare and Medicaid for its services, as well as those rendered by the Luminis center's outpatient cancer screening facility, and then paying the center a portion of the reimbursed fee from Medicare/Medicaid. The release says the Center was not enrolled in Medicare/Medicaid at that time, so it did not have a billing number and was not eligible for reimbursement from those programs.

Hampden ale house closes for good

A Hampden favorite had its last day in business this weekend, the Baltimore Sun reports. Five & Dime Ale House has closed, the restaurant posted on social media Sunday evening after closing time. The restaurant opened in 2016 in the reimagined former G.C. Murphy five-and-dime shop and was owned by the 206 Restaurant Group, the 10th largest restaurant group in the area, which also owns Pratt Street Ale House, JB's and Park Tavern and Donnelly's Dockside and the Ale House Columbia. Five & Dime was a classic favorite of mine — shout out to their pickle fries!

Baltimore cracks national ranking of best cities for sports business

What would you say is the top city for sports business? Boston? Los Angeles? The answer, at least according to the Sports Business Journal, is Dallas. The Texas metro led the pack thanks to its world-class venues, progressive team owners and a lower cost of living than most of its peers. So where does Baltimore fall in all this? No. 40 out of 50, thanks to its strong lacrosse presence, sponsorship companies and two professional sports teams. Recently-added events like the CIAA Tournament and the Maryland Cycling Classic have helped the city raise its sports business reputation.

VC projections sink to lowest levels in years

As the first quarter of the year comes to a close, CB Insights projects venture capitalists worldwide will invest about $56.3 billion across 5,792 deals this period. That would mark the lowest quarterly funding amount in nearly six years and the fewest number of deals in a quarter since the end of 2016. It would also be the venture industry's fifth-straight quarter of declining investment amounts and its fourth-straight drop in deals, Bay Area Inno reports.

These metros have the highest tech salary growth

Despite the current venture capital and startup industry troubles, some U.S. cities have become hubs for high-paying tech jobs. Unfortunately, Baltimore isn't one of them. In fact, Baltimore-Washington, D.C. was one of the metros that saw salaries decline between 2021 and 2022. But the top 10 list does show how shifting migration patterns and the rise of entrepreneurial ecosystems outside of legacy markets are changing the tech sector. Who knows, Baltimore could land on this list in a few years. So who's currently leading the way for tech salary growth? Phoenix, Arizona, Tampa, Florida and Columbus, Ohio, to name a few.

Famous rock band buys area record-pressing company

Rock legends Metallica have purchased a majority interest in Northern Virginia's Furnace Record Pressing. The acquisition formalizes a long-standing relationship between the company and the band, Washington Business Journal reports. Furnace Record Pressing said it has produced more than 5 million pieces of Metallica vinyl since 2014. The company's founder said in a Facebook post that while ownership is changing, everything else will remain the same.

This newsletter was written by Carley Milligan, Digital Editor at the Baltimore Business Journal. I can be reached at [email protected].?