Baltimore weekly roundup: Inside 4MLK; local investment pays dividends; Trump’s first 100 days

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We might’ve missed out on another round of federal innovation funds, but you wouldn’t know it from the excitement at the ribbon-cutting for downtown Baltimore’s shiny new biotech center. On the other end of the parkway, the new president’s already making decisions (or talking about making them) with possible deep impacts on local economies.

Read on for Technical.ly’s weekly roundup of top news in the region.

📰 News Incubator: What to know

• President Trump ordered a temporary halt on all new federal leases, permits and loans for offshore and onshore wind development. This has the potential to delay several projects off the coast of Maryland. [Baltimore Banner]

• Nearly 160,000 Marylanders working for the federal government are returning to in-person work following another of Trump’s executive orders. Are you impacted by this? Hit “reply” if you want to chat. [CBS]

• Oriole Park at Camden Yards is introducing a value menu with items that cost $5 or less, including $5 beer. [Baltimore Biz Journal]

• Federal government consultant RELI Group hired Sarah Sanchez as its new vice president of digital services. [RELI Group] 

• Every dollar invested in local county economic development operations in the past three fiscal years has generated an average of $8.81 in state and local tax revenue, per a study from the Maryland Economic Development Association. [MEDA]

• Ahead of Data Privacy Day, catch up on the latest regulations and what they could mean for your company. (Disclaimer, this post is tied to a Technical.ly partner event). [Technical.ly]

• President Trump on Monday rescinded Biden’s executive order focused on regulating artificial intelligence, among about 80 other orders. [Axios/Technical.ly]

🗓️ On the Calendar

• Partner Event: HBCUniverse Summit returns to Morgan State on Feb. 8 for a full day of skill-building workshops, panels with industry leaders, a founder expo, career fair and more. Use the discount code “HBCU50” for half-off tickets. [Details here]

• Partner Event: Learn about AI governance, data privacy and different state regulations on Jan. 28 at an event hosted by Ardent Privacy. [Details here]

• Work alongside developers and engineers at the next Baltimore Code and Coffee on Jan. 25. [Details here]

• Demo robots and support youth STEM enrichment by attending the latest Beer ‘n Bots gathering on Jan. 28. [Details here]

• Link up with a small group of fellow entrepreneurs and investors, all looking for opportunities, at the Big Idea CONNECTpreneur Baltimore Forum on Feb. 6. [Details here]

• Baltimore Climate Tech Meetup hosts lightning talks and a brunch on Feb. 8. [Details here]