Baltimore weekly roundup: Meet American Girl’s doll of the year; $100M for fiber expansion; Conscious Venture Lab’s 13th cohort

Summer’s here, and she’s an entrepreneur from Columbia.

A local educator and entrepreneur helped develop the backstory for Summer McKinny, American Girl’s 2025 doll of the year. Janear Garrus reviewed manuscripts and gave feedback to bring McKinny, who runs a dogwalking business and attends a business fair like the local ones Garrus organizes for children, to life.

Plus, thanks to support from the American Press Institute, Technical.ly’s looking to partner with local influencers and social media creators. Do you fit the bill? Let us know.

Scroll down for more news from throughout the Baltimore region

📰 News Incubator: What to know

• Conscious Venture Lab hosted a demo day for its 13th cohort this week. Get to know the founders by joining our community Slack and checking out the #baltimore channel. [Technical.ly]

• New York internet company Greenlight Networks is investing $100 million to expand fiber optic internet in Baltimore. The firm expects to give services to as many as 50,000 households in its first year of operation. [Baltimore Biz Journal]

• AI is changing the software developer workforce, and observers are split on whether there will be more or fewer jobs in the field a year from now. [Technical.ly]

• Chris Haug, founder of StartUp Grind in Maryland, died at the end of May. He was also an adjunct faculty member at UMBC and an entrepreneur in residence at bwtech@UMBC. People who knew him remember his enthusiasm and care. [bwtech@UMBC/LinkedIn]

• Maryland is joining more lawsuits against the Trump administration, including filing a friend-of-the-court brief against a plan to cut the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise program. This program exists to ensure nondiscrimination in awarding government contracts. [Maryland Matters]

• Baltimore City Recreation & Parks and the Enoch Pratt Free Library opened a digital learning lab at the Rita Church Community Center. [BCRP]

• Maryland had rules in place to ban combustion engines from new car dealership lots in the next decade, but Trump blocked them. The future for EVs in the state remains unclear. [Baltimore Banner]

• Gov. Wes Moore is instating a hiring freeze and cutting vacant positions, citing a “historic fiscal challenge” to the state. [CBS]

• Richie Huffman, founder of the early childhood education firm Celebree, is an EY Mid-Atlantic entrepreneur of the year. [EY]

🗓️ On the Calendar

• Baltimore Climate Tech Meetup will have its next networking event on June 26. [Details here]

• Baltimore Tech Meetup is hosting its next convening on June 26. [Details here]

• Local tech orgs come together for a cookout on June 28 at Wonderground Park. [Details here]

• Partner event: On July 16, Baltimore Climate Tech Meetup reconvenes again to celebrate its second anniversary at Union Craft Brewing. [Details here]