Development, tourism and law reporter

Lorraine Mirabella

Lorraine Mirabella is a business reporter for The Baltimore Sun. She writes about retail, consumer affairs, workplace issues and other financial news. She joined the business staff in 1992 and has covered real estate, energy, manufacturing, business trends and companies such as Under Armour and McCormick & Co. She is a Towson University graduate.

Energy bills could rise next summer in Maryland, but maybe not for BGE customers

July 27, 2025 at 5:00 a.m.

Consumers in Maryland and a dozen other states could be hit with up to 5% higher electricity costs next summer, but customers in Baltimore Gas and Electric Co.'s footprint just...

Bill Martin roasts coffee at his warehouse in Curtis Bay. Martin owns Mad City Coffee in Columbia, a shop that could be affected by proposed tariffs on imported beans. (Nia Meyers/Staff)

Baltimore-area coffee shops: Forces combine to drive up cost of java

July 23, 2025 at 8:18 p.m.

"Prices have gone up incredibly," said one cafe manager. "We have to decide how much of that we want to absorb or pass on. It's a tricky balance."

A member of the Baltimore City Fire Department is silhouetted against emergency lights in the 300 block of Charles Street, which is mostly without power following an underground fire Jan. 26, 2024. (Staff file)

Baltimore facing unknown cost of repairing aging underground infrastructure

July 22, 2025 at 5:59 p.m.

The city's conduit system covers a network of about 700 miles of utility line. Outside that system, steam pipes and water mains wend their way underground. And fires have been...

T. Rowe Price opened its new, 2,000-employee global headquarters Monday in Harbor Point. (Lorraine Mirabella/Staff)

Baltimore-based T. Rowe Price lays off undisclosed number of employees

July 17, 2025 at 3:31 p.m.

The company opened a new 2,000-employee headquarters in March in Harbor Point, after moving from its prominent downtown office tower of five decades.

A home that was sold at Holly Farms in Parkville. In Baltimore County in June, sales declined more than 8% but prices rose more than 9%. (Karl Merton Ferron/Staff)

Maryland home sales slowed in June but prices are rising

July 16, 2025 at 4:45 p.m.

In the Baltimore region, including the city and five surrounding counties, average home prices increased everywhere but in Howard County, where they dipped slightly to an average $710,770.

Alko Distributors is closing its stores and items are being auctioned off at CapitalOnlineAuctions.com. Bidding opened Monday.
(Dreamstime/TNS)

Baltimore uniform retailer closing after 50 years, auctioning scrubs and lab coats

July 15, 2025 at 8:24 p.m.

Alko Distributors, a Baltimore-based discount uniform retailer, is closing its last stores in Maryland and Virginia after 50 years.

Calvert Cliffs Clean Energy Center Director of Operations John Phillippi explains the Unit 2 steam turbine behind him. A tour of the Calvert Cliffs Clean Energy Center nuclear power plant in Lusby, Maryland. (Paul W. Gillespie/Staff)

From ‘No Nukes’ to Nuclear Now: The progressive energy flip

July 18, 2025 at 6:21 p.m.

"It was just complete insanity and stupidity to try to close a large, reliable source of clean energy," said Gardner, who called out anti-nuclear activists holding "30-year-old gripes" stemming from...

CVS will shutter Baltimore store as part of new round of 2025 closures

July 3, 2025 at 4:07 p.m.

CVS plans to shutter a Northeast Baltimore site on July 9, adding to drugstore closures in the region as national chains look to shrink their footprints. The retailer will close...

The Baltimore Peninsula development in South Baltimore is seen at sunrise. (File/Staff)

UMD will relocate business school satellite campus to Baltimore Peninsula

July 3, 2025 at 5:28 p.m.

The University of Maryland plans to relocate a satellite campus for its Robert H. Smith School of Business to Baltimore Peninsula, the mixed-use project's developer said Wednesday.

Power lines near BGE Westminster Substation, Carroll Street. BGE operates a network of power substations to convert and distribute electricity. (Jeffrey F. Bill/Staff)

BGE fund offers income-qualified consumers relief on energy bills

July 1, 2025 at 2:02 p.m.

Low-and middle-income Baltimore Gas and Electric customers can get a break from high energy bills this summer through a relief fund that opened Tuesday with grants ranging from $250 to...

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