By Megan Sayles AFRO Business Writer msayles@afro.com FBI agents arrested Dunbar High School football coach Lawrence Smith on Sept. 8. He was taken into custody on federal wire fraud charges pertaining to overtime fraud and filing a false tax return. Smith, who is also a police detective for the Baltimore City Public School Police, allegedly […]
Author Archives: Megan Sayles AFRO Staff Writer
Megan Sayles is a business reporter for The Baltimore Afro-American paper. Before this, Sayles interned with Baltimore Magazine, where she wrote feature stories about the city’s residents, nonprofits and initiatives. Her love of music inspired her to be a writer. At a young age she realized it was not the melody that she was so infatuated with, but the lyrics that made up the song and connected with listeners. Sayles grew up in Pasadena, Maryland, and is a 2021 graduate of the University of Maryland, where for her senior capstone project she reported on how the coronavirus and inequality intersected in Baltimore. She also worked as a staff writer and copy editor for campus publications, including Stories Beneath the Shell and The Black Explosion. Sayles teamed up with a partner to report on how the pandemic had put many more responsibilities on the oldest child in families. The Associated Press and other news organizations picked up her story.
Posted inWashington D.C. News
Annapolis commemorates 60th anniversary of the March on Washington
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, msayles@afro.com Sixty years ago, 500 Annapolis and Anne Arundel County, Md. residents were foot soldiers in the 1963 March on Washington. Activists traveled to the nation’s capital and joined more than 200,000 of their fellow citizens to champion jobs and freedom for African Americans. To commemorate the historical event, […]
Posted inBUSINESS
Meet Maryam Basir, the Black entrepreneur making her own way in the beauty industry
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, msayles@afro.com New York-based actor, Maryam Basir, launched her business, Maryam Beauty, less than a month before SAG-AFTRA went on strike against the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP)—effectively halting her TV and film work. Although Basir said acting was something that found her, she always had aspirations […]
Posted inBUSINESS
DTLR brings ‘Welcome Back’ Tour to several HBCUs in Maryland, D.C. and Delaware
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, msayles@afro.com DTLR, a Maryland-based streetwear and footwear brand, returned to several campuses in D.C., Maryland and Delaware for its “Welcome Back” HBCU Tour on Aug. 23, 25, 29 and 31. The lifestyle brand brought musical acts, photo booths, food trucks and giveaways to students at Howard University (HU), Morgan […]
Posted inWashington D.C. News
D.C. attorney general delivers advisory on restaurant service fees increases
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, msayles@afro.com D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb released a Supplemental Business Advisory underscoring the businesses’ legal responsibility to properly disclose all extra fees at the beginning of the month on Aug. 9. The advisory aims to ensure restaurants know how to abide by D.C.’s Consumer Protection Procedures Act (CPPA), which […]
Posted inBUSINESS
AFRO debuts Digital Billboard Network during Black Business Month
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, msayles@afro.com In honor of National Black Business Month, the AFRO, the oldest Black business in Maryland, welcomed local African American entrepreneurs to the media company’s headquarters in Downtown Baltimore for an exclusive networking reception on Aug. 24. The business owners spanned industries, including construction, financial services, beauty, wellness, food […]
Posted inWashington D.C. News
Students train for careers in public health informatics technology
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, msayles@afro.com The University of the District of Columbia (UDC), in partnership with Howard University (Howard), was chosen alongside nine other universities across the country to boost the public health informatics workforce in 2021. The universities were funded by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), […]
Posted inBaltimore News
Chicago TREND completes purchase of Edmondson Village Shopping Center
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, msayles@afro.com The sale of the Edmondson Village Shopping Center in West Baltimore has been finalized. Mayor Brandon Scott announced the purchase of the shopping center by Chicago TREND, an Illinois-based commercial development company led by Lyneir Richardson, in a statement on Aug. 16 after months of negotiations. The city […]
Posted inBUSINESS
Capital Growth Partners hosts town hall for President Biden’s Internet for All initiative
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, msayles@afro.com Megan Sayles is a Report for America Corps member. Capital Growth Partners, a business advisory firm, assembled broadband providers, information technology (IT) professionals, digital divide consultants and leaders from the National Telecommunications Information Administration (NTIA) to discuss opportunities in President Biden’s Internet for All initiative. In 2021 Congress […]
Posted inAfro Briefs
Capital Growth Partners hosts town hall for President Biden’s Internet for All initiative
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, msayles@afro.com Megan Sayles is a Report for America Corps member. Capital Growth Partners, a business advisory firm, assembled broadband providers, information technology (IT) professionals, digital divide consultants and leaders from the National Telecommunications Information Administration (NTIA) to discuss opportunities in President Biden’s Internet for All initiative. In 2021 Congress […]
Posted inPrince George's County News
T. Rowe Price’s senior manager Tomaneci Waller Day shares five tips for diverse suppliers seeking business
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, msayles@afro.com When global investment manager T. Rowe Price decided it was time to improve the diversity of its supplier network, the firm recruited Tomaneci Waller Day to head supplier diversity and sustainable procurement in 2021. As senior manager, Waller Day was tasked with developing a three-year strategic roadmap to […]
Posted inHBCU
College of Business at Coppin State University set to open Fall 2023
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, msayles@afro.com Coppin State University (CSU) business students will have a new home on campus for the 2023-2024 academic year. In the fall, the university is set to open its new College of Business Building on North Avenue. The building will feature state-of-the-art smart classrooms, a stock ticker tape and […]