Baltimore weekly roundup: The ‘tech tax,' explained; cannabis incubator moves; use AI without losing your soul
Scroll down for more news from throughout the Baltimore region
📰 News Incubator: What to know
• Members of various meetups and tech scene builders came together last weekend for the first Tech Unity Cookout. [ Code Collective ]
• Starting next week, Technical.ly will be getting another reporter in Maryland. Maria Eberhart is a Report for America corps member and Baltimore County native who will focus on digital equity issues throughout the state. [ Technical.ly ]
• Students in Johns Hopkins University's mechanical engineering program spent the last school year creating a machine that adds braille text into a mix of materials, from can labels to glossy mailers. Corresponding software links the machine with a braille word processor and Photoshop. [ Johns Hopkins ]
• Gov. Wes Moore announced that the state will search for another site to house a novel incubator for over 100 cannabis businesses. Maryland has already committed $7 million to the project and members of the community surrounding the previously identified Catonsville site worried about its local impact. [ Governor's Office / Baltimore Banner ]
• A satellite campus for the University of Maryland's business school will move from the UM BioPark (which is, transparently, a Technical.ly client) to a site in Baltimore Peninsula. Principals behind the development, formerly known as Port Covington, have made many overtures to local businesses. [ Baltimore Biz Journal / Technical.ly ]
• State Delegate Marlon Amprey confirmed that an outside investigator concluded its evaluation of workplace misconduct complaints against Chad Williams, the executive director of the West North Avenue Development Authority. Former colleagues accused Williams, who was previously convicted of domestic violence, of actions including stalking and sexual harassment. [ Baltimore Beat ]
• Finding the right cofounder takes communication, vision alignment and letting the other person channel their strengths. [ Technical.ly ]
• Maryland joined two more lawsuits halting federal actions, including one to prevent the Department of Health and Human Services from giving Homeland Security 'unfettered access' to Medicaid beneficiaries' personal health data. [ Maryland Matters ]
• Baltimore Children and Youth Fund launched an online education platform last month where those interested in grassroots youth-focused work can learn relevant skills. [ BCYF / WMAR ]
🗓️ On the Calendar
• Impact Hub Baltimore hosts a grief- and hope-focused workshop on July 8 for people dealing with federal changes. [ Details here ]
• Legal and HR experts will help entrepreneurs understand when and how to seek out the right providers during a workshop on July 17. [ Details here ]
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Baltimore weekly roundup: The ‘tech tax,' explained; cannabis incubator moves; use AI without losing your soul
This week marks the start of Maryland's new 3% tax on certain tech services, and our guide breaks down everything you need to know about it. Plus, learn about the principles that can help you bring humanness into your AI use. Scroll down for more news from throughout the Baltimore region 📰 News Incubator: What to know • Members of various meetups and tech scene builders came together last weekend for the first Tech Unity Cookout. [ Code Collective ] • Starting next week, will be getting another reporter in Maryland. Maria Eberhart is a Report for America corps member and Baltimore County native who will focus on digital equity issues throughout the state. [ ] • Students in Johns Hopkins University's mechanical engineering program spent the last school year creating a machine that adds braille text into a mix of materials, from can labels to glossy mailers. Corresponding software links the machine with a braille word processor and Photoshop. [ Johns Hopkins ] • Gov. Wes Moore announced that the state will search for another site to house a novel incubator for over 100 cannabis businesses. Maryland has already committed $7 million to the project and members of the community surrounding the previously identified Catonsville site worried about its local impact. [ Governor's Office / Baltimore Banner ] • A satellite campus for the University of Maryland's business school will move from the UM BioPark (which is, transparently, a client) to a site in Baltimore Peninsula. Principals behind the development, formerly known as Port Covington, have made many overtures to local businesses. [ Baltimore Biz Journal / ] • State Delegate Marlon Amprey confirmed that an outside investigator concluded its evaluation of workplace misconduct complaints against Chad Williams, the executive director of the West North Avenue Development Authority. Former colleagues accused Williams, who was previously convicted of domestic violence, of actions including stalking and sexual harassment. [ Baltimore Beat ] • Finding the right cofounder takes communication, vision alignment and letting the other person channel their strengths. [ ] • Maryland joined two more lawsuits halting federal actions, including one to prevent the Department of Health and Human Services from giving Homeland Security 'unfettered access' to Medicaid beneficiaries' personal health data. [ Maryland Matters ] • Baltimore Children and Youth Fund launched an online education platform last month where those interested in grassroots youth-focused work can learn relevant skills. [ BCYF / WMAR ] 🗓️ On the Calendar • Impact Hub Baltimore hosts a grief- and hope-focused workshop on July 8 for people dealing with federal changes. [ Details here ] • Legal and HR experts will help entrepreneurs understand when and how to seek out the right providers during a workshop on July 17. [ Details here ]
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The Supreme Court ruling that helps keep internet affordable in Pennsylvania, explained
A federal fund dedicated to providing affordable phone and internet services will continue as planned after last week's Supreme Court decision. The Supreme Court denied Consumers' Research's challenge to the Federal Communications Commission's Universal Service Fund, allowing the program to continue providing subsidized phone, internet and other communications services to underserved communities nationwide, including in Pennsylvania. The $8 billion Universal Service Fund provides money to subsidize affordable phone and internet programs. As these types of programs continue to get cut, this is a win for the over 300,000 households across Pennsylvania that don't have adequate access to the internet. 'Congress … struck a balance in establishing universal service's metes and bounds — affording the FCC latitude to adapt to technological developments, but insisting that the FCC always look to whether services are essential, affordable and widely used,' Justice Elena Kagan wrote in the court's majority opinion. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) did not respond to a request for comment from While the Universal Service Fund supports multiple programs, the most direct benefit for consumers is the Lifeline program. Lifeline offers a monthly benefit of up to $9.25 toward phone and internet bills for people whose income is at or below 135% of the federal poverty guidelines or who already qualify for programs like SNAP or Medicaid. Most service providers in the United States are required to contribute to the Universal Service Fund, although there are some exceptions, such as government entities and some nonprofit organizations. Consumers can apply for the program and then sign up for telecommunications services through participating providers. This fund is separate from the Pennsylvania Universal Service Fund, which is run by the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission and reduces charges for long-distance calls. PA's ups and downs in securing digital equity funding The commonwealth's lack of internet access, especially in rural parts of the state, has been in the spotlight while the Pennsylvania Broadband Development Authority prepares for an influx of funding to build new broadband infrastructure. The commonwealth is set to receive $1.16 billion through the Broadband, Equity, Access and Deployment program. This money will build broadband infrastructure in unserved and underserved parts of the state. But digital equity initiatives have been under fire recently. The Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), an internet subsidy program, ran out of funding last year, leaving 763,000 households in Pennsylvania with higher internet bills. At the time, Senator John Fetterman introduced a bill that would make the ACP part of an existing program, but there has been no movement on the legislation since then. Earlier this year, the federal government halted funding allocated under the Digital Equity Act, which was going to provide $25 million to Pennsylvania for digital literacy programs, device distribution and internet subsidies, among other initiatives. Benefits for schools, libraries and healthcare The idea of universal service comes from the Communications Act of 1934, which states that all Americans should have access to communications services. Congress delegated operations of the Universal Service Fund to the FCC, which then created the USAC. This not-for-profit organization manages the daily operations of the fund and determines how much of its projected revenue service providers must contribute toward it. The money ultimately comes from fees on consumers' phone and internet bills. Consumers' Research, a conservative non-profit organization, challenged the USF at the end of 2021, arguing that this funding method was unconstitutional. The case went to the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit before landing at the Supreme Court. The Telecommunications Act of 1996 requires telecommunications companies that provide interstate service to contribute quarterly to the Universal Service Fund. This money supports the Lifeline program and three other main programs for phone and internet services: The E-Rate program distributes funding for broadband services in schools and libraries. The Rural Healthcare program provides discounts on voice, data and broadband services to rural healthcare providers. The High Cost program encompasses multiple funds that support telecommunications carriers in building broadband or voice infrastructure in unserved or underserved areas. The program ultimately helps keep service costs down for residents in those communities. As part of the Supreme Court's majority opinion, those programs have been deemed a success. 'The proof is in the pudding: Each of the four programs the FCC now operates under Section 254 reflects Congress's choices about universal service's scope and content,' Kagan wrote. 'Not one of those important but decidedly ordinary programs suggests an agency vested with unbridled discretion.'
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This ecosystem leader wants founders to ‘make time for serendipity'
Entrepreneurship has been at the center of Darius Clair's career, whether by running a business himself or coaching DC-area tech founders. Clair, a Prince George's County, Maryland native who now lives in Fredericksburg, Virginia, is the first full-time hire at DC Startup and Tech Week as the director of programs and community— which he describes as 'the South by Southwest of the East Coast.' Through his role there, he launched an autonomous tech-focused meetup, accelerator and lab called LaunchT — and started hosting programming for it earlier this summer. 'There is a community here,' Clair told 'There are folks building here. If you look all around us, even across the country, autonomous technology is taking over. How do we support that from the district?' His advice for founders in autonomous tech or otherwise? Be strategic, but authentic. 'Obviously, everyone does have an agenda and something that they want to get done, but figure out how you can give and support and be reciprocal in relationships,' he said. 'That goes a long way.' For the latest installment of How I Got Here, caught up with Clair about LaunchT, his previous roles at major firms like Techstars and WeWork, a passion for venture capital and his love for the DMV. This conversation has been edited for length and clarity. Where did your career start? In commercial banking, and then in personal finance. At one point in time, while running my personal finance career, I was operating three businesses at the same time. One was an event planning business. I also ran a franchise with two other friends, and then I was running my financial practice. That's where it all started. Nothing was wildly successful, but that was always in the ethos of the work that I did. But at some point, I realized I wasn't necessarily fulfilled in some of the personal finance work that I was doing, and then life started to happen. I've made some transitions, and that led me to start working more with small businesses and figuring out how I could support them. Ultimately, that vein for wanting to support small businesses and support entrepreneurs led me to begin working at WeWork, and that's where I got exposure to the venture capital ecosystem. How I grew up, I didn't have access or awareness of all the different methods of investing, and so I didn't know anything about venture capital. That was where the floodgates started to open up — just being in the atmosphere around more entrepreneurs and startups. How did working at WeWork propel you forward? Even if it doesn't yield you anything in the moment, the seeds that you plant can bear fruit in the future. Darius Clair WeWork is where I started to really hone my community-building skills, supporting the startups and small businesses locally. I was fortunate enough to start supporting them nationally, and then globally, under WeWork's corporate umbrella. That introduced me to the folks at DC Startup and Tech Week. Because of the work that I was doing there, it allowed me to start working on the [conference's] early-stage track. I still had my first business, but because of the exposure with venture capital, I decided to pivot. Deals ultimately became D.E.A.L.S. Venture Group. That's where I wanted to become a venture investor. You also worked at Techstars. What was that experience like? I knew that I needed to be in the atmosphere where I could be more closely aligned with venture capital because of the challenges that I was facing with D.E.A.L.S. Venture Group. To be able to come into Techstars and be a part of a venture capital firm, that was really a strategic opportunity and pivot for me. I was fortunate enough to support over 60 deals into portfolio companies over 18 months while working there. What inspired your new project, LaunchT? LaunchT is an initiative of DC Startup and Tech Week. My transition from Techstars naturally ended up becoming a full circle in joining DC Startup and Tech Week as the director of programs and community. After doing work with them for four years as their early-stage content lead, I was their first full-time hire. The reason they wanted to bring me on is to support DC Startup and Tech Week more broadly. But then also, how do we roll out new opportunities and initiatives to engage the DC Startup and Tech Week community more consistently, year-round? Part of that was LaunchT. What's your day-to-day like? I wear two hats. All things with DC Startup and Tech Week, right now we're ramping up in preparation for the actual week [this fall]. Solidifying venues, confirming the different tracks and the new tracks that we'll unveil this year. It's the 10-year anniversary. We want to go bigger and bolder this year and be more intentional about how we support the region and startups, and really providing the impact that we believe they need. That's one hat, and then the second hat is LaunchT — and building out the infrastructure of that. We started programming. We've created the Autonomous Tech DMV meetup. That'll be a monthly opportunity just to convene folks in the autonomous tech space, to be able to come together, to be able to connect, to be able to share resources, build relationships. We're also doing a virtual series every month. The virtual series is to engage a broader audience across the country to attract more talent to the DMV region. What advice do you have for entrepreneurs? One really good piece of advice that I've gotten and that I've learned over the years is, before you build something, make sure that there's a need for it. Without a doubt, you want to build something that you're passionate about, that you're convicted about, or that you have conviction around. But sometimes that doesn't always line up with what people need. The other thing I would say is: Be willing to build strategic relationships and genuine relationships. Make time for serendipity as you're going out and meeting people. A lot of times, we see founders are always looking for something or asking for something. But figure out how you can also provide value. Figure out how you can align motives and initiatives and value propositions with some of the different stakeholders that you have to engage with in the ecosystem. Even if it doesn't yield you anything in the moment, the seeds that you plant can bear fruit in the future. What's next for you? What are your future goals? Specifically for DC Startup and Tech Week, now that I'm a part of the team full-time, I want to add value. I want to see how we can really supercharge with the work that we've been doing. One thing I've been really passionate about is figuring out how we can build a more cohesive ecosystem in our region. Oftentimes, it does feel siloed and fragmented. Folks that come into this ecosystem don't really know where to go, and they've got to bump around until they meet the right people. There are so many times where we're hosting events, and there're multiple events on the same day. How do we become more efficient with that? Then, becoming more of an investor in startups. My work with District Angels lends to that as well, and supporting them from an investor relations perspective on the volunteer side. [I want to be] leaning into that so that I can continue to build my investor muscle, to start putting money where my mouth is.
