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Bria Overs

Bria

Bria Overs is a business reporter at The Baltimore Banner. She covers small business and consumer and economic trends, with a special interest in minority- and women-owned businesses, technology and labor. She previously worked at Business Insider, Word In Black and contributed to local publications in Los Angeles, her hometown.

The latest from Bria Overs

AmeriCorps denied the Notre Dame Mission Volunteers a $4.6 million grant.
AmeriCorps denies $4.6M grant to Notre Dame Mission Volunteers
Notre Dame Mission Volunteers will cut staff and reduce the number of participants after AmeriCorps denied its request for a $4.6 million grant.
HER Resiliency Center, a nonprofit serving 18- to 25-year-old women in Baltimore and Washington, plans to use the funds to improve the organization’s workforce development program, Triple Crown Academy.
Maryland awards $4 million to boost workforce development in construction
Eight workforce development organizations across Maryland were awarded $500,000 each to bolster their programs addressing apprenticeships in the construction industry.
Jun 20, 2025
A JCPenney sign is displayed at one of the company's department store locations. The sign is plain white lettering against a brick wall.
JCPenney will finally close doors at Annapolis Mall store in August
The Texas-based retail company was unable to negotiate a long-term lease or find another suitable location in the area.
Jun 17, 2025
Otis Rolley has been named the new CEO of the Baltimore Development Corp.
Otis Rolley selected to lead the Baltimore Development Corp.
The monthslong search for a leader for the Baltimore Development Corp. comes to an end as Mayor Brandon Scott announces Otis Rolley’s selection for the role.
Jun 13, 2025
United Way of Central Maryland will distribute the relief program to qualifying BGE customers starting on July 1.
BGE customers could see up to $750 in bill relief under new Maryland program
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore announced a partnership between utility companies and nonprofits in the state that will provide $19 million in grants to utility customers.
Jun 12, 2025
Customers work and lounge at Bird in Hand Café and Bookstore in Baltimore.
Who needs Barnes & Noble? The City that Reads is stocked with local bookstores
Barnes & Noble’s Charles Village closure leaves the city without a big-box book retailer, but about two dozen independent bookstores remain.
Jun 10, 2025
FILE - As President Barack Obama and former President Bill Clinton mark the 20th anniversary of the AmeriCorps national service program, hundreds of new volunteers are sworn in for duty at a ceremony, Friday, Sept. 12, 2014, on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, file)
AmeriCorps must restore grant funding, members to states that sued over cuts, judge rules
AmeriCorps employs more than 500 full-time federal workers and has an operating budget of roughly $1 billion.
Jun 5, 2025
Exterior of Princeton Sports as seen on February 1, 2025 in Baltimore, MD.
Longtime home of Baltimore County’s Princeton Sports gets a new owner
Crosby Jenkins, a Mount Vernon interior design firm, purchased the longtime location of Princeton Sports in Baltimore County.
Jun 4, 2025
Frederick Hoover, chairman of the Maryland Public Service Commission, wants BGE to flatten bills ahead of high-usage summer months.
As BGE bills are set to rise, utility commission demands a delay
The Maryland Public Service Commission is ordering Baltimore Gas and Electric to mitigate the effects of an impending supply-side rate increase by shifting cost recovery to less expensive times of year.
May 30, 2025
The Pikes Studio Cinema will offer new movies along with classic and independent films.
Black-owned Pikesville theater makes a comeback with a new name and owner
Pikes Studio Cinema in Pikesville is replacing the now-defunct Next Act Cinema, which abruptly closed in December 2024.
May 29, 2025
A Black Bear lifts its nose in the air to get a whiff of fresh spring air.
Tri-county bear nabbed, ending reign of roaming across suburban Maryland
Residents of Baltimore and Howard counties have spotted a young black bear roaming backyards and shopping centers in recent weeks.
May 24, 2025
The Herbert A. Wagner Generating Station, foreground, and Brandon Shores Generating Station are seen across Cox Creek from homes in the Stoney Beach community.
Maryland lawmakers demand federal regulator stop expected electricity bill spike
Maryland lawmakers joined a call from the Office of People’s Counsel for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to stop supply costs from surging this summer.
May 20, 2025
Gabby Rodriguez, center, goes through the stacks of materials available for purchase as store employee Erica Kim, left, organizes crafting goods inside SCRAP Creative Reuse in Pigtown.
How to do ‘recession core’ — the Baltimore way
Americans are preparing for an economic downturn — a trend that’s evident on “recession core” social media.
May 20, 2025
Alexandria Warrick Adams, executive director of Elev8 Baltimore, said at a Thursday press conference that Maryland communities and children will feel the effects of AmeriCorps cuts.
Maryland loses 550 AmeriCorps positions to Trump administration cuts
Maryland lawmakers and AmeriCorps partners are asking the community to step in to save their organizations and programs as the Trump administration moves to significantly cut the federal agency.
May 8, 2025
Jennifer Dewees, president of MCCEI, speaks at the first Annual Maryland Tradeswomen Summit in March.
Local workforce development organization falls victim to Trump cuts
As the Trump administration targets diversity, equity and inclusion, one of Baltimore's workforce development organizations loses funding.
May 8, 2025
Gov. Wes Moore celebrated Volunteer Maryland’s 30th anniversary during an AmeriCorps service event at the Baltimore Community ToolBank in Baltimore City on March 17, 2023.
Maryland nonprofits and volunteers ‘devastated’ after AmeriCorps abruptly ends service
The Trump administration’s dismantling of AmericCorps leaves volunteers without work and Maryland community programs in a lurch.
Updated May 2, 2025
STONE RIDGE, VIRGINIA - JULY 17: In an aerial view, an Amazon Web Services data center is shown situated near single-family homes on July 17, 2024 in Stone Ridge, Virginia. Northern Virginia is the largest data center market in the world, according to a report this year cited in published accounts, but is facing headwinds from availability of land and electric power.
Marylanders could pay $800M to power Virginia data centers
Electric utility customers could soon be on the hook for $800 million in transmission upgrades to power Northern Virginia data centers.
Apr 30, 2025
A hawk lands on a transmission tower near Brandon and Marie Hill’s farmland in Parkton, MD on Friday, Dec. 13, 2024.
Renewable energy company ordered to issue $6.5 million in refunds to 32,000 Marylanders
The Maryland Public Service Commission concluded that SmartEnergy misled customers and violated the law.
Apr 29, 2025
A protest outside the Social Security Administration headquarters in Woodlawn earlier this month, as many express concerns about deep cuts to the federal workforce.
Social Security could lose some 7,000 employees under Trump’s worker reclassification
The Social Security Administration could lose thousands of employees under President Donald Trump's revived reclassification policy.
Updated Apr 24, 2025
Farm manager Amelia Hazel harvests flowers at Two Boots Farm in Hampstead.
Mother’s Day just got more expensive: Maryland florists face tough choices as tariffs hit
Local sellers and growers are grappling with rising costs and uncertainty.
Apr 22, 2025
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