Expansion

Baltimore's Mondawmin Mall will be expanding with three new stores in newly constructed space that will replace the former Motor Vehicles Administration building, the mall announced today. A Ross Dress for Less, a Deal$ and a smaller, yet-to-be-named store will move into a 38,000-square-foot redevelopment on the site of the MVA building, which is being demolished. “Mondawmin Mall has been an integral part of the Greater Mondawmin community for more than 50 years,"  said Romaine Smallwood-Smoot, the mall's general manager, in a statement.

Little Caesars says it's growing faster than just about any pizza chain - and eyeing Baltimore as a hot market. The chain's vice president of franchise development says the Baltimore metro area figures into a new strategy to target suburban and rural communities and to seek real estate on college campuses, military bases and within convenience stores. The carryout known for its $5 ready-to-go-pizza already has several dozen locations in Maryland, many in strip malls scattered throughout Baltimore, Anne Arundel, Howard and Harford counties.

The Senate approved Gov. Martin O'Malley's proposed expansion of early voting Monday night, sending the legislation to the House of Delegates. Senators voted 35-12, with most Republicans opposed, to increase the number of days and hours that early voting centers will remain open. The bill would increase the number of early voting days from six to eight starting in 2014. The hours of voting would be longer in presidential election years. O'Malley's proposal follows a presidential election that saw voters waiting in line for hours at the limited number of early voting sites in each county.

A massive state effort to expand I-95 in Baltimore and Harford counties and add toll lanes, which appeared to be on hold for several years because of the recession, could be cranking up again, to the concern of Joppa area residents who would be in the midst of the project area, known as Section 200. Potential new developments about I-95 were discussed briefly during the monthly meeting of the Joppa-Joppatowne Community Council Monday night at...

The company that spent $42 million in a failed attempt to block expanded gambling in Maryland will be the first to introduce table games in the state. Hollywood Casino, owned by Penn National, got preliminary permission Tuesday to operate 20 table games starting March 7 at the facility in Perryville, in Cecil County. Maryland Live, the state's largest casino, plans to offer table games April 11. Crews are working to move thousands of slot machines as the floor is reconfigured to accommodate 122 table games.

The Atlantic Sun Conference's addition of men's lacrosse means another automatic qualifier for the 2014 NCAA tournament. And, it means more than half the tournament will be AQs, which is not allowed according to NCAA Bylaw 31.3.4.7.1. The Atlantic Sun's team would be the ninth AQ in the 16-team field. A play-in game is a potential solution, but the NCAA has drited away from such arrangements. NCAA tournament expansion could be the next step. "The NCAA isn't big on play-ins anymore - rowing, field hockey and women's lacrosse are all heading that direction," said Jim Siedliski , the Big East Conference associate commissioner for Olympic sports and newly named chair of the NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championship Committee.

For the third consecutive year, BWI Marshall Airport set a record for commercial passenger traffic, with 22.68 million travelers passing through its terminal in 2012, airport officials announced. The 1.3 percent increase over 2011 comes during a time of expansion of airport facilities and by commercial carriers. "This is great for the region and great for the businesses we support," said Paul Wiedefeld, executive director of Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport.

Division I women's college lacrosse is in the middle of one of its biggest growth spurts in years, and several recent changes appear likely to spark even more expansion soon. This spring, the NCAA tournament bracket expands to 26 teams, and Division I grows to 100 teams with eight new programs, including Southern California. And a shifting conference landscape that includes some of the biggest women's lacrosse powers could prompt more schools to add the sport. Several Division I schools, including Maryland, recently decided to switch conferences in moves often driven by their football or basketball programs.

Major League Lacrosse announced today that the defending champion Chesapeake Bayhawks and the Rochester Rattlers will play a regular-season game at Al Lang Stadium in St. Petersburg, Fla., on Saturday, April 27, at 7:30 p.m. MLL returns to the Sunshine State for the second time, after a successful All-Star Game in Boca Raton last season, as it contemplates future expansion. The game will serve as the Rattlers' home opener. Al Lang Stadium was the past spring training home to the Orioles, New York Yankees, St. Louis Cardinals and Tampa Bay Rays.

An Anne Arundel County judge threw out a lawsuit Tuesday challenging the referendum last November in which Maryland voters approved an expansion of casino gambling after a $95 million campaign. Circuit Judge Ronald A. Silkworth rejected a contention by plaintiffs who opposed the expansion that the referendum required a majority of all Maryland voters — rather than a majority of those casting their ballots — to pass. Silkworth also said the plaintiffs waited too long to bring their suit.