Pot legalization in D.C. growing business

D.C.’s legalization of marijuana has the business world abuzz. For if you make it legal, a cottage industry will follow.

Take the four-year-old Capital City Hydroponics. Its growth plan always focused around growing food indoors. But D.C.’s Feb. 26 legalization of marijuana found the tiny shop getting new interest from another sector, The Washington Post reports.

For D.C.’s new Initiative 71 allows people in the District to grow a maximum of six marijuana plants in their homes (in addition to allowing…

Murray Energy acquiring controlling interest in Foresight Energy

An Ohio coal company is acquiring a controlling interest in St. Louis-based Foresight Energy for $1.4 billion.

Under terms of the deal, Murray Energy Corp. will acquire a controlling interest in both Foresight Energy Group and its parent company, Foresight Reserves LP. Chris Cline, founder of Foresight, will retain a 22.5 percent interest in Foresight Energy and 35 percent interest in Foresight Reserves.

The combined company will control more than 9 billion tons of coal reserves, making it one…

Jones Lang LaSalle to consider office options as lease nears end

Commercial real estate firm Jones Lang LaSalle may soon be in the market for new space for itself.

J.C. Pelusi, the market leader and a managing director for the Pittsburgh office of Jones Lang LaSalle, said the firm’s lease at 525 William Penn Place will expire next year, and the company is in the early stages of considering its next move.

“We’re in the midst of looking at our options,” Pelusi said.

He said the company currently leases more than 50,000 square feet at 525 William Penn Place, a…

Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank's pay rises 11.5% in 2014

Under Armour Inc. CEO Kevin Plank’s compensation package totaled nearly $3.6 million in 2014, up 11.5 percent from the year before.

The increase comes as Under Armour’s profit rose 28 percent in 2014 and revenue reached $3 billion for the first time.

Plank’s base salary remained at $26,000, the same amount he took home when he started the Baltimore sportswear maker in 1996. In addition to the salary, Plank last year also earned $1.6 million in stock awards and more than $1.9 million in other compensation,…

8 things: The jailed Virginia businessman who conned the cons

Good morning and welcome to your Monday . Here’s some of your business:

1. AM News Talkers: This one you may remember from our coverage in August 2013: The story of a flashy Virginia restaurateur who conned at least eight banks into lending him $71 million. That in and of itself was meaty material for a dramatic story. But his story didn’t just end with a prison sentence. He’s out now; and how he got out may be even more dramatic.

Osama El-Atari served 51 months of a 144-month sentence and his…