Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Howard County Schools are waiting until Wednesday morning to make a decision.
Is the anticipation of waiting until 5:30 a.m. Wednesday to figure out if Howard County Schools are canceled for the day making you cringe? Or do you think the looming winter storm is not serious enough to cancel schools the day before? Currently, the school system is in the midst of its two-day math state testing. If school is canceled Wednesday, the testing will be moved to Thursday or Friday depending on how the roads are Thursday. In addition, the school system is inching closer to using up its inclement weather days. Currently, they have used two out of the five allotted when Superstorm Sandy hit. Over five, and the school year will be extended. As it is now, the last day of school in Howard County will be June 17, but that could …
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Do you support the new plan for the park?
Columbia Association's new Inner Arbor Plan represents a dramatic shift from its original plan for Symphony Woods. Gone are the simple pathways and central fountain, replaced with a cluster of buildings coined the Arts Village, an "iconic" sculpture, an elevated tree walkway and a parking garage. A change.org petition asking the Columbia Association Board of Directors to approve the new Inner Arbor Plan for Symphony Woods garnered more than 130 signatures in its first three days on the web. The petition was started by Columbia resident Ian Kennedy, who is also the communications director at the Horizon Foundation. Ten years ago, Kennedy formed a group with a friend called "Save Merriweather" that lobbied General Growth Properties from …
Sunday, October 21, 2012
Talk about your top pick for school board in comments or vote in our poll.
There are six candidates running for three seats on the Howard County Board of Education this year. So far the candidates have discussed the issues the county's schools face at two forums, which you can read about here and here. In addition, each candidate has posted on their websites where they stand on important issues such as redistricting, equity across schools, technology, open enrollment and much more. Find that information by clicking on the candidates' name below: Bob Ballinger - Staffer for Congressman Joe Pitts, of PA, from Ellicott City. Ann De Lacy - Retired teacher, former president of the Howard County Education Association, from Columbia. David Gertler - Technology executive, from Ellicott City. Ellen Flynn Giles - …
Thursday, October 18, 2012
A newly released Washington Post poll shows residents favor upholding the same sex marriage law.
A Washington Post poll found that 52 percent of likely Maryland voters would uphold the state law allowing same-sex marriages, while 43 percent would vote against upholding it. If approved, the law will go into effect next year. Same-sex marriage won a narrow legislative approval earlier this year, but opponents petitioned to have a referendum placed on the November ballot—Question 6. The Post poll, which telephoned 1,106 Maryland adults, found likely voters divided on the issue by race, region and political party: In September, Gonzales Research, an Annapolis polling firm, found similar results in its poll. The firm polled 813 registered voters across the state and found that 51 percent of likely voters would support Question 6, while …
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Democrats and Republicans agree on this issue, according to poll results.
A recent poll shows that a majority of Marylanders favor being able to buy beer and wine at chain stores, despite the fact it's illegal for most chain stores in the state to hold a liquor license. A poll conducted in late September by Gonzales Research found that 64 percent of Marylanders favor being able to buy beer and wine at chain stores. The issue crosses party lines. The poll found that 56 percent of Democrats and 77 percent of Republicans believe chain stores should be able to sell beer and wine. The poll was conducted for Marylanders for Better Beer & Wine Laws (MBBWL), an advocacy group that has supported repealing laws that ban chain stores from receiving liquor licenses. Adam Borden, president of MBBWL, said Gonzales was …
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
The Board of Appeals is scheduled to hear testimony on the funeral home Tuesday night.
A contentious debate over whether to place a new funeral home on Route 108 in Clarksville is set to continue Tuesday night at a Board of Appeals hearing. A spokesperson for the Board of Appeals said Tuesday's hearing is likely to consist of testimony, with a decision highly unlikely. The issue has united a few residential communities in opposition to the funeral home that would be located on a three-acre wooded lot on Route 108, between St. Louis Catholic and Christ Lutheran Church. The residents argue the funeral home is a cultural, environmental and community issue, while the lawyer for the potential owner says the proposal meets all the requirements it needs to be approved. The debate between the residents and the owner, Jay Donaldson…
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Will you forego your usual grocery store for the new Wegman's in Columbia?
It has now been a couple days since about 2,000 people stood in line on Sunday morning to usher in Howard County's newest mega-grocery store. The Columbia Wegmans will offer 700 different produce items, 300 kinds of cheeses, and employ 160 chefs. The effect of the Wegmans is already being felt by local Giant grocery stores. A Howard County Giant manager told Columbia Patch on Monday that there were noticeable losses in revenue at multiple county Giant grocery stores on Sunday, the day Wegmans opened. On Tuesday, local food blog HowChow wrote about the Wegmans shopping experience after exploring the massive grocery store for the first time on Monday morning. "Overall, the Wegmans lives up to the hype because the food is exciting," decided …
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Whole Foods is reportedly not interested in the iconic Columbia building.
The future of the Howard Hughes building is once again unclear. The iconic former headquarters of the Rouse Company, designed by renowned architect Frank Gehry, was rumored to be a future home of a Whole Foods supermarket. But last week, an unidentified Howard Hughes official said negotiations between the company and Whole Foods ended without a deal, according to an article in Explore Howard. The article noted just 13 employees currently use the three-level building, which is 150,00-square-feet and can hold up to 650 people. So it begs the question, how could the building be used? With Wegmans opening this summer, is a grocery store still a reality? Would standard offices be too ho-hum for the unique structure? Duane St. Clair at HoCo …
Evelyn
1:38 pm on Friday, February 1, 2013
When and how were the meetings regarding the new plan announced? Were they well advertised & well attended? Why does the decision regarding a plan of this magnitude, a plan that will impact the whole of Columbia, have to be made in the next two weeks? I would suggest most residents of Columbia aren't aware of this change. Because I've been in Columbia for over 30 yrs., I remember a time when the … more ›