More than an inch of snow likely today, will affect rush hour

The National Weather Service reported light snow falling about noon in Baltimore and Washington suburbs, mostly in Frederick and Carroll...

Police to parents: 7 cases of suspicious strangers not related

The first report was startling enough to concern parents: A 10-year-old boy, walking to a school bus stop on Jan. 3 in Ellicott City, was...

As changes loom, a look inside a reading classroom

In a sixth-grade reading classroom at Dunloggin Middle School in Ellicott City on Tuesday, teacher Amy Monachino guided her students through...

Lawyer: Accused Columbia twin killer not competent for trial

A man accused of killing his twin brother in Columbia in 2007 might not be competent to stand trial, according to his attorney.

Zoning issue pits county against Elkridge auto shop owner — again

More than 25 years ago, when Brian Wilson first saw the small auto repair shop perched high on a residential stretch of Montgomery Road in...

Funding for regional disaster operations on chopping block

When Howard County decided it wanted a system for disseminating emergency information to its citizens via text message, it tapped into a...

Petition effort begins to change Coon Hunt Court street name

Thomas Burick was the first to sign his name to the petition. His next-door neighbor, Michael Phillips, followed, and then Gordon Sickels,...

Deer hunts in county parks help cull the herds

At 5:30 on a recent Monday morning, the sky is still dark and temperatures hover around the freezing mark. Phil Norman, the county's deer...

Boys basketball: Reservoir upsets Marriotts Ridge in overtime

After watching county-leading Marriotts Ridge storm back from a 10-point fourth quarter deficit to force overtime, Reservoir found itself in...

Time to sign up for softball and other spring sports

Submitting sports notices

High school highlights: Atholton ice hockey avenges loss to Marriotts Ridge, 3-1

Ice hockey

Bits & Pieces: Zitnay family says goodbye to daughter Jenny, 'the love of our lives'

Life has has been bittersweet for Gail and Andy Zitnay recently. First the sweet.

College football: Wilde Lake's Zach Brown on the brink of NFL success

Zach Brown won state titles in wrestling and outdoor track and in football rushed for more than 1,500 yards and 20 touchdowns as a senior at...

Girls basketball: River Hill wins rematch with Howard, 56-49

There was no way River Hill was letting Howard beat it again.

Ice hockey: Shorthanded, but not on determination

Paul Amick didn't have to draw up a complicated series of line changes for his team's game against Centennial Feb. 3 at The Gardens Ice...

Letter to the sports editor: Seven more Atholton football players headed to college

Football scholarships say a lot about Atholton coaches

Columbia Orchestra goes the American way

European composers still tend to dominate most classical music programs in the United States, but the Columbia Orchestra makes a case for...

Nothin' says lovin' like pasta from the oven

Whatever Punxsutawny Phil predicts today, we can rest assured that there's more cold weather ahead. And, as we all know, cold weather...

Your table awaits at Silhouette Stages' Cabaret Night

When the Columbia-based theater company Silhouette Stages does a Cabaret Night several times a year at Slayton House, audiences know that...

Toby's 'The King and I' is a musical treat

Looking to shake those winter blahs? One sure way is to "whistle a happy tune."

Organizer of the Great Scale Model Train Show, Howard Zane knows his stuff

Howard Zane's passion for model railroading is obvious. The walls of his Columbia home are lined with glass cases filled with row upon row...

Abstract exhibit takes form at Howard County Arts Council

The four artists in the exhibit "Intertwined Expressions" are linked by their devotion to abstraction. Similarities in how they use...

American String Quartet plays Candlelight concert

In classical music terms, one quartet plus one quartet equals an octet. You can hear that mathematical formula for yourself when the...

Large cast works well together in 'The Iceman Cometh'

The Fells Point Corner Theatre production ofEugene O'Neill's "The Iceman Cometh" is being staged in the right Baltimore neighborhood,...

Building learning with Legos

Second-graders at Worthington Elementary School in Ellicott City are taking on science, technology, engineering and math brick by brick.

County schools celebrate Catholic Schools Week

Faith. Academics. Service. All are values integrated into Catholic education, and this year, the words comprise the theme for National...

Community speaks in support of school budget

By and large, the Howard County schools community is in support of Superintendent Sydney Cousin's proposed $697 million 2013 operating...

Board delays vote on plan to eliminate middle school reading classes

A split vote Thursday delayed the approval of a new schedule and the elimination of traditional reading classes in Howard County middle...

School system gets final go-ahead for turf fields

ANNAPOLIS — The state Board of Public Works Wednesday approved the county school system's proposal to spend $4 million in state...

County Council, Board of Education discuss redistricting, turf fields

Redistricting, turf fields and school safety were discussed Tuesday, Jan. 24 when the Howard County Board of Education met with the County...

Going B.I.G. at Burleigh Manor

The only sounds louder than the squeaks of tennis shoes on the hardwood gym floor Friday, Jan. 20 at Burleigh Manor Middle School in...

Middle schools to drop traditional reading classes

A new schedule is coming for county middle schools, and it will not include traditional reading classes.

Outcry erupts over new Columbia store selling puppies

The opening of Charm City Puppies, a store in Columbia that sells purebred and other boutique puppies, as well as pet accessories, has...

City, Howard Co. weighing expansion of growler beer sales

Once, Baltimoreans could stop by the corner tavern and take away a container of their favorite brew, straight from the tap. The sound...

Baltimore Washington Corridor Chamber's Women in Business breakfast will focus on fitness and the workplace

The Baltimore Washington Corridor Chamber will hold its Women in Business breakfast Friday, Feb. 10 from 9:15 to 11:30 a.m. at Homewood...

Cattail Creek gets go-ahead for new indoor driving range

Members of Cattail Creek Country Club in Glenwood will soon be able to tee off at Pebble Beach and Augusta National, without ever leaving...

Baltimore suburbs rank third lowest in suburban office vacancy rates

Thanks to demand from the defense sector, the vacancy rate for office space in Baltimore's suburbs is lower than anywhere else in the United...

Labor Department: Maryland added 25,000 jobs in 2011

Maryland employers added nearly 25,000 jobs last year, according to new estimates — the best performance since 2006, but one that...

Columbia mall development plans revealed

New development plans for the Mall in Columbia call for a large amount of retail space to be constructed at the heart of the mall's existing...

On Route 40, Latin Market's liquor application gives hope, draws critics

At the corner of a small commercial strip across Route 40 from the Normandy Shopping Center in Ellicott City, Tere's Latin Market has...

Engagements: County residents set to tie the knot

Courtney Winn Faudree and Tyler Marion Hurd

The French (and Spanish) connection

Drew Wall, a junior at Atholton High School, says a curious thing happened after he visited Spain in a student exchange program last summer:...

For Better or Worse: Is it really substance abuse, or just a way to stay cat-atonic?

WARNING: This column contains subject matter and parlance that may be disturbing to some readers. Reader discretion is advised.

New executive director highlights changes at Domestic Violence Center

In some cases, change is good. But the Domestic Violence Center of Howard County is hoping its change in executive directors is the last one...

Hickory Ridge wants gathering place in village center

Some picture the Hickory Ridge Village Center with volleyball and bocce ball courts, and a picnic pavilion with grills. Others imagine a dog...

Plan would close, repurpose some Columbia pools

SplashDown could be removed and replaced. One outdoor pool could be enclosed and opened year-round for swimmers. Another outdoor pool...

Local Cub Scouts first in nation to receive presidential fitness award

The challenge: be active for an hour a day, five days a week, for six weeks.

Support groups in Howard County

These groups meet regularly.

Coach in Earth Treks sex abuse case gets four years

A former climbing coach at Earth Treks in Columbia who pleaded guilty to having sexual contact with a 14-year-old girl could spend another...

Investigation continues into animal deaths

Police have found the woman they believe was taking care of the 40 dead animals pulled last week from an east Columbia home, locating her at...

Howard County prosecutors to appeal DUI quota case

Howard County prosecutors plan to appeal a case in which a judge dismissed charges against a woman accused of driving under the influence of...

Man arrested in Oakland Mills shooting, another suspect sought

Howard County police have arrested one person and are seeking another in connection with a shooting Jan. 11 in Oakland Mills.

Police find 40 dead animals in east Columbia home

Forty dead animals were discovered Monday, Jan. 16 in an east Columbia home whose owner police believe might have been affiliated with a...

Police officers assigned to six county middle schools

Three Howard County police officers will be placed in six middle schools starting next week, a program school and police officials described...

Man hospitalized after shooting in Oakland Mills

A Columbia man remains in the hospital after being shot Jan. 11 in Oakland Mills.

Woman admits to embezzling from Mary Kay cosmetics provider

A Baltimore woman has admitted to embezzling tens of thousands of dollars from her Ellicott City employer, one of the largest Mary Kay...

Letter: Proposed Symphony Woods fountain would be 'attractive nuisance'

After living here in Columbia for 34 years, I thought I had become inured to the oddities and missteps of amateur government.

Letter: 23 neighborhood pools is right number for Columbia

The CA Board's Planning and Strategy Committee, as indicated in the Master Plan, is eager to close ("repurpose" being the operative...

Letter: Why is Howard County delegation holding annual hearing in Annapolis?

The League of Women Voters of Howard County was severely disappointed by the announcement that the Howard County delegation has scheduled...

Letter: Leadership, vision needed in school board candidates

I am writing to address Ken Ulman's recent letter, "School board must reflect makeup of Howard County." I strongly disagree that "race,...

Letter: Why remove People Tree from CA logo?

Get out your crayons and color me stupid, but as I sit here wondering what great mind decided that the Columbia Association logo must change...

Letter: Maryland's tax-happy governor, statehouse Democrats

Your article last week entitled "O'Malley tax hike would hit county hard" demonstrates a total lack of fiscal leadership by Gov. O'Malley...

Letter: New Symphony Woods Park will have 'lots of trees'

Symphony Woods Park is one of the Columbia Association's greatest open space system assets, and I, the Registered Landscape Architect at CA,...

In a different light, African American women tell their stories

"The best thing about aging is to be able to exhale," a beaming Loretta Burgess told author Dorothy Bailey, whose task at age 76 was to...