Allana Haynes

This is the second in a series of stories featuring the five finalists in the 11th annual Carroll Biz Challenge. The competition, which will conclude Aug. 18 with a live finale at the Carroll Arts Center in Westminster, is run by the Carroll County Chamber of Commerce.

A friendly rivalry between Howard County’s firefighters and police officers took to a new venue this weekend with Farmer Wars, a contest introduced at the 76th annual Howard County Fair in West Friendship Sunday night.

The 76th annual Howard County Fair will return Saturday to the Howard County Fairgrounds in West Friendship.

This year has produced a higher number of retirees as compared to past years and Howard County schools has been busy hiring for vacancies this summer, according to spokesperson Brian Bassett.

Based on the final number of mail-in and provisional ballots counted through Friday, Howard County Council and school board candidates are set for the general election in November.

The Maryland Department of Transportation, in partnership with the Maryland Department of National Resources, is conducting a two-week archaeological excavation on the Elkridge Furnace Inn site in Howard County to learn about the history of the two small cabins on the property as well as how they were used.

Baltimore-area leaders announced the launch of a 24-hour help line Wednesday to address the growing need for emergency mental health support and promote community emotional well-being.

Using discarded buttons, can lids, electrical cords, mesh bags, milk crates, newspaper bags, plastic soda bottles, pool noodles, rubber gloves and straws, volunteer artists led by Roslyn Zinner of Long Reach created coral, fish, jellyfish and octopus to simulate a coral reef experience last weekend for Howard County children.

After most of Howard County’s mail-in ballots were counted Thursday night, Dan Newberger, Jacky McCoy, Linfeng Chen and Tudy Adler were the top four vote-getters in the race to fill two at-large school board seats.

About 17,400 mail-in ballots will be counted beginning today in Howard County.

All early voting returns have been counted and all 118 election day precincts have reported in Howard County for the 2022 primary.

Howard County Election Director Guy Mickley said turnout for in-person voting seemed lower than in previous years, likely prompted by the ease of mail-in voting, which has been an option to any voter for any reason since 2020.

On Saturday and Sunday, the 2022 Fells Lane Reunion in Old Ellicott City brought together those associated with the Fells Lane community to reunite with friends and neighbors and reminisce about the community’s history.

Howard County Public School System officials continued talking this week about what delaying school start times would look like for students and families. The county school board’s aim is to delay start times for high schoolers, moving from the current 7:25 a.m. start to 8:30 a.m., or maybe later, beginning with the 2023-2024 school year.

Neighbor Ride, a Howard County based nonprofit, offers door-to-door rides to seniors who need them.