🍦Bakery HQ in the old Hysteria brewery

Good morning, Columbia. You think you know petty? In a 2009 divorce case, a Long Island doctor asked his wife for either $1.5 million or his kidney back that he’d donated to her 8 years earlier. He got neither.

In today’s Columbia Scoop:

Let’s get to it.

— Michelle Sinclair

I sat down to write something for Pink’s. . . then I started reading through their 170 five-star reviews and found this one:

Pinks Window Services did an absolutely incredible job on my 33 windows, 3 sliding doors and 3 skylights including the screens. The windows looked so clear and amazing that you couldn’t tell the windows had screens. In fact, the dining room windows were so clear that I threw out my drapes so I can see more of the Chesapeake Bay. They are worth every penny and I plan to have them return every year in the spring. Many of my neighbors stopped by to check it out.

Imagine window cleaners so good they make you toss the drapes. If you have filthy windows, clogged gutters, a streaky roof, or anything grimy on your homes exterior, Pink’s is the crew to call

Apparently summer ends September 22. Our calendar didn’t get the memo.

All Things Go takes over Merriweather September 25–27 – three days and 40+ artists, with Mitski and Ethel Cain headlining Friday, Hayley Williams Saturday, and Brandi Carlile Sunday. The pavilion warms up with Empire of the Sun on the 4th and Mt. Joy’s 10-year anniversary show on the 18th.

Old Ellicott City gets its music back, too. The Main Street Music Fest returns to Main Street on the 19th after taking last year off.

The full guide has the rest: Jazz in the Mills’ 20th anniversary, which sold well enough to add a second show; the Patapsco Literary Festival; the 61st Atlantic Coast gem and fossil show at the fairgrounds; the Police Pace 5K at Centennial Park; and Toby’s month with Donna Summer.

Read the full September guide here.

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The first bell rings Monday, August 24 for K-12 students, and Thursday, August 27 for pre-K and RECC. A few things on your list unlock this week.

📅 Wednesday – The bus stop locator is scheduled to go live with stops and pickup and dropoff times, and full schedules with teachers and room numbers show up in HCPSS Connect Synergy. Buses run for students who live beyond 3/4 of a mile from an elementary school, a mile from a middle school, and a mile and a half from a high school. Missing bus on day one? Transportation’s number is 410-313-6732.

⏰ Bells – All 13 high schools run 7:50 AM–2:35 PM. Most middle schools go 8:30 AM–3:15 PM, though six start at 7:50 with the high schools. Elementary schools start at 8:45, 9:15, or 9:25 AM. Check yours before you set the alarm.

🍎 Lunch – Breakfast is $2.20, elementary lunch $3.00, middle and high school lunch $3.50, and milk is 60 cents. The free and reduced meals application resets every year, and it covers more than food – testing fees, athletic and academic program fees, and college application and tuition help ride along with it.

💻 Chromebooks – As of yesterday, high schoolers can’t add personal Gmail accounts to their school Chromebooks. Elementary and middle devices already had that block, which keeps students from working around the content filter. Parents get a Lightspeed email every Sunday summarizing their kid’s browsing, and the portal can pause browsing on the Chromebook when it’s off the school network.

✏️ Loose ends – Supply lists are posted for elementary and middle school, high school teachers hand theirs out that first week, and back to school nights have already started.

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🍽️ Food Truck Wednesdays in the Merriweather District - DF 26 Mexican Food and DMV Taqueria roll up to Merriweather Row Plaza, 11 AM to 2 PM.

🖋️ 3rd Thursdays Open Mic Night - E-Baby hosts poets, musicians, and performers at Busboys and Poets at 8 PM.

🎈🎶 Summer Sounds Series - August’s “Summer Vibes” edition brings live Latin music and kids’ crafts to the Columbia village centers, 5:30 to 8:30 PM. Free.

🩰 Dancin’ Under the People Tree - All-ages dance fitness under the People Tree at the Columbia Lakefront, 7 PM. No experience required.

🎬 Movie Night: Freakier Friday - Free outdoor screening of the body-swap comedy sequel at the Lakefront at 8 PM. Bring a blanket.

🎉 Y2K Night - A DJ, music videos on a giant screen, and throwback games at the CA Lakefront Saturday, 6 to 9 PM. Free with registration on Eventbrite.

🌌 Public Star Party - The Howard Astronomical League sets up telescopes at Alpha Ridge Park Saturday from 7:15 PM to about 11 PM. Free, all ages.

🎈🏃 Back to School Donation Step Cardio - A free step cardio class at lululemon at The Mall in Columbia Saturday, 10 AM to noon, with school supply donations collected at the door.

🎈🐾 Jenn’s Uncommon Critters - Three one-hour sessions of reptiles, invertebrates, and small mammals at Manor Hill Brewing Sunday, starting at 12:30 PM. $10 per session, advance tickets required, ages 5 and up.

🎭 Toby’s Dinner Theatre Presents: Mean Girls - Closing weekend for the musical-and-buffet – the run ends Sunday, and Summer: The Donna Summer Musical opens August 28.

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⚖️ Permit Revival – A federal judge reinstated the building permits Howard County revoked in February for the ICE field office at 6522 Meadowridge Road in Elkridge, so work can finish while the lawsuit plays out. Judge Adam Abelson found developer Genesis GSA Strategic One faced irreparable harm: $21 million spent, $5,000 a day in interest, and $132,000 a month in federal rent it can’t collect. The county can appeal and hasn’t said whether it will.

🚸 Zone Defense – Public Works wants 18 new school zones on roads near schools in Columbia, Ellicott City, Elkridge, Laurel, and Fulton – the county’s first overhaul since 2011. New zones don’t lower speed limits, but they let police add speed cameras and double the fines. Comments go to [email protected] through Monday, August 24, with signs up by mid-September.

🥐 Dough Rising – Roggenart is turning the former Hysteria Brewing building at 9570 Berger Road into an 11,000-square-foot commissary and headquarters, with a target of finishing by year’s end. The European bakery runs 12 cafés in Maryland, Virginia, and Chicago and wants 30. Columbia adds 20 jobs, more than doubles its Savage Mill production space, and the owners plan to bake with Howard Community College culinary students.

🏡 Cottage Industry – Waverly Real Estate wants to build the county’s first cottage cluster in Savage. The county legalized the type in June: at least four detached, age-restricted homes with footprints under 1,200 square feet, no basements, arranged around a shared courtyard. Planners mapped about 1,046 parcels where one could fit. ($)

🪣 Bucket Brigade – Visit Howard County’s 2026 summer bucket list still has plenty you can knock out before school starts: rent a kayak or pedal boat at the Adventure Shack in Centennial Park, pick your own at Larriland Farm, hike to Cascade Falls in Patapsco Valley State Park, or run the kids through the Color Burst Park splash pad.

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86 🌡️ 66 | ☀️ | 2% ☔ | 💨 NW 7 mph

88 🌡️ 69 | ☀️ | 16% ☔ | 💨 W 6 mph

85 🌡️ 65 | ⛈️ | 55% ☔ | 💨 N 6 mph

🌳🎵= Outdoor concert

Cured 1821 | Kevin Howard | 6–10 PM

Collective Encore | Black Sabbitch: All-Female Black Sabbath Tribute | 7:30 PM | Tickets
Cured 1821 | Mark Kotision | 6–10 PM

Bare Bones | David & Paula | 7–10 PM
Cured 1821 | R&B Night Featuring Anissa Hargrove | 5–10 PM
🌳🎵 Turf Valley | Red Sky Dawn | 6–8 PM

Thanks for reading Columbia Scoop today. If you found something useful, please share it with someone who always has a playbill in their glovebox. That or actual gloves.