🍦CA’s argument for buying its HQ

Good morning, Columbia. On Friday, July 11, 1969, a 20-year-old named Theodore John Conrad stole $215k (about $2 million in today’s dollars) from the bank where he worked and vanished. The manhunt went on so long that the guy who eventually solved the case in 2021, U.S. Marshal Peter Elliott, actually took it over from his dad who retired in 1990.

Unfortunately for the justice system, Conrad died 6 months before the case was solved. Turns out he’d been living as Thomas Randele for over 50 years.

In today’s Columbia Scoop:

Let’s get to it.

— Michelle Sinclair

Columbia Association has never owned the building it works in. Fifty-nine years later, there's a deal on the table to change that.

CA's board has authorized a purchase agreement for its headquarters and the building next door. Total price? $10.3 million. All told, it’s about 87,700 rentable square feet on 7.3 acres. Initial approval came at the July 23 board meeting, and CA laid out its case publicly on Friday.

Owning its HQ would erase $1 million per year in rent. CA is exploring turning about 60% of the other building into a learning center for early learning and STEAM education. The early learning center could serve 180 children from 6 weeks to 5 years of age. Tenants across the two buildings bring in about $700k a year.

Once the purchase agreement is signed, CA will do due diligence before a final vote at its October 22 meeting. Closing would happen by the end of December.

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Maryland almost didn't have an apple season. A devastating freeze in April massacred up to 94% of the state's apple crop and the fallout is evident. Milburn Orchards canceled u-pick apples for the first time in more than 30 years, and Homestead Farm in Poolesville posted a flat “No Apples this Year due to Freeze.”

Larriland Farm in Woodbine is still running its Fall Festival, September 8 through October 31. New this year, the pick-your-own fields need a field ticket — $14 per person on weekends, which covers the hayride, the corn maze, the sudex maze, the Boo Barn and live music, or $3 per person Tuesday through Friday. The farm's harvest hotline (410-442-2605) updates daily, so call before you drive out.

Here's the whole fall bucket list 🍂

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🍕 PUB DOG Pizza PawTy for LARG – Eat pizza, help find lost pets. Pub Dog on Stanford Boulevard sends 10% of sales from 4–8 PM to Lost Animal Resource Group, which does case management, flyer design, and trapping for free.

🧠 Tuesday Trivia – Sapwood Cellars runs trivia from 7–9 PM on Beckley Street. Free to play.

🍽️ Food Truck Wednesdays in the Merriweather District – Tasty Empanadas and Islington Kitchen park at Merriweather Row Plaza, 11 AM–2 PM. The rotation runs through October 28.

🦊 What does the fox say? – A Maryland DNR biologist explains fox noises, beaver engineering, and opossum survival tactics at the Howard County Conservancy in Woodstock, 7–8:30 PM. $5 per person, recommended for ages 10 and up, registration required.

🐮 Laurel Farmer's Market – Produce and artisan goods on Main Street in Laurel, 3–7 PM, every Thursday through October 29.

🍺 Festbier release at Manor Hill – Oktoberfest starts early at the farm in Ellicott City, with the first pours of the 5.5% Vienna lager at 4 PM and Bavarian soft pretzels from the Pizza Trolley. It runs all weekend, with live music 2–5 PM Saturday and Sunday.

🎨 Farming For Laughs Comedy Show – Stand-up in Manor Hill's air-conditioned barn, hosted by Megan Miller with Monica Daily and Cerrome Russell. Doors 5:30 PM, show 6:30 PM. $20 in advance, $25 at the door, 21+, two-drink minimum.

🎭 Toby's opens Summer: The Donna Summer Musical – Opening night for Toby's next run, which stays up through November 1. Doors 6 PM, curtain 8 PM, buffet included.

🎬 🎈 Movie Night — Elio – Pixar's Elio screens free at the Downtown Columbia Lakefront at dusk, around 8 PM. Bring a blanket.

🎶 Generation Mixtape at the Old Ellicott City Farmers Market – Classic hits while you shop Main Street vendors, Saturday 10 AM–1 PM.

🎺 Lakefront Concert: Patrick Alban and his Buena Vista Social Band – Latin grooves at the Lakefront, Saturday at 7:30 PM. Free.

🎨 🎈 Paint & Sip – A Y2K flip-phone-themed painting session with the Columbia Art Center at the Lakefront, Sunday 11 AM–1 PM. $35 for CA members, $45 for everyone else, and you have to register by 3 PM Friday.

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💬 Bay Watch — The Merriweather District's leasing map just got its first update in eight months, and only seven retail spaces are still unleased. Six of them already have a signed letter of intent or a lease in negotiation, including the roughly 6,900-square-foot corner below Eggspectation. The only bay nobody has claimed (or is in the process of claiming) is 500 square feet. The Merriweather Post breaks down every unit.

🎥 Say Cheese — Visit Howard County wants you on camera. It's filming street interviews in Historic Ellicott City on Sunday, August 30 from 1 to 3 PM, asking locals which park, restaurant, or live music spot they'd send a visitor to. Stop by the Howard County Welcome Center, plan on 10 to 15 minutes, and you'll leave with a $10 gift certificate. Spots are limited, and anyone under 18 needs a parent's OK.

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84 🌡️ 62 | ☀️ | 0% ☔ | 💨 NW 8 mph

87 🌡️ 69 | 🌤️ | 3% ☔ | 💨 SE 8 mph

86 🌡️ 68 | ⛈️ | 81% ☔ | 💨 S 8 mph

🌳🎵= Outdoor concert

Cured 1821 | Bronson Hoover | 6–10 PM

Cured 1821 | Gene Okonski | 6–10 PM

Bare Bones | Wayne George | 7–10:30 PM
Collective Encore | Dueling Pianos Featuring The Flying Ivories | 7 PM | Tickets
Cured 1821 | Dave Leoni | 6–10 PM
🌳🎵 Merriweather | Kehlani, Durand Bernarr, TheARTI$t, WASEEL, Dixson | 6:30 PM | Tickets
The Morgan Inn | Garrett Mabe | 6–9 PM
🌳🎵 Turf Valley | Mack and Slim | 6–8 PM

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