🍦HCPSS's new AI rules

Good morning, Columbia. In response to an attack ad, a Maine Senate candidate went trick-or-treating dressed as a cord of firewood. We’re not sure what he was trying to accomplish, but he sure set the media ablaze. OK, that was bad. Sorry. Go vote today. Polls are open 7 AM to 8 PM.

In today’s Columbia Scoop:

Let’s get to it.

— Michelle Sinclair

Two aging apartment complexes in Harper’s Choice just got a hefty upgrade. The locations once offered 103 units but have now expanded to 205.

The Vision at Parkway (which replaced Ranleagh Court) and Legacy at Cedar Lane (which replaced Waverly Winds) are done. Of the new apartments, 149 are for households earning 40% to 80% of our area’s median income.

🏠 What’s inside: Vision at Parkway has 82 apartments, a fitness center, an after-school homework room, playground, dog park, and rooftop solar. Legacy at Cedar Lane has 123 apartments, from one to four bedrooms, in two four-story buildings.

We first mentioned these two when construction started in July 2025. The developer, Enterprise Community Development, is rebuilding two other affordable communities in Columbia as well.

The next one’s all lined up. Last week the county handed out $4 million from its Housing Opportunities Trust Fund to seven projects, including a rebuild of Fall River Terrace, also in Harper’s Choice. It’ll become 76 apartments, with 56 kept affordable. The county got 13 applications asking for nearly $23 million, so six went home empty-handed.

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Somewhere in Woodstock, there’s a mud kitchen in the works. Pathways to Nature, a five-acre nature playspace, is coming to the Howard County Conservancy’s Mt. Pleasant Farmstead.

There’ll be log jumps, a boulder scramble, tunnels, sensory gardens, a “nature village,” and a water and mud play area. Consider your washing machine warned.

The county says it’ll be the first major ADA-accessible nature playspace in HoCo, with an 800-foot ADA-friendly path connecting the play areas to a new accessible picnic area and the Conservancy’s trails.

Like any good natural playground, it’s being built around what’s already there: the heritage orchard, the native meadow, and resident owls, goats, and chickens. The locals, if you will.

🦉 When can we get muddy? Fall 2027, if the schedule holds. See the plans here.

💚 Want to help build it? The county put in $450,000 through two capital grants, but the Conservancy is still raising money for the project. Help out here.

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🎈 = family-friendly events

🎈🐮 Mini Camps at Mary’s Land Farm – Schools are closed, so kids 4 to 12 can spend the day with farm animals and outdoor projects from 9 AM to 4 PM.

🎈🛼 Adventure Day at KidSpace – Columbia Association fills the day off with games, crafts, swimming, and a pizza lunch starting at 9 AM. You don’t need a membership.

🍔 BurgerFi’s Election Day Conflicted Burger – The beef-and-veggie double-patty burger is back for $5 from 10 AM to 10 PM.

📺 Seinfeld Trivia Night – Four rounds for Jerry, Elaine, George, and Kramer at The Collective Encore at 7 PM.

💼 Doing Business Differently – C3MD hosts Seawall Development co-founder Thibault Manekin and Jeff Cherry for a talk on purpose-driven business at 5:30 PM.

📚 Books on Tap – The library’s pub book club talks about Louise Erdrich’s The Sentence at the Ale House Columbia at 6 PM.

🎨 Gift of Art and Small Wonders Show – Artists’ Gallery on Main Street in Ellicott City hangs new work from its member artists, open Wednesday from 11 AM to 3 PM.

📖 Bauder Book Talk with Nnedi Okorafor – The sci-fi novelist who’s also written for Marvel talks about reimagining the future at the East Columbia Branch at 4:30 PM.

🀄 Mahjong at Sapwood – MahjongRainbow teaches newcomers and runs group games at Sapwood Cellars from 6:30 to 8:30 PM.

🎈🎭 White Christmas at Toby’s – Toby’s opens the Irving Berlin holiday musical with doors at 6 PM and the show at 8 PM, and it runs through January 10.

🎷 The Songs of the Big Band Singers – The Columbia Jazz Band opens its season with the songs Sinatra and Natalie Cole made famous at Wilde Lake Interfaith Center at 7:30 PM.

🍺 I Got Your Six Release Weekend – Manor Hill pours a beer brewed by veterans from 4 to 9 PM, and Warrior Canine Connection brings its service dogs Saturday from noon to 7 PM.

📜 Lunch Date with History – Bring a lunch to the Museum of Howard County History at noon for a look at the Columbia Archives.

🎈✨ Howard County’s First Drone Show – 800 drones light up the sky over the Lakefront Saturday at 7 PM, with food trucks at 4:30 PM and live music from Liquid A at 5:30 PM.

🎈🇺🇸 Howard County Veterans Day Parade – The 12th annual parade steps off in Downtown Columbia Sunday at 9:30 AM, with a ceremony right after.

🎈🛍️ Howard County Crafts Spectacular – More than 375 crafters fill the Howard County Fairgrounds Friday through Sunday from 9 AM to 5 PM, closing at 4 PM Sunday.

🎈🎃 Pumpkin Chucking Weekend – Clark’s Elioak Farm launches your pumpkin across the field with a catapult Saturday and Sunday from 10 AM to 5:30 PM, the farm’s last weekend of the season.

🎈🪶 Native American Heritage Month Celebration – The county honors Native art, history, and culture at the Harriet Tubman Cultural Center Saturday from noon to 3 PM.

🎈🛍️ Oakland Mills High School Craft Fair – The 37th annual fair brings handmade gifts, home decor, and sweet treats Saturday 10 AM to 3 PM.

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🏛️ Last Call – The outgoing County Council held its final votes last Friday. Deb Jung’s bill tightening oversight of big nonprofit grants passed 3–2. Her bill making the inspector general a keeper of county records failed, with David Yungmann casting the deciding no. After today’s election, Christiana Rigby will be the only returning member.

🤖 Ask First – HCPSS students now need a teacher’s OK before using AI on schoolwork. The Board of Education approved the policy last Thursday, and it’s already in effect. Every assignment is now AI-free unless the teacher says otherwise. When allowed, students have to stay within the teacher’s limits and cite how they used it. This works both ways, though. Staff can’t use AI for grading, either. More here.

🏢 Tax Bracket – Howard County lawmakers have a new approach to the ICE facility in Elkridge. After a federal judge struck down the county’s emergency permit law, Sen. Clarence Lam and Del. Gabriel Moreno unveiled a bill last Thursday that would allow higher property and transfer taxes on buildings leased as detention facilities. It still needs approval from the county delegation, then the General Assembly this spring. So I guess if you can’t beat ’em . . . tax the heck out of ’em?

🚲 Pedal Pushers – Want to burn off the Halloween candy and feed some neighbors while you’re at it? Cranksgiving is Saturday 10 AM to 1 PM. Bike to the Plaza at the Mall in Columbia with nonperishable food for Grassroots Crisis Intervention. Each village gets a table, and the one that donates the most wins. New riders can join a 10 AM group ride from The Other Barn. Register by Friday morning. We’ll need another ride after Thanksgiving.

📚 Doctor’s Orders – The Doctor (County Executive Calvin Ball, who has an actual doctorate) says the county’s TARDIS has regenerated. The time-traveling Little Free Library left Rockburn Branch Park and is now at the North Laurel Community Center, 9411 Whiskey Bottom Road. It’s the box’s third home since it showed up in Tiber Park last November. Take a book, leave a book.

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Crisp fall weather calls for a day outside. Maryland’s Best Helmets & Harvest pairs local trails with farms, wineries and more through November 15. The free pass features stops like the BWI Trail, LEO Annapolis and other locations across the state. Check in at each stop to earn free prizes!

71 🌡️ 50 | 🌫️ | 1% ☔ | 💨 S 7 mph

73 🌡️ 57 | 🌤️ | 2% ☔ | 💨 S 8 mph

72 🌡️ 56 | 🌧️ | 60% ☔ | 💨 S 9 mph

Cured 1821 | Mark Kotision | 6–10 PM
Judge’s Bench | First Tuesday Jazz Jam | 8–11 PM
The Morgan Inn | Open Mic Night hosted by Clyde Blevins & The Rock Bottom Rockers | 7–11 PM

Collective Encore | The Layla Collective | 7:30 PM | Tickets
Cured 1821 | Kevin Howard | 6–10 PM

Collective Encore | Robbie Fulks | 7:30 PM | Tickets
Cured 1821 | Rodney Kelly | 6–10 PM
The Morgan Inn | David Phenicie & Paula Richardson | 6–9 PM

Thanks for reading Columbia Scoop today. If you found something useful, please share it with someone who’s going to wear their “I Voted” sticker all day and put their shirt in the laundry basket without realizing it’s there and not rediscover it until it’s a million crumpled wet pieces of paper hiding throughout the entire load.