Howard County Breaks Ground on First BRT Stop — 2026-06-12

Friday morning: mostly sunny then chance showers and thunderstorms, high near 96 degrees. West wind 3 to 9 mph.

Good morning. Friday, June 12. This is your morning brief for Howard County. Today: County Executive Calvin Ball broke ground on the county's first Bus Rapid Transit stop, a decade in the making. The county signed a missing-middle housing bill aimed at older adults. AAA credit ratings came in from all three agencies. A bocce court was dedicated to a longtime community advocate in Ellicott City. And a Code Red Extreme Heat Alert is in effect — heat index up to 105 this afternoon. Limit time outside after lunch. Let's get into it.

County Executive Calvin Ball broke ground this week on Howard County's first-ever Bus Rapid Transit stop. It's the start of a decade-long effort to expand high-frequency bus service across the county, and the first physical milestone in a transit network that planners have been working on for years. Bus Rapid Transit, or BRT, uses dedicated lanes, more frequent service, and upgraded stops to move riders faster than conventional bus routes. The system is designed to connect Howard County's denser corridors — Columbia, Ellicott City, the Route 1 spine — to the regional transit network. The stop is the first of many planned along the route. Additional stops will come online over the next several years as construction crews work through the segments. For commuters, the BRT timeline means new options for getting to work without driving — but full network coverage is still years away. For property owners along the corridor, the announcement firms up an alignment that has been driving zoning conversations for some time. For the county's longer-term transportation plan, the groundbreaking is the moment BRT moves from a line on a planning map to real construction. The county press office posted the full release with the route map and build-out schedule at howardcountymd.gov.

Howard County Executive Calvin Ball dedicated a bocce court this week in honor of Grace Kubofcik, a longtime community advocate known locally as the 'Queen of Bocce.' Kubofcik has spent years championing senior recreation and neighborhood organizing in Howard County, and the dedication ceremony honored her decades of volunteer work. The court is a permanent installation in the county parks system named for her contributions. The recognition adds her name to a county tradition of dedicating physical facilities to longtime community contributors. Court details — location, hours, and reservation policy — are posted on the county recreation and parks site at howardcountymd.gov.

Howard County Medical Center is preparing for a major expansion set to begin early next year. The project targets capacity in the emergency department, which residents have flagged for long wait times. Plans include added inpatient capacity and improved ER throughput as part of the broader buildout. Full construction details — square footage, total project budget, and patient-flow impact during the build — will come from HCMC closer to the groundbreaking date. The hospital is signaling the expansion as a response to the wait-time complaints that have been the center of resident feedback for years.

The Howard County Summer Concert Series in the Park kicks off July 8. The lineup and venue list are at the county recreation and parks page. At the library: voting is open through Wednesday, June 18, in the Manga for Mayor program at the Glenwood Branch — readers cast ballots for their favorite manga title to be declared the branch's mayor for the season. The East Columbia Branch is running Sewing Machine Basics for Absolute Beginners 2 this week, from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Registration and the full library calendar are at howardcounty.librarycalendar.com.

Also today. The county signed a missing-middle housing bill yesterday — laying zoning groundwork for smaller-scale residential development aimed at older adults. The legislation is part of County Executive Ball's broader push to address housing options for residents aging in place, expanding zoning options that have historically been limited to single-family homes in many neighborhoods. Howard County earned the highest AAA credit rating from all three rating agencies — Moody's, S and P, and Fitch. The triple-AAA status directly affects the rates the county pays on future borrowing and frees up budget capacity for capital projects like BRT and the flood tunnel. A Code Red Extreme Heat Alert is in effect today, with afternoon heat index values projected as high as 105 degrees. The Baltimore Fishbowl flagged it as the first Code Red of the season — and school isn't even out yet. On Interstate 95 in Howard County, a lane closure is planned for bridge repair. Drivers should expect delays during the closure window — WBAL-TV has the schedule. Ellicott City flood tunnel construction is set to begin this summer. The long-anticipated infrastructure project is designed to reduce flooding impact on Old Ellicott City businesses and the historic district downtown — work that has been in planning for years. The county expanded its Senior Tax Credit and extended the Aging in Place tax credit. Older homeowners can apply through the county finance department, and the expanded credit is part of County Executive Ball's age-friendly legislation package. The county finance office is pushing residents to enroll in Property Tax Digital Communications — opt in to receive tax notices by email instead of paper mail. The opt-in cuts mailing costs and speeds delivery. A roundup of every county tax credit program is now posted at howardcountymd.gov/finance/tax-credits — homestead credit, senior credit, aging-in-place credit, and more, all consolidated in one place. At the East Columbia Branch library, a free Google Docs class runs today from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Teen Afterschool Programming — Flex Friday — runs at the East Columbia Branch starting at 3:30 p.m. At the Elkridge Branch, All Together Now early-childhood programming runs from 9:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. for kids ages 0 to 5 with an adult. And at the Glenwood Branch, Play Partners for ages 0 to 23 months runs from 10 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.

This weekend at the library. The Elkridge Branch hosts Beading for Peace — the TOHO Peace Chain Project — from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m., a hands-on craft program tied to the international Peace Chain effort. The East Columbia Branch is running the Outsider Inn series — episode two of 'The Lady Afterwards' — from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m., an interactive serial program for older teens and adults. And the Elkridge Branch is hosting Cuentos en Español y Tiempo de Juego — bilingual storytime for kids ages 0 to 5 with an adult, from 10:30 to 11 a.m. Registration and full event details are at howardcounty.librarycalendar.com.

What I'm watching today. The BRT groundbreaking is the kind of project that takes a decade to show up in the world as something you can stand next to with a shovel. Same with the Ellicott City flood tunnel — these are the long bets. None of them feel urgent the day they get announced. But they're the bets that shape what the county feels like to live in ten years from now. Today, one of them moved from rendering to construction. That counts for something.

That's today's brief. Find the full edition at hocobrief.com — newsletter, archive, send tips. I'm at the desk, and I'll see you Monday morning. Stay cool out there.