Columbia Free WiFi Major Expansion — 2026-07-12

Sunday morning: mostly cloudy then slight chance showers and thunderstorms, high near 84 degrees. East wind 5 to 9 mph.

Good morning. Sunday, July 12. Howard County is rolling out a major expansion of free wifi in Columbia. Elkridge Landing math teacher Rachel Hess is Maryland's Outstanding Middle School Mathematics Teacher of the Year. And the Wine Bin's owner is opening a restaurant and cocktail bar on Ellicott City's Main Street. A slower Sunday edition — plus school committee deadlines worth knowing. This is your morning brief for Howard County.

Howard County announced a major expansion of free public wifi in Columbia. CBS News has the coverage — which areas gain coverage and the rollout timeline are in the linked report. Free public wifi lowers the barrier for residents without home broadband, and expands where students and remote workers can get online around Columbia's public spaces.

Rachel Hess, a mathematics teacher and instructional team leader at Elkridge Landing Middle School, is the 2026 Maryland Council of Teachers of Mathematics Outstanding Middle School Mathematics Teacher of the Year. Tiffany Palmer, a secondary math coach at Mayfield Woods and Thomas Viaduct middle schools, was named the 2026 Outstanding Mathematics Leader of the Year. Two statewide math honors, both in Howard County.

The owner of the Wine Bin in Ellicott City is opening a restaurant and cocktail bar on Main Street, the Baltimore Banner reports. Name, concept, and timeline are in the Banner's story. Another addition to the old town's food-and-drink row.

Two HCPSS deadlines to know. Curriculum advisory committee interest forms are due August 1 — the committees weigh in on ideas, concerns, and improvements across HCPSS academics. Applications for the new Standing Policy Advisory Committee close August 21 — one consolidated committee with a two-year commitment. Today at the library: drop-in hours with a Certified Peer Recovery Specialist at Elkridge, eleven thirty to five, and Stitches and Stories at East Columbia, ten to eleven thirty.

Also today. Five tenth graders from Centennial High School's Humanities program earned national recognition in C-SPAN's twenty-second annual StudentCam documentary competition. One hundred ninety-five HCPSS teachers achieved National Board Certification in December — one hundred seventy-nine of them first-time achievers, up from one hundred sixty-four the year before. Twenty-nine parents graduated from HCPSS's Spring Hispanic Achievement Program Parent Academy, conducted entirely in Spanish. The Baltimore Sun's 2026 voter guide for the Howard County Board of Education races is online ahead of November. High School number fourteen in Elkridge continues advancing after June's site announcement. On the market: a listing at 9627 White Acre Road A4 in Columbia, zip two-one-oh-four-five. USAFacts published data on how many people live in subsidized housing in Howard County. On the dining scene: a new Ellicott City restaurant is centering Persian plates, Baltimore Magazine reports; a Hawaiian barbecue spot opened in the county this spring; and Columbia welcomed a new Chick-fil-A earlier this year. At the library this morning: Little Learners Summer Senses at Savage at ten, Baby's Play Date at Glenwood at ten, and Play Partners at Elkridge at nine thirty.

Here's what I'm watching. Free wifi expanding across Columbia is one of those quiet equity moves — it matters most to the people you never hear from about it. And look at the school-award cluster today: a state math teacher of the year at Elkridge Landing, a math leader of the year coaching at two middle schools, five Centennial kids with national documentary recognition, and a hundred ninety-five newly board-certified teachers. That's not one good story — that's a system compounding. Committee deadlines are August 1 and 21 if you want in. Back tomorrow.

That's today's brief. Full edition at hocobrief.com — newsletter, archive, send tips. I'm at the desk. See you tomorrow morning.