Ellicott City Teacher's $750K Lawsuit: Howard County News, July 21 2026

Tuesday morning: scattered showers and thunderstorms then chance showers and thunderstorms, high near 90 degrees. South wind 6 to 12 mph.

Good morning, Howard County. It's Tuesday, July 21st. An Ellicott City teacher is suing the school system for 750,000 dollars. Three county council candidates are staking out positions on data centers. Howard County could be on track for its first ever minority majority council. And storms roll through today with a high near 90. Let's get into it.

An Ellicott City teacher is suing the Howard County school system for 750,000 dollars. The Baltimore Sun first reported the lawsuit this week. No further details on the underlying claims have been released yet. We'll bring you more as the case moves forward.

Some Howard County schools are teaching students with hydroponic gardens, giving them hands on lessons in growing plants without soil. Patch reports the gardens are giving students a direct look at how their food grows, right in the classroom.

PrideStaff's Columbia office has new ownership, PR Newswire reports. The staffing agency's Columbia location continues operating under the new leadership.

At the Howard County library system today: Play Partners for infants and toddlers runs 9:30 to 10 at the Savage Branch. Babysitting 101 follows at Savage from 10 to noon. And at the Central Branch, a certified peer recovery specialist from the county health department is on hand from 10 to 4.

County council candidates Kevin Chin, Christiana Rigby and Clarence Lam are staking out positions on data center development ahead of the election. Howard County is on track to elect its first ever minority majority county council, according to WMAR. At the East Columbia Branch, the all ages program All Together Now runs 10:30 to 11 this morning. At the Elkridge Branch, Little Learners Summer of STEAM for ages 3 to 5 runs 10:30 to 11. In Mount Airy, a civic activist launched a fundraising push for a storm siren system after the project hit a funding snag. Columbia is remembering longtime resident Robert 'Bob' Van Ostrand, according to an obituary posted through Miller Funeral and Cremation Services. In Columbia, Mount's baseball team hosted UMass for a three-game series earlier this year. In Anne Arundel County, all 16 library branches now offer free park passes, two per branch, under a new library program. In Annapolis, House and Senate leaders are limiting the upcoming special session to congressional redistricting bills only. Maryland's business climate ranking hit a ten-year low, according to CNBC's latest state rankings. In Baltimore, a fundraiser at the Resting Bitch Place features craft workshops to support the community space. In Baltimore, a former NFL player turned pastor is turning a shuttered Catholic church in Highlandtown into a new congregation. Howard County's health department issued a heat advisory this summer as temperatures climbed into the 90s, in line with today's forecast.

Showers and storms continue tonight with a low around 71 and another 70 percent chance of rain, some storms potentially severe. To the south, Tropical Storm Bertha is moving through the Gulf of Mexico toward the Florida Panhandle and Alabama, a system worth watching later this week.

What's on my mind today: Howard County politics is having a moment. Three council candidates are talking openly about data centers, and the county could be on track for its first ever minority majority council. Add an Ellicott City teacher taking the school system to court, and you've got a county in the middle of some real change. Bring an umbrella today too. It's going to be a wet one.

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