Ellicott City Marks 10 Years Since the Flood

Saturday morning: slight chance rain showers then mostly sunny, high near 82 degrees. East wind 2 to 6 mph.

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This week marks ten years since the flood that tore through Old Ellicott City in July 2016 and turned Main Street into a raging river. New reporting this week caught up with three Old Ellicott City business owners on what has changed in the decade since. A separate report examined the county's flood mitigation project, called Safe and Sound, and found real progress, but also said there is still work left before the corridor is fully protected. Safe and Sound is not finished. It is still being built out, and its funding and pace will determine how the area handles the next major storm. That is the throughline of this week's anniversary coverage: not just what the flood did in 2016, but what has and has not been fixed since.

Columbia Association is marking 25 years of its CA Points program this year. The program rewards students for academic achievement and attendance with a free year of CA membership. At this year's Points Party, the annual celebration where participating students are recognized, CA is rewarding 712 students and their families with CA Play or CA Fit and Play memberships, active for one year starting June 1. Altogether, CA says the program has awarded more than one million dollars in memberships and programming. Throughout the year, CA also offers participants free programming, including tennis lessons.

Some Howard County schools have new indoor gardens this year. Gardyn hydroponic systems, the kind that grow greens and herbs without soil, are now installed in classrooms around the county. Instead of just reading about plant growth in a textbook, students get to watch lettuce and herbs grow under grow lights, a small, quiet change tucked into an otherwise ordinary school year.

At the Elkridge Branch library today, teens can catch 'Stars, Stripes, and Stop Motion,' part of the 250 Teen Film Festival, from 2 to 3 this afternoon. This morning, the library's 'All Together Now' family program runs at three branches at once: Elkridge from 9:30 to 10 for ages 0 to 5 with an adult, Glenwood from 10 to 10:30 for all ages, and Savage from 10 to 10:30 for families.

In Columbia, five local businesses were targeted by burglars this week. At Alpha Ridge Park, County Executive Calvin Ball opened six new pickleball courts for county residents. On Reddit, Howard County parents are warning each other about a youth running group organizer with a documented history of marathon bans. In Columbia's Cedar Creek neighborhood, a Saturday open house at 7973 Lawndale Circle, zoned to River Hill High School, drew attention on social media. Baltimore Magazine's take this week: Old Ellicott City is thriving again, ten years after the flood. Separate coverage this week revisited the human chain of neighbors who helped pull people to safety as floodwaters rose through Ellicott City in 2016. Ellicott City businesses say they've recovered in the ten years since the 2016 flood damaged much of Main Street. A separate piece looked back this week on the people Howard County lost in the 2016 Ellicott City flood. HCPSS posted updated meeting dates and minutes for its 2025 to 2026 Community Advisory Councils this week. In Ellicott City, a home at 4706 Bates Drive is newly listed on Realtor.com. Columbia is remembering longtime resident Frances Weinstein, whose obituary published this week through Brezniak Funeral Directors.

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That's the brief for today, July 25th. Find more at hocobrief.com, including the newsletter and the archive. Send me tips anytime. See you next time.