Education continues to be our top funding priority in Howard County, and we understand the importance of ensuring our students have an optimal place to learn and grow. It is why we have provided nearly $60 million per year to support school capital projects during the last three budget cycles. This level of funding for school construction represents an average annual increase of nearly 25 percent over the previous four years.

This record funding helped us continue our work on three priority projects and make progress on addressing school overcrowding - Talbott Springs, Hammond High, and HS13. Together, we will keep working towards fostering the best environment for all our students to learn, grow, and thrive.

Talbott Springs Elementary opened in 1973 and was last renovated in 2000. Following the approval of our proposed FY22 Capital Budget in May, the Talbott Springs Elementary School replacement project is now fully funded between both County and State funding. When completed, by September 2022, the project will provide include a full replacement facility with a capacity of approximately 590 students. 

Since opening in 1976, the current renovation at Hammond High School is only its fourth. When completed in December 2023, the renovations and addition will add capacity for an additional 200 students, increasing the size of the school by 235,000 square feet, and helping to address school overcrowding.

Our new High School #13, which is the first high school built in Howard County since 2005, will help address years of overcrowding and will provide capacity for nearly 1,700 students. Slated to open in 2023, HS13 has received nearly $100 million in funding between County and State sources following the approval of my Capital Budget last May. 

Watch the below videos to see the progress made thus far.

Talbot Springs Hammond High High School 13

For many of our residents, it’s a beloved holiday tradition to walk or drive around our neighborhoods and view the festive holiday lights. Howard County is full of holiday spirit, and we want to share that joy with everyone. 

I'm excited to launch "HoCo Holiday Lights," - a new interactive map to help our community find homes, businesses, and other lights throughout our county. It also provides an opportunity for our neighbors to flaunt their joyful decorations, and our residents to support local businesses who have also joined in on the holiday spirit. 

As we enter the second holiday season in a pandemic, let's do what we can to help spread holiday cheer.

Visit the map and/or register your home or business at howardcountymd.gov/lights

I was excited to join our Howard County Recreation and Parks, Howard County Department of Fire and Rescue Services, Howard County Library System, and members of our community to decorate and light some holiday trees. The last year has been difficult for many, and events like this help bring hope and light to all in our community, especially those who may be suffering in silence.

Following the holidays, these trees will be planted at Rockburn Park, so many members of our community can enjoy them for years to come. Let’s continue to spread positivity, light, and cheer today, and throughout the holiday season!

In case you missed it: The CDC approved COVID-19 booster shots for our youth 16 and 17 years-old. At this time, those who fall in this category can receive the Pfizer booster at least 6 months after their second dose.

There is no better time to get a booster and/or COVID-19 vaccine. The Howard County Health Department has appointments available for residents who wish to receive any form of a COVID-19 vaccine. To schedule your appointment, please visit vaccine.howardcountymd.gov

For more information, please click here.

Almost 40% of military families said that they have considered leaving active-duty service because of challenges with spouse employment. Some military families, particularly junior-ranking families who fall among the approximately 60% who live off base, often need a second income to make ends meet.

Supporting our military spouses, transitioning service members, and veterans to find full employment within our region is an economic imperative and a meaningful way to show our appreciation. I was grateful to join Colonel Nyland and Anne Arundel County Executive Steuart Pittman to sign an agreement to provide workforce services to transitioning service members, active-duty spouses, and veterans at Fort Meade.

It’s become even more evident through this pandemic how vital it is we work together for the good of our region and our Nation – and we’re very grateful to have these great relationships and partnerships. We look forward to our continued partnership, to ensure the best for all those that live and work in our region. Thank you to our Workforce Development team and Administrator Fran Trout, her counterpart in Anne Arundel County Kirkland Murray and their teams for their efforts to make this position a reality.

With our continued partnership, we will make progress on creating the best environment to live, work, play, grow and thrive for all.

During this pandemic our partnerships as local leaders are more critical than ever, and MACo has been an organizer on behalf of all counties across Maryland to address our response and recovery. I am honored to be elected as Maryland Association of Counties First Vice President to serve on the Executive Committee. I look forward to serving with and congratulate all the new officers of MACo, including President Laura Price. 

I plan on applying the same passion and dedication I have for the residents of Howard County toward the mission of MACo and all Marylanders. Finally, a resounding congratulations to leaders, Senator Katie Fry Hester and Delegate Jessica Feldmark for receiving MACo Recognition Awards for their important work on broadband expansion and other legislative priorities.

Please join me in congratulating my friend, Delegate Dereck Davis for being elected as Maryland’s State Treasurer. Dereck has served our community and our state for over 25 years in the House of Delegates. Through his career, he has been a steadfast leader as chair of the Economic Matters committee, and I’m certain his experience will benefit him in his new role.

I’m also grateful for the leadership of current State Treasurer, my friend, Nancy Kopp for her decades long service as delegate and 19 years of service as treasurer for our great state. She has been a phenomenal leader and we wish her the very best. We look forward to our continued partnership with our new Treasurer and wish him many years of success.

The holiday spirit is cheerful in Elkridge! 

I was thrilled to join the Howard County Department of Fire and Rescue Services and the Elkridge Fire Department for a drive with Santa through Elkridge. The holidays are a special time for many families, and after a difficult year, events like this help bring joy to many children and families.

It was a sweet day in Elkridge! 

Kupcakes & Co. hosted their annual Kupcakes with Santa event in Elkridge where 100% of the profits were donated to the Howard County General Hospital. Thank you to Michelle Kupiec for your leadership and the entire bake team for volunteering their time for this important event.

It's that time of year!

Our 6th annual Howard County Toys for Tots toy drive is currently underway. I hope your family will consider donating an unwrapped toy at one of our many locations throughout the county. Donations are accepted through noon on December 17th. Join us as we make this holiday season a little merrier for our families in need!

It was a spectacular Saturday in Howard County and the perfect time to enjoy the musical talents our community has to offer. I was elated to join the Columbia Bands, Inc. to recognize Michael Blackman for his 20 years of service as conductor. Thank you to Al, Kim, and Michael for all your efforts to bring an exceptional musical selection to our community.

The Columbia Bands Inc. is a nonprofit organization comprised of community members who have a passion for music. They provide free concerts across our County. Learn more about them here.

I had a wonderful time taking part in the Annual Great Lisbon Farmers Feed the Hungry Christmas Parade. Since its inception in 2011, this parade has collected much needed funds and food for beneficiaries to feed the hungry. After two years in COVID-19, food insecurity is a large problem in our community. 

That’s why it is important, now more than ever, to support this parade to benefit Farmers & Hunters Feeding the Hungry, the Lisbon Volunteer Fire Company and the Howard County and Carroll County food banks. Thank you to the Howard County Farm Bureau, participants and sponsors who made today possible.

Each year we come together during the holidays to help ensure that kids in our community have access to a bike. This year, Free Bikes 4 Kidz Maryland is providing more than 1,700 bikes to for kids, about twice as many as last year. 

Thank you to all those who volunteered and donated. Special thank you to Ted Cochran for leading this important initiative, and all of the caring volunteers.

The Harriet Tubman School, set to be completed Spring of 2023, will serve as a historic, educational and cultural space. Our investments over the years, to renovate and maintain a piece of our history, reflect our commitment to learning from our past and creating an even brighter future, full of more opportunity for all.

Now, alumni and former staff can continue to share their stories and legacy with our community for generations to come.

I had a wonderful time meeting with leaders from the Japanese Embassy to expand partnerships and endeavors for our Japanese residents and businesses, as well as opportunities for all to experience Japanese culture. I'm always glad to cultivate relationships with partners who can help us ensure all our residents can live, work, play, grow, and thrive in Howard County.

It was a pleasure to join our Columbia (MD) Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc Social Action Committee for their annual meeting. The last year has been hard for many in our community, and it’s important to come together to discuss how we can ensure we reach every person so they don’t fall through the cracks. Thank you to Chair Valerie Montague and all the committee members for joining me tonight for an engaging conversation on our progress with education, safety, and homelessness. 

Together, we can ensure everyone receives the resources they need to thrive.

Since our first round of CARES Act Funding in 2020, our team has worked diligently to get funding into the hands of our most vulnerable residents and we have distributed 51% of funding for County managed assistance programs. Our distribution method is one of the most efficient and effective in the nation – and most importantly, more of our residents are able to stay safely housed during a pandemic. 

We're so grateful for our partners at Howard County Housing & Community Development, Luminus, Community Action Council of Howard County, Springboard Community Services, and Friends of Grassroots Crisis Intervention Center for their efforts to get this vital funding into the hands of those who need it most. 

If you or someone you know needs help with housing costs, funding is still available to pay rent and utility expenses. To learn more and apply, please click here.

Howard County residents of all ages and backgrounds working together, giving of their time, talents and energy to make their community better, will be the foundation of a successful Age-Friendly Howard County. This January 2022, I invite all our residents to learn how, where and when they can help implement the action steps to make Howard County a great place in which to grow up and grow older by reviewing our Age-Friendly Action Plan to find out how you can get involved.

DCRS’ Office on Aging and Independence (OAI) is a proud sponsor of the Beacon Virtual 50+EXPO, an online event which features an interactive website with information and resources geared to older adults. Now through January 31^st, visitors can access content on demand 24 hours a day from https://beacon50expo.com/. Log on anytime to visit more than 100 exhibitors and sponsors, including OAI's Bronze-level sponsors, Lorien Health and Maryland Vascular Specialists; engage with speakers; attend online classes; and enjoy a wide variety of entertainment.

In case you missed it, last week we shared details regarding a large rock that crews working on the H7 Dry Flood Mitigation Pond project, located at the westbound US 40 exit off northbound US 29 cloverleaf, came across. Unable to excavate the rock with machinery, a blasting company was called in to complete the job. Unfortunately, due to a supply delay, the blast work previously scheduled for December 8^th was cancelled. Instead, as was announced, over the next weeks (excluding the week of Christmas), the blasting company will be utilizing small explosives one to two days a week to gradually remove the large rock. Timing of each blast remains dependent on each day’s construction schedule and the weather.

We thank you for your patience and understanding as we work towards completing this vital Ellicott City Safe and Sound project. Once complete, the H7 pond will reduce the amount of water that runs off the site by more than 30 percent in a 100-year storm, keeping more water from flowing to Historic Ellicott City during a severe weather event. The H7 Pond will provide 13-acre-feet of storage approximately the same as 10 football fields, each covered with one foot of water, during storm events. To learn more about this and other Ellicott City Safe and Sound projects, visit www.ecsafeandsound.org.

Misplaced your COVID-19 Vaccination Card? Never fear! You can easily request your vaccination records the Maryland Department of Health’s “Maryland MyIR” website. Maryland MyIR is a free website service that allows residents to view and print copies of their official vaccination records directly from ImmuNet, Maryland's immunization information system. ImmuNet is used by healthcare providers to securely maintain vaccination records for Maryland residents of all ages.

If you or someone you know is still in need of their flu vaccine, visit HCHD’s "Seasonal Flu" website today for details regarding its flu vaccination clinics.

I invite you to join myself, our Office of Human Rights and Equity’s (OHRE) and the County’s Department of Recreation & Parks on Tuesday, December 28^th at 6:00 p.m. at the Owen Brown Interfaith Center in Columbia, for a Kwanzaa Celebration. With inspirational speeches and musical performances, we will explore the creativity, self-determination and faith of Black people during this annual holiday celebration. If joining us in person, we ask that your please register as seating is limited; however, if you will be joining us virtually, you can watch the program live on OHRE’s Facebook page.

The Howard County Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Commission is hosting a High School Food & Diaper Drive in support of the Howard County Food Bank. The Commission is encouraging county high schools to donate to the Food Bank (located at 9385 Gerwig Ln J in Columbia) now through January 7^th and the high school the largest donation of items will be recognized on January 16^th at the County’s Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Celebration. The Food Bank is currently in need of: canned and dried vegetables; canned and dried beans; canned and dried fruit; soup; fruit juice; pasta; rice; tuna fish; peanut butter; baby food, diapers and baby wipes.

For questions and/or more information about this Drive, please contact OHRE at 410-313-6430 or email mlk@howardcountymd.gov.

Together with the Harriet Tubman Foundation of Howard County, the County’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Commission will be hosting a Pop-Up Food Pantry event on Monday, January 10^th from 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. at the Ridgely Run Community Center, located at 8400 Mission Road in Jessup. on Monday, January 10th from 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. if you need free food. If you or someone you know needs food, I encourage you to attend this pop-up event.

To mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day on Thursday, January 27^th, OHRE has partnered with the Howard County Library System (HCLS) and Jewish Federation of Howard County to host a book discussion group on Nobel Peace Prize winning author Elie Wiesel’s novel Night. Night is a candid, horrific and deeply poignant autobiographical account of Wiesel’s survival as a teenager in the Nazi death camps.

Join OHRE, HCLS and the Jewish Federation as they gather at the Central Branch at 6:30 p.m. to reflect on and discuss the importance of protecting and promoting the human rights of all people by remembering the human rights violations of Jews during the Holocaust.

To register for this free event, click HERE.

Howard County Police Department (HCPD) is warning residents about an increase in reports of gift card scams the department is seeing, with victims in Howard County reporting a loss of at least $153,000 since October. While these thieves often target the elderly, ANYONE can receive a call. The scam starts when a victim receiving an unsolicited, threatening phone call demanding money to resolve an issue. The caller will request the victim purchase gift cards and then ask for the number and PIN on the cards; the caller DOES NOT need the physical card to use it, just the number and PIN. The suspect will then drain the card instantly, leaving the victim no way to recover the money.

To learn more about these scams, what to look for and how to avoid being a victim, visit the Federal Trade Commission's website.

Beginning this month and running through February 1, 2022, Howard County’s Department of Public Works (DPW) will be conducting a survey of septic system owners within the County’s Water and Sewer Planned Service Area. This voluntary survey will evaluate septic owners’ interest in connecting to public sewer and the information collected will only be used to help the County plan future projects. To learn more about this survey, click HERE.

To learn about DPW projects currently underway, visit https://bit.ly/2V6K5B6. Searchable by project category and street name, from this site you’ll find additional project details, including news releases about the project. You can also contact DPW’s Customer Service Office at 410-313-3440 or email publicworks@howardcountymd.gov for further assistance.

If you have questions or are interested in finding out about a State road (numbered roadway) project in your area, visit the Maryland State Highway Administration’s (SHA) “Project Portal” website.

With Christmas and New Year’s falling on a Saturday this year, DPW’s Bureau of Environmental Services will be sliding Saturday trash curbside collection back one day instead of forward for residents in Historic Ellicott City and nearby communities who normally receive Saturday trash collection. That is, Saturday, December 25^th collection will take place on Friday, December 24^th and Saturday, January 1^st collection will take place on Friday, December 31^st. There will be REGULAR Friday trash, recycling, food scrap and yard trim collection for all other residents who normally have Friday collection on Christmas Eve. The Alpha Ridge Landfill will also be open on the 24^th; however, it will close at 2:00 p.m. on Friday. The Landfill will be closed on Christmas Day.

For questions and/ore more information about Historic Ellicott City curbside collection, check out the Bureau’s new “Historic Ellicott City Trash & Recycling” webpage or contact the Bureau at 410-313-6444 or email help@howardcountyrecycles.org. 

While the Bureau’s regular Saturday Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) schedule has ended for the season (to resume the first Saturday of April), the Bureau will host three SPECIAL HHW collection days this winter: Saturday, January 8^th, Saturday, February 5^th and Saturday, March 5^th. One these three days, County residents can properly dispose of HHW items at the Landfill. For more information on this program and what is accepted/not accepted, visit www.howardcountymd.gov/HHW.

Our Recreation & Parks Advisory Board will conduct a Public Hearing this Wednesday, December 15^th at 7:00 p.m. at the Department of Recreation & Parks’ headquarters (7120 Oakland Mills Road in Columbia) to consider the Department’s Fiscal Year 2023 “Draft” Capital Budget and the Fiscal Year 2023-2032 “Draft” Capital Improvement Program for the acquisition and development of park and recreation lands. Those interested in speaking at the hearing can sign-up online by clicking on “Public Comment.” Note, you may also sign up in person the night of the hearing as well. Additionally, questions and comments can also be emailed ahead of time to HCRPBoard@howardcountymd.gov.  

If you are looking for an activity for your child to partake in during their winter break, I encourage you to check out Recreation & Parks winter break programs and activities, ranging from LEGO to basketball to cooking to theater and more! For the full list of programs and/or to register, click HERE. Please note, some sections are already full.

Online, in-person, mail-in and over-the-phone (410-313-PARK) registration for Howard County Recreation and Parks' (HCRP) 2022 Winter Activity Guide is NOW OPEN for all – Howard County and non-county residents. With new and returning special events, programs, sports leagues, adult classes and so much more, HCRP offers something for everyone in your family.

This holiday season, I invite you to stop by our Baltimore and Ohio Ellicott City Station Museum and Gary J. Arthur Community Center for this year’s train garden spectacular displays!

The train garden at the Baltimore and Ohio Ellicott City Station Museum will feature train models set up throughout the museum, including in the museum’s year-round exhibit in the Freight House. This free event is open to all ages from November 26^th through January 2^nd, during museum hours.

After visiting the Baltimore and Ohio Ellicott City Station Museum’s train garden, I invite you to stop by the train display at our Gary J. Arthur Community Center, brought to us by train enthusiast Dennis Moore. This year’s layout features four, continuously operating trains through an 8 x 8 foot scenic garden. Visitors of all ages can enjoy an interactive exhibit of accessories and sounds. This train garden is also free to all and open during the center’s operating hours from November 29^th through January 7^th.

Our Department of Recreation & Parks is seeking your input Howard County for its Land Preservation, Parks and Recreation Plan (LPPRP), a comprehensive plan produced every five years that guides the department on key issues, trends and plans for managing and enhancing the systems of preserved public lands, parks and recreation facilities. To learn more about the LPPRP or to provide your input, click HERE.

As part of the development of its Transportation Demand Management Plan for Downtown Columbia (DTC), the Office of Transportation is working with the Downtown Columbia Partnership to survey those who live, work and play in DTC. The purpose of the survey to develop a better understanding of the transportation needs and assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on travel patterns of those who live, work and play and this area. Your responses will help Transportation design new transportation options and strategies to address current needs as well as into the post-COVID period. To take the survey, click HERE.

Last week, I signed a memorandum of understanding with Fort George G. Meade and Anne Arundel County to provide workforce services to transitioning service members, active-duty spouses and veterans at the base. The partnership will allow our Office of Workforce Development and Anne Arundel Workforce Development Center to provide services that include career coaching, skills training, credentialing/certification and job connections. The agreement will help address unemployment rates by providing core job and skills training to unemployed and underemployed transitioning service members, families and veterans. The agencies will also work with Ft. Meade to fill their federal civilian positions. To learn more about this agreement, click HERE.