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Helloooooo, 21043! Hope you're doing well.
I just watched the Ravens lose to the Saints in devastating fashion, so please forgive me for piling on here to say we're in for a rainy week with lower temperatures :(
On the brighter side, we've got the Moon Festival, the Crab Feast, and a fresh wave of fall events to look forward to.
So let's get into it:
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| Your Week Ahead · Weather |
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Mon
⛈️
72°
Rain
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Tue
⛈️
65°
Rain
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Thu
☁️
65°
Cloudy
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Fri
⛈️
67°
Rain
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Sat
⛈️
67°
Rain
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Two stolen cars, four vehicle break-ins, and a break-in at a vacant home
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7
Incidents this week
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6
Vehicle crimes
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1
Residential burglary
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Theft From Vehicle · 21043
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Theft From Vehicle · 21043 · Tires
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Theft From Vehicle · 21043 · Airbags
Airbags stolen from two vehicles, plus a third car hit where it's unclear anything was taken — 8600 block of Stonehouse Drive, 8600 block of Watkins Run Court (both overnight Sept. 11–12), and 3100 block of Cavalier Wood Road (overnight Sept. 13–14).
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Vehicle Theft · 21042 (Nearby)
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Residential Burglary · 21043
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Vehicle break-ins and thefts remain the driver of local crime. Lock your car every night, and don't leave valuables visible.
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21043 market snapshot · September 2026
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$635K
Avg. home value
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-0.1%
Year over year
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10
Median days to pending
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4 bed · 4 bath · 3,182 sqft
$850,000
Active
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3 bed · 4 bath · 3,050 sqft
$650,000
Active
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4 bed · 4 bath · 3,640 sqft
$829,900
Active
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5 bed · 2 bath · 2,614 sqft
$649,900
90 Days on Market Active
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📊 The Fed just raised interest rates to 3.75%–4.00%, its first hike since 2023, breaking two straight years of cuts. Mortgage rates tend to follow the Fed's lead within a few weeks, so if you'd been waiting for borrowing costs to keep falling before buying, that window may be closing instead of opening. |
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2 advisories — one underway, one new in Elkridge
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Howard County's bridge cleaning and painting project on the Snowden River Parkway southbound bridge over Robert Fulton Drive in Columbia kicked off this week and continues into early October. Vertical clearance under the bridge remains reduced, so taller vehicles should plan an alternate route.
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Howard County will install about 1,175 feet of new water main along Race Road in Elkridge starting on or about Monday, Oct. 5, wrapping by late December, weather permitting.
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What Howard County residents are saying about quality of life here
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| • | Nearly 90% of residents rate their quality of life "good" or "very good," and over 80% would recommend Howard County as a place to live or work. |
| • | Nearly 79% cite housing costs as a major or moderate obstacle, and over a third of respondents said they plan to relocate within five years, with most of those planning to leave the area entirely. |
| • | 94% feel safe during the day and 82% at night, though only about 56% said they're confident in emergency response times. |
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A packed week: AI summit, Moon Festival, fishing, movies, and a walk for Alzheimer's
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Howard County's Economic Development Authority hosts local tech leaders and founders for a morning of talks on where AI is taking the regional economy.
📍 6751 Columbia Gateway Dr, Columbia · Tue Sep 22 · 8AM–12PM
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Howard County celebrates the Moon Festival with the Chinese American Senior Association — traditional music and dance performances honoring the harvest holiday.
📍 North Laurel 50+ Center, 9411 Whiskey Bottom Rd · Thu Sep 24 · 10AM–12PM
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An evening fishing session at Centennial Lake, good for families and anyone who's been meaning to try their luck after dark.
📍 Centennial Park, Ellicott City · Thu Sep 25 · 6–11PM
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Bring a blanket and watch Moana under the stars at Color Burst Park's outdoor movie series.
📍 Color Burst Park, Ellicott City · Thu Sep 25
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An evening of orchestral music celebrating African musical traditions, featuring works by Fela Sowande and Abdullah Ibrahim.
📍 First Evangelical Lutheran Church, 3604 Chatham Rd, Ellicott City · Sat Sep 26 · 4–6PM
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The world's largest Alzheimer's fundraiser returns to Centennial Park with a Promise Garden ceremony, exhibitor booths, and a kids' zone.
📍 Centennial Park, 10000 Clarksville Pike, Ellicott City · Sat Sep 26 · Check-in 9AM, walk 10:30AM
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A parent/child workshop building wearable, three-dimensional Halloween costumes out of cardboard — pizza slice, recycling truck, or whatever your kid dreams up.
📍 Capitoline Center, 8360 Court Ave, Ellicott City · Sun Sep 27 · 1–3PM
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🚘 Worth the drive
All-you-can-eat crabs, pit beef, and raffles at this longtime charity fundraiser. Tickets are on sale now.
📍 Owen Brown Interfaith Center, Columbia · Sat Oct 3 · 3–6PM
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Drain and disconnect your garden hoses before the first frost
With temperatures starting to drop this week, now's the time to disconnect garden hoses, drain them fully, and shut off any exterior spigots. Water left sitting in a hose or an unprotected outdoor faucet can freeze and expand, cracking the pipe behind it, and that's a repair you don't want to discover come spring.
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Have a tip worth sharing? Reply to this email.
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Things your neighbors said this week
Hear something worth sharing? Reply and we'll feature it.
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"Watched a Ravens flag come down mid-game Sunday, before the loss was even official. That's not loyalty, that's preparation."
Overheard in 21043
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"Someone's Halloween skeletons are already up next to their Fourth of July flag. Nobody's taking a side, everyone's just tired."
Overheard in 21043
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🌉
The Thomas Viaduct in Elkridge is the first curved stone-arch railroad bridge ever built in America — and it's still in daily use.
Built in 1835 by the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad to carry trains over the Patapsco River, the 700-foot bridge is made up of eight elliptical stone arches. At the time, critics doubted a curved masonry bridge could handle the weight and vibration of a moving train — nearly two centuries later, it's still standing and CSX freight trains still cross it every day, just a short drive from 21043.
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