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Hey hey, ZIP folks!
Hope you're staying cozy on this chilly, rainy Sunday. I'm bundled up on the couch editing this week's issue to the sweet sound of Derrick Henry touchdowns 😈
Quick heads up: FEMA updated the flood maps, which could mean a new flood insurance requirement for some homes. Worth a look, especially after the nor'easter that just hammered the Eastern Shore.
I also shuffled things around so events come first this week. Mostly because Bruce Springsteen and the Foo Fighters are playing Merriweather next Saturday. On the same day. 😳
Let me know what you think of the new order. Let's go:
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| Your Week Ahead · Weather |
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Mon
⛈️
69°
Rain
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Tue
☁️
74°
Cloudy
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Thu
⛅
82°
Partly cloudy
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Fri
⛈️
79°
Rain
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Sat
☁️
66°
Cloudy
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$1 wings, bourbon and blues, a fall festival, and a legendary Saturday at Merriweather
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Meet the 28 local artists behind this oil, watercolor, and raku pottery show. Everything on display is for sale.
📍 5885 Robert Oliver Pl, Columbia · Sun Sep 27 · 2–4PM
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Local designers each take over a room of a historic estate. Great for home-reno inspiration, and it benefits HEC's preservation work.
📍 Valhalla, 1575 Marriottsville Rd, Marriottsville · Thu–Sun through Oct 11
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$1 wings in 14 flavors, plus $6 IPAs, $5 rail drinks, and $4 domestic bottles and drafts.
📍 1415 Woodstock Rd, Woodstock · Every Wednesday
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Howard County's America250 crew opens up Belmont Manor & Historic Park for a free afternoon of local history.
📍 Belmont Manor & Historic Park, Elkridge · Thu Oct 1 · 12–5PM · Free
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Local brewery and distillery pours (plus NA options), food, raffles, a silent auction, and live blues from Big Joe and the Dynaflows and Tom Jenkins. 300+ people came out last year.
📍 The Collective Offshore & Encore, Columbia · Thu Oct 1 · 6–9PM · $89
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Free and family friendly: live music, craft vendors, food trucks, and a kids' craft area. Rain or shine, which is good news given Saturday's forecast.
📍 5851 Robert Oliver Pl, Columbia · Sat Oct 3 · 11AM–3PM · Free
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Landscape photographer Jay Moore opens his show of mountains, coastlines, and big Western skies. Easy excuse for a Sunday stroll down Main.
📍 Artists' Gallery, 8197 Main St, Ellicott City · Sun Oct 4 · 2–5PM
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Retro and modern games, local indie developers, and live video game music from the Baltimore Gamer Symphony Orchestra.
📍 HCLS Central Branch, 10375 Little Patuxent Pkwy, Columbia · Sat Oct 10 · 12–3PM
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🚘 Worth the drive
Tom Morello's one-day lineup is absurd: Bruce Springsteen, Foo Fighters, Dave Matthews, Public Enemy, Jack Black, Dropkick Murphys, and more. Tickets are through the face-value exchange only.
📍 Merriweather Post Pavilion, Columbia · Sat Oct 3 · Gates 12PM, show 1PM
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21043 market snapshot · September 2026
5 bed · 5.5 bath · 5,206 sqft
$1,000,000
Active
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3 bed · 2 bath · 1,866 sqft
$440,000
Active
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4 bed · 3.5 bath · 4,054 sqft
$685,000
Active
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4 bed · 4 bath · 5,120 sqft
$950,000
Active
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🏦 Mortgage rates just crossed 7%. Freddie Mac's average 30-year rate hit 7.03% this week, the highest since January 2025 and up from 6.30% a year ago. Don't count on relief soon: the Fed just raised rates, and traders are betting on another hike in October. Buyers: every point costs about $276 a month on a $400K loan, but you have leverage. More than 1 in 5 homes cut their price in August. Sellers: fewer buyers can afford your number. Price it right from day one. |
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Quieter week, but Montgomery Run and Oakton Lane got hit again
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3
Incidents this week
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3
Vehicle break-ins
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2
Streets hit 2 weeks straight
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Theft From Vehicle · 21043 · Repeat Street
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Theft From Vehicle · 21043 · Repeat Street
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Theft From Vehicle · 21043
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3 advisories · a new path planned for Montgomery Road
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The county is designing a new walking and biking path along Montgomery Road from Rockburn Drive to Bellanca Drive, with new crosswalks and drainage work. Still in early design, no construction yet. Questions go to DPW at 410-313-1885.
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FEMA's updated flood maps could put some Howard County properties into a high-risk zone for the first time, which means required flood insurance. County staff and state reps will walk through the maps and answer questions.
📍 Capitoline Center, 8360 Court Ave, Ellicott City · Wed Oct 7 · 6–8PM
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Free one-on-one sessions with certified counselors on debt, savings, credit, and banking, open to anyone who lives, works, or goes to school in the county. It's the first program of its kind from any Maryland county. In person in Columbia or virtual. Book here. |
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🍂 Leaves are coming. Skip the plastic bags.
Howard County won't pick up yard trim in plastic bags, even the "biodegradable" ones. Use paper yard bags or a reusable open-top container, and keep each one under 40 pounds. Curbside yard trim runs through mid-January, so you've got all fall. County yard trim rules. |
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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"Every leaf in my yard came off my neighbor's tree. I have never once seen that tree drop a leaf on his side."
Overheard in 21043
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"My neighbor asked if our house is in the new flood zone. I don't even know which day is recycling."
Overheard in 21043
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📖
Columbia's weirdest street names come straight out of poetry books.
Ever driven past Empty Song Road, Sharp Antler, or Deep Calm and wondered who approved that? Nearly all of Columbia's 1,000+ street names were pulled from poems and literature. Sharp Antler comes from a 1925 Vachel Lindsay poem. The most-used writer by far is Robinson Jeffers, a famously dark poet whose work produced more than 100 Columbia street names. Mark Twain only got 29.
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Know a neighbor in 21043?
Forward this to someone on your street. The ZIP is free, and your neighborhood deserves to be in the loop.
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