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Anyone know what happened at Sherwood. Was visiting a friend and all of a sudden 7-9 police cars came zooming into complex. They stayed for over an hour .. just curious if anyone who lives at Sherwood apts (elkrdige) knows what went down.

Hi, folks. my husband and I lived in Columbia Pointe until May 2024. We moved out because the rent was hundreds more than that was charged from new residents (because every time we renew the lease, the rent was raised.). We did not want to pay a much higher rent to continue to live there. So, we negotiated with the manager to ask for a reduced rent. However, the negotiation was slow and we often could not get hold of the people who can talk to us. Eventually, we talked to the higher level manager who told us them would not lower the rent. It was already less than a month before the end of our lease. The manager said, don't worry. we will not be charged a late notice fee since it was not our repsonsibility that we could not make the decision 30 days before end of the lease.

However, I received debt collector's mail months after we moved out. The amount we own them is a month's rent and I was required to pay them. I logged in the portal and it showed that we were charged June's rent. I called Columbia Pointe (the staff told me to email the property manager), emailed, and desputed through the debt collector. However, there were no response. I wonder if you have any advice or suggestions or resources regarding what I can do? I'm very frustrated about how they handled the whole situation and think it is unfair that we pay for the $2444.31 rent.

Thank you in advance!

Dose anyone have the inside baseball on the Board of Education candidates and what they stand for. I don't have great connections to the school system but would hate for my vote to go to someone who vibes with banning books.

Why is the Elkridge Costco out of paper towels and toilet tissue? I hope it’s because supplies are being diverted to hurricane zones and not due to the port strikes.

Is really really good and not a bad price point at all!

As title says, it closed today Oct 3, 2024, permanently

Anyone here love anime, games, and other otaku stuffs but have no friends to share em with? I was thinking of making up an anime club for the Columbia howard county area since we dont have one and Im tired of not having otaku friends to hangout with.

recently moved from Baltimore/ Towson area and I thought the drivers were bad there. The drivers in Columbia are mind numbingly terrible. So comfortable with going 10 under in the fast lane, do they know there is a such thing as a fast lane? Last week I was on a spare tire after a flat and had to go significantly under the speed limit and the amount of drivers that gladly lined up behind me to go 10-15 under was actually insane, this is with no one in the left lane too. I’m coming more from a place of curiosity because it is genuinely such a different driving culture from what I’ve experienced. Any clues?

Just as title says school bus used my yard as a turn around even though there was a turn around spot right at the end of the street. Massive tire tracks are visible due to all the rain and the ground being soft. Who would I contact to let them know about this?

looking for vintage or unique looking jewelry, wanting to find some bangles and stuff!!! not really wanting to go to goodwill, what are some good small businesses that would have cute jewelry and stuff? doesn’t have to be like actual gems, just as long as it looks cool.

Anyone know somewhere in the area to get spicy or soy marinated raw crabs?

Or should I make it myself? The only experience I have with raw foods is making aguachile which wasn’t hard. I just don’t want to accidentally give myself food poisoning with the crabs haha. Any tips?

With baseball playoffs here and the Mets and Yankees both in the playoffs (yes, I'm an over eager Mets fan 😂) does anyone know of any bars that get big groups for watching baseball? I'm trying NOT to buy ridiculously priced playoff tickets, but have never really heard of anywhere being real baseball bars. In Baltimore city there was one in Canton people used to say was a NYM bar, but we went for playoffs and they wouldn't change the channels from college football.

In case anyone missed it, the library’s website is down due to a fire in Baltimore.

https://www.facebook.com/100064558579173/posts/934393958722548/?mibextid=rS40aB7S9Ucbxw6v

What’s the cost of utilities while living here?

My friend told me Costco is closed for the next few weeks for renovations. Is this true?

Well, we bought a townhome, and unfortunately, we drew the short straw with our next-door neighbors. These people are awful. Let me explain why with five reasons.

1. First, the exterior of their home is in terrible shape. There’s peeling paint, rotting wood, and detached siding exposing insulation and even joists. But if that weren’t bad enough, the rear of their house is visibly sinking due to erosion. Since we’re attached to this townhouse, I’m worried about potential water damage, foundation issues, and pest problems. Thankfully, we haven’t noticed any issues on our property yet.
2. Second, they have several dogs, which they leave outside on their deck (which is also rotting) at all hours and in all weather conditions, including rain and snow. Aside from this being incredibly neglectful and borderline abusive, the dogs bark incessantly from early morning until late at night. The barking is so loud that it reflects off the homes behind us and even carries around to the front. I know the other neighbors are affected, too. Worse, the dogs are left to urinate and defecate on the deck—it’s literally a poop deck. We’ve even found dog feces on our property, and the smell, especially after rain or when it’s baking in the sun, makes it unbearable to be in our backyard.
3. Third, they have bulk, rotting trash and junk in both the front and back of their townhouse. The pile practically fills the entire rear of their property: multiple doors, an old sofa and armchair, lumber, construction waste, used mops and brooms, broken glass—it looks like a dump. It’s more than just an eyesore; it’s become a nesting ground for mice. Of course, they own two pickup trucks. Maybe they could do some, you know, “truck stuff” and haul everything to the dump?
4. Fourth, we have reason to believe there is substantial drug activity taking place inside. The smell of weed pours out of their open windows (yes, I understand this isn’t illegal), we’ve found hypodermic needles outside, and we regularly see a parade of—let’s say “peculiar and disheveled”—people going in and out. One of the family members even walks around the neighborhood with a bong in his hand, while children and families are nearby.
5. Finally, they are simply crude, unsavory people who seem to be in a bad place. We often hear them screaming obscenities at each other (and their dogs) through the walls, slamming doors, and banging on the walls. Sometimes, their arguments spill outside into the street. It’s uncomfortable to witness all of this, and embarrassing when visitors to our home hear or see it for themselves and then worry for us. Our initial attempts to be friendly were met with passive intimidation, patronizing remarks, and foul language. Now, we avoid interaction altogether. Other neighbors have asked if we’ve spoken to them about these issues, but frankly, we’re reluctant to.

This is simply not the experience we expected in Columbia, and not in this neighborhood. We did our research, were told by our realtor, and heard from others in the area that Columbia is a planned community where the HOA strictly enforces covenants and community standards. But that’s false. It’s simply not true. It’s a ruse—a stereotype. The covenants are not enforced whatsoever. Maybe they were at one time, but there’s no evidence of that now. What we’re left with is the lingering notion of a planned community with standards, but nothing more.

Our townhome community, where home prices are in excess of half a million dollars, is surrounded by beautiful single-family homes worth over a million, and an adjacent gated 55+ community. Meanwhile, we pay our HOA fees—our townhome HOA, our village HOA, and the Columbia Association—but none of them have done anything to resolve the issue, despite our continued efforts to bring it to their attention. The best advice I’ve received was to contact animal control regarding the dogs and the police regarding suspected drug activity. But what are they going to do about the house falling apart, the dogs, or the dump outside? Maybe they can’t do anything about our unsavory neighbors, but they could at least enforce the rules. Or is that too much to ask?

For those wondering why we bought a home next to these people in the first place: Well, it was our first home purchase, and we were desperate to find something quickly in a highly competitive market with the economy doing strange things. To be honest, the house was on the market for only one day. We toured it once, and offers were due that night. So yes, we probably moved too quickly and overlooked some things—but we had no choice. Hopefully, next time we’ll be much more discerning.

I welcome any feedback and ideas.

Has anybody ever had a therapist that they saw using their Employee Assistance Program? I'm starting to wonder if it's not big in Maryland state because I can't find a therapist who participates/even knows what I'm talking about when I mentioned an EAP code.

In California, I'm able to get 10 free sessions (just copay) with a therapist with this code but can't seem to make it work in MD. Has anyone ever had success using this option in their insurance?

Thank you!

I am looking for a volleyball club for my child. She is playing rec ball through the county but wants more of a challenge. She played for a club before we moved here that had 3 tournament teams: local, regional, national. She was on the local team, so a step up from rec ball but not elite by any means.

I've been looking around Howard county but most clubs are regional/ national. Can anyone point me in the right direction of more competitive than rec but not crazy serious team?

Thank you!

Hello! I’m from out of town only in Columbia for the evening. I’ve been looking up things to do but am only having success finding things in DC or Baltimore and I would prefer not to drive that far. I enjoy live theater, live music (not as big as all things go 😅), anywhere where I can comfortably interact with other people. Any suggestions?

I feel like everytime I go to Trader Joe's, Aldi, Walmart Supercenter (in EC), Wegmans in Columbia weekends it's always so crowded. The Gateway Overlook mall has a horrible layout that you can get stuck in traffic too. I used to walk from Aldi to Trader Joe's but not anymore because cars never stop for pedestrians. I have to wake up early Saturday so I can beat the crowds.

Even had this issue Friday when I got out of work early and got to Wegmans at 2 PM and the parking garage was almost full.

I know that this might just be a struggle of living in the burbs but not sure if it's a Maryland thing because I have a friend in downtown Bethesda and she also experiences the same thing.

Totally understand that Columbia serves the surrounding areas that don't have the stores I listed. I also get that these stores have some of the cheapest prices and the inventory is always new. I'm trying to just stick to my local Giant which always comes through for me lol

What was it like yesterday? What do you expect for today? tia

rip it events holds the neighborhood hostage for 2 hours as they block out neighborhoods off for a race.

Police block traffic on every exit.
No signs or warnings.
Great work…

Anyone know what our closest place to go line dancing?

What are your favorite upscale local restaurants where you can have a decent dinner conversation without either raising your voice or leaning in to hear one another?

• This message inspired by a delicious yet frustrating meal at GrillMarx where they sat us close enough to the bar where we could not hear the waiter nor each other.

Does anyone have experience administering subcutaneous fluids to a cat? The vet gave me an IV bag with fluids and the needles. But I'm looking for help from someone who has done this before.

Looking for recommendations? Post here and see if the community has valuable feedback for your questions.

• Apartments
• Doctors
• Contractors
• Etc.