Annapolis Mall

Parole's growth-control plan, adopted nearly two years ago, will discourage retail development in Parole Plaza, home of Woodward & Lothrop Inc., and direct it toward Annapolis Mall, a Woodies official said yesterday.Robert Mulligan, Woodies' vice chairman, called for a new public hearing on the mall's plans to add a Nordstrom department store and 45 smaller stores. He charged that the expansion will lead to traffic congestion, polluted air, land erosion and wetland degradation."This Parole plan, along with the proposed Annapolis Mall expansion, will have dramatic short- and long-term effects on the area's future," Mulligan said.

Anne Arundel County Police have arrested one man in connection with a robbery last month in the parking lot of Westfield Annapolis Mall and are seeking two other suspects. The three men accosted a couple walking to their vehicle at about 5 p.m. on Feb. 23. One suspect pushed the 64-year-old man and wrested a laptop from him. A second suspect attempted unsuccessfully to take property from the 54-year-old female. All three suspects fled in a BMW with D.C. license plates, which police later discovered was stolen.

A Los Angeles-based real estate investment trust yesterday completed its $184 million acquisition of the Annapolis Mall and Wheaton Plaza shopping centers, less than a month after completing an initial stock sale.Westfield America Inc.'s purchase of the two Maryland shopping hubs boosts its number of retail projects to 23 in seven states and raises the square footage in its portfolio by 2.1 million square feet -- roughly equivalent to four 35-story USF&G Towers."It's an excellent center in a growing market, and we believe the center has expansion potential," Westfield Co-President Richard E. Green said of Annapolis Mall, the area's third-largest shopping center.

When he started a veterinary hospital along Generals Highway on the outskirts of Annapolis in 1974, Harrison Monk says, he was promised his business would be linked to Anne Arundel County's water and sewer services in about a decade. Greater Annapolis Animal Hospital, which now is home to 15 veterinarians, still is without those services. Now drawing water from its second well, the practice also relies on its own septic system. And because it's a business, state regulations require Monk to be certified in water inspection, which calls for him to take continuing-education classes when he says he'd rather be studying animal medicine.

Attention shoppers: Pottery Barn, McCormick & Schmick's Seafood Restaurant and Lucky Brand Jeans are coming to Westfield Annapolis Mall. Mall officials announced yesterday that 21 national retailers -- 10 of which are new to Anne Arundel County -- would soon call Westfield home and gave community leaders and entrepreneurs a hard-hat tour of the expansion site, which is scheduled to be complete in November. New stores range from a variety of popular clothing retailers, such as Levi's and H&M, to specialty stores and boutiques.

Anne Arundel County police say that on Tuesday, Arthur Tyler Felton used a box cutter to steal a cell phone and an MP3 player from a Sears in the Annapolis Mall, then briefly carjacked a woman in the parking lot in a failed bid to escape. This is the same Arthur Tyler Felton who in 1991 fatally shot 6-year-old Tiffany Smith in the head during a gunfight with a rival in West Baltimore's Walbrook neighborhood. The shooting of the elementary school student shocked a city, sparked a campaign to rebuild streets lined with vacant rowhouses, focused police attention on gangs, guns and drugs, and prompted residents to create a memorial in the girl's honor.

ISSUE: About 250 people attended a community meeting last week to discuss a series of fights this fall at Annapolis High School, as well as a Nov. 18 shootout at Westfield Annapolis mall that left a Secret Service agent and a graduate and student of the school wounded. Parents, teachers, and community leaders agreed to form a coalition to look at possible solutions, including a gun buy-back program and adding self-esteem and anger-management classes to the curriculum. Schools officials, meanwhile, planned to step up disciplinary efforts, hold an assembly and assign an additional school resource officer to Annapolis High.

Check out today's deal from DealOn (another Groupon competitor). For $6 you get $12 worth of goodies at Cinnabon. This is good towards Classic Rolls, Minibons, Cinnabon Bites, Caramel Pecanbons, CinnaPacks, Cinnabon Stix, and their new Chillatas. Participating locations:   7000 Arundel Circle #342, Hanover, MD 21076 8200 Perry Hall Blvd. #2067, Baltimore, MD 21236 1028 Annapolis Mall Rd., Annapolis, MD 21401

If you like your facial cleansers and other beauty products free of chemicals and other impurities, you'll be happy to hear about a new store at The Mall in Columbia. LUSH Fresh Handmade Cosmetics opened a 500-square-foot boutique at the Howard County mall today. LUSH products are made with organic fruits, vegetables, herbs, fruit, flowers and essential oils. They include items such as shampoo bars, ocean salt face and body scrubs and bath bombs that explode soothing goodness when placed in water.

Woodward & Lothrop Inc. will sue the county, state and federal governments unless officials correct alleged environmental violations in Annapolis' Bestgate Road reconstruction, the retailer notified the county yesterday.Woodies, embroiled in a related public squabble over Annapolis Mall's plans to add a Nordstrom department store and 45 smaller stores, said that widening of the road -- which runs behind the mall -- is polluting a Weems Creek tributary.Neil T. Proto, Woodies' attorney, said a notice to county, state and federal agencies allows the retailer to file a suit under the federal Clean Water Act after 60 days if agencies fail to enforce the law.Proto said because the county failed to obtain permits allowing discharge into Weems Creek tributaries and wetlands, the state Department of the Environment has failed to administer the federal law and the Environmental Protection Agency has failed to enforce it.County officials had not had time to review Woodies' notice, but Louise Hayman, spokeswoman for County Executive Robert R. Neall, said, "We're confident we've met the letter of the law."

If you like your facial cleansers and other beauty products free of chemicals and other impurities, you'll be happy to hear about a new store at The Mall in Columbia. LUSH Fresh Handmade Cosmetics opened a 500-square-foot boutique at the Howard County mall today. LUSH products are made with organic fruits, vegetables, herbs, fruit, flowers and essential oils. They include items such as shampoo bars, ocean salt face and body scrubs and bath bombs that explode soothing goodness when placed in water.

Check out today's deal from DealOn (another Groupon competitor). For $6 you get $12 worth of goodies at Cinnabon. This is good towards Classic Rolls, Minibons, Cinnabon Bites, Caramel Pecanbons, CinnaPacks, Cinnabon Stix, and their new Chillatas. Participating locations:   7000 Arundel Circle #342, Hanover, MD 21076 8200 Perry Hall Blvd. #2067, Baltimore, MD 21236 1028 Annapolis Mall Rd., Annapolis, MD 21401

Anne Arundel County police say that on Tuesday, Arthur Tyler Felton used a box cutter to steal a cell phone and an MP3 player from a Sears in the Annapolis Mall, then briefly carjacked a woman in the parking lot in a failed bid to escape. This is the same Arthur Tyler Felton who in 1991 fatally shot 6-year-old Tiffany Smith in the head during a gunfight with a rival in West Baltimore's Walbrook neighborhood. The shooting of the elementary school student shocked a city, sparked a campaign to rebuild streets lined with vacant rowhouses, focused police attention on gangs, guns and drugs, and prompted residents to create a memorial in the girl's honor.

I always thought it would be fun to live in one of those cities where new products are tested. It must be neat to offer opinions about a thing still in development, knowing that someday you might look on, say, an automatic fabric softener dispenser with personal pride - "that fill line, my idea." And whenever I go to a movie preview, I dutifully fill out a little survey card. (I always write, "More dancing!") Anyway, sitting in judgment of someone else's concept is a large part of the fun of going to Punk's Backyard Grill, the lone locally owned restaurant among a dozen or so national chains that ring the Westfield Annapolis Mall.

Winter Farmers' Market open in Annapolis The Winter Farmers' Market is open 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. on the second and fourth Sundays through April 26 at Westfield Annapolis Mall on the first level of the Nordstrom parking garage, off the Bestgate Road entrance. ABWA dinner meeting The Maryland Capital chapter of the American Business Women's Association will hold a dinner meeting from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Feb. 11 at the Sheraton Barcelo Hotel, 173 Jennifer Road, Annapolis. Dana Clark, a former operational psychologist with the CIA, will give a presentation on personality assessments and how to achieve best results and hire the best employees.

Marlene Feldman and a half-dozen of her girlfriends drove in Thursday from the Eastern Shore to do a little Christmas shopping in downtown Annapolis. The group of women are exactly what downtown retailers hope for this season: shoppers willing to eschew the hectic malls for some original gifts. But the women had mixed feelings about some of the ideas being kicked around by some retailers and city officials for boosting downtown retail during an especially tough economic time. One of those ideas: A shuttle service to promote Annapolis as a retail triangle.

Tourism event to start tomorrow in Annapolis The Annapolis and Anne Arundel County Conference and Visitors Bureau will host the Fifth Annual Mid-Atlantic Tourism Public Relations Alliance Media Marketplace from tomorrow through Thursday at the Westin Annapolis Hotel. The event will bring together more than 60 journalists and 50 destination marketing organizations from the Mid-Atlantic region. Information: 410-263-0511. Five companies attend innovation program Five companies specializing in defense and homeland security technology participated in the Chesapeake Innovation Center's TechBridge program.

County Executive John R. Leopold has announced that the county has purchased thousands of gallons of gasoline at less than $2 per gallon, under a purchasing process that aims to help save taxpayer dollars. The county purchased a total of 34,000 gallons of regular gas for $1.97 a gallon and diesel for $2.30 a gallon on Oct. 30. It was the lowest amount the county has paid for gasoline in almost two years and will result in a projected 11 percent savings against the 2009 budget allowance if prices remain constant.