Columbia

These groups meet regularly. Bereavement Support Group - Fourth Tuesday, 7:30 p.m. This group is for adults who are mourning the loss of a loved one. All are welcome. St. Francis of Assisi Parish, Room 105, 8300 Old Columbia Road, Fulton. 410-792-0470, Ext. 214. Caregivers support group - Fourth Thursday, 10:30 a.m.-noon. Winter Growth Adult Day Care Center, 5466 Ruth Keeton Way, Columbia. 410-964-9616. Christian Science Society - Wednesdays, 6 p.m. Do you have problems you can't seem to solve on your own?

Suit over fall targets Rouse, cleaning firmA Columbia man is suing the Rouse Co. and an Ellicott City cleaning service for $1 million in damages after falling on a wet floor in a Columbia office building in February 1991.Monte Malone, 30, of the 6300 block of Loring Drive, contends in court documents that Rouse, which owns the Parkside Building in the 10500 block of Little Patuxent Parkway, and Universal Cleaning Services Inc., which cleans it, were negligent for not placing signs to warn the building's occupants of the floor's condition.

Much has been made of the idealism upon which Columbia was founded. A promise of social and economic diversity undergirded the planned city when it was born a quarter-century ago. Now, however, that core philosophy seems under siege in Columbia, as it is on the national political scene.For those looking from the outside in, Columbia is often held up as a suburban utopia, unique in its willingness to accept all walks of life. But for those who know Columbia best -- the people who live within its borders -- a more realistic view is emerging.

A recent broadcast of the CBS News program "48 Hours" focused on interracial marriage and dating.It exposed a long litany of the problems and prejudices faced by couples with black and white partners. It seemed not to matter where in the country they lived, all of them experienced similar difficulties.All, that is, except for the couples interviewed from Columbia.A brief segment in the CBS report on Howard County's planned city was the lone bright spot in a discouraging portrait of national intolerance and bigotry.

I live on 11800 Sweet Land Way in Columbia and lately have noticed that many of the stop sign posts around Little Patuxent Parkway loop/Bright Passage, etc., are either broken and laying on the ground or leaning and ready to fall. Not sure who is responsible for fixing them, but the authorities involved (should) know about this issue. Ali Sadeghi Columbia