Columbia

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.

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

'Peeping' cases investigatedPolice are investigating a series of "Peeping Tom" incidents that have occurred during the past few weeks in several Columbia villages.In the latest incident, a bespectacled man wearing jeans and a polo shirt was reported looking into a bedroom window in the 5600 block of Columbia Road on Monday night. He was described as a white male, in his mid-20s, about 5 feet, 11 inches tall with brown hair.The incidents do not appear to be related. Twice last week, residents reported a Peeping Tom, but one suspect was described as a white male, the other a black male, police records show.

Enterprise Community Partners, a Columbia affordable-housing nonprofit, said Thursday that it has received a $300,000 grant for community revitalization work. E TRADE Savings Bank earmarked the donation for Enterprise's work in financing affordable housing, rebuilding communities and responding to the blighting effects of foreclosures in neighborhoods.

A 42-year-old woman was killed in a fatal car accident in Columbia on Monday night after her truck collided with a tree, according to Howard County police. Police responded to the 5600 block of High Tor Hill about 9:30 p.m. for a report that a truck had crashed, police said. Police said based on an initial investigation, they believe the woman was alone, driving a 1999 Dodge Dakota south on the road when the truck left the roadway for an unknown reason and struck the tree. She was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.

Steve Carter argued Oct. 11 that low-income housing in Columbia makes little sense ("Low-income housing does not belong in high-cost Columbia," letter). Perhaps Mr. Carter does not realize that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is required to increase affordable housing throughout the Baltimore region, which mirrors the founding goal of Columbia. The case of Thompson vs. HUD filed in January 1995 ended with a partial consent decree. The court determined that HUD violated part of the Fair Housing Act through their failure to affirmatively promote fair housing by not providing affordable housing options in areas of lower poverty.

Columbia is the wonderful, successful city it is due in large part to the "founding" residents. Many moved here from other areas looking for the promise of what Rouse and company offered, if you wanted to be part of it. We did, and have never regretted that decision. Thus it is always surprising when people think somehow this happened on its own. It was involvement, trust, a love of open space, diversity, and a hedge against the bigness of buildings, complexes, and development at the expense of community, neighborhoods, and a way of life.