Ellicott

Car show VFW Post 7472 Men's Auxiliary will host its annual Car Show fundraiser with awards in 13 classes, including a special VFW Commander's Choice Award, at noon Sunday, April 14, at 4225 V F West Lane. Vehicle registration begins at 11 a.m. and a VFW dash plaque will be given to the first 100 entries. Food, beverages and desserts will be available. The event benefits veterans programs. Free admission. Car entry fee is $15 and includes lunch. Information: 410-465-4240. Art exhibits The Howard County Arts Council hosts the exhibits "Visual Storyteller: The Narrative in Art" and "No Boundaries" through Friday, April 26, at 8510 High Ridge Road in Ellicott City.

Howard Bank has agreed to buy Cecil Bank's branch at 3 W. Bel Air Ave. in Aberdeen, the institutions announced Monday. Under the deal, Howard Bank, based in Ellicott City, will acquire at least $38 million in loans and $37.9 million in deposits from Cecil Bank. That's about 10 percent of Cecil Bank's deposits. "It was a fit for both of us," said Mary Halsey, Cecil's CEO. "They were looking to expand; we were looking to head back into Cecil County, where are roots are. " Howard Bank's CEO, Mary Ann Scully, said in a statement that the bank had been growing beyond its Howard County roots, and the branch acquisition will mark its entry into Harford County.

Before it became "The Wall That Ate Some Cars," it was just a stone wall on Mulligans Hill Lane, bracing a 20-foot-high embankment - stalwart as the steep hills that give Ellicott City's historic district much of its character. Then in early September 2011 came the rains of Tropical Storm Lee, and in the dead of night a section of the wall that had stood since before the Civil War collapsed. Six cars parked along the wall were crushed or damaged. Parking spaces vanished under tons of stone quickly trucked in to shore up the embankment.

A brick-and-siding Georgian-style home in the Crestwood Estates development of Ellicott City sold last month for $751,000 - $1,000 more than the listing price. "We had three offers on the house," noted listing agent Bob Lucido of Re/Max Advantage Realty. "If you price it right, you get into a bidding situation, especially if the house is spectacular to begin with. The owners…took a lot of our staging recommendations, and it showed beautifully. " The home's open floor plan, with 4,110 square feet of living space on three finished levels, contains four bedrooms, 41/2 baths and a two-car, side-entry garage.

There was plenty to celebrate when the Howard County Arts Council held its 16th annual Celebration of the Arts. Besides the awards handed out in various categories, there was an announcement that wasn't on the scheduled program for this festive event held Saturday, March 23 at Howard Community College's Smith Theatre. Addressing the well-dressed crowd of arts advocates, Howard County Executive Ken Ulman said: "It's time to have a wonderful, state of the art, 21st-century arts center here in Howard County.

AT&T has upgraded a mobile Internet cell site in Catonsville that will expand 4G LTE mobile coverage for Catonsville and Ellicott City residents and businesses. The upgrades to a cell site along River Road are part of AT&T's rollout of 4G LTE, the carrier's latest generation of wireless network technology. The network is designed to make mobile Internet speeds up to 10 times faster than 3G, the company said. AT&T launched its 4G network in Baltimore in October 2011. During the past two years, AT&T has invested nearly $650 million in wireless and wired network upgrades in Maryland, including nearly $425 million in the greater Baltimore area.

Shin Chon Garden is popular to the point of overflowing. Even on a drizzly weeknight, the tables at this Ellicott City restaurant are full of diners. A friend, arriving a few minutes before I did, texted: "place smells AMAZING. " When Andrew Zimmern, the host of the long-running Travel Channel show "Bizarre Foods," came to Shin Chon Garden last summer, he told the world, via Twitter, that Shin Chon "is one of top ten Korean BBQ experiences in America. A must for anyone who loves food.

Harris Teeter will open its planned Ellicott City supermarket on April 2, the Charlotte, N.C., grocer said today. The store in the Towne Square at Turf Valley on Resort Road will be open 24 hours a day, with a seven-day-a-week pharmacy. Harris Teeter came to Maryland in 2010 and now has eight stores in the state, including Columbia and Fulton in Howard County and Locust Point in Baltimore. Another location will open this fall in Canton's Canton Crossing. The company is the 23 rd largest supermarket chain in the U.S., with 2012 sales of $4.54 billion.