Mall In Columbia

The places and times of the public school proms and after-prom parties: Atholton Prom: Tomorrow, Baltimore Radisson, 7:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. After prom: AMC Theater, The Mall in Columbia, 12:30 a.m. to 5:30 a.m. Centennial Completed. Glenelg Completed. Hammond Completed. Howard Prom: Today, Turf Valley Resort, Ellicott City, 8 p.m. to midnight After prom: AMC Theater, The Mall in Columbia, 12:30 a.m. to 5 a.m. Long Reach Completed. Mount Hebron Completed. Marriotts Ridge Prom: Tomorrow, Hyatt Regency, Baltimore, 7 p.m. to midnight After prom: GenXaret, Columbia, midnight to 5 a.m. Oakland Mills Completed.

CLARKS SHOE STORE The Mall in Columbia / 10300 Little Patuxent Parkway / 410-740-4415 Open 10 a.m.-9:30 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday, 9 a.m.-10 p.m. Saturday, and 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday You won't find strappy 3-inch stilettos at Clarks Shoe Store, one of the latest additions to the Mall in Columbia, but you will find shoes for men and women that are good for walking and comfortable for everyday wear. When the store opened in March, business was booming and, according to employee Jason Britton, "it hasn't slowed since."

The Rouse Co. reported yesterday that vibrant retail sales helped its second-quarter earnings to leap 20 percent from the corresponding period a year earlier, to $55.6 million.The Columbia-based real estate investment trust's funds from operations of 70 cents per share, a 13 percent gain from the 1998 quarter, topped Wall Street consensus estimates by 2 cents a share.Rouse's revenue in the quarter totaled $249.8 million, a 13 percent gain from the period that ended June 30 a year earlier.

With all the subtlety of tipsy tourists gliding down New Orleans' Bourbon Street during Mardi Gras, thousands of eager shoppers danced their way behind a jazz band through the front doors of Nordstrom at The Mall in Columbia for the first time Friday.As the Columbia Herald Trumpeters serenaded the crowd with the jazz standard "When The Saints Go Marching In," the mall's new and improved wing anchored by retail giant Nordstrom and 40 other stores made its long-awaited debut.Colorful confetti was fired from miniature cannons.

A fire that began on the roof of The Mall in Columbia yesterday forced the evacuation and temporary closing of the sprawling complex, creating confusion and fear among many of the hundreds of customers and employees inside."

Some of Howard County's biggest and newest retailers are going shopping today.Nordstrom and Victoria's Secret join 26 other shops in the search for qualified people to fill hundreds of positions in the retail sector. The Howard County Employment and Training Center's Retail Job Fair aims to put employers and job seekers face-to-face.The job fair begins at 4 p.m. at the Maryland Job Service office, 7060 Oakland Mills Road in Columbia.Skilled laborers and workers in highly specialized trades, such as e-mail administrators, are accustomed to gathering in meeting halls to schmooze with potential employers at information booths.

Drivers headed to The Mall in Columbia in coming months will not only find new stores, but better ways to get there, mall officials say.With the completion of Lord & Taylor in November and the anticipated opening of Nordstrom's on Sept. 17, mall officials are working to add parking spaces and widen an entrance by the end of summer. The mall has about 175 stores and up to 12 million visitors each year, said Jeff Sneddon, the mall's general manager.Planners will expand the entrance at Windstream Drive, which is off Gov. Warfield Parkway, adding a lane each way. Shoppers will find a new 700-space parking deck.

A two-alarm fire yesterday morning in Columbia destroyed 20 apartments under construction, causing more than $2 million in damage.A space heater apparently ignited a fire in a stairwell, firefighters said.The fire, which started after midnight at The Gramercy complex near The Mall in Columbia, was controlled within an hour after firefighters arrived and was extinguished by 5: 30 a.m., said Capt. Michael Faith, spokesman for the Howard County Fire Department.Units from Prince George's County and Baltimore County also responded, Faith said.

The Howard County Public Transportation Board has unanimously recommended a new bus route to connect Ellicott City and Columbia and an increase in the number of bus trips from Kings Contrivance Village Center to The Mall in Columbia.According to board members, the new Ellicott City route will turn what are now two separate routes -- one taking riders between The Mall in Columbia and the county Government Complex in Ellicott City; the other connecting the Government Complex with various stops in Ellicott City -- into one continuous run."

The Howard County Planning Board last night unanimously rejected a proposal that would have required developers to show how mixed-use projects would fiscally affect the county.The board also unanimously approved expansion of The Mall in Columbia, extension of Broken Land Parkway onto mall property and a site plan for a Silver Diner in Town Center.Councilman C. Vernon Gray, an East Columbia Democrat, said his fiscal-impact proposal would have helped county officials to know if proposed mixed-use projects would generate enough tax revenue to pay for the services they use.Mixed-use districts require a minimum of 15 percent business property and a minimum of 25 percent open space.

With an expected crowd of about 30,000 for today's Virgin Mobile FreeFest concert, motorists in the area of Merriweather Post Pavilion and The Mall in Columbia should expect delays. Police will be directing traffic on Little Patuxent Parkway, Brokenland Parkway, South Entrance Road and Hickory Ridge Road beginning at 10 a.m. Little Patuxent Parkway from Brokenland Parkway to South Entrance Road will be closed to through traffic from 8:30 a.m. to midnight. Delays are also expected on U.S. 29. Full access to The Mall in Columbia and Toby's Dinner Theatre will be available, though motorists should give themselves extra travel time.

Tonight, after eating turkey and playing board games, Sarah Maxwell plans to kiss her daughters and husband goodbye, drink a Red Bull and go shopping. For the past two years, the Elkridge stay-at-home mother has teamed up with a girlfriend to hit the sales that many stores offer before the sun has risen on Black Friday. But this year, she's taking extra precautions to be sure she will be safe when she goes to Arundel Mills for its midnight opening. "We're definitely going with a group - eight people.

3 retailers due at The Mall in Columbia The Mall in Columbia has signed tenant lease agreements with three national retailers, Janie and Jack, Crazy 8 and Pumpkin Patch. Janie and Jack, a national brand of Gymboree Corp., has opened a 1,200-square-foot store on the upper level of the mall in center court. The shop offers clothing and accessories for children from premature infants to 8-year-olds. Crazy 8, a recent addition to Gymboree's brands, will open on the lower level of the mall in September.

Stanley Weinberg started styling hair as part of his physical therapy for a hand injury he received during basic training for the Army. Nearly 40 years later, Weinberg has retired as a hairdresser - and he's leaving behind a slew of saddened clients and co-workers, while taking with him decades of Columbia memories. Weinberg, whose final day working was last Saturday, has been a stylist at Rafet's Hairmasters for more than 39 years. The salon opened in the Oakland Mills village center in 1969 and moved two years later to The Mall in Columbia.

Consultants gave residents a glimpse last week of a Columbia no longer so dependent on cars -- a place where walking, biking and taking a train or bus were all very real options for getting around. "We believe that Columbia will be a very attractive part of the regional transit network," said Matt McKibbin, senior transportation planner for ARUP based in San Francisco. "Columbia will be served by a range of transit options that will increase connectivity. There really isn't good incentive for transit to come to Columbia right now. This development makes that case."

Fourteen years ago, Julie Ostheller was struggling with her health. The stay-at-home mom - a former grade school teacher - was suffering from a type of lupus. Then a job fell into her lap that turned Ostheller's life, and health, around. A young mother with a degree in early childhood education, Ostheller was asked to be part of a talk on children's literature. "At the end of the conversation, they said, `Would you be interested in being the story lady at Owings Mills [Mall]?' And I said, `OK,'" Ostheller said.

General Growth Properties Inc. unveiled its plan for downtown Columbia last night, with redevelopment ideas that include a skating rink, new office, retail and hotel space and walking routes from The Mall in Columbia to the lakefront and Merriweather Post Pavilion. "What we're trying to do here is lay out what we think is a 30-year plan," said Gregory F. Hamm, GGP's regional vice president and Columbia general manager. "During all this time, we hope we've listened. We hope we've learned, but we're not done."

The Women's Giving Circle of Howard County will hold its sixth annual meeting and social from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. April 16 at The Spear Center in the General Growth Properties Building in downtown Columbia. Donors, friends and members of the community are invited to attend. Wine and refreshments will be served. Diane Schumacher, Howard Community College athletic director, will speak about "A Celebration of Girls and Women in Sports: Title IX at 35." She will discuss the impact of Title IX on women's athletics.

A 17-year-old boy who might have been involved in a dispute with other teens was stabbed multiple times yesterday in the parking lot at The Mall in Columbia, Howard County police said. The victim was in critical condition last night at Maryland Shock Trauma Center, where he was taken by state police helicopter, police said. Officers responded to a 3:55 p.m. call at the mall, off Little Patuxent Parkway, and within two hours they had had detained two male teenagers near the shopping center, a police spokeswoman said.

The shelves were nearly bare, but the deli and the dessert counter continued to do a brisk business late last week at Bun Penny, which was scheduled to close its doors yesterday. "It is sad -- that's why we're getting our LaBella's while we can," said Clarksville resident Nicole Miller, of the drink that combines coffee and chocolate milk over ice, topped with whipped cream and cocoa. "I've probably been coming here for 15 years." There were still plenty of fresh cookies, a German chocolate cake and a variety of salads.