Safeway

As far as I know, there is not an official beginning to the meatloaf season. But as soon as the weather gets cold, the wind gets raw and the sun goes down early, I get a hankering for this comforting food. Meatloaf can be made with veal or pork, but mainstream meatloaf, the kind I tasted recently, is made with good old ground beef, some chopped onions, egg and the products of the cook's imagination. It is a dish designed to fill you up, heat you up and send you back into the cold world with a warm glow.

WHEN SAFEWAY opened in Westminster in July, hundreds of hopeful people filled out entry forms for free flowers and television sets, but what captured most of the attention was the grand prize: $100 for groceries each week, for one year.I joined the dreamers by filling out a few (million) forms, and posted a note on my bulletin board: "Safeway winner/Great Feature Idea." In August I started stopping by the manager's office to express my interest in writing a story about the winner.Weeks passed.

Safeway, a grocery chain that closed its doors in Westminster 11 years ago, returns to the community today with the opening of a store on the booming west side, where the residents are many but the stores have been few.The site at the new $8 million College Square shopping center on Route 140, near Western Maryland College, is the national grocer's third store in the county. The others are in Eldersburg and Mount Airy. In Westminster, Safeway will compete against seven other supermarkets.

A southern Anne Arundel County citizens group is lobbying county planners to bar Safeway from building a strip center in Deale, saying the project would destroy valuable wetlands and create acidic water runoffs that could contaminate the community's waterways.South Arundel Citizens for Responsible Development (SACReD) says the wetlands on the 16-acre site, at routes 256 and 258, have tripled in size since the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Baltimore division inspected the site and authorized Safeway's permit to clear the area in 1987.

In the southern Anne Arundel County "store wars," the field of possible supermarket sites has been narrowed from three to two.Food Lion Inc., which had considered two neighboring parcels in the region, apparently has pulled out of one site and is concentrating its development efforts on the other, the site of Smith's Building Supply in Churchton.Safeway, which would occupy a 55,000-square-foot store in a large strip mall, is still navigating county zoning rules and state environmental codes in an effort to build at another site in nearby Deale.

Opponents of a proposal to build a large-scale supermarket and strip mall in South County are gearing up for another round -- this time with the county.Led by a local environmental group, residents and business owners plan to pressure the county to deny Safeway Inc. a waiver to build on a 13-acre site at the southwest corner of Routes 256 and 258 in Deale, which is in a 100-year "storm drainage" flood plain. A developer must get permission from the county to build in a designated flood plain.

A faulty electric furnace caused a three-alarm fire in a building at 79 W. Main St., Westminster, on Friday, the state fire marshal's office said yesterday.Officials said the furnace in an upstairs apartment malfunctioned and started the fire, which spread into the attic, causing fire, heat and smoke damage to the rest of the building.Fire investigators are continuing to research records of construction and electrical service at the building, which is more than 100 years old.Anyone with information about the building is asked to call the fire marshal's office in Westminster at 410-875-5450.

A vocal southern Anne Arundel environmental group supported by an array of politicians is demanding that the Army Corps of Engineers re-evaluate the wetlands permit it has granted for construction of a Safeway store and strip shopping center in Deale.South Arundel Citizens for Responsible Development (SACReD) has also been pressing the corps for months for a public hearing to gauge community support for a shopping center at Routes 256 and 258.The corps, which oversees wetlands, has ignored the request, said Amanda Spake, president of SACReD, which fears that a Safeway would destroy sensitive shoreline and create acidic runoffs that could contaminate waterways.

What birthday present do you give someone renown for her spirit of giving? You follow her example, and donate money to the charity she founded. And a surprise party doesn't hurt, as Shirley Howard discovered when she was gleefully ambushed by 165 friends at the Belvedere Hotel.Among those feting Howard, the president as well as founder of the Children's Cancer Foundation, were daughter Diane Perry; niece Marlene Brager; Art Flach, CCF treasurer; Johnny Dark, Dwight Hanna, Pete Manos, Virginia Hook and Bill Lorenz, foundation board members; Dave Herriman, chief merchandising officer for Giant Food; Mike Bessire, president of Safeway Eastern Division; Chanda Mason, child-life specialist at Johns Hopkins Hospital; Amy Warner, new-business director at WLIF radio; and Charmel McMillan, president and CEO of Char-Town Entertainment.

Opponents of the long-contested plans for a Safeway strip mall in Deale are posting signs throughout south Anne Arundel County, stuffing fliers into grocery bags and making buttons in preparation for another battle.The Army Corps of Engineers has scheduled a public forum at 7 p.m. Dec. 1 at Deale Elementary School, and those opposed to the project want the community to be there. Corps representatives will explain its reasons for permitting the project at Routes 256 and 258."This meeting has been a long time in the making," said Amanda Spake, president of a South County environmental group that opposes the project.

Safeway is slashing the prices on thousands of items in its stores as the region's grocery market becomes more competitive and consumers look for deals to survive the recession. The grocer, with 140 stores in the Baltimore and Washington area, has cut as much as 25 percent off prices on items in every department. It follows other supermarket chains, including Giant Food and Wegmans, which have cut prices because of the economy. The economy has caused people to change their shopping habits, by using more coupons, buying more store brands and buying cheaper cuts of meat.

Monday downturn raises questions about market CHICAGO - The stock market's 187-point nose dive Monday abruptly ended the Dow's brief foray into positive territory for 2009, leaving stock-watchers to ponder whether an unexpectedly strong spring rally will survive into summer. Plenty of evidence suggests the bull market may be done, or at least out of momentum, after 14 weeks on the upswing. The economy remains fragile, investors are increasingly worried about the prospect of rising interest rates, gas prices are climbing again, and a market correction was probably overdue.

Healthy diet program at 8 supermarkets County residents can learn about eating for good health during Good Food for Good Health Weekends at local supermarkets. Health educators will answer questions about nutrition and distribute free low-fat recipes and other information for eight weekends. The weekends are sponsored by the Anne Arundel County Health Department's Learn to Live program and will be available at the following stores: * Lauer's Supermarket, 8095 A Edwin Raynor Blvd., Pasadena, 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Friday; 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday; and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. March 8. * Lauer's Supermarket, 8479 Fort Smallwood Road, Pasadena, 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. March 13; 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. March 14; and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. March 15. * Graul's, 1388 Cape St. Claire Road, Annapolis, 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. March 20; 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. March 21; and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. March 22. * Graul's, 607 Taylor Ave., Annapolis, 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. March 27; 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. March 28; 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. March 29. * Box 'N' Save, 7931 Baltimore-Annapolis Blvd.

Safeway stores offering some antibiotics free Safeway Inc. yesterday became the latest area grocer to offer some prescription antibiotics for free. The program, which covers up to a 14-day supply of nine generic antibiotics, is in affect until March 31. Safeway is among grocers around the country offering the antibiotics program in an attempt to lure customers. Giant Food and Wegmans Food Markets Inc. also offer free antibiotics. Andrea K. Walker 10 tech companies get $750,000 from TEDCO The Maryland Technology Development Corp.

Giant Food managed to hang on to its position as the Baltimore area's largest grocery chain, but it continued to lose market share as competition increased, according to an annual survey by the trade publication Food World. Giant's share of the market slipped to 27.48 percent in the 12 months ended March 31, from 29.42 percent in the previous 12 months, according to the publication. Its 40 area stores brought in $1.26 billion in sales, down from $1.33 billion but still substantially more than the $738.

Union leaders representing workers in contract negotiations with Giant Food and Safeway said yesterday that they are bracing members for a strike as talks with the area's two largest grocers stall. Safeway and Giant Food, meanwhile, have begun advertising for temporary workers as contracts covering 23,000 workers near expiration March 31. The companies said hiring additional staffing is standard during contract negotiations. Safeway said in a newspaper advertisement that the hiring of temporary employees was in "preparation for a possible labor dispute."

A proposed 160,000-square- foot Wegmans supermarket in Columbia was approved in a 4-1 vote by a reluctant Howard County Planning Board, but store officials still face several appeals filed by a food workers union. The two-story store - nearly triple the size of most area supermarkets - and an adjoining two-story garage would be built on 12.2 acres at the southwest corner of Snowden River Parkway and McGaw Road, opposite Apple Ford in east Columbia. Parking on the site would total 939 spaces, according to testimony.

Howard County's Planning Board won't vote on plans for a Wegmans supermarket in Columbia until Jan. 31, but a vital element of the project was decided last month out of public view. The traffic plan for the 160,000-square-foot, two-story store and its 939 parking spaces was approved internally by county planners in December without a public hearing, said county planning supervisor Kent Sheubrooks. "I was surprised," said Grace Kubofcik, co-president of the county League of Women Voters, who attended a Planning Board hearing on the building plans last week.

It used to be that opening for business on Christmas Day was considered taboo. But now more coffee shops, grocery stores and restaurants open their doors for customers who need a last-minute item, prefer not to cook or don't celebrate the holiday. And while some workers grumble about working that day, more companies are deciding there's a demand that needs to be met. "Based on our sales at the stores, we've found it's certainly worth our while," said Greg TenEyck, director of public affairs for Safeway Inc.'s Eastern division.

As far as I know, there is not an official beginning to the meatloaf season. But as soon as the weather gets cold, the wind gets raw and the sun goes down early, I get a hankering for this comforting food. Meatloaf can be made with veal or pork, but mainstream meatloaf, the kind I tasted recently, is made with good old ground beef, some chopped onions, egg and the products of the cook's imagination. It is a dish designed to fill you up, heat you up and send you back into the cold world with a warm glow.