Village Center

The Kings Contrivance Community Association, 7251 Eden Brook Drive, will offer a new class, called "Royal Keys: Manners Make the Person," 10:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m. Saturdays, Oct. 18 through Nov. 22. A free class will be offered at 10:30 a.m. Saturday. The program is designed to teach kindness, manners, respect, values social skills and self-esteem. The cost is $110 for Columbia Association residents; $121 for others. Information: royalkeys.com. Registration: 410-381-9600. A scarecrow-making session and hayrides are planned at Amherst House in Kings Contrivance Village Center from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday.

A four-alarm fire yesterday destroyed one end of Edmondson Village Shopping Center, a historic outdoor strip mall in West Baltimore that was called "the Harborplace of its day." City firefighters battled the blaze for more than three hours. The fire, on the west side of the shopping center in the 4500 block of Edmondson Ave., was reported about 9 a.m. When firefighters arrived, three shops --- Ashley Stewart Woman, Edmondson Beauty & Gifts and Village Hair & Beauty - were engulfed in flames, said Chief Kevin Cartwright of the FireDepartment.

In March, Kimco Reality Corp. announced a plan to raze and rebuild much of the Wilde Lake Village Center, adding 500 apartments. The Village Board, residents, and other interested parties expressed many concerns. On Aug. 4, Kimco presented the same plan at a Village Board meeting and received many of the same objections. The plan is based on demolishing the present commercial buildings. This would displace the present tenants and jeopardize their livelihoods. The needs of the local residents are being dismissed.

A discussion this week between Wilde Lake residents and officials of the firm that wants to redevelop Columbia's oldest village center sounded more like a verbal tug-of-war than progress toward consensus. Kimco Realty Corp. officials first announced in March a $40 million plan to raze and rebuild much of Wilde Lake Village Center, adding 500 apartments. But residents are pushing an alternative plan designed by Columbia's original chief architect, Robert Tennenbaum, which they say would maintain the center's original character.

Columbia's much-lamented Last Chance Saloon may get a second chance with new operators who plan to reopen the restaurant by summer's end, boosting revitalization efforts in Oakland Mills Village Center. Meanwhile, residents are pondering new plans for a Walgreens pharmacy nearby on Route 175 at Thunder Hill Road as they await word on whether the much-discussed Meridian Square office building will go forward, replacing a vacant lot at the village center. Word of the restaurant's revival came as a welcome surprise, officials said.

Oakland Mills to mark 40 years Plans are being made for the 40th Birthday Celebration of Oakland Mills, the second village to be established in Columbia. Celebrations will be held June 27-29 at The Other Barn in the Oakland Mills Village Center. Interesting facts and trivia about Oakland Mills, or memorabilia that can be displayed during the birthday celebration are needed. Former residents, employees and volunteers are invited. Around Town Belly dance : The Long Reach Community Association will offer belly dancing classes for adults tomorrow through July 14 at 8775 Cloudleap Court in the Long Reach Village Center.

In recent weeks, the soon-to-open Harris Teeter store had to station an employee at the front door to ward off would-be customers because many were walking in, grabbing a cart and shopping for groceries. Around the Kings Contrivance village center, where the supermarket will replace the former Safeway, anyone wearing a Harris Teeter shirt is fair game for questions about the opening date and the products the store will carry. The other day, a woman called and wanted to order a cake. Clearly, there is excitement over the arrival of the North Carolina-based chain.

In the first foray out to one of Columbia's villages since unveiling their master plan, officials at General Growth Properties Inc. received praise and pressure from residents curious about how redevelopment will unfold downtown. "You already put a lot into this," said Andre De Verneil of Long Reach. "I'm impressed. I would encourage you not to be timid. It's Town Center; not another village center. That's going to be your big fight - density. There are several groups out there that really envision Town Center as being a suburb."

The Harper's Choice Community Association will sponsor a plant sale and Arbor Day fair, in conjunction with the village elections Saturday, in front of the Safeway store in the village center. Plants for sale will cost $3 to $13 (cash only). White pine seedlings will be given away. Demonstrations of seed-planting and paper-making are planned, and there will be an Arbor Day scavenger hunt. Brad Higbee, the "Balloon Man," will be on hand to make balloon creations, and community groups will share information on gardening, habitat protection and other topics.

Bryan Antoine Adams Jr. was walking along a busy street, in the middle of the day, in the heart of Columbia's oldest village. He took a phone call, a friend would later say, and said he'd be over soon to hang out. "I called his phone back," said the friend, Tanya Smith, "and didn't get an answer." Adams, a 20-year-old Columbia resident, was gunned down shortly before 11:30 a.m. yesterday on a sidewalk near the Wilde Lake village center. The Columbia man was rushed to Howard County General Hospital and he later died.