Elkridge Today: Recovering from Irene

You can drop off storm debris at (Landing Road entrance) Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. If limbs are shorter than 4 feet and weigh less than 40 pounds, the county will pick bundles up from you on recycling day. Trash and recycling pickups will continue as usual this week.

All  on Monday. Federal employees have the option of unscheduled telework.

Today was supposed to usher in the 2011–2012 academic year for Howard County public schools. Due to post-Irene conditions, until further notice. Officials said that more than 25 Howard County public schools were without power as of Sunday.

“BGE is working on critical infrastructure...such as hospitals [and] nursing homes," wrote Councilwoman Courtney Watson on Facebook. "Schools are not the first priority, but we hope to have better news Tuesday afternoon,” she said.

•  in Elkridge is postponing its first day—also slated for Aug. 29. “We look forward to welcoming you back on Tuesday!” wrote on its Facebook page.
• , which developed after Norbel School in Elkridge closed, will hold its first day of school today for children wtih learning differences. It's located at the former Ascension school building in Halethorpe.
• Howard Community College will start its school year today as planned.

As of midnight on Monday, nearly 30,000 people were without power in Howard County, reported BGE. Since the storm hit, approximately half of the company's 1.2 million customers have lost power. To report outages, call 1-877-778-2222.

MARC trains on the Camden and Brunswick lines will run as scheduled Monday, according to the Maryland Transit Administration (MTA). On the Penn line, only "S" trains will be operational due to signal/wire issues and fallen trees on tracks, said the MTA. Catching your train from Halethorpe? Power was out at the Halethorpe station, including parking lot lights and ticket machines, so the MTA advised bringing a flashlight if you go when it's not light out.

Here's a shot of sunshine: Today's high is 78 degrees, with a low of 57, according to the National Weather Service, which forecast sunny skies for the week.