The City of Cumberland Engineering Department, on behalf of Belt Construction, has announced that North Mechanic Street will be closed from Eutaw Place to Queen City Drive from 8am, Tuesday, September 20, 2022, until approximately 5pm, Friday, September 23, 2022, to allow the contractor to repair a collapsed 18” sewer main. The road will be closed the entire time to allow the sewer flows to be pumped around the construction site.   Smith Street will be closed to thru Traffic. Eutaw Place will be converted to one-way traffic flowing from N. Mechanic Street toward N. Centre Street with temporary signage….

Governor Jim Justice has proclaimed September 18-24 as Child Passenger Safety Week in West Virginia. The proclamation was requested by the West Virginia Governor’s Highway Safety Program (GHSP), which is working in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) as part of the national observation for Child Passenger Safety Week. The week is dedicated to educating parents, grandparents, and caregivers about the importance of correctly choosing, installing, and using car seats, booster seats, and seat belts.   “Life is busy for many West Virginia families. Making sure our most precious resource—our children—are as safe…

The Allegany County Health Department has released the latest COVID-19 data for the area. Allegany County currently is the only one of Maryland's 24 jurisdictions listed in the high transmission rate category.  CDC COVID-19 Community Level: High • Percent of Allegany County Population Fully Vaccinated (based on CDC data): 56.6% • New COVID Cases This Week: 156 (cumulative total 19,901) • Additional Deaths This Week: 1 (cumulative total 378) • Cases Per 100,000 People: 31.65 (Maryland: 16.33) • Positivity Rate: 12.8% (Maryland: 9.05%)

As part of his economic development mission to Asia, Governor Larry Hogan today announced that the Korean Small and Medium Enterprises and Startups Agency (KOSME) will become a member of Maryland’s Global Gateway Initiative, which connects international businesses with local incubators and accelerators.  “Maryland is proud to have an unabashedly pro-business environment, and thanks to our world-class infrastructure, our premier universities and research institutions, and our continued leadership in key industry sectors, we have built an unrivaled ecosystem of job creation and economic growth,” said Governor Hogan. “Now, we are laser focused on attracting even more foreign investment through our…

A new Goucher College poll shows Maryland voters in favor of Democratic nominee Wes Moore in the gubernatorial contest. WBAL reports that according to the poll, 53% of voters plan to vote for  Moore. The same poll shows that 31% plan to vote for his opponent, Dan Cox, and 9% of likely voters are undecided. Those polled were also asked about issues such as the Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, and half said the decision does not make them any more or less motivated to vote in the upcoming election. Voters say the issues that are most important to them…

ARREST WARRANT SERVED On Sunday, September 18, 2022, the Cumberland Police Department served an arrest warrant on Abigail Bennett.  The warrant was issued in connection with an assault investigation. On September 11, 2022 at approximately 8:43 PM, officers of the Cumberland Police Department responded to the first block of N. Lee Street for an assault that just occurred.  Police contacted the victim who reported that Bennett showed up to her residence and assaulted her.  The victim explained that Bennett shoved her, grabbed her hair, struck her in the head multiple times with a closed fist, and kicked her.  Officers observed…

A Maryland company announced Friday it will build a natural gas power plant designed to capture climate-changing carbon in northern West Virginia. Officials said it was made possible by a recently signed law embraced by Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin that gives tax breaks for alternative energy projects. Competitive Power Ventures of Silver Spring, Maryland, will construct the 1,800-megawatt plant in Doddridge County, a top producer of natural gas in the state. More than 1,000 union jobs will be used in the construction of the combined-cycle plant, and the natural gas used by the facility will support hundreds of additional jobs,…

In 2014 when the Baltimore Street Access project was first brought to the table for serious discussion by the city council- the estimated price tag was in the $3.5 to $5 million range. The latest projections by the city’s engineering department are in the $10 million plus category- with the city setting aside $12.5 million through a variety of funding sources.  The speculation and guesstimates will be replaced by reality Wednesday afternoon at City Hall when contractor bids for the project to renovate the downtown mall will be opened. The renovations planned for the downtown mall include replacing underground utility…

The Cumberland Economic Development Corporation and the Downtown Development Commission are continuing to look for ways to promote and educate prospective business owners about the wide variety of grants and tax incentive programs currently available. Ruth Davis-Rogers, Cumberland’s Historic Preservation Planner, has suggested, and is in the process of organizing a meeting for businesses looking to locate in the city. The meeting would include a number of individuals intimately familiar with various grant programs and other incentive opportunities. CEDC executive director Matt Miller…   

West Virginia Governor Jim Justice has signed a bill that places a near total ban on abortion in the state. He made the announcement at a Friday press conference. The legislation, approved in special session by state lawmakers earlier in the week,  provides exceptions for rape and incest victims at up to eight weeks of pregnancy if they report to law enforcement first.  Minors would have until 14 weeks and would have to report to either law enforcement or a physician.  Viewed as one of the more strict abortion bans approved by any state in the nation, the legislation has…