WBAL reports the Maryland comptroller's office experienced a system outage on its website Monday which has caused delays in processing tax returns, refund requests and direct debit requests. The office released a statement  regarding the incident: “On Monday, March 6th, the Information Technology Division of the Comptroller’s Office identified an issue with the Office’s legacy tax return processing software that caused a systems outage, temporarily delaying the processing of tax returns, refund requests, and direct debit requests. The team has been working diligently to correct the issue. While Maryland taxpayers can still file their tax returns electronically, until these systems…

With St. Patrick’s Day coming up on Friday, Maryland State Police are urging those who plan to celebrate with alcohol to drink responsibly and avoid impaired, distracted and aggressive driving.   With an expected increase of impaired drivers throughout the state this week, troopers at all 23 Maryland State Police barracks will conduct saturation patrols, focusing on impaired, distracted and aggressive driving. A portion of the costs associated with the increased enforcement efforts will be paid through impaired driving saturation funds provided by the Maryland Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Administration’s Highway Safety Office.     The initiatives, which will…

Frostburg State University recently announced that it has earned the 2023-2024 Military Friendly School designation marking the 12th consecutive time that FSU has received this distinction. The Military Friendly Schools list honors colleges, universities and trade schools across the country that go above and beyond to embrace America’s military service members, veterans and spouses as students and ensure their success on campus.  Institutions earning the Military Friendly School designation were evaluated using public data sources and responses from a proprietary survey. More than 1,800 schools participated in the 2023-2024 survey, and FSU is one of 665 schools earning the Military…

This week, Congressman David Trone (D-MD), Co-Chair of the Bipartisan Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Task Force, led two bill introductions in the U.S. House of Representatives to urgently and effectively tackle the United States’ opioid crisis. As Chair of the U.S. Commission on Combating Synthetic Opioid Trafficking, Congressman Trone firmly believes that we must focus on stemming both the supply and demand of illicit fentanyl in American communities, including through prevention, harm reduction, treatment, and recovery services.   In the last 20 years, fentanyl-involved overdoses in Maryland have skyrocketed from 4% to 80% of fatal overdoses – a…

A federal judge just issued an arrest warrant for Roy McGrath, who was chief of staff to former Gov. Larry Hogan. McGrath was due in federal court at 9 a.m. for a hearing related to his fraud and embezzlement trial. As of now, he's a no-show. McGrath's attorney said McGrath was supposed to fly up from Florida last night. An arrest warrant has now been issued  

WBAL reports a redacted version of the Maryland attorney general's report into child sexual abuse at the Archdiocese of Baltimore could move closer to being released on Monday. According to Judge Robert Taylor Jr.'s order in February, the Attorney General's Office will prepare a list of affected people to be presented to the court on March 13 and contact those people, after which time, a redacted version of the report can be released. Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown had released a statement on the ruling, saying: "We are pleased with the court's order today permitting the interim release of a…

The Cumberland Police department is investigating a hit and run that occurred on March 7th, 2023 at approximately 11:50 am. During the incident green Jeep was struck by a red passenger car in the area of Queen City Drive and Harrison Street. The Cumberland Police Department is requesting any witnesses of the hit and run to contact the Department at 301-777-1600.

With construction set to begin in in just a few weeks on the Baltimore Street redesign- the schedule of events and activities normally held on the downtown mall is being finalized. While most of the major events such as the holiday tree lighting and New Years Eve Ball Drop will be moved to Canal Place for the next two years,  Downtown Development Commission executive director Melinda Kelleher said the plan is to continue to hold the popular Friday After Five concerts near the mall… She added that although the After Five Series will stay, there will be plenty of musical…

The Maryland Board of Revenue Estimates has  lowered revenue forecasts for the rest of 2023 and next year by a combined $478 million. The projected revenue growth is at 2.3% for the budget year ending on June 30. A 1% growth is expected for the budget year starting July 1. The decline in revenue estimates was due to a sharp drop in both sales tax and income taxes in the fourth quarter of 2022. State authorities said the slower growth is a reflection of the lingering effects of national inflation. The comptroller blamed inflation, sluggish consumer spending and under-performing employment…

Demolition of the former Allegany High School was complete last September- and now the County Commissioners are preparing to move forward with the best way to utilize the site. Construction of the Sedgwick Street school began in 1925 with the  razing of the school, gym and auditorium marking the end of an institution that was a focal point of the Cumberland community for 93 years. County Administrator Jason Bennett  says a request for proposals will be ready in the near future… At the time of the demolition, the commissioners said the focus would be to find a developer to turn…