The Cumberland Mayor and City Council is expected to make a decision in just a few weeks as to whether or not to amend the zoning laws regulating domestic livestock. In March of 2016, the Frostburg City Council took action that allows households to keep up to six live chickens- and now a number of Cumberland residents are looking for the city to follow that lead. About a half dozen supporters of the proposal have been attending council meetings the past few months making the request. While Cumberland Mayor Ray Morriss said he has a number of concerns, and has…

Governor Wes Moore appeared before House and Senate committees last week to testify for a bill to establish the one-year "Service Year Option Program" for graduating high school seniors. If passed, those in the program would be required to work at least 30 hours per week and partner with a mentor. An employer would pay $15 per hour. The program would be phased in and cost $3 million per year by Fiscal Year 2028. Those in the program would receive a $3,000 stipend upon completion. The importance of public service has been major theme of Moore’s during his campaign and…

In our District we have three new grant requests approved by the Department of Natural Resources. They are the following: DNR has received a grant request for Local Parks and Playgrounds Infrastructure Funding assistance in the amount of $13,842.90 from the City of Frostburg for the Sowers Field Improvements project in Allegany County. This project proposes to purchase and install LED lighting for Sowers Field at the Parris Glendening Recreation Complex. The total cost for this project is $51,495. Another request is for he amount of $25,000 from Garrett County for the Deer Park Town Center Lighting project. This project proposes to…

The Frostburg State Softball team used a late offensive surge to power past New Haven 18-3 Saturday morning.

CHARLESTON, WV – Gov. Jim Justice issued the following statement today: “I am extremely happy that after weeks of negotiations with all parties we’ve been able to reach a deal with the House and Senate that will be the largest tax cut in West Virginia history,” Gov. Justice said. “This deal returns over $750 million to hardworking West Virginians through a major cut to our personal income tax, rebate of the car tax, a 50% rebate of the property tax on machinery and inventory to small businesses, and tax credits to West Virginia Veterans. It also puts us on a pathway toward…

 CDC COVID-19 Community Level: Low  Percent of County Population Who Have Received a Complete Primary COVID Vaccine Series: 57.5%  Cumulative Allegany County COVID Cases: 21,641  Cumulative Allegany County Deaths: 387  Cases Per 100,000 People: 10.35 (Maryland: 7.68) • Positivity Rate: 5.59% (Maryland: 7.74%) Daily statistics can be found at https://coronavirus.maryland.gov/. Counts are updated by 11 a.m. each day. FREE COVID-19 TESTING AT THE ALLEGANY COUNTY FAIRGROUNDS: The testing clinic will be open as usual on Monday, February 20. The Allegany County Health Department continues to offer free drive-thru COVID testing at the Allegany County Fairgrounds on Mondays from 2-7 p.m….

It wasn’t snow that coated a few cars in West Virginia and Maryland early Friday. According to media reports, satellite trends show it was dust. The same weather system that brought the dust to Western Maryland triggered record heat and pollen counts. The cold front that just moved through Washington earlier Friday had roots in the Southern Plains on Wednesday. The soil has been stripped of moisture in the Southern Plains, thanks to recent drought, so it has become rather dusty. A strong, southwest wind at 60 to 70 mph ahead of the front picked up dust particles in the…

The City of Cumberland is making City-owned real estate available for purchase through a Sealed Bid Sale Process. The application process for this program evaluates the vision and plan for a property in combination with an offer price. The goal of the program is to return properties to the private sector for their highest and best use. Seven properties, ranging from buildable residential lots to adjacent lots to a candidate for rehabilitation, are open for bid until March 22, 2023. Interested bidders must obtain the bid packet from the Community Development Department in City Hall and must place bids utilizing…

The Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administration launched “Operation Clean Sweep Maryland” Friday — aiming to increase litter removal along roadways throughout the state. As part of the effort, the state will double how frequently crews pick up litter and mow along Maryland roads. Maryland will also hire more state employees to help with litter pickup. Operation Clean Sweep Maryland is beginning in the D.C. and Baltimore areas but eventually will reach far Western Maryland. As a result of a mild winter, crews will be doing sweeps through mostly traveled areas to do litter pickup operations. Also, litter removal…

West Virginia’s GOP supermajority Senate passed several bills this week  that would change how elections are run in the state. One bill proposed by Secretary of State Mac Warner and advanced to the House would require that county officials submit voting records into the statewide registration database 80 days after an election. Under current law, local officials have 120 days to enter voting records. The bill aims to help the state catch discrepancies in the records so results aren’t compromised, Republican Senate Judiciary Chairman Charles Trump said on the Senate floor. The same bill would also allow Warner’s office to…