As if the state of Maryland needed more bad financial news, the chief economist for Moody’s Analytics says the state is at a high risk for entering a recession. Mark Zandi says Maryland, DC, Virginia, and Delaware are all in the same category, showing vulnerabilities to recession, making the region stand out as especially weak.  “The key here is jobs. Of course, with the recent data, we see job growth has come to a virtual standstill. And I don’t see any reason why we’ll see any pick up here any time soon. If we start getting some negative job numbers…

West Virginia may lose more than $73 million dollars in federal funding for public education. Educators say the loss will only worsen the state’s critical teacher shortage. State educator Octavia Cordon says the elimination of block grant funding that improves teacher effectiveness and leadership will drive more people out of the profession…     “The teacher shortage is already at a high rate as it is. We have teachers pulling out, retiring. Students aren’t going to get supportive services that they need.  A lot of those things are not going to be in place.”

Local coach Ray Kiddy, shares his life lessons as a coach in his new book called “A Road No One Traveled: Side Effects of Coaching.”  The book covers Coach Kiddy’s 42-year coaching career and spotlights the leadership and resilience it takes to be a coach.  The book shares the power of teamwork but also the effects of tragedies.  In 2017, Kiddy said Bishop Walsh’s girls’ soccer team started out strong until death struck the families of three of the girls…    “We went 3 and 0 at the beginning of the season, and we went through all this tragedy over a…

There’s still time to vote for Allegany County for USA Today’s “10 Best Places to Visit for Fall.”  As of Wednesday, the county holds fourth place with Rochester, New York, holding first.  According to tourism director Ashley Workman, individuals can vote more than once for Allegany County…     “If you go to 10best.usatoday.com, and you vote, you can vote once a day until September 8th.”

Results from the Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program, or MCAP, continue to rebound from post-pandemic learning loss. New testing results were released Tuesday during the State Board of Education meeting and show a 5.5% increase since the 2021-22 school year. Dr. Carey Wright, State Schools Superintendent, said there was improvement across the board for the state’s students…    “We’re excited that the results are all up. I mean all grades with the exception of ELA in grade 4; every single grade, every single sub-group, showed an increase in performance, and so that’s really good news for us.” Wright said there were…

Grantsville is among four cities in the state of Maryland that have been redesignated as Arts and Entertainment Districts. The distinction will allow the town to continue tax incentives that encourage economic development through arts and tourism. The program was created in 2001 to provide local governments with tools to incentivize artists to live, create, and sell work in their towns. Towns must reapply for the designation every ten years.

The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia announced Tuesday afternoon the death of Judge Tim Armstead at the age of 60 after a brief illness. Armstead began his career as an intern under Governor Arch Moore and served in various positions including state delegate and Speaker of the House for the West Virginia legislature. He attended the University of Charleston and West Virginia University School of Law. He was appointed to the Supreme Court of Appeals in 2018 by Governor Jim Justice.

United States Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., has come out in support of West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey’s stand on vaccines and religious exemptions.  Kennedy released a statement saying Morrisey’s executive order from January upholds religious freedoms and parental rights while keeping the state in full compliance with federal law. West Virginia’s state board of education has gone against the executive order, which was never codified by the state legislature, by requiring vaccines for all school-age children.

A dearly-loved band director in the area got a suitable send-off at his funeral this past week. George Ott, who directed bands and choirs in Allegany and Mineral Counties for years died August 17.  A caller to WCBC relayed that there was special recognition at his funeral…      “The Frankfort Band was in the parking lot – uniforms, flag girls, everything. I don’t know if you knew he wrote the fight song for Frankfort. And as a tribute to him, they had the band out there.” The West Virginia high school band’s appearance was coordinated by Frankfort coach Kevin…

The rumors that Governor Wes Moore would like to make a run for the presidency is not lost on current President Donald Trump.  In their ongoing verbal battle, Moore has once again told reporters he is not running for the office, and that President Trump should concentrate instead on issues with his administrative policies…    “The President seems to be more concerned about my future then he is about the future of the American people. And that’s why I’m asking him to keep his focus – focus on the things that actually matter right now which is the fact that…