On Wednesday, January 11, 2023, the Cumberland Police Department served an arrest warrant and two bench warrants on Nellie Miller.  The arrest warrant was issued as the result of an incident that occurred on November 6, 2022.  On this date at approximately 4:19 PM, an officer of the Cumberland Police Department responded to the area of W. First Street for a female subject digging through a dumpster.  The officer contacted her and obtained her identifying information.  The officer later discovered that the female had provided him with false information to avoid being arrested on an active warrant.  The female subject…

On Wednesday, January 11, 2023, the Cumberland Police Department served two District Court arrest warrants and two Circuit Court bench warrants on Jasmond Metheny.  One arrest warrant was issued as the result of an incident that occurred on August 8, 2022.  Officers of the Cumberland Police Department responded to the area of W. Third Street to assist deputies of the Allegany County Sheriff’s Office with a foot pursuit of Jasmond Metheny.  Metheny had an active warrant for his arrest.  Metheny was located and taken into custody on Arch Street after resisting arrest.  The other arrest warrant was issued as the…

Details have been finalized for a town hall meeting designed to  address business owners’ questions and concerns about the impact of the Baltimore Street renovation project. April 3rd is the target date to begin contruction on the  $15 million project- and it is expected to take some 18 months to complete. The project includes replacement of underground utility lines and installation of high-speed fiber optics cable. Following the subterranean work, Baltimore Street will be reinstalled through the pedestrian mall as a one-way access road traveling east from Mechanic Street. Obviously such an undertaking will have an impact on downtown businesses…

Public meetings to provide information about the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future and how it is being developed locally will be held tonight at  Mountain Ridge, January 17 at Fort Hill, and January 18 at Allegany high schools. Each meeting will begin at 5 p.m.  The Blueprint legislation, passed in 2021, includes an annual $3.8 billion funding increase over the next 10 years aimed to improve education in public schools. Major goals of the legislation are to improve Maryland’s early childhood, primary and secondary education to the levels of high-performing systems around the world, and establish a career ladder system for…

Although only one Western Maryland representative is on the transition team- and he made just one visit to Allegany County during his campaign- Governor-elect Wes Moore has consistently maintained that his administration will not neglect the rural regions of the state. Moore’s transition team has been adding names since October, with Hagerstown Mayor Emily Keller the most notable representative from the far western region. While Governor Larry Hogan has employed the services of Mark Widmyer to serve as his administration’s Western Maryland liason- it isn’t yet known if that position will remain once Moore takes office next Wednesday.  Moore, last…

The 2023 session of the Maryland General Assembly officially opened Wednesday with lawmakers beginning to tackle a bevy of controversial issues including  abortion rights;  guns laws  and recreational marijuana. Before the Supreme Court’s June ruling that struck down the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade case, Maryland lawmakers had approved legislation in the state’s last session to expand abortion access by ending a restriction that only physicians provide them. This year, lawmakers will again take up a package of abortion rights measures, including a constitutional amendment to enshrine the right to abortion in the state’s constitution. House Speaker Adrienne Jones… On the cannibas…

Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown today upheld his commitment to assist families and student loan borrowers avoid financial ruin caused by inability to repay certain loan debt due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Attorney General Brown joined a coalition of 22 Attorneys General in filing an amicus brief in support of the federal government in two cases before the U.S. Supreme Court. The cases concern the Biden Administration’s targeted cancellation of student loan debt to address the continuing effects of the pandemic.   The brief, filed today in the cases Biden v. Nebraska and Department of Education v. Brown, argues…

Congressman David Trone (D-MD) released the following statement on President Biden’s visit to Mexico and the Southern Border:    “I applaud President Biden for his visit to Mexico this week and his continued focus on the opioid crisis hammering our communities. During his visit, I firmly urged the President to encourage further cooperation with Mexican officials to stem the flow of fentanyl across our Southern Border. Last year, over 108,000 Americans died from drug overdoses – over 75% of which were caused by the synthetic opioid fentanyl. As of March 2021, fentanyl is the leading cause of death among Americans…

It's back to work for lawmakers in Annapolis as Session 2023 got underway at noon. Voters approved a constitutional amendment in November legalizing recreational cannabis as of July 1. What was not approved was how to tax and regulate cannabis, as well as licenses for distributors. WBAL reports Jones and other African American lawmakers say equity needs to be addressed in response to drug possession laws in the past that have led to more arrests of Black suspects over white suspects.  Another issue the session will face is putting reproductive health care in the state constitution.  Charles County Democrat CT Wilson, himself an abuse survivor, sponsors House Bill 1, the bill to eliminate…

A Preston County man was recently found guilty of his role in a methamphetamine, crack cocaine, fentanyl and heroin drug distribution operation that spanned from Mexico to Monongalia County, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of West Virginia. The Cumberland Times News reports Greg Snider, 63, of Bruceton Mills was found guilty by a federal jury after a four-day trial. Prosecutors said Snider used his residence in Bruceton Mills as a hub for drug distribution and rented vehicles and hotel rooms to assist with the illegal activity. Snider faces up to 20 years on prison for each…