The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention no longer recommends universal masking in health care settings, unless the facilities are in areas of high COVID-19 transmission- but for the time being UPMC Western Maryland will still require personnel to wear face coverings. The CDC quietly issued the updates as part of an overhaul to its infection control guidance for health workers published late Friday afternoon. It marks a major departure from the agency’s previous recommendation for universal masking. UPMC Western Maryland Vice President of Medical Affairs Dr. Matt Simmons said the objective remains to cut down on the spread of the virus…

When President Joe Biden  announced last month plans to forgive student loan debt for millions of borrowers- there was immediate support offered from several Maryland leaders- but Governor Larry Hogan was not among them. Maryland House Speaker Adrienne Jones was pleased to see Biden take action on student debt relief and pointed student loan borrowers to the Maryland Higher Education Commission to apply for a tax credit to access additional assistance with their student loans. Democratic gubernatorial nominee Wes Moore called Biden’s announcement “a historic victory for the thousands of Marylanders struggling with student loan debt.” Hogan meanwhile called it…

The 40th Great Allegany Run will take place on Saturday, October 1, and traffic patterns along with the route from Mount Savage to Cumberland will be affected. Runners for the 15K will begin near the Masonic Building in Mount Savage at 8:00 a.m. and proceed to downtown Cumberland along the westbound shoulder of state Route 36 and onto Route 40 through the Narrows. They will enter Cumberland on Mechanic Street, turn onto Queen City Drive and then Harrison Street and will finish near the downtown Cumberland mall on South Centre Street.  There will be some traffic delays on Route 36…

On Saturday, October 1, 2022, between the hours of 3:30pm-9:00pm., the Allegany Band Boosters will be sponsoring their annual Preview of Champions at Greenway Avenue Stadium.  Greenway Avenue will be closed at 4:00pm from Warwick Avenue to Brookfield Avenue for the duration of the event.  Motorists traveling on Brookfield Avenue will only be able to make a right turn onto Greenway Avenue once Greenway Avenue has been closed.  Cecil Street will be closed at Ridgewood Avenue and traffic will only be able to travel on Cecil Street from Greenway Avenue to Ridgewood Avenue.  Handicapped parking will be provided on Greenway…

Delegate Neil Parrott, Republican candidate for Maryland’s sixth congressional district, called on his opponent, Congressman David Trone, to debate in the sixth district, in-person: “Congressman Trone is hiding behind his millions and his Potomac mansion walls. He should answer to the people of the district for his record of absenteeism, defending gerrymandering, reckless spending, and crass partisanship. And he should answer to me for the grotesque lies he is telling about my record and my views. He can’t do either from is home outside the district, surrounded by his staff, and insulated from scrutiny. Those of us who actually live…

The Cumberland Times News reports a Cumberland couple was jailed Tuesday, accused of burglarizing a Southhampton Township residence under the pretext of needing to use the bathroom, authorities said. State police in Somerset charged Wayne Larkin Sorrells, 41, and Nicole Elizabeth Sorrells, 40, both of the 400 block of Grand Avenue, with burglary, criminal trespass, theft by unlawful taking and theft from a motor vehicle. According to a complaint affidavit, troopers were called to the 6100 block of Cumberland Highway at 3:05 a.m. for a burglary in progress. When they arrived, troopers allegedly found Nicole Sorrells sitting in a black…

Some more traffic delays can be expected downtown. Work on the sewer lines beneath North Mechanic Street has been extended into a third week after work crews discovered additional damage. City officials announced in mid-September that work would begin Sept. 19 to replace a collapsed sewer main on a stretch of North Mechanic Street from Eutaw Place to Queen City Drive, with repairs expected to take four days. However, workers from Carl Belt Inc. found more problems once the work began. Water service has not been interrupted and sewer lines have remained functional with crews using a generator-powered sewage bypass…

On Tuesday, September 27, 2022 at approximately 11:37 AM, an officer of the Cumberland Police Department responded to the area of Liberty Street for an indecent exposure complaint.  The officer learned that Nakota Durham had exposed herself while urinating in public in the downtown area.  Durham was issued a criminal citation for Disorderly Conduct and released pending trial at District Court.   ARRESTED:  Nakota Cheanta Durham    AGE:  30      Cumberland, MD CHARGES:  Disorderly Conduct

With an eye toward preserving a part of  history, the new owners of the former M&T Bank Building on the downtown Cumberland pedestrian mall have renamed that building The Rosenbaum. Two Cumberland businessmen, Chris Hendershot and Garrett Eagan, purchased the former bank at 118 Baltimore St. in early August for half a million dollars with plans to develop it into a mixed residential and commercial establishment. The new owners wanted to rebrand the five-story building, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, with a new name.  Built in 1898, the building was well known for housing Rosenbaum’s Department…

Efforts continue to work toward removing the damn underneath the Blue Bridge that connects Cumberland to Ridgeley- an action that is considered vital for the proposed $20 million River Park at Canal Place Project. The project will include  a moderate whitewater course, docks for canoes and kayaks and walking trails along the Potomac River behind Canal Place. Clearing the location of the industrial dam and removing the sediment is a key environmental component of the project. Canal Place executive director Dee Dee Ritchie provided an update during Tuesday’s regular board meeting and said to date there has not been a…