Four Maryland police officers won’t be charged in the fatal shooting of a 21-year-old Black man in a McDonald’s drive-thru last summer, officials said. The Montgomery County’s State’s Attorney’s Office announced Monday that an investigation by prosecutors in neighboring Howard County into Ryan LeRoux's July 2021 death was complete and a grand jury found the shooting was legally justified under the circumstances, news outlets reported. Officers were called to the McDonald’s in Gaithersburg on July 16 for a report of a person refusing to leave the drive-thru line. An officer found LeRoux reclined in the driver’s seat with headphones on…

On April 4th, 2022 officers of the Cumberland Police Department served an Arrest Warrant on Latina Renee Dawkins. The Arrest Warrant stemmed from an incident on April 1st, 2022, when officers of the Cumberland Police Department responded to a breaking and entering in the 400 block of Seymour Street. Officers arrived on scene and learned the suspect, later identified as Dawkins, had already fled the area. The officers interviewed the victim and obtained a description of Dawkins, and learned she had forced entry through the front door. Once inside the residence Dawkins repeatedly struck the victim with a large stick…

On February 4th, 2022 officers of the Cumberland Police Department responded to a business in the 700 block of Park Street for a reported shoplifting. Upon officers arrival they spoke with an employee who advised that Kierra Jessie attempted to leave the store without paying for merchandise. Jessie was placed under arrest for theft, and during a subsequent search the officer located a quantity of a controlled dangerous substance and paraphernalia. Jessie was released on Criminal Citations pending her trial at District Court.   Arrest: Kierra Tiray Jessie, age 26, Cumberland Maryland. Charges: Theft Less than $100, Possession not Marijuana,…

Maryland Governor  Larry Hogan on Monday signed a redrawn congressional map into law after the state withdrew its appeal of an earlier decision that Democrats’ initial map is unconstitutional. The new map, which was hastily passed by lawmakers last week, was signed into law Monday afternoon…  

Comptroller Peter Franchot last week  hosted the seventh meeting of the Comptroller's Workgroup on Pandemic Spending, this time hearing from leaders in K-12 education. Issues included the efforts of educators to quickly adapt to virtual instruction, the shortcomings that federal and state relief aid failed to address, and the potential fiscal cliff that local school systems' budgets could be facing in the coming years. Franchot said. the challenges posed by the pandemic on schools continue to be evident today, with record-high vacancies in teaching and support staff positions, as well as the significant learning loss that our students have experienced…

Maryland Governor Larry Hogan this week attacked Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a fellow Republican, over the Sunshine State's new law placing limits on discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity in the classroom. Hogan dismissed the Parental Rights in Education bill – dubbed the 'Don't Say Gay' bill by critics – as 'absurd' and criticized DeSantis for getting into a public spat with the Walt Disney Company over the matter. Appearing on CNN, Hogan called out Florida's governor over an apparent double-standard in his treatment of businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic versus threatening Disney for not toeing the line now……

With demolition of the former Allegany High School on Sedgwick Street getting underway this month, attention now turns to how best to utilize the land once that job is complete.  Nearly 100 years old, the  high school was shuttered after a new Allegany was constructed on Haystack Mountain in 2018. The school is owned by the county with the commissioners awarding the demolition project to a Culpeper, Virginia  firm with a bid of close to $678,000. The county secured $2 million in state grants for the prep work, including asbestos removal, and the demolition. County Commissioner David Caporale tells WCBC…

With just a week left in the general assembly session, Maryland lawmakers have agreed to let voters decide whether to legalize recreational marijuana at the ballot box in November. The Maryland House voted 94-39 for a constitutional amendment already approved by the Senate. The House also voted 89-41 for a separate measure that takes steps to implement recreational marijuana, if voters approve, but it leaves matters of licensing and taxes for lawmakers to decide next year. According to a new Goucher College poll released last month, voters in Maryland support legalizing recreational marijuana by a 2-to-1 margin. Pollster Mileah Kromer…

Today,  U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) will meet with President Biden’s nominee to serve on the Supreme Court, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson. During the meeting, the Senator will discuss with Judge Jackson her background, experiences, and qualifications to serve on the court, including her connections to Maryland. 

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan  approved  a new congressional map Monday  after a judge struck down a previous map and supporters of the original withdrew their appeals of that decision.  Attorney General Brian Frosh, a Democrat, said the case was settled over the weekend. “Both sides have agreed to dismiss their appeals, and our state can move forward to the primary election,” Frosh said in a statement. Democrats, who control the Maryland General Assembly, approved a quickly redrawn congressional map on Wednesday, five days after a judge struck down the one lawmakers approved in December as unconstitutional for diluting Republican votes. It was…