Maryland’s new Superintendent of Schools has said he plans to visit every district in the state in the coming months. When he visits Allegany County it will be with the knowledge that at least one local board member opposed his appointment. Mohammed Choudhury was selected in June among 11 candidates and officially began the job on July 1st.  Choudhury, who  grew up in Los Angeles, comes to Maryland from San Antonio where he had been serving as assistant superintendent. Allegany County Board of Education vice-president Robert Farrell told WCBC’s “Dave Norman Show” that he would have preferred someone with more…

The Cumberland Mayor and City Council is looking to crack down on slum lords- but state legislation will be required to move forward with some of the proposals on the table. City solicitor Mike Cohen this week presented the council with several ideas to submit to the local legislative delegation for review and consideration. Most of them are aimed at hampering some of the less reputable landlords from expanding operations and contributing to the growing number of deteriorating properties being offered for rent…   Cohen suggests criteria be established that would serve to disqualify some of the regular offenders from…

Baltimore police officers have a practice of picking up overtime shifts while on paid vacation to make double the money, a report from the city’s inspector general said. Investigators found the strategy of getting routine money from a paid vacation day plus overtime money for working a shift while off is allowed under the police union contract, The Baltimore Sun reported. The report stems from a complaint to the Office of the Inspector General that employees were collecting overtime pay they weren’t entitled to. The investigators wrote that they referred these allegations to the police department’s Public Integrity Bureau. Police overtime spending…

Active cases of COVID-19 in West Virginia are nearly below 1,000 for the first time since July of last year. The state Department of Health and Human Resources confirmed 1,026 on Thursday, a slight drop from 1,055 on Wednesday. It’s the lowest active coronavirus case total in the Mountain State since July 11, 2020.  During his Thursday press briefing, Governor Justice said the state health department has confirmed 15 cases of the delta variant of COVID-19 in six counties. The variant is believed to be twice as contagious as the original virus.  

Comptroller Peter Franchot encourages taxpayers with last-minute questions about their state income tax returns before the July 15 filing deadline to seek assistance from agency staff, either in person or virtually. The Comptroller extended the deadline by three months due to the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as state and federal legislation that required extensive changes to 2020 tax forms in the middle of the tax filing season. No interest or penalties will be assessed if returns are filed and taxes owed are paid by July 15. The extended deadline applies to 2020 individual, fiduciary and corporate…

In order to continue to facilitate vaccination efforts in Allegany County and to better serve the community, UPMC Western Maryland reminds the public that COVID-19 vaccines are available seven days a week at several UPMC Western Maryland urgent and primary care locations. Appointments are encouraged, but walk-ins are welcome.       Urgent care locations offering the vaccine seven days a week from 8 a.m. until 8 p.m. include:   •             Advanced Medical Care, 1050 Industrial Boulevard, Cumberland, 240-964-9300 •             UPMC Outpatient Center, Frostburg Plaza, 10701 New Georges Creek Road, Frostburg, 301-689-3229 •             UPMC Urgent Care, 23789 Garrett Highway, McHenry, 240-488-4139…

An announcement by U.S. Senators Cardin and Van Hollen this week may rekindle interest in the long discussed rewatering of the Western Maryland portion of the C&O Canal. The Maryland Democrats issued a statement this week that the project could receive $390,000 in federal funding. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers would be the recipient of the grant, which would allow a feasibility study to move forward. If the study finds the project viable, officials could move forward with phase one construction design. The cost of the viability study is $600,000, with the city of Cumberland contributing $210,000. City officials said…

Two and a half years after Cumberland officials decided not to pursue construction of a skateboard park at Constitution Park- momentum and enthusiasm has returned- and the city council is now closing in on identifying a site. It was in December of 2018 that the council said a skateboard facility at the park was no longer viewed as a viable project- and essentially pronounced the project dead. Things have now changed dramatically. During this week’s work session, councilman Seth Bernard, after a series of committee meetings said that funding is coming together, a location has been selected and the effort…

The legal battle over whether Maryland should continue to participate in a federal unemployment program will continue on Friday in Baltimore Circuit Court. Last month, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan announced he intended to end the state’s participation in the federally funded program that gives an additional $300 to unemployment recipients by July 1. Two lawsuits challenging Hogan’s decision were filed by representatives of unemployed workers, and since then a Baltimore circuit judge issued a temporary restraining order keeping the benefits in place until July 13. After an appeal was rejected- the  case now heads back to the Baltimore circuit court. The governor…

Governor Larry Hogan announced Wednesday that Maryland will award $50,000 college scholarships to randomly selected youth who are vaccinated against COVID-19. Speaking from the University of Maryland campus, the governor said vaccination rates are lagging among young people. Calling the recently completed VaxCash promotion a success, Hogan announced the VaxU Scholarship Promotion, a partnership between the Maryland Department of Health and the Maryland Higher Education Commission, to provide $1 million in college scholarships for vaccinated Maryland youth between the ages of 12 and 17…