A memorial marker will be revealed Saturday near Towson jail for 15-year-old Howard Cooper, a Black teen who was lynched there over 130 years ago. In 1885, Cooper was dragged from his jail cell by over 70 masked white men and hanged from a sycamore tree next to the building. He was convicted by an all-white jury of raping a white teenage girl, but according to the Baltimore Sun, neither she nor Cooper testified that she was raped. The ceremony to unveil the marker starts at 11 a.m. Saturday morning. Historians say at least 40 Black people were lynched in Maryland between…

On Friday, 83 people received COVID vaccinations at a walk-in clinic at the Allegany County Fairgrounds multipurpose building, which offered both the two-dose Moderna and single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccines.  Additional walk-in clinics are planned at the fairgrounds on May 13 and May 20 from 9 a.m. to noon and 1 to 3 p.m. No appointment is necessary.    The Allegany County Health Department also wants to remind the public that drive-thru testing is available at the fairgrounds on Mondays from 2 to 7 p.m. and on Wednesdays and Fridays from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.  No appointment is necessary,…

Allegany College of Maryland (ACM) is awarding approximately $30,000 in summer scholarships on a first-come, first-serve basis to new and current students whose lives have been impacted or disrupted by the pandemic. Awards are made based on the demonstration of need related to the COVID-19 crisis in some way – a lack of technology, internet connectivity, or course materials; loss of employment, healthcare, or childcare; personal or family financial hardships, food insecurity; housing disruption; and/or caring for a sick family member. Scholarships are not based on one’s grade point average (GPA) or current income. Students taking summer full term, A…

West Virginia Governor Jim Justice announced Friday that he is targeting June 20 to get rid of indoor face masks.  State medical experts project that by then, the state will have 65% of all West Virginians 12 and older who are eligible to take the vaccine will have at least a first dose by that time. Also by that date, state experts predict 75% of the population 50 and above will have had a first dose by that time. And also by that time, state experts predict 85% of those 65 and older will have a first dose by that…

For the week of May 3-7, 2021, ACPS reports one case of COVID-19 in a staff member, and two cases of COVID-19 in students who were within an Allegany County Public School.  These individuals will complete the required isolation period before returning to their school buildings. Close contacts at school were identified in all three of the cases. Those identified close contacts will complete a ten-day quarantine before returning to the school building. Parents were notified through the ACPS Blackboard notification system if there was a positive case in their child's school building or on their child's bus.    ACPS had four staff…

A ban on bare-chested women at the beach in Ocean City, Maryland, violates the Constitution's guarantee of equal protection and should be overturned, advocates argued to a federal appeals court.   The Washington Post reports  that the Richmond-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is reviewing a ruling last year that upheld Ocean City's ordinance barring women, but not men, from going topless at the beach to protect “public sensibilities.”   During oral arguments Wednesday, Chief Judge Roger Gregory expressed skepticism about Ocean City’s rationale for the measure. Gregory asked how many calls town officials received complaining about the possibility of…

Governor Larry Hogan today announced that over $6.5 million in state funding has been awarded to 33 strategic industry partnerships through the Employment Advancement Right Now (EARN) Maryland program. EARN Maryland is the state’s nationally-recognized workforce initiative that helps businesses cultivate the skilled workforce they need to compete while preparing Marylanders for meaningful careers. “As we continue to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, it is critical to keep investing in a well-trained, highly-skilled workforce in order to rebuild our economy and ensure a sustainable future,” said Governor Hogan, “Our state continues to be nationally-recognized for our programs on workforce development…

Maryland Governor Larry Hogan on Thursday announced a $25 million initiative aimed at helping school-age students recover from the pandemic's destructive effects on mental and emotional health. The initiative, called Project Bounce Back, will include the creation of six regional crisis teams that will help local school systems care for young people who are struggling. The project will also expand the reach of the Maryland Alliance of Boys & Girls Clubs, Hogan said, with a focus on schools serving low-income populations and rural areas.  

It was announced last month that students, faculty and staff at a dozen Maryland universities including Frostburg State will be required to get a COVID-19 vaccination before attending classes on campus in the future- however many questions remain. University System of Maryland Chancellor Jay Perman issued the mandate in late April after consultation. Under the mandate, all eligible students, faculty, and staff who will be on USM campuses in the fall must be vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus. There will be exemptions for medical or religious reasons. Tom Hickey with the University System of Maryland Administration said that the initial feedback…

Maryland’s spending panel has approved funding for a memorial honoring five people killed at the Capital Gazette newspaper in 2018. The Board of Public Works approved a $300,000 grant this week to partially fund the Guardians of the 1st Amendment Memorial in Annapolis. Unstable soil at the site meant new soil had to be brought in and steel helical piles had to be installed. This added another $200,000 to the project’s cost, bringing the total to about a half million dollars. The memorial is still expected to be complete before the dedication on June 28, the three-year anniversary of the…