The Mineral County Board of Education voted unanimously on Thursday to move forward with plans for consolidating three schools in the Frankfort district. Three public hearings will be held on March 29 at Frankfort High School regarding the closures and consolidation, starting with one regarding Frankfort Intermediate at 5 p.m. and followed by hearings addressing Fort Ashby Primary School and Wiley Ford Primary. The board will then vote on whether to close and consolidate the schools into one new facility. The board has applied for funding from the state’s School Building Authority, and expects to receive word in April on whether the request will be…

Delegate Mike McKay tells WCBC News that he fully backs a proposed bill that would make it possible for parents worried about learning loss to hold their children back a grade. The bill would allow students to repeat the grade they took in the 2020-2021 school year. The Education Recovery Act would apply to those students who have been struggling with virtual learning and those with special learning needs and considered the most vulnerable. Under the bill students would have the option of repeating their grades. Mckay, a Republican who represents Allegany and Washington counties, tells WCBC News that he believes…

A proposed law in the Maryland House of Delegates could roll back certain protections for law enforcement officers. HB0151would fully repeal Maryland’s Law Enforcement Officers Bill of Rights. The law, which provides certain protections for officers under investigation for wrongdoing, has been heavily criticized for frustrating police-reform efforts. Recommendations for repeal came  from a Workgroup on Police Reform and Accountability in Maryland that was convened in June. A primary sponsor of the legislation says that a repeal of the Law Enforcement Officers Bill of Rights would allow for greater civilian oversight of police departments. Under the Law Enforcement Officers Bill…

Some Marylanders who have lost their jobs as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic and have been receiving unemployments benefits- are now getting billed. Details of the problem surfaced during this week’s regular meeting of the Maryland Board of Public Works meeting. Some people collecting unemployment have begun to receive notices from the state that they were paid too much. According to state Comptroller Peter Franchot- some of the amounts total in the thousands…  

Local business owner Ryan Brennamen joining the growing chorus of those in the community concerned with operations of the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad. Brennamen addressed the Allegany County Commissioners during Thursday’s meeting with a list of issues related to what he believes has been financial mismanagement of the local tourist train…   Commissioner David Caporale said that the county has similar concerns and will be doing some independent analysis of the situation…

Allegany County should hit the 10,000 mark sometime this weekend in the number of COVID-19 vaccinations administered- a tremendous rebound for a county that at one point had some of the worst Coronavirus metrics in the nation. The county experienced a surge in October and November and drew criticism at the time from Governor Larry Hogan for not adhering to mandated health and safety guidelines. On Thursday, Allegany County Commissioners President Jake Shade took a few minutes to talk about the strides the county has made in since the start of the year…

Today’s official report shows that Maryland providers have administered 1,187,807 total doses of COVID-19 vaccines, and 87.3% of all first doses received from the federal government. The state is averaging a new record-high 31,050 shots per day.

According to the latest report from the Maryland Department of Labor, the number of new unemployment claims in the state dropped by more than half last week. For the week ending February 20, 12,283 claims were filed. The previous week, that number was 28,927. Nationally, the seasonally-adjusted number of initial claims was 730,000, down 111,000 from the previous week, according to the US Department of Labor.

Maryland Governor Larry Hogan and Virginia Governor Ralph Northam today issued the following statement:  “The American Legion Bridge is a critical lifeline for the National Capital Region, joining the dynamic economies of Maryland and Virginia and connecting the entire East Coast of the United States. “Our states established an historic agreement in November 2019 to finally bring the bridge into the modern era, addressing one of the worst traffic chokepoints in the nation head-on. This major milestone supports the delivery of improvements through innovative public-private partnerships that will attract billions of dollars in infrastructure investments, support thousands of jobs, and…

  On 2/25/2021 at approximately 1:30 AM the Cumberland City Police Department were dispatched to the 600 block of Ridgewood Avenue for a reported gunshot. Officers were in the area and then received a disturbance call nearby at a residence in the 800 block of Cecil Street. Officers made contact with Shana Marie Stansberry. Ms. Stansberry advised she was assaulted and the suspect had left the area. Officers searched the area and located the alleged suspect. Officers immediately identified several injuries to this subject and began to investigate further. Officers learned that this subject had been at the residence in…