As part of his upcoming fall tour, country music legend Garth Brooks is scheduled to be in Baltimore on Saturday, Oct. 2, at 7 p.m. rain or shine.  This tour comes after Brooks received the Billboard Music Icon Award in October 2020, and the release of two albums, his 12th studio album "FUN" and live album "Triple Live Deluxe." In January 2020, Billboard announced that Brooks was the first artist to make it on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart in the 80s, 90s, 00s, 10s and now 20s. Tickets go on sale July 23.

WBAL reports Baltimore City police Officer Eric Banks, 34, has been charged with first- and second-degree murder and child abuse in the death of his 15-year-old stepson, Dasan Jones, Anne Arundel County police said Wednesday.  On Tuesday, July 6, 2021, the Anne Arundel County Police responded to a call over a child custody dispute when the mother of Jones was on her way to pick up her son from his step-father's home. Officers were initially told by Banks that Jones had already left his home, without his belongings. He then agreed to allow police to search his home, police said.

The Allegany County Health Department has reported that the highly contagious COVID-19 delta variant has been confirmed in Allegany County.  The Maryland Public Health Laboratory conducts RNA sequencing on COVID-19 case specimens from across the state, and the delta variant was found in an Allegany County specimen.  The delta variant now accounts for about 58% of all new COVID-19 cases in the United States, up from just 3% in late May.   The variant was first detected in the U.S. in March and is now present in all 50 states.    The World Health Organization and the CDC have labeled the…

A big turnout for the Memorial Day Monday Del McCoury Band concert at Cumberland’s Canal Place has resulted in charitable DelFest Foundation donations to two local non-profits. Foundation Treasurer Matthew Scarpelli and DelFest Community Liaison Barb Buehl recently presented checks for $5,000 to County United Way and $1,000 to the Western Maryland Food Bank, resulting from vending and contribution tip jars at the free May 31st event. The Food Bank also received 456 pounds of contributed dry goods collected by Del’s Army at Memorial Day Weekend events at B-Chord in Lessburg VA and Cumberland. “When the DelFest Foundation got word…

The Joint Communications Center of Allegany County has dispatched unis to Interstate 68 Eastbound east of Vocke Road for a mishap involving a tractor Trailer and a car. The accident occurred just after 11:00 AM.  Traffic delays are expected.

After Maryland State Senator George Edwards announced he will not seek re-election in 2022, one local politician is already on the candidate list for the upcoming vacancy. Allegany County Commission President Jake Shade has filed as a candidate for the seat, with his current County Commission term up in 2022. Shade was first elected to the Board of County Commissioners in 2014 for a four-year term and was re-elected in 2018.

On Tuesday, July 13th, 2021 the Cumberland Police Department served a criminal summons on Drezdin Jose Delgado charging him with theft $100-$1,500.  The summons was issued by District Court in reference to an incident that occurred on July 6th, 2021 at a S. George Street location.  On that date, officers were in the area looking for individuals involved in a separate incident when they contacted a female that claimed that a male, later identified as Drezdin Jose Delgado, stole a sum of currency from her purse and fled the area.  He signed and received copies of the charging documents and…

District One State Senator George Edwards announced yesterday that he will not seek reelection, and instead will retire from the Maryland General Assembly when his term ends. WCBC News spoke with the Grantsville Republican, who noted that his career in public service began in his early twenties with a desire to make things better…  

Tuesday's court decision to maintain extra unemployment benefits in Maryland was immediately applauded by most state Democrats, including Senator Jim Rosapepe, who has consistently criticized Governor Hogan's decision to end the federal benefits early…. Speaking to WBAL, Rosapepe did not join the chorus of Democrats calling for the removal of Labor Secretary Tiffany Robinson, saying he blames Hogan for recent difficulties within the department’s unemployment payment distribution system.

During the past week, Maryland Democratic leaders have called for the ouster of Labor Secretary Tiffany Robinson due to the way unemployment claims are being handled by her department.  Often, any issues requiring a need for a phone call are met by an automated response that requires listening to a three plus minutes message before notifying the applicant that no one is available to talk…   Members of the Western Maryland legislative delegation have been contacted for help, but have had little luck with the process.