On 12/17/2020 at approximately 9:00 PM the Cumberland City Police Department was dispatched to the double digit block of Massachusetts Avenue for an assault. Upon arrival officers spoke to the victim and learned that they were assaulted by Shawn Patrick Tallman. Officers observed visible injuries to the victim. Mr. Tallman was arrested without incident. Mr. Tallman was taken before a District Court Commissioner and remanded to the Allegany County Detention Center on a $2,500.00 bond.   Arrested – Shawn Patrick Tallman (28) Cumberland, MD Charge – Assault 2nd Degree

Following the official launch of Comptroller Peter Franchot's campaign for governor of Maryland, Delegate Brooke Lierman on Thursday announced her bid to succeed Franchot in 2022. Lierman, a Baltimore City Democrat, has represented the 46th district since 2015. “Maryland families are ready for leadership that understands the daily challenges we face,” Lierman said during a virtual campaign launch event. “Many of us feel stuck or falling behind during this pandemic. I’m ready to move all Marylanders forward with ideas that help families recover and leadership that unlocks opportunity for every Maryland resident, family and business.” Lierman currently serves on the House Appropriations Committee…

Maryland Governor Larry Hogan on Thursday announced new gathering limits and an emergency travel order ahead of the holiday season. The governor, who has stepped up the number of COVID-19 briefings in the past month as the numbers spiked, said that with Christmas fast approaching, the message is a simple one…

Although the assumption for some time has been that Cumberland’s traditional New Year’s Eve program would be cancelled this year, it was made official last week with an announcement during the December meeting of the Downtown Development Commission.  With the number of COVID-19 cases continuing to surge in the region and statewide restrictions on crowd size in place, DDC Executive Director Melinda Kelleher said that cancelling the ball drop and the midnight fireworks was deemed the most prudent course of action…

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s acknowledgement this week that Joe Biden is the president-elect came a month too late and is nothing more than a “political calculation”. That, at least, is the assessment of Senator Chris Van Hollen. The Maryland Democrat said that anyone who views McConnell's statement as a sign that he is ready to work on a compromise agenda with the new president is kidding themselves. Van Hollen said the fact that it took several weeks and is being reported as a headline news story speaks volumes as to the current state of the Republican party…

Despite the devastating impact on the economy that the Coronavirus pandemic has had since March, Cumberland Mayor Ray Morriss reports that the city’s fiscal picture is solid at this point. During a recent appearance on WCBC’s “Dave Norman Show," the mayor didn’t offer specific numbers but described the city’s reserve fund as being healthy, particularly compared to just a few years ago….

The WEBstaurant Store, a fast-growing company that sells food-service equipment and supplies via its website, is expanding its local operations. The online retailer provides food service professionals with restaurant equipment, cookware, janitorial supplies, consumable products and other necessities for the restaurant industry opened its Mexico Farms facility in 2015 and will now be utilizing space at Hoffman Hollow Road in Frostburg to allow for the business to expand. Economic Development Specialist Greg Hildreth provided details of the arrangement during Thursday’s meeting of the Allegany County Commissioners…

Maryland Governor Larry Hogan Thursday said the State Department of Health would issue an advisory dropping the limit of gatherings from 25 to 10 for the Chrstmas holiday season, and that travelers to or from Maryland would need to have a negative test prior to arriving in, or returning to Maryland, or will need to quarantine for 10 days. Hogan reported that Thanksgiving did not fuel a large spike in COVID-19 cases in the Free State, and said that metrics are starting to show improvement in hospitalizations and the use of critical care beds.

Saturday's scheduled Maryland game against Michigan State has been canceled and all team activities have been paused due to concerns over COVID-19. The Big Ten Conference requires all student-athletes and football staff to undergo daily antigen testing. Between Dec. 10 and 16, 15 student-athletes have tested positive for COVID-19. Tests conducted Thursday morning revealed three more presumptive cases, with confirmatory PCR tests pending. There were six cases among staff over that same period. All individuals who tested positive are in isolation, Terps officials said. “This has been a season of promise and of adversity,” head coach Michael Locksley said in…

Maryland health officials on Thursday reported over 2,200 new coronavirus cases during a 24-hour period and the deaths of 49 state residents, even as hospitalizations continue to go down. There have now been 243,984 total coronavirus cases since the pandemic began, with a total of 5,152 deaths reported. Hospitalizations went down by 60, and are now at 1,702. ICU beds are slightly down again to 394, and there are 1,308 in acute care. The statewide positivity rate went up slightly to 7.73%.