This week has been a very busy one as we approach Crossover Day. Our days on the House floor have been long, often involving split sessions. As the name suggests, a split session means we convene in the morning, recess for committee meetings during the day, and then reconvene in the evening. This schedule allows us to take up committee reports more efficiently and helps us save a full day in the overall legislative process. HB 3336 is one of the more interesting bills this week and one that generated a lot of debate in committee and some questions on…

Governor Patrick Morrisey announced that West Virginia has been granted a 90-day extension to submit its final proposal to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s (NTIA) Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program. This action comes after the Governor met earlier this week with U.S. Commerce Secretary Lutnick to discuss the Trump Administration’s plans to make changes to the BEAD program. The BEAD program is a partnership between the federal government and states that aims to get all Americans on-line by building the infrastructure necessary to increase the adoption of high-speed internet. Toward that end, West Virginia has been working…

The Mayor and City Council of Cumberland will meet in public session beginning at 5:15 p.m. in the 2nd floor Conference Room of City Hall on Tuesday, April 1, 2025, for the purpose of immediately closing the meeting to discuss Board and Commission appointments.  Authority to close the session is provided by Section 3-305(b)(1)(i) of the General Provisions Article of the Annotated Code of Maryland. The Open Work Session will then begin at 5:30 p.m. in the 2nd floor Conference Room. The Mayor and City Council's regularly scheduled Public Meeting will be held at 6:15 p.m. in the 2nd Floor…

Frostburg State University’s Department of Music will present student Samuel White in his senior recital on Saturday, April 12, at 7:30 p.m. in the Pealer Recital Hall of FSU’s Woodward D. Pealer Performing Arts Center. He will be accompanied by guest artist Dr. Jay DeWire on piano. The concert is free and open to the public. This event will also be livestreamed; the link will be posted at www.frostburg.edu/concerts. White will perform Nocturne in G minor, Op.37 No. 2 by Frederick Chopin, Piano Sonata No.8 in C minor Op. 13 Pathetique by Ludwig van Beethoven, Three Military Marches D. 733…

Maryland State Highways starts work on a slope stabilization project this week on a portion of MD935 near Lonaconing. MD935 between Lower Georges Creek Road and New Georges Creek Road will be closed daily between 7am and 5pm with a detour in place. SHA spokesperson Charlie Gischlar said the work should be done by mid-June…     “What we’re going to be doing is first going in there and knocking off any loose debris. And then what we will do is we will fill it with rock and also put some mechanical features in there that will prevent that slope…

Escalating water rates will be the topic Monday evening at the Cresaptown Fire Hall.  The meeting will begin at 5:30 p.m. in what is being billed as a press conference regarding water rates in Bel Air, Pinto, Glen Oaks, and Highland Estates.  The Maryland Water Service is the target of the ire of the citizens with higher water and sewer rates.  The residents of the impacted areas have submitted a petition to the Allegany County Commissioners, the local delegation to Annapolis, Congresswoman April McClain Delaney, and both of the state’s U.S. senators. 

Maryland Governor Wes Moore continues to make the rounds on the Sunday talk shows which are broadcast nationally.  This Sunday the governor will be a guest on State of the Union at 9 a.m. on CNN.

CDS ARREST On Friday, March 28, 2025 at approximately 10:30 AM, officers of the Cumberland Police Department responded to a business on W. Industrial Blvd. for a male subject passed out behind the steering wheel of his vehicle.  Police contacted the operator who was identified as Andrew Viney.  Officers discovered that the registration plates on Viney’s vehicle had been stolen from another vehicle.  Officers also learned that Viney had an active arrest warrant through West Virginia.  Viney was placed under arrest and searched.  Viney was found to be in possession of suspected controlled dangerous substances and paraphernalia.  Viney was transported…

The Bedford County VFW has suffered severe damage in a Thursday night fire.  The blaze started around 11 p.m. along Business Route 220.  The fire was put out in 20 minutes and there were no injuries.

On March 27, 2025, Officers of the Cumberland Police Department served a Bench Warrant on Nellie Miller. The warrant was issued after Nellie Miller failed to appear on the original charge of trespassing. The original charge of trespassing occurred on January 28, 2025. Officers were dispatched to a residence on Baltimore Avenue for a trespassing complaint. The building was posted on June 24, 2024 as “unfit for human habitation and unlawful to occupy”. Miller was transported to the Allegany County Detention Center for his initial appearance before a District Court Commissioner.    Arrest: Nellie Ann Miller, age 61, Cumberland Maryland….