On Wednesday, January 29th, 2025, the Cumberland Police Department responded to a business in the 30 block of Queen City Drive for the report of a disturbance. Upon arrival, officers contacted store employees who advised a male subject had been near the store yelling and cursing at patrons, causing them to leave the area. The subject had left the area prior to officers arrival, but he was able to be located a short distance away, still yelling and creating a disturbance. As a result, Michael Allen Wallace, 43, of Cumberland MD, was placed under arrest. He was taken before a…

Members of the Maryland General Assembly heard from the Department of Legislative Services about Governor Wes Moore’s proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2026. One of the suggested ways to increase revenue is increasing the tax on table games and sports bets at the state’s nine casinos and 11 sports books.  David Romans of the DLS explained what the Governor has in mind…    “He’s proposing to increase the sports wagering tax from 15% to 30% on the companies operating those sports wagering. And on table games the tax goes up from 20% to 25% and those would both start actually…

Governor Patrick Morrisey declared this week as School Choice Week in West Virginia.  Morrisey has promised to partner with the Trump administration and find ways to put West Virginia students and families first.  Morrisey campaigned on the issue of school choice, ensuring all students in West Virginia should have the opportunity to access high-quality schools and that parents are empowered to make educational decisions for their children.

Maryland’s Department of Transportation has revamped their website for their Adopt-A-Highway program. The program encourages groups and small businesses to help keep Maryland’s highways litter-free. The new website includes an interactive map allowing participants to track their cleanup projects, report the number of trash bags collected, and upload photos. The updates also includes a paperless system to streamline the adoption process.  More information is at roads.maryland.gov.

President Trump’s decision to freeze federal funding for thousands of grants loans was rescinded Wednesday afternoon. However, the freeze has sent non-profits and other organizations into a panic about their main funding for the future.  West Virginia Senator Jim Justice told reporters people need to give Trump time to get his arms around the spending…     “I just think that any business guy, a business guy, when things are out of control, a business guy’s gotta say full stop – full stop – let’s get it under control and that’s what I think he’s doing.”

U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen met with the Western Maryland Annapolis delegation on Wednesday. Van Hollen touched on the status of federal funding for projects in the region that are dependent on Capitol Hill passing a 2025 Fiscal Year budget…    “They are in limbo right now because we have not yet completed a final federal budget for fiscal year 2025. If we do not get that agreement, those $31 million dollars targeted toward important priorities in Western Maryland will not materialize.” Van Hollen said that Team Maryland continues to work to support the region’s projects and concerns…    …

Most opinions shared at the Cumberland City Council’s public meeting on downtown parking were in favor of giving the reopened street more time before making any changes to parking.  Gayle Griffith, long-time business owner of the Book Center, cautioned the city to make the right decision any parking changes…     “The money that was spent to make this a reality, aggravation, and the business struggles that we’ve all had over the eighteen months—or for us on Centre Street—a year has been a drop in the bucket compared to what we could ruining now.” Adrienne Monroe, daughter of the owner…

A Baltimore woman is in custody in Hampshire County after admitting she stabbed a man to death early Wednesday.  April M. Einig, 42, is charged with second degree murder after her vehicle was stopped just east of Romney.  She was covered in blood and admitted to the stabbing at an Augusta residence.  Fire had been set to the house and the identity of the victim has yet to be released.

A Cumberland man is jailed in Bedford County after an alleged assault in Fulton County last week.  Austin Michael Appel has been charged with felony criminal trespassing, terroristic threats, assault, and harassment.  Appel is the ex-boyfriend of one of the victims and is being held on $60,000 bail.

Sen. John Fetterman, D.-Pa., has nearly doubled his approval rating among Republicans while continuing to bolster his job performance rating among all Pennsylvania voters, according to an analysis from Morning Consult published recently.  The analysis points to how the Democratic senator’s frequent outreach to the GOP — enough to help fuel baseless rumors that he would switch parties — has likely helped him gain the confidence of Republicans while still maintaining widespread support from voters back home in purple Pennsylvania. In the Keystone State, 48% of voters approve and 37% disapprove of Fetterman’s job performance during the last quarter of 2024,…