The Cumberland Mayor and City Council recognized the Baltimore Street Workgroup at their recent meeting. The group recently won two awards for their efforts in the revitalization of downtown. Matt Miller of the Cumberland Economic Development Corporation praised the members for their accomplishments…     “We are merely the benefactor of being on the receiving end. This truly took a village to pull this project off, and I can’t stress that enough. And this group was an extremely integral cog in that wheel. Without their support and moving things forward, keeping things heading in the direction the project would not…

On Monday, May 12, 2025, Officers of the Cumberland Police Department responded to the area of Oak Street for the report of a stolen vehicle. Upon arrival, Officers located the complainant, who advised that they were inside a residence on Boone Street when the incident occurred. They exited the residence and discovered the vehicle was missing. Deputies with the Allegany County Sheriff's Office assisted Officers in locating the vehicle and the operator in the area of Park Street. Contact was made with the male operator, who was identified as Wayne King. During the investigation, Officers observed King to be under…

The city of Cumberland’s Downtown Development Commission is working toward becoming a Business Improvement District.  This move would eliminate the current DDC structure and provide more opportunities for downtown business owners, which could include district upgrades, security, and marketing. There are approximately 1,000 B-I-Ds, or business improvement districts in the United States. At Thursday’s DDC meeting, Chairperson Larry Jackson gave an update on the transition.     “We have to get 80% of the individual property owners by legal entity to say we’re going to petition the city to create this BID.  Then at that point, that’s when we take…

Let’s Beautify Cumberland is working with the Cumberland Squadron of the Civil Air Patrol on the project of replacing American flags around Cumberland on Wednesday afternoon. Air Patrol Captain Crystal Joy tells WCBC the Civil Air Patrol cadets will be in uniform and wearing orange safety vests as they work along the roads…     “We are going to be doing the flags along Queen City Drive. We are going to replace as needed through the Narrows, there at Mechanic and Baltimore Avenue and different locations at the Welcome to Cumberland signs. If there are any flags that are seen…

Until Lee Fiedler became Mayor of Cumberland in the year 2000, the city’s trash collection was handled internally rather than through a contractor. Rates for collection were included in property taxes. Former council member Harvey May would like to see a return to that – he addressed the city council, saying the trash rates are unfair…     “It hurts the senior citizens more than anybody else, and we have a lot of them here in Cumberland because everybody’s paying the same trash fee. And what’s happening – the senior citizens that are here, they’re subsidizing everybody else’s garbage.” Mayor…

US Senator Chris Van Hollen spoke at a vigil in front of the US Capitol with caregivers, healthcare advocates, and beneficiaries about proposed cuts to federal Medicaid spending. Over $880 billion dollars in cuts is being suggested over the next decade that would affect over 71 million Americans. Van Hollen said such deep cuts would harm 1.2 million Marylanders…    “We can all talk about the budget numbers, but at the end of the day the question is what does this mean for real people? We got the Congressional Budget Office report yesterday, which told us loud and clear what…

Rail Fest is making a return to Western Maryland this fall. The Western Maryland Scenic Railroad is planning the event, occurring for the first time in over a decade. Rail Fest will be held during the annual Heritage Days festival September 13th and 14th.    TJ Abe, Operations Manager at the railroad, said they are still in the planning stages, but partners in rail preservation and CSX will have a presence. Abe says the event celebrates the history of railroading in Cumberland…    “It’s just to really celebrate, you know, that history that we do have there. I think it will…

Maryland House Republicans have repeated their call for Governor Moore to remove Juvenile Services Secretary Vincent Schiraldi. A recent audit of the Department of Juvenile Services found criminal background checks were not conducted on contractors along with contract issues, vendors, and overtime.  Delegate Jesse Pippy told Fox 45 news that the Governor’s office needs to deal with Schiraldi… “At some point this is going to be Governor Moore’s problem. Right now, it appears that there is a secretary who’s gone rogue who believes they can hire convicted murderers, having them work at the agency. We’ve now found that there’s an…

On Saturday, May 10, 2025, Officers of the Cumberland Police Department responded to the area of the Downtown Mall for the report of a male occupying the newly installed outdoor restrooms. Upon Officer's arrival, they discovered a male, who was later identified as Kendall Lowers, had closed himself inside the restroom with his personal belongings and camping equipment. Lowers was arrested and searched. During this search, controlled dangerous substance paraphernalia was located. While in custody, Officers learned Lowers had a criminal summons for burglary. Lowers was issued criminal citations, served with his summons, and released pending his trial at the Allegany District…