The Mayor and City Council of Cumberland will meet in public session beginning at 4:45 p.m. in the 2nd floor Conference Room of City Hall on Tuesday, November 18, 2025 for the purpose of immediately closing the meeting to discuss board and commission appointments and to also receive legal advice regarding an agreement with TeaBow Residential, LLC.  Authority to close the session is provided by Sections 3-305(b)(1)(i) and 3-305(b)(7) of the General Provisions Article of the Annotated Code of Maryland. The Open Work Session will then begin at 5:15 p.m. in the 2nd floor Conference Room. The Mayor and City…

Maryland’s House Minority Whip Jesse Pippy is criticizing the Moore Administration for an over-reliance on government spending that has put Maryland into a further hole financially. Pippy said that while there’s no doubt federal actions affect the state, blaming others for our state’s forecasted $1.4 billion deficit is getting old…     “Self-inflicted. You know, the spending issues we have – self-inflicted. The audit issues we’re having – self-inflicted. The taxes and fees – and we’ve been adding them up, you know we have staff that literally spend all their days just adding up all the taxes and fees that…

The State of Maryland will introduce an AI model by Anthropic into multiple state agencies to improve service to residents.  “Claude,” and AI virtual assistant, will help residents apply for essential benefits available through the state including SNAP, Medicaid, and WIC. The technology will also help caseworkers deliver faster support by speeding up the processing of documents. “Claude” was previously used in Maryland as a bilingual chatbots on the state’s Sunbucks program.

The Western Maryland office of the State Fire Marshal now has its first Accelerant Detection K9. K9 Quinn, a black Labrador retriever, was trained through the Puppies Behind Bars program, which provides service dogs for law enforcement and first responders. Quinn and his handler, Senior Deputy State Fire Marshal Adam Rounds, will serve in detecting up to six classifications of ignitable liquids.  Quinn’s placement in Western Maryland will significantly cut response times for fire investigations.

On 11/05/2025 at approximately 5:30 AM a victim came into the police station lobby with significant injuries to their head. The victim advised that Jamar Peck had assaulted them with a blunt object. The victim was transported to the hospital for treatment. Officers were unable to locate Peck at that time so an application of charges was completed. An Arrest Warrant was issued and on 11/14/2025 Peck was arrested. Peck was seen by a District Court Commissioner and remanded to the Allegany County Detention Center without bond. Arrested – Jamar Cordelle Peck (28) Cumberland, MD Charges – Assault 1st Degree,…

Governor Patrick Morrisey has ordered flags to be flown at half staff to honor the life and final actions of Steve Lipscomb, who lost his life working at the Rolling Thunder Mine in Nicholas County.  “All of West Virginia mourns the loss of this courageous man,” said Governor Morrisey. “Steve was a veteran of the Marine Corps, a Purple Heart recipient, a husband, and a father of two. He spent his final moments ensuring his men could escape to safety.” On November 8, 2025, a section of the Rolling Thunder Mine flooded after an old mine wall was compromised. Lipscomb, the foreman,…

With the new location of the Union Rescue Mission now officially open on Franklin Street, Mission Director Pastor David Ziler told WCBC this week he is relieved to finally have the project completed that started in 2018…     “So many non-profits take money and then they don’t fulfill, and it burns people. I was thankful that I was able to deliver the product that we had been talking about all these years. The community got to see it, got to walk through it, got to sense it. Everybody we talked to was very surprised and happy with the product…

A perfect storm of sports events in October contributed to a big month for Maryland’s sports wagering market. Major League Baseball’s postseason, college and pro football and the start of hockey and basketball seasons came together for bettors to wager over $736 million dollars during October. The state has 13 retail sportsbook locations and 12 mobile platforms. Bettors won back $664 million dollars in prizes. The state received $14 million in taxes.

Memorial Day Weekend may sound far off right now, but the organizers at DelFest are already putting together the lineup for the 2026 music festival, scheduled for May 21st  through the 24th at the Allegany County Fairgrounds. In addition to namesake Del McCoury and the Travelin’ McCourys, DelFest announced Alison Kraus and Union Station featuring Jerry Douglas will be making an appearance this year.  Ticket sales open on November 19th at Noon on DelFest.com and include multi-day, Deluxe VIP, RV, and DelFest Academy.

The Cumberland City Fire Department was dispatched just after 6 a.m. to the 200 block of Saratoga Street in Cumberland's West side for a two story residential house fire. A number of 911 calls reported the fire at the rear of the property. Firefighters arrived and quickly extinguished the fire. 911 operators also took calls and dispatched Allegany County Emergency services to a motor vehicle accident on Pratt Street, Route 135 in Luke. Firefighters responding to that scene discovered a concrete truck on its side with entrapment. The driver of that vehicle was safely evacuated and transported by Maryland State Trooper 5.  As emergency…