The Frostburg Mayor and City Council will meet Tuesday afternoon.  Agenda topics include next year’s budget, hotel/motel tax requests, and utility rates.

On April 6th, 2025 the Cumberland Police Department served a criminal summons on Charles Jeffery Toles. The summons was issued after an officer observed Toles and was aware that he had an active warrant. Toles was placed under arrest, a search incident to arrest was conducted, and the officer located a device commonly used to inhale CDS on his person. Toles signed for his copy of the summons and was released pending trial at District Court.   NAME: Charles Jeffery Toles  AGE: 45  Cumberland, MD CHARGES: CDS possession of paraphernalia   CRIMINAL SUMMONS SERVED On April 6th, 2025 the Cumberland…

In one of the final Maryland Democratic Senate press briefings on Friday, Senate President Bill Ferguson looked back on the past three months, saying this has been the most difficult session in his years in Annapolis, but he is pleased with the work done…    “We had to take a very balanced approach to a challenging fiscal climate in our state’s budget that started with a cut-first approach to make Maryland more efficient. We had to weigh those cuts against our state’s critical social safety net. I believe we landed at a place that allows us to fully invest in…

Frostburg State University has again been named a Voter Friendly Campus by the Fair Election Center Campus Vote Project. FSU is one of 272 campuses in 39 states across the country to receive the designation.  FSU’s Director of Civic Engagement Patrick O’Brien says the designation reflects cross-campus efforts to develop student involvement…     “Our campus community, faculty, staff, and students have done some amazing work in getting students more engaged in voting and the democratic process and discussing some of the issues that are facing the local and national communities.”

The declaration of a National Energy Emergency earlier this year focused Americans on future demands for energy. Energy demand has grown since 2024 and data center demand is projected to increase by 33% a year. David Holt, president of Consumer Energy Alliance says President Trump’s declaration points to the need to insure a reliable energy grid…     “We need to continue to diversify our energy mix – make sure we have enough natural gas power coming online to power data storage, AI, data centers, things like that. And ultimately we need to bring more nuclear online as well.”

The City of Cumberland is ahead of the game in looking for efficiency in government. Mayor Ray Morriss talked with WCBC’s Dave Norman about whether the Trump Administration’s Department of Government Efficiency has had any effects on how local government is run. Morriss said there are regular checks on finances and operations… “We review everything every year and we are audited. We have one of the local CPA firms here in town, Turnbull, Hoover, and Kahl does that review and looks for anything that could be suspicious as well as internally within the finance department. They’re looking all the time.”

West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey awarded the state’s Medal of Valor to Darrell Lambert and Donald Larson for acts of bravery and heroism in their communities.  Both are first responders with over 40 years’ experience.  The state established The Medal of Valor in 2020. Governor Morrissey said he was honored to present the medals to local heroes..,    “If you’re a first responder, if you’re a law enforcement official; so many people that are doing volunteer work. We have so many of the best first responders, law enforcement officials, volunteers in the country. And as governor, I want to do…

Allegany County held reviews with outside agencies receiving funding to determine a clearer picture on the fiscal 2026 budget. Most agencies who appeared asked for flat or lesser funding. One exception – the library system requested $90,000 more than last year or may have to close branches. Commissioner Bill Atkinson told library director John Taube they need to look at their structure to find cuts…     “I disagree with that. I think closing any library should be off the table and you should find ways to make it work within the operation. You have five department leads. You only…

The Maryland General Assembly worked through the weekend on bills that had been sent to conference for negotiations in an effort to complete all of its work by midnight tonight.  The 90-day session has been filled with back and forth debate on the state budget, the Blueprint for Education, and energy bill relief for state residents. Between the House and Senate, over 3,100 bills and bond initiatives have had hearings during this session. The Assembly adjourns at midnight.