U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen spoke in support of his Chesapeake National Recreation Area Act during a hearing on Capitol Hill. The Act would unite park area and Bay properties under the operation of the National Park Service and in turn provide more federal resources for conservation, access and economic growth along the Chesapeake Bay region…    

Good economic news has been a rarity in recent years locally but the efforts are showing results. The arrival of Geocycle, Clym Environmental, and possibly another waste-to-value business has brought an economic bump. Now, Jeff Barclay, director of Allegany County Economic Development, tells WCBC News that a possible tenant for the Hunter Douglas building has been identified.

Cumberland’s Mayor and City Council are considering an ordinance that would ban smoking on Baltimore Street.  With the coming completion of the downtown remodel, ways to keep the area clean and green are front-of-mind.  According to City Administrator Jeff Silka, the request for the ban is coming from Downtown Development Director Melinda Kelleher who has already had issues with smoking in the area…    

Maryland Congressman David Trone has a win with the Federal Aviation Administration Act. It includes his bill directing the update of aircraft emergency medical kits to include overdose reversal medication. The Act directs updates to the contents for kits to include medications including Naloxone, also known as Narcan. Taylor Garland of the Association of Flight Attendants says the union has called for the requirement for five years…

Spring is the perfect time to be making repairs or upgrades around the house. Now, with a new phone app, it can be even easier – especially if one isn’t very repair-oriented.  FrontDoor.com offers chat technology to homeowners who want an idea of what they can do for their homes and what is better left to professionals.  Sara Riley, Director of On-Demand Services for Frontdoor says their video-chat feature on the app allows homeowners to troubleshoot with experts…

The Appalachian Laboratory and Allegany County are partnering to advance environmental science and technology development. The Cleantech Research and Development Grant is funded by the County and offers up to $50,000 to cover costs for research and development conducted in partnership with the Appalachian Laboratory. The required 1:1 match brings the total available funding to $100,000. Successfully developed products and services can then be produced or provided by firms in the county, creating high-paying technology jobs for local workers.

West Virginia’s water and sewer systems are being directed to have assessments done to determine the threat of cyber-attacks occurring.  Across the country, the number of such attacks on public utilities is increasing. The state’s Public Service Commission wants to have the assessments done within 60 days and then develop a plan to address any cyber-attacks that could affect the distribution of safe drinking water.  The Department of Homeland Security and other agencies will be working with municipalities to do the assessments.

Good weather this week should see increased progress on the downtown construction project.  Concrete work is almost finished with the exception of the Baltimore /Liberty Street intersection.  Sidewalk pavers are being installed on North Liberty Street and that work will progress quickly in the coming weeks.  Brief interruptions to the entrances of businesses will occur while paver work completes. Granite tiling on the spillway of the water feature at Liberty Street’s parklet is also ongoing. New Traffic signals at Baltimore and Mechanic Street should also be operational in a few weeks.

A ten-to twelve-foot clock will soon be located in downtown Cumberland at Hendershot Park, located at the intersection of Greene, Baltimore, and Washington Streets. Ed Mullaney and Greg Hendershot of Let’s Beautify Cumberland discussed fundraising efforts for the project. Hendershot says he is hoping to raise enough money to provide for maintenance costs once the clock is installed. Hendershot noted that donated funds from the public are eligible right now for a special match to help fundraising efforts.    

During a campaign stop in Upper Marlboro last week, former Governor Larry Hogan addressed what voters may see as one of the most important parts of  his campaign – his stance on abortion.  Hogan says he was raised Catholic and personally does not endorse the procedure, but also believes it should not be up to him. While many are suggesting that Hogan has changed his stance based on previous voting and policy decisions, he says he will vote to codify access to abortion into the Maryland constitution and work to restore Roe v. Wade…