The Baltimore Street Bridge will be closed starting at 7am on Monday, June 24 through August 5 to allow the final sections of bridge deck to be poured.  Signage will be in place to detour vehicles to the Market Street Bridge to direct motorists between the Downtown and West Side. Pedestrian access will continue across the bridge.  The closure is necessary to allow the new concrete to cure in accordance with Maryland Department of Transportation Standards. Once the concrete has cured to its necessary strength, the bridge will be opened to one-way traffic. The contractor anticipates having the bridge opened…

West Virginia Governor Jim Justice has awarded $5 million dollars in West Virginia Community Corrections Grants to 30 projects statewide. The money provides a means to develop and maintain community-based corrections programs, providing alternative sentencing for those offenders who may require less than institutional custody.  Mineral and Hampshire Counties each received $190,000 for continued operations of their programs.

Rachel Morin, a mother of five, was killed along a hiking trail in Bel Air, Maryland last August.  An arrest in the case this week revealed that the suspect, Victor Martinez-Hernandez, has been in the country illegally for at least a year.  Maryland Governor Wes Moore, on TV’s Face the Nation this week, said that the issue with illegals needs to be resolved as more cases like this are coming to light…    

Allegany County NAACP #7007 will be holding their 4th Annual festival celebrating the true emancipation of Black people who were enslaved in United States on Saturday, June 22nd at Canal Place festival grounds from 12pm to 6pm. Offering live entertainment, music, food and fun. Community members, organizations and local business are invited to donate and receive a 10×10 vendor space on a first come, first served basis. The event will be held at 13 Canal Street in Cumberland with a shortened march. The March will be stepping off at 11:30am from outside of the historic train station facing Canal Street and proceeding around the…

A Maryland State Trooper was struck by a suspected impaired driver while inside his patrol vehicle in a work zone in Montgomery County early this morning. The accused is identified as Nithya Ramani, 37, of Montgomery Village, Maryland. Ramani was charged with driving under the influence. She was the operator and sole occupant of a red Honda Accord involved in the crash. She was uninjured in the incident. Shortly after 1:00 a.m. today, a state trooper was inside his marked patrol vehicle with emergency lights activated in lane 1 of a work zone on the outer loop I-495 and Greentree Road…

West Virginia will receive $140-million dollars to clean-up pollution in regions decimated by decades of coal mining. The money from Abandoned Mine Land funding provided by the Biden Administration. In addition to restoring the natural landscape, repurposing old mine land can bolster local economies. Eric Dixon with the Ohio River Valley Institute says advocates are pushing for good paying, family sustaining jobs created by the expansion of reclamation work…   

A discussion on proposed grant requests to the Department of Housing and Community Development was heard during Tuesday’s work session of the Cumberland City Council. Money for four different programs is being sought. Ruth Davis-Rogers of the City’s Preservation Office discussed one project that would help area seniors through an Age in Place Home Modification Program… Other projects discussed included a façade program for the Virginia Avenue area, blight removal on Central Avenue, and a continuation of the roof replacement program.

A new bill is being introduced in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for cannabis legalization. Sponsors of the bipartisan bill say that leveraging the state’s robust agricultural infrastructure and robust medical cannabis program will foster job creation and generate tax revenue. Like Maryland’s law, the bill aims to place strong emphasis on social equity and includes measures like the expungement of prior cannabis offenses.

A special weekend of events is scheduled to raise support for the UPMC Kidney Dialysis Unit, kicking off with a summer concert this Saturday at the 1812 Brewery and a Kidney Walk on Sunday at Allegany College.  The concert features Jody Maphis and Night Traveler along with other area musicians.  Nick DeArchangelis, a dialysis patient, says the fundraiser helps those who are living with kidney issues and need extra help…    

June 17-23 is National Pollinator Week –dedicated to protecting and creating habitats that attract pollinators such as butterflies and bees. Maryland is home to over 400 species of native bees, one of the most important groups of pollinators in the state.  A new pollinator garden has been planted in the front lawn of Emmanuel Episcopal Church on Washington Street and Reverend Scott Rieker said when done, it will have over 2,000 plants…