Governor Wes Moore today announced that BlueHalo, a company transforming the future of global defense, is expanding its operations in Montgomery County and growing its workforce throughout the state. The company is establishing a new 57,000 square-foot facility in Germantown for research, development and manufacturing and as part of the expansion is creating a total of 200 new high-quality, high-paying jobs at its facilities throughout Montgomery, Anne Arundel, and Howard counties—bringing its statewide employment to 600 workers. "In Maryland, we will always choose to invest in innovation. Our continued partnership with BlueHalo is helping us do exactly that," said Gov. Moore….

Thursday, May 9, 2024 Elizabeth Mae Price, 40 of Cumberland, was served a Frederick County Bench Warrant for her fourth Failure to Appear for a Violation of Probation hearing. The original conviction was for CDS: Possession-Not Marijuana where she received a 1-year suspended sentenced and 18-months Supervised Probation. Price was held without bond at the Allegany County Detention Center until being released to the custody of the Frederick County. Tyler Matthew Westfall, 28 of Springfield, WV, was arrested on a District Court Bench Warrant for Failure to Comply with Violation of Pretrial Release. Original charges include: Burglary-4th Degree-Dwelling, CDS: Possession…

Two more counties are now on the list of where deer have tested positive for chronic wasting disease.  Baltimore and Montgomery now join Allegany, Frederick, and Washington counties where 52 white-tailed deer have tested positive for the neurological disease.  Hunters and other wildlife enthusiasts can help the Department of Natural Resources by reporting any deer that are emaciated, unhealthy, or acting abnormally. Hunters can also help by granting permission to the DNR to collect tissue samples from harvested deer. The department can be reached at 410-260-8540.

Maryland’ sports wagering market generated over $5 million dollars in contributions to the state from a handle of $486.3 million dollars during April.   Maryland has 13 retail and 11 mobile sportsbooks. During the first 10 months of the 2024 fiscal year, sports wagering has contributed $47.5 million dollars to the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future Education fund.  April was the fourth-best single month total for tax contributions to the state since the sports wagering program began in 2021.

The Allegany County Chamber of Commerce hosted its annual Legislative Wrap-Up to hear from the Western Maryland delegation on the recent General Assembly session.  Senator Mike McKay along with Delegates Terry Baker and Jim Hinebaugh briefed attendees on their time in Annapolis.  Delegate Hinebaugh spoke about saving some community college funding that was initially going to be cut by 22 million dollars… The delegate also spoke about one the gun bills that passed, saying it shows some of the odd turns legislation takes in Annapolis…

Frederick County Maryland will soon be home to a data center the size of an airport.  Quantum Loophole is building a data center on 2,100 acres near Adamstown. It will connect to other data centers in Northern Virginia via a 40-mile fiber-optic tunnel being constructed under the Potomac and Monocacy rivers. Data centers of this size need close proximity to other data centers like those in Virginia, as well as large stable power grids. Governor Moore signed the Critical Infrastructure Streamlining Act last Friday that will allow installation of massive backup generators for data centers.

While more discussions have been going on around the Washington Street Bridge that was damaged by a CSX train some time ago, there still seems to be no resolution to the problem.  Mayor Ray Morriss said at the work session of the City Council that a he and City Engineer Bobby Smith attended  a meeting with CSX and others… CSX did say that they plan on doing work on the Greene Street rail bridge, acknowledging that the span does need to be raised, but no timetable was given…

Two historic homes on the Gettysburg battlefield, the Michael Bushman and the John Slyder houses, will be available for overnight stays beginning on May 24. Both houses witnessed the Battle of Gettysburg in July 1863. The Bushman farm served as staging ground for Confederate General John Bell Hood and the Slyder farm saw use as a defensive position for Union sharpshooters. The rentals are part of a pilot program providing visitors with an immersive experience on the battlefield. For rental information, visit recreation.gov.

After an 18-month process, West Virginia has become only the second state to receive Broadband Enhancement Access and Deployment funding from the U.S. Department of Commerce.  Over $1.2 billion dollars will be coming to the state for improving reliable high-speed internet for residents statewide. Kelly Workman from the Office of Broadband, part of the West Virginia Economic Development, helped obtain the BEAD funds…     Governor Justice says he is excited to see the results of this historic investment in broadband technology for the state…

Although the city of Cumberland is preparing to raise water rates in the 2025 fiscal year, there was also good news at Tuesday’s meeting of the mayor and council.  Mayor Ray Morriss said the city will be spending a greater chunk of money on city street improvements this coming year…