On March 29th, 2024 officers of the Cumberland Police Department served a Criminal Summons on Gordon Whitfield. The Criminal Summons was issued by the District Court stemming from an incident that occurred on March 28th, 2024. During the incident officers responded to the 500 block of Virginia Avenue and spoke with the victim. The victim alleged that Gordon had made unauthorized charges on their account, and when confronted, was threatened by Gordon. The victim also alleged that Gordon had spit on them, shoved them, and threw them into a wall. The victim further alleged that Gordon had destroyed their cell…

On Thursday March 28th, 2024 at approximately 12:28 am, Officers of the Cumberland Police Department conducted a traffic stop on Victoria Street when they contacted the operator, Alan Young. The officers learned that Alan had three active Arrest Warrants that were issued by various Courts in Maryland. Additionally, the officers observed evidence of impairment while speaking with Alan. Young was served his Arrest Warrants and declined to participate in standardized field sobriety tests. He was placed under arrest and later taken before a District Court Commissioner where he was held without bond. Arrest: Alan Kareem Young, age 41, Kingsland Georgia. Charges: Violation…

A felony theft in the Finzel area four years ago has resulted in a five year prison sentence for a Darlington, Maryland man.  Aubrey Akers entered an alford plea, maintaining his innocence but acknowledging facts were sufficient to prove guilt.  The case involved the 2020 theft of a firearm, television and a large jug of coins from a residence.  DNA evidence was presented in the case by the Garret County State’s Attorney

The City of Cumberland is another step closer to getting work started on the repair of the Cumberland Street Bridge on West Side. At the most recent City Council meeting, City Administrator Jeff Silka read an action item that was approved by the council for determining the city’s 20% investment in the bridge reconstruction…    24 secs

Community Development Block Grant Funding has been announced by the City of Cumberland. $800,000 has been budgeted for 13 projects in the city – the total amount may be higher or lower once actual funding is assigned from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development. Among projects to be funded are playground improvements at Jane Frazier Village, City Police foot and bike patrols, and short and long term prescription help for Associated Charities.  These CDBG projects will be presented at a public hearing during the City Council meeting on April 2.

The long-awaited Dans Mountain Wind project has entered its construction phase.  Clearway Energy that owns the project, already has a presence in the region with windfarms at Mount Storm, the Pinnacle, and Black Rock.  Hannah Muller, Director of External Affairs for Clearway, said 9 turbines will be installed along Dans Mountain and they should be operational in February 2025.  Muller said the project is 55 megawatts… The windfarm will bring 100 construction jobs to the county and a long-term monetary investment as well…

The Pennsylvania State Police have unveiled PSP Tips, a way for the public to share information related to active investigations, cold-cases, and wanted or missing persons.  PSP Tips includes information on nearly 100 cold cases. Featured cases include the 1973 homicide of an 8-year-old girl in Greene County, the unsolved killing in 1977 of a high school junior in Blair County, and the search for the children of Susan Reinert, a Montgomery County teacher found murdered near Harrisburg in 1979.  The social media sites being used for this project are Facebook and Twitter.  

Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin’s administration has been in close contact with Maryland since the collapse Tuesday of the Francis Scott Key bridge.  Youngkin told reporters that the port of Virginia is taking on additional ships to help Baltimore… Youngkin also said that the two states’ departments of transportation have been in close contact…

While it may seem obvious that the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed because a container ship ran into it, the structural integrity of the bridge itself has been questioned as salvage operations begin. An answer could be the age of the bridge itself.  Structural Engineer Ken Davis told CTV news that when the bridge was built almost 50 years ago, the size and weight of container ships was much different… Davis said that a rebuild is not going to happen within a short timeframe…

Allegany County and the City of Cumberland are kickstarting housing development in some of the city’s older neighborhoods.  Teabow Residential of Washington DC will be building various housing across the city through an infill incentive plan providing $15,000 per unit from the county and $10,000 from the city. Nathan Price of county economic development described different types of housing to be built across the city… Commissioner Bill Atkinson sees the collaboration as positive for city and county…