The Maryland Department of Agriculture’s Maryland’s Best program has announced the “Eat Like a Marylander!” campaign, encouraging residents and visitors to eat fresh and iconic Maryland foods. Supporting local food producers supports jobs and reduces carbon emissions as the transportation of food is reduced. Before heading out to eat or gathering around the grill with family and friends, head to MarylandsBest.net to find restaurants, retailers and farmers markets nearby serving locally grown produce and protein. There is also a list of on-farm experiences, summer recipes and restaurants that are dedicated to serving local foods.

Twice in two weeks, law enforcement have arrested individuals in the Hagerstown area for bomb threats.  Last week, police arrested a man after phone threats to a senior living facility in Williamsport. Over the weekend, Anthony Fritz was arrested after he told fellow employees at the Hagerstown Motor Vehicle Administration that he was going to blow up the building. State Fire Marshal K9 “Rosie” searched the building, and no explosives were found. A search of Fritz’s home found 26 guns and 67 containers of ammunition. Fritz was later taken to a local hospital for a medical evaluation.

City Hall will be closed Thursday, July 4, 2024 and Friday July 5, 2024 in observance of Independence Day, with no employees available on those days. Current regular operations of City Hall will be closed to the public, with staff resuming operations on Monday, 8th. The City of Cumberland also reminds residents that trash and recycling will not be picked up on July 4, 2024. On Thursday, July 4, 2024 there will be no trash or recycling collection for the THURSDAY routes due to the observance of the holiday. If you reside on the affected THURSDAY routes, your collections will…

Residents in the 600 block of Washington Street to Greene Street will be out of water 7/2/24 until 8:00 pm due to a water main break. Washington Street will be closed to traffic from Brooke Avenue to Allegany Street. We apologize for the inconvenience and thank you for your patience while the crew completes their work.

The City of Cumberland will be celebrating Independence Day with a Fireworks display at Constitution Park on Thursday, July 4, 2024, commencing at approximately 9:30 p.m. Leading up to the fireworks display, Constitution Park Pool will be open on July 4th from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., with the park closing to the public at 4:00 p.m.  Pine Avenue will be closing to thru traffic at 4:00 also, but local traffic will still have access to their homes. In the unlikely event of rain, Friday, July 5th has been set as the rain date.  

Economic development opportunities seem to abound in the Willowbrook Road and Williams Road corridors near UPMC Western Maryland. Open land is available in the area for commercial and residential needs.  Cumberland Mayor Ray Morriss says the city is taking a hard look in that neighborhood to develop complimentary businesses next to the hospital…

Maryland Democratic Governor Wes Moore was a guest on CBS Face The Nation Sunday answering questions about the recent presidential debate.  Moore said he felt that neither President Biden or Donald Trump had a good night on the debate stage, but he also said that doesn’t mean he is ready to take the nomination for President if Biden should bow out of the election… Governor Moore said he continues to campaign for the Biden-Harris ticket in a surrogate fashion because of the results he has seen in Maryland from their administration…

At a special press conference on Monday, West Virginia Governor Jim Justice announced a surplus of $826 million in revenue that will automatically trigger a 3-4% cut in personal income tax in the state.  During the Governor’s last fiscal report of his term, Justice applauded the 26 different tax cuts under his administration including a 21% cut to personal income tax in 2023.  Justice says he plans to call legislators back to Charleston in August for a special session…

The Allegany County Library’s summer programs have started. This year’s summer series is called Summer with Our Library. Ashley Swinford, director of marketing for the library system, says Story Time in the Park is back for the season. Families can enjoy time reading in the outdoors… A complete schedule can be found at www.alleganycountylibrary.info/outdoorstorytime

The Maryland Department of Health has announced a funding opportunity to address the opioid crisis in the state.  Individuals can apply to the program for funds for opioid remediation activities. Priority will be given to applicants focusing on programs for those who are pregnant, enrolled in prevention programs, or incarcerated. There were over 2,500 fatal overdoses in Maryland last year. Maryland is set to receive up to $500 million from prescription opioid-related legal settlements. To submit an application, visit emma.maryland.gov by July 26.