West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin took to the Senate floor to boost support for blocking the Environmental Protection Agency’s attempt to speed up the implementation of tailpipe emissions rules, driving people to buy and use electric vehicles.  Manchin said the agreed-to terms in the Inflation Reduction Act have been altered by the Treasury Department and cannot be realized without total dependence on China… The Inflation Reduction Act was designed to bring the needed production of batteries and vehicles back to America without relying on foreign trade…

The Maryland State Fire Marshal is continuing to investigate the cause of a fire in Frostburg this past Friday evening. Thirty-five firefighters responded for a structure fire on Hill Street that displaced five adults and two children. The preliminary cause has been determined to be accidental. Unattended incense in a bedroom ignited nearby combustibles. The Red Cross is assisting the family.

On Monday, April 22, 2024, the Cumberland Police Department served a criminal summons on Sherry Perkins.  The summons was issued as the result of an incident that occurred on April 19, 2024.  On this date at approximately 10:08 PM, officers of the Cumberland Police Department responded to a residence in the 300 block of Grand Avenue for an assault. After investigation, an arrest was made related to the assault.  On April, 20, 2024, the other party involved in the assault reported that he was assaulted by Sherry Perkins resulting in injuries.  An application for charges was filed against Perkins at…

On Monday, April 22, 2024 at approximately 10:14 PM, an officer of the Cumberland Police Department was on patrol, monitoring traffic on E. Third Street at Arch Street when he observed a vehicle strike the curb at the intersection, damaging the tire.  The vehicle continued on and traveled into an alley between Arch Street and Grand Avenue.  The officer attempted to stop the vehicle and the occupants bailed from the vehicle and fled on foot.  Officers searched the area, but were unable to locate the suspects.  The driver was identified as Jermaine Kimbrough Jr. when he later turned himself in…

Monday, April 15, 2024 Tyler Matthew Westfall, 27 of Springfield, WV was arrested as a Fugitive From Justice. He was wanted by the Mineral County Sheriff's Office for Failure to Appear in Family Court. He was held without bond pending extradition to Mineral County, WV. Levi Neal Jones, 25 of Cumberland, was served a District Court Arrest Warrant. His charges include six (6) counts of Violating Conditions of Release/Person Eligible for Relief. He is being held without bond at the Allegany County Detention Center pending trial. Breann Carol Haines, 32 of Flintstone, was arrested on a Circuit Court Bench Warrant…

WCBC has been celebrating its 48th anniversary of being on the air in Cumberland and a family member of the late, great Doc Webster called the Dave Norman show to offer congratulations and share a memory. Doc worked for WCBC for 32 years as an original employee and Jim Webster, Doc’s son, recalls thoughts his father had about the new station in town…    

New legislation out of Annapolis is The Maryland Online Privacy Protection Act. It limits data collection by tech companies and their ability to bury unfavorable terms in complex license agreements. R.J. Cross with the Maryland chapter of the Public Interest Research Group says the new law is a win for consumers… The law allows consumers to delete some personal data as well as limits the kind of widespread monitoring used to generate targeted advertising. Cross says data collection is common…    

Merely the installation of a light pole resulted in 911 service outages across three states last week. It was the latest in a series of 911 outages across the country.  Recently, Allegany County also had a brief outage to its emergency call center, but Allegany County Emergency Management Director Jim Pyles says our area has excellent backup sources in such cases… During the recent county outage that lasted less than 2 hours, Pyles says the county system continued to handle emergencies…

Gov. Jim Justice is encouraging high school students to sign up for the first-ever Governor’s School for Tourism, a 10-day summer academy to learn more about West Virginia’s growing tourism industry. The school starts June 20th and will take students across the state to experience tourism’s role in outdoor recreation, arts and culture, hospitality and lodging, and culinary arts…    

Another change is on the way to a snack food manufacturing facility in nearby Berlin, Pennsylvania.  The Utz plant there is being sold to “Our Home,” a subsidiary of “Better-For-You” brands.  All of the employees at the plant will be retained in the sale. Utz brand products will continued to be produced for up to a year. Utz has now sold four facilities to “Better-For-You.”  In 2019, Utz purchased the plant that also makes products under the “Snyder’s of Berlin” name from Conagra Brands. The Snyder Brand will continue to be produced in Somerset.