Senator Mike McKay has successfully passed SB455 dealing with the appointment of Special Police Officers. The bill allows a security guard agency to apply for the appointment of special police officers in order to protect property owned or leased by the agency’s clients. Evan Avnet from the Maryland Investigators and Security Association testified on behalf of the bill…   “If they work for a security agency, not only does the property have general liability but the security agency, by law, is required to have additional liability insurance, specifically, generally speaking, assault and battery insurance in addition to the property’s insurance…

West Virginia U.S. Senator Jim Justice spoke to Fox Business about the projected tax cuts the Trump Administration is working on. Whether through tips, overtime pay or just extending the tax cuts, which are in place now, Justice, says getting money back in to taxpayer pockets is critical…     “That will drive growth. The permanence of that will drive absolute growth. And absolutely – you know, just think, President Trump is pushing the right buttons and we got to help him. And absolutely I stand right arm in arm with him.”

The Maryland House of Delegates spent several hours debating amendments and wording in the budget bill that they passed this week by a vote of 93-46.  During that sometimes-contentious debate, House Minority Leader Jason Buckel and other Republican members offered cost-saving amendments but higher fees and taxes were the end result and Buckel reminded them…     “You’re raising more taxes than anyone who has ever sat in this room and you’re doing it because you cannot restrain the rate of growth in some programs that you promised people years ago that you couldn’t pay for.”

Allegany County Administrator Jason Bennett spoke in-depth with WCBC about the county’s budget issues on Thursday.  Bennett tells WCBC the county was already running a lean government from last year’s cuts, but the state has done damage…    “When we see another 5.7 million dollar potential cut from the state, that doesn’t work for us anymore. It leaves the commissioners in a really, really bad place of either  having to go raise revenue or having to make major, major cost reductions that are really going to affect service at this point.” The county is now in a waiting period to…

Maryland Senate President Bill Ferguson stepped away from the business of Annapolis on Wednesday to pay his respects at the first anniversary of the fall of the Francis Scott Key Bridge. Ferguson spoke alongside other state and federal leadership to remember victims and look ahead to a new bridge structure taking shape.  Ferguson focused his remarks on how local, state and federal entities worked together…     “In a time when people have questions about government, and our ability to do the right thing and to help people. This last year has been proof that we are better together to…

The Maryland State Highway Administration’s first Operation Clean Sweep of 2025 began Monday and will continue through the week across all state highways. Operation Clean Sweep Maryland is an all-hands on deck litter pick up and debris removal effort held throughout the state prior to high-travel holidays. SHA spokesman Danny Allman says this week kicks off “Spring Cleaning,” and wants drivers to be aware of cleaning crews along highways…     “There shouldn’t be any delays, but we ask drivers to pay attention, stay off their phones, and to be aware of whey they’re approaching one of our litter crews…

An annual report put together by the Ocean City Police department shows arrests reaching a five-year low.  In 2024 Ocean City officers made 1,690 arrests compared to 1,944 in 2023.  A majority of the arrests came during the summer months, when tourism picks up.  Of the 2024 arrests, 99 of them were weapons related with 73 others linked to drugs.  That's a significant decrease from 2023, when 171 weapons arrests were made with another 127 for drugs.  With arrests down, so are officer uses of force and assaults on police.

On Wednesday, March 26th, 2025, the Cumberland Police Department arrested Darryl Lemar Powell Jr, 27, of Cumberland MD. Powell was arrested on an active Bench Warrant issued by the Allegany County District Court on March 19th, 2025. On that date, it is alleged that Powell failed to appear in District Court for previous charges that included assault, affray, and disorderly conduct. He was taken before a District Court Commissioner for an Initial Appearance where he was released on his own recognizance.  Name:    Darryl Lemar Powell Jr                           …

West Virginia is among just ten states whose prison population declined between 2019 and 2023, according to a new report from the Prison Policy Initiative. Wanda Bertram with the initiative says that during 2022 and 2023, state prisons added more than fifty thousand people, undoing about a 25-percent decrease in incarceration sparked by the pandemic, and the nation’s total number of incarcerated people has jumped by two percent…     "That's an actually significant jump in size, although it's just 2%. The data suggests that there are more people in state prisons, local jails and federal prisons than there were…

National Park Service program manager Chris Stevens updated the Canal Place Preservation Board during their Tuesday meeting on the ongoing resurfacing project of the C&O Canal Towpath. The portion between Spring Gap and the Cumberland terminus is expected to be completed this year.  There’s only one restriction for users and that has to do with horseback riding…     “For each section that is paved, they have to close it to horseback riding for 30 days to allow the new material on the Tow Path to settle before exposed to heavy weight.  So, it’s looking really good.  I think the…