Hunter Douglas, one of Allegany County’s largest employers, will be decommissioning its Cumberland plant by the end of summer. The company recently laid off 61 employees and that led to speculation that the end game was to move all of the company’s production work to Mexico.  Cumberland Mayor Ray Morriss… Allegany County Commissioners President David Caporate told WCBC News that efforts have been underway for months to schedule a meeting with Hunter Douglas representatives to discuss the future of the local operation- and that will finally take place today. Obviously the focus of those talks will now shift to helping…

The Cumberland Mayor and City Council on Tuesday put an end to any plans to allow residents to raise live chickens within the city-  with a concensus reached not pursue the request.  In recent months a number of citizens had approached the council asking that the city amend its ordinance – and to allow for hens- and city staff did develop a proposed “keeping of chickens” regulation.  However after a brief presentation during the public work session, Mayor Ray Morriss and council members Cioni, Furstenberg, Frazier and Marchini agreed not to move forward…

Concerns have been raised in the past few months about the clear lack of construction activity at the Cumberland Gateway commercial site between Park Street and Maryland Avenue. The plaza is located off Interstate 68 and is commonly referred to as the Rolling Mill project. The site is expected to feature a hotel, restaurants, shops and a convenience store once completed- however work has seemingly come to a halt. Cumberland City Administrator Jeff Silka tells WCBC News he met recently with the project developer Ed Scott for a status report… A groundbreaking ceremony for the project was held just before…

The largest income tax cut in state history was signed into law Tuesday afternoon by  West Virginia Governor Jim Justice. House members OK'd the tax cuts Saturday after Senate suggestions. The House bill has a 21.25% decrease in personal income taxes, and includes a 100% credit on personal vehicle taxes. The Senate passed the House bill with the changes last week, calling it a compromise between both chambers and the governor. Governor Justice called it a watershed moment for the state… The West Virginia Center for Budget and Policy is questioning whether the state can afford the measure.

With just about a month left in the 2023 session of the Maryland General Assembly, Goverrnor Wes Moore is continuing to lobby lawmakers to approve a $15 minimum wage by October…. The Moore administration has been pushing to not only accelerate the wage hike earlier than initially approved in the state legislature-  but also to tie it to inflation. This has caused rumbles of disagreement in the Democratic-controlled General Assembly. Moore says he has worked to create a solid relationship with house and senate leaders and is optimistic his legislation will ultimately be approved…

Allegany County Government officials were alerted of the apparent closure of Hunter Douglas’ Cumberland location on Tuesday afternoon. Officials for the County will be meeting with representatives from Hunter Douglas on Wednesday morning to discuss plans for employees and local business assets moving forward. We have already been in contact with the Maryland Department of Labor to arrange a comprehensive fair for any displaced workers, and have initiated conversations with several local businesses in the same manufacturing sector who are actively hiring. We anticipate a continued partnership with Western Maryland Works to coordinate workforce training for any displaced workers as…

  WCBC news has confirmed that Hunter Douglas will be decommissioning its Cumberland plant by the end of summer as well as a plant in Bessemer, North Carolina. The company recently laid off 61 employees with its plans to relocate production work to Mexico. The plant decommissioning in Cumberland will not affect its customer service employees. 

When the Dr. Robert S. Zimmer Theatre’s doors at Allegany College of Maryland reopen to the public this summer, it will be the culmination of thousands of hours of planning, design, demolition, construction, technology and sound engineering, and theatrical rigging. Planning for the capital project began in 2021, with construction starting in November of 2022. A public ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Zimmer Theatre is planned for autumn.    Much of the $2.6 million renovation is funded through public sources. ACM received a $187,500 Community Project Funding grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, a $150,000 grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission, three Seed Community Development Anchor Institution Fund grants totaling $900,000 from the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development, and a $250,000 Rural Maryland Prosperity Investment Fund grant from the Rural Maryland Council to make the project possible. A $100,000…

On Tuesday,  Administrators at Cresaptown Elementary were made aware of a social media threat. Law Enforcement was contacted and conducted an investigation and as a result the threat was found to be non-credible. There was no interruption to school operations

U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen and Ben Cardin and Congressmen Steny H. Hoyer, Dutch Ruppersberger, John Sarbanes, Kweisi Mfume, Jamie B. Raskin, David Trone, and Glenn Ivey (all D-Md.) sent a letter urging the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to update and improve Maryland’s broadband mapping data based on the Office of Statewide Broadband’s comments on the National Broadband Map. As required by the Broadband Deployment Accuracy and Technological Availability Act (Broadband DATA Act), the FCC is developing the National Broadband Map, which will display specific location-level information about broadband availability. Along with being a crucial tool for better understanding the state of broadband access in the country, this map will be used to determine the additional needs-based funding each state receives…