MARYLAND HOUSE SPEAKER JONES STEPPING DOWN

Maryland House Speaker and delegate from Baltimore County Adrienne Jones has announced she’s stepping down as Speaker.  She’ll remain a delegate from the Tenth District in Baltimore County.  In her announcement, the 71-year-old Jones says she plans to focus on coaching and mentoring the next Speaker.  Jones was elected to the House of Delegates in…

SNYDER’S OF BERLIN TO CLOSE IN FEBRUARY 

The Snyder of Berlin chip plant in Somerset County will close in February, affecting hundreds of workers and the economy of that area. Co-workers were informed of the closure, and those who remain until February will receive severance packages. Snyder has been a staple in Somerset County and across the state, and the closure will…

TWO DIE IN BEDFORD COUNTY HOUSE FIRE

Two people were killed in a house fire Tuesday night in Monroe Township, Bedford County. The blaze was reported in the 1300 block of Rock Hill Church Road, just before 11 p.m. Two people were found deceased in the residence. Fire units were on the scene until early Wednesday morning. The victims have yet to…

MD. STATE BOARD OF ELECTIONS TO CONSIDER WASHINGTON COUNTY PLAN NEXT WEEK

The Maryland State Board of Elections is expected to consider Washington County’s 2026 election plan at its meeting next week.  The county sent its plan to the state last month, including information on its early voting sites for the 2026 primary and general elections. The proposed early voting sites are the Washington County Free Library…

WEST VIRGINIA REINSTATES STRICT SCHOOL VACCINE MANDATE

The West Virginia Board of Education is reinstating its school vaccine mandate after a decision from the state Supreme Court. State Supreme Court justices decided to stay a permanent injunction issued by a circuit court judge that ruled vaccine mandates without religious exemptions were illegal. West Virginia has one of the strictest school vaccine mandates…

W.V. CHARTER SCHOOLS FACE LEGAL HURDLE

A circuit judge has issued a permanent injunction blocking West Virginia’s charter school system over constitutional concerns.  Judge Jennifer Bailey ruled that new charter schools can’t be authorized without voter approval in affected counties.  The decision stems from a constitutional provision requiring majority voter consent before creating independent school districts.  The eight charter schools already…

DONATIONS REQUESTED FOR FALLEN SOLDIER

The family of fallen National Guard Specialist Sarah Beckstrom is asking for donations instead of flowers.  They’re requesting contributions to the Nicholas County Humane Society or the Wounded Warrior Project.  Beckstrom died on Thanksgiving Day after being shot while on patrol in Washington D.C.  No funeral arrangements have been announced yet.

CHEESE SOLD IN PENNSYLVANIA RECALLED Shredded cheese sold in Pennsylvania is being recalled.  The FDA says more than one-point-five-million bags of shredded cheeses produced by Great Lakes Cheese Company may contain metal fragments.  The cheese was sold at Walmart stores as the Great Value brand, Target as the Good and Gather brand, Aldi as the…

WOMAN SENTENCED IN RESIDENTIAL ARSON INCIDENT

Following her conviction of first-degree arson in the October 2024 fire at her estranged boyfriends’ residence, 44-year-old Heather Lynn Hutcheson was sentenced to a 10-year prison term. She was convicted of setting fire to his residence on Upper George’s Creek Road in the Grahamtown area of Frostburg, according to the Cumberland Times-News.  Following completion of…

SNAP COSTS MAY GO UP

Maryland may have to pay upwards of $300 million in 2027 to meet new federal costs to deliver food assistance to residents, with states that have high rates of administrative errors, such as Maryland, having to kick in more. That is just one of the big-ticket expenses that states will have to take on, to…