Western Maryland

Maryland Live! Casino at Arundel Mills will have its grand opening at 10 p.m. June 6, casino officials announced Thursday morning. The grand opening still requires approval by the Maryland Lottery, which will oversee a trial run to take place before June 6. The announcement comes as the state slots commission on Thursday considers a bid to open a casino in Rocky Gap, in Western Maryland, by Evitts Resort LLC. The commission also has yet...

Tropical Storm Alberto isn't expected to reach Maryland, but it should be a damp week nonetheless. In the Baltimore area, at least, it may not be damp enough to remedy developing drought conditions, though. A low-pressure system is expected to stall over the mid-Atlantic today through Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service. Showers and thunderstorms could crop up along the Interstate 95 corridor today, but the chances for heaviest rain later in the week are southwest of us along the Shenandoah Valley, according to the weather service.

Four trucks laden with 100 slot machines arrived early Wednesday morning at the nearly completed casino at Arundel Mills mall. For the next two hours, workers wheeled banks of the gleaming new machines, one by one, inside on hand trucks. Installation of the first set of slots moved Maryland Live! Casino, the state's largest, another step closer to its scheduled opening in three months. That's progress for Maryland's lackluster gambling program, which has yet to be fully implemented more than three years after voters approved five slots locations statewide.

The hunter-backed effort to bring wild elk back to western Maryland is gaining some steam, though fierce resistance remains in key quarters. A survey done by pro-hunting groups finds that nearly three-fourths of Marylanders asked favor restoring the large, majestic ungulates to the state's mountainous region, which hasn't seen any of the animals since the 1700s. The Maryland Department of Natural Resources has been working with the Maryland Legislative Sportsmen's Foundation and the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation to review the biological, social and economic feasibility of restoring the species in the state.  The telephone survey, done by Responsive Management , a Virginia-based polling firm, was underwritten by the two foundations, according to a DNR press release about it. While the survey found widespread public support for bringing elk back to Maryland, the survey also found a strong current of opposition among some western Maryland farmers and others  who feared the large animals could jeopardize their livelihood, spread disease or damage their property.

Potomac Edison is introducing its first energy-conservation programs that include financial incentives for customers to participate.But the power company's Maryland customers -- in part of Carroll County and all of Western Maryland -- will have to foot the bill as builders and businesses enjoy most of the incentives.The programs give rebates for installing energy-efficient lighting and energy-saving devices, said Susan Tuckwell, director of customer relations for Potomac Edison."We've been encouraging energy efficiency and energy conservation for a long time," she said.

Rural Somerset County is full of folks like Joe Reading, who used to dip his bare hands in DDT, still uses other chemicals on his farm and bathes his dinner greens in bacon grease. And Lewis W. Jones, a medical clinic director who smoked two packs of cigarettes a day until recently. And Weltonia Engram, who avoided getting Pap smears because she was afraid she might learn she had cancer.Smoking, diets loaded with fat and salt, exposure to cancer-causing chemicals and poor access to health care may be clues to why one in 321 Somerset residents dies of cancer every year.

CUMBERLAND -- Some might come here expecting a country-music Woodstock -- hundreds of rowdy, beer-drinking fans camped around Lake Habeeb, enjoying the likes of Billy Ray Cyrus.But the Rocky Gap Music Festival -- now in its sixth year -- has become more than a hoedown in the hills.The four-day event that ends today -- while attracting about 45,000 people this year -- is as much an amiable family affair as it is a celebration of country music.Yes, they come to see big-name country singers like Merle Haggard, Wynonna Judd and Tammy Wynette on a stage set against a gorgeous backdrop of Western Maryland mountains and water.

Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich will be campaigning in Western Maryland ahead of Tuesday's primary. Gingrich is scheduled to hold a rally at the Frederick Motor Company at 11 a.m. Monday and to speak at Hood College at 2 p.m. Hood spokesman Dave Diehl tells The Frederick News-Post that Gingrich's campaign called the college's director of student activities to schedule the visit. Gingrich will meet with student Republicans after his speech. Gingrich has conceded that Mitt Romney is the likely Republican nominee, and his campaign laid off one-third of its staff last week to save money.

It's a wet, snowy day in Western Maryland. The storm may not dump as much snow in Maryland as expected, or as much as has already fallen a bit further north, though. Traffic cameras show slick roadways and white on everything else. Forecasters are calling for 2-4 inches in Allegany and Garrett Counties, according to the National Weather Service. Two inches were reported in Frostburg as of 7 a.m., according to a weather spotter report to the National Weather Service.

Western Maryland residents may see snow overnight, as forecasters are calling for a possibility of snow mixed with rain. The National Weather Service forecast is calling for a possibility of snow in higher elevations in Garrett County. Temperatures were hovering just above freezing. Although the chance of precipitation was 100 percent, little to no accumulation of snow was expected. Andrea.siegel@baltsun.com Text NEWS to 70701 to get Baltimore Sun local news text alerts

The Maryland Department of the Environment on Tuesday extended a drought watch to western Maryland and parts of central Maryland. A drought watch was already in effect for the Eastern Shore since April 13. The drought watch includes all of Harford and Carroll counties and parts of Baltimore and Howard counties, as well as Frederick County and points west. It doesn't include areas that get water service through Baltimore city. MDE issues a drought watch when at least two indicators show developing drought conditions.

The last thing you'd think Maryland's Republican party needs would be a nasty internecine fight, but that's what it got at its annual convention over the weekend. Rather than unity in the effort to overcome a massive voter registration disadvantage, chronic fundraising problems and a frequent lack of competitive candidates for state-wide offices, the party became focused on a divisive race for an obscure position: national committeewoman. In the end, Audrey Scott, a GOP stalwart who has held a variety of elected and appointed posts, including a stint as state Republican chairwoman, was defeated by a heretofore little known, 37-year-old Baltimore woman, Nicolee Ambrose.

It's a wet, snowy day in Western Maryland. The storm may not dump as much snow in Maryland as expected, or as much as has already fallen a bit further north, though. Traffic cameras show slick roadways and white on everything else. Forecasters are calling for 2-4 inches in Allegany and Garrett Counties, according to the National Weather Service. Two inches were reported in Frostburg as of 7 a.m., according to a weather spotter report to the National Weather Service.

ON THE SITE... Second suspect arrested in taped beating by courthouse :  Shayone Davis, 20, is being held on $750,000 bail on charges of armed robbery and two counts of assault. Police have identified her as the woman seen in the video dancing, then slapping the victim across the face. Cause of 3-alarm fire in Canton warehouse still to be determined : Maryland Department of the Environment and federal EPA officials were on the site of a fire at Eastern Plating Co. on Monday, but fire officials were not yet able to investigate the cause of the blaze because of dangerous conditions.

Some weather models are predicting snow in Western Maryland on Monday, on the tail end of the rainy system expected to move through this weekend. But the chances are slim and variable, according to AccuWeather meteorologists. Moisture from a storm moving up from the Carolinas could meet cold air coming from the north, potentially producing the most snow in western Pennsylvania and New York, AccuWeather blogger Elliot Abrams wrote. But AccuWeather severe weather blogger Henry Margusity cautioned   factors including "the temperatures in the lower level of the atmosphere, the time of day the snow falls and the intensity of the snow" could determine whether it's something or nothing.

Two partner organizations dedicated to ending hunger in Maryland for more than 20 years have merged. The Maryland Food Bank and Food Resources of Hagerstown have united to form the Maryland Food Bank – Western Branch, a facility that will become a central distribution point for a network of more than 120 soup kitchens, pantries, shelters and other community-based organizations in Allegany, Frederick, Garrett and Washington counties. The merger allows Food Resources to broaden services to the entire Western Maryland region and the more than 52,000 residents who are struggling to provide food for themselves, the groups said.

All who hate mosquitoes and garden pests should be pleased with the news that the "Bike trail will spare bat refuge" (July 27). The last thing the best bat cave in the East needed to face was construction for a bike path and a steady stream of bikers. People can pedal elsewhere. Whole bat species are struggling to survive against the march of white nose syndrome. This fungus has decimated bat populations in the Northeast and is relentlessly spreading. Mortality is over 90 percent once a winter roost is infected.

Some weather models are predicting snow in Western Maryland on Monday, on the tail end of the rainy system expected to move through this weekend. But the chances are slim and variable, according to AccuWeather meteorologists. Moisture from a storm moving up from the Carolinas could meet cold air coming from the north, potentially producing the most snow in western Pennsylvania and New York, AccuWeather blogger Elliot Abrams wrote. But AccuWeather severe weather blogger Henry Margusity cautioned   factors including "the temperatures in the lower level of the atmosphere, the time of day the snow falls and the intensity of the snow" could determine whether it's something or nothing.

Things haven't gone quite according to plan in the newly redrawn 6th Congressional District. Maryland's leading Democrats figured they had drawn new boundaries that would allow a rising star in the state Senate to move up to Congress. Republicans figured that the incumbent, 85-year-old Roscoe Bartlett, would retire rather than face a tough race, leaving the door open for new candidates. But the Democrats didn't figure on John Delaney, 48, a financier who swamped the anointed favorite, Sen. Rob Garagiola, in the fundraising race and again at the polls.

Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich will be campaigning in Western Maryland ahead of Tuesday's primary. Gingrich is scheduled to hold a rally at the Frederick Motor Company at 11 a.m. Monday and to speak at Hood College at 2 p.m. Hood spokesman Dave Diehl tells The Frederick News-Post that Gingrich's campaign called the college's director of student activities to schedule the visit. Gingrich will meet with student Republicans after his speech. Gingrich has conceded that Mitt Romney is the likely Republican nominee, and his campaign laid off one-third of its staff last week to save money.