WCTR News

Chestertown resident April Amaya-Luis was recently detained by ICE and sent to US Immigration’s and Customs Enforcement Field Office in Baltimore. Amaya-Luis has been undocumented in Maryland for more than two decades. On February 4th, she went for her customary check-in with her probation officer in Chestertown. Luis had plead guilty to a misdemeanor for probation in exchange for no jail time and immigration officers were waiting for her on the way out. They handcuffed her and by late that evening she was transported to the US Immigration’s and Customs Enforcement Field Office in Baltimore, housed in the George H. Fallon Federal Building at 31 Hopkins Plaza.

The Garfield Center for the Arts at the Prince Theatre has announced the 2025 Playmakers director and the start date for open registration. The Evening Enterprise reports Playmakers is the GCA’s theatrecraft and acting camp for aspiring performers ages 8 through 15. For scheduling reasons, this year’s camp starts a little later than last year, with the first date of July 14 and the camp-ending performance weekend of August 8-9-10.

Maryland’s Statewide Transportation Improvement Program draft is officially open for public comment.
The document details traffic improvement proposals and funding needs for Fiscal Years 2025 to 2028 and is open for public comment through April 4. This period allows the state’s regional Metropolitan Planning Offices to make recommendations and funding offers. Eastern Shore projects include ozone emissions maintenance in Queen Anne’s County.

Area residents and other interested members of the public are invited to comment on a proposal by Ruthsburg Rd Solar 1 LLC to construct a 5-megawatt solar project in Queen Anne’s County. A virtual hearing will be held on Tuesday, March 25 at 7 p.m. The Evening Enterprise reports in November 2024, Ruthsburg Rd Solar 1 applied to the Maryland Public Service Commission for what is known as a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity, which grants an applicant the authority to construct an energy-generating station or high-voltage transmission line in Maryland.

A 16-year-old has been charged with making threats of mass violence following an investigation that began last month. On February 21st, a Queen Anne’s County Sheriff’s Office School Resource Deputy and school staff reportedly received multiple reports of a student from another school posting a video on social media, including non-specific violent threats aimed at a group of students from Kent Island High School.
Later that same day, the student allegedly posted additional threats online. A home visit was conducted with the student and his guardians, and it was determined that at no time were students or staff in any immediate danger.

Immigration and the economy is the topic to be discussed at a meeting sponsored by the Democratic Club of Kent County on Thursday, March 20 at Phat Daddy’s BBQ Shack, located at 205 Spring Ave. in Chestertown. The Evening Enterprise reports doors will open at 5:30 p.m. to order a meal and share some social time before the meeting. A brief business meeting will be conducted by the club at 6:45 p.m. The public meeting will start at 7 p.m. and end no later than 8:30 p.m.

Despite Kent County’s zoning laws prohibiting utility scale solar arrays, the county’s Planning Commission unanimously approved Morgnec Solar LLC’s final site plan for a 45-megawatt solar project on March 6, acknowledging they had no choice under Maryland state law. The Kent County News reports the commission’s approval came after the Planning Commission stressed that their own county zoning does not permit utility scale solar installations, but that they were bound by state requirements.

Centreville Planning Commission has granted conditional approval for a two-acre expansion of Green Thumb Industries (GTI) to expand its outdoor cannabis growing operations at 152 Comet Drive. Following discussion and deliberation at the January meeting, Green Thumb officials returned with Byers Scientific to further explain the odor mitigation systems.

Queen Anne’s County Office of the Sheriff is looking to identify two suspects in a theft case. On March 2nd, two individuals entered Bay Ridge Wine & Spirits and stole a $29 bottle of vodka by concealing it inside of a purse. They were last seen leaving in a white, four door sedan. If you have any information related to this case, please contact Deputy Lane at clane@qac.org.

Small businesses across the state are poised for significant growth thanks to the Maryland Manufacturing 4.0 grant program recently announced by Gov. Wes Moore. According to the Evening Enterprise, the program, designed to help small and mid-sized manufacturers invest in cutting-edge technology, already is demonstrating its impact, particularly in the food manufacturing sector. Among the grant recipients is Modern Stone Age, a health-conscious restaurant, bakery and educational food lab on Cannon Street in Chestertown.