The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) completed a 71-acre planting project at Newtowne Neck State Park in St. Mary’s County in April that will help prevent rain runoff from reaching the Potomac River. The Maryland Forest Service oversaw the planting of 31,990 native seedlings across 15 fields along the park’s edge. The project expanded the riparian buffer,...
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As quantum technology begins to reshape the future workforce, the College of Southern Maryland (CSM) is working with industry and economic leaders to prepare students to enter this emerging field. On May 20, CSM hosted the Southern Maryland Regional Quantum Forum: Unlocking the Future, to develop training pathways for emerging quantum careers. The forum...
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Tony Covington, State’s Attorney for Charles County, announced that on Thursday, June 4, 2026, Charles County Circuit Court Judge H. James West sentenced Jason Shawn Smoot, Jr., 20, to 6 years in prison for Robbery. Upon release, Smoot will be on supervised probation for a period of five years. If he violates the terms...
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On Wednesday, June 3, 2026, school administrators and the school resource officer at Davis Middle School learned that a 12-year-old student had brought energy drinks mixed with alcohol in plastic bottles with the intent to sell them at school. Further investigation showed that two additional students, ages 11 and 12, had consumed the drinks...
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Governor Wes Moore signed an executive order to create a 12-month statewide task force on immigrant rights protection. The task force brings together State agencies in partnership with the Office of the Attorney General, the Office of the Comptroller, and other state leaders to coordinate efforts to address the fraud and exploitation of immigrant Marylanders. Immigrants...
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On Monday, June 1st, 2026, the Mechanicsville Volunteer Fire Department officially placed Raft 2 into active service. Raft 2 is a 2025 INMAR 380-SR 12’6″ inflatable boat featuring rugged Hypalon-neoprene construction and a durable aluminum floor. It is powered by a 30-horsepower Tohatsu four-stroke outboard motor equipped with a specialized prop guard for personnel...
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“A Message to Our Community Dear Friends, Supporters, Volunteers, Adopters, and Animal Advocates, My name is Dr. Lisa Connors, and I am honored to begin serving as President of the Humane Society of Charles County, effective June 4, 2026. As we move forward together, I want to thank our community for its passion, advocacy,...
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A Charles County, Maryland, man faces indictment in connection with an attack on two federal Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers at the Baltimore/Washington International (BWI) Airport. Cornelius Queen, 32, is charged with assaulting, resisting, or impeding federal officers and interfering with security screening personnel at the airport. Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the...
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The next generation of College of Southern Maryland (CSM) nurses received their pins during the Nursing Recognition Ceremony on May 14, welcoming graduates to the profession. The ceremony honored 45 nursing graduates as they begin careers in healthcare. Caroline Combs, dean of the School of Health Sciences, opened the ceremony by acknowledging the graduates’...
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A couple of Saturdays ago, May 23, was a particularly rainy day. So much so that a retired St. Mary’s County woman almost didn’t tackle a chore on her list for the day. She went back and forth, but ultimately deciding that it needed doing. This was a very profitable choice, for among the...
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Jerrell Jeffrey Tyson, 35, of Laurel, is charged with second-degree assault and disorderly conduct after authorities said he threatened an officer during a disturbance call in Waldorf on May 30, 2026. Tyson’s listed address appears differently across filings, including Laurel and Hyattsville. Officers with the Charles County Sheriff’s Office were called at about 3:02...
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Jeronda Artina Williams, 42, of Waldorf, has been charged with robbery, theft of $100 to under $1,500, second-degree assault, affray and disorderly conduct after an alleged fight and phone theft at a Waldorf gas station business on May 28, 2026. According to the allegations, an officer with the Charles County Sheriff’s Office responded at...
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Marque Desean Gilmer, 38, of Suffolk, Virginia is facing firearm, alcohol-related driving and traffic charges after La Plata police said a traffic stop on Crain Highway led officers to a loaded stolen handgun inside his vehicle. Gilmer is charged with illegal possession of ammunition, possession of a stolen regulated firearm, transporting a loaded handgun...
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Matthew Scott Quiles, 40, of Waldorf, is facing multiple theft charges in Charles County after authorities say he stole merchandise from two home improvement stores and took cash deposits from a business where he had worked as a manager. The allegations involve three separate incidents in Waldorf: a May 18, 2026, theft at Lowe’s...
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Michael Sean Marshall, 40, of Lusby, has been charged in Calvert County District Court with second-degree assault, disorderly conduct, and intoxicated public disturbance after deputies responded to multiple calls about a man lying in or near the roadway in Lusby on May 29, 2026, according to court documents. According to the statement of probable...
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Tyrone Lorenzo Parker, 38, of La Plata, has been charged in Charles County District Court with first-degree assault and second-degree assault after court documents say he attacked a male victim with an unknown metal object at a Waldorf park-and-ride in March 2026. According to charging documents filed by Detective David Garrison of the Charles...
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Helbert Barahona-Gonzalez, 44, of Lexington Park, has been charged in St. Mary’s County District Court with 19 offenses, including second-degree rape of a child under 14, sexual abuse of a minor, a continuing-course child sexual abuse charge, third-degree sex offense involving a child under 14, fourth-degree sex offense, and other charges, according to court...
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SMECO has awarded four scholarships for 2026 to high school seniors who live in the cooperative’s service area. Recipients receive awards based on scholastic achievement, financial need, and school and community involvement. Since beginning the scholarship program in 1993, SMECO has presented awards to 136 students. Each of the following students will receive a...
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The Warriors of La Plata High School celebrated the graduation of its Class of 2026 Thursday, June 4, at Regency Furniture Stadium. The class was led by valedictorian Ella Luton with the salutatorian role shared by Joyce Kang and Gavin Wu. Luton urged her fellow graduates to live their life not dictated by fear,...
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Anthony Lee Dross Jr., 27, of Patuxent River, has been charged in Calvert County District Court with disorderly conduct and intoxicated public disturbance after an incident on May 29, 2026, near The Tiki Bar on Charles Street in Solomons, according to court documents. According to the statement of charges, DFC A. Ostazeski of the...
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Kijah Renee Powers, 22, of Lanham, has been charged in Charles County District Court with misdemeanor theft of property valued at $100 to under $1,500 after court documents say she was accused of taking merchandise from Target on Western Parkway in Waldorf on May 30, 2026. According to the statement of probable cause, a...
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Stanaja Nicole Nae Drummond, 19, of Lexington Park, is facing two counts of first-degree assault, two counts of second-degree assault, disorderly conduct, failure to obey a reasonable and lawful order, and resisting or interfering with arrest after St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to a reported domestic violence incident on Ronald Drive in...
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A former U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) employee pled guilty in federal court, today, to charges stemming from a Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act scheme that enabled him to illegally obtain more than $176,000. Simeon Bakare, 55, of Waldorf, Maryland, pled guilty to wire-fraud charges in connection with the scheme....
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Kayla Jean Gilliam, 30, of California, is facing three counts of violating a protective order in St. Mary’s County District Court after court documents say she contacted an adult male victim despite an active court order barring further contact. According to the statement of charges filed by Deputy Jacob Mills of the St. Mary’s...
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The Maryland Department of Natural Resources asks residents and visitors enjoying coastal and tidal waterways to remain alert for marine mammals and sea turtles throughout the summer and into early fall. Dolphins, manatees, sea turtles, whales, and other marine wildlife are regular seasonal visitors to the Chesapeake Bay and its tidal tributaries, the Atlantic...
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