r/hagerstown • • Mar 31 '21

Hagerstown has a Discord server!

37 Upvotes

r/hagerstown • • 10d ago

Washington County R/Hagerstown Monthly Thread October 05, 2026

4 Upvotes

Please use this thread to Post events, questions, rants, or just general commentary.

Useful Information:

County Commissioner Agendas can be found here:

Washington County BOCC Agenda/Minutes

City of Hagerstown Minutes and Agenda

Washington County Public Schools Board Meetings

Herald Mail Things to do

Main Street Hagerstown Events

Visit Hagerstown Events

Homeless Street Guide


r/hagerstown • • 19h ago

94.3

10 Upvotes

Unsure if anyone has heard but saw 94.3 wqcm was sold like a week ago pending fcc approval. But no more classic rock once approved.


r/hagerstown • • 18h ago

Hagerstown DSA

5 Upvotes

Does anyone know what’s happened to the DSA branch here? AFAIK, their social media hasn’t been active since February. Are their community fridges still operating? Just curious, was wondering where those involved went :(


r/hagerstown • • 1d ago

The lady at LongMeadow Barber shop

2 Upvotes

Does anyone know where she is?

Thank you


r/hagerstown • • 3d ago

Less Than Two Months After Diversified Capital CFO Moshe Rubin Donated to Jeff Cline’s Campaign, the Company Was Advertising a Washington County Data Center Project

Thumbnail
blog.hagerstownrapidresponse.com
56 Upvotes

Three Washington County Commissioners running for reelection owe residents an explanation for years of data center recruitment, signing an NDA with a data center developer, and lying to the public.

By October 2025, Diversified Capital was publicly advertising that it was developing a data center in Washington County, Maryland. Its land had already been marketed as suitable for data centers, its Martin Farm development had appeared in county planning records, and Washington County was promoting the project with an estimate of 300 jobs. We find it difficult to believe the commissioners did not know about the company’s data center plans roughly a year ago. If they somehow missed all of that, they should explain how the public managed to discover what apparently escaped the people running the county.

On August 25, 2025, Diversified Capital executive Moshe Rubin donated $500 to Commissioner Jeff Cline’s campaign. Less than two months later, an October 12 archived version of Diversified Capital’s Maryland Tech Council profile described its portfolio as including a “data center development project in Washington County, Maryland.” That archive establishes that the description was public by October 12. The company could have been advertising it earlier.

Less than two months after that, on December 9, 2025, the commissioners met privately with the Diversified Capital project team under an NDA. The room included Rubin, former state senator Chris Shank, former lieutenant governor Boyd Rutherford, engineer Connor McManus, and Sage Policy Group’s Zack Fritz. McManus’s firm has data center experience; Sage had been producing studies promoting the industry. The county’s own minutes explain that public discussion would violate the NDA. Residents were excluded while officials received the presentation.

The county still has not publicly identified exactly what that team pitched. But a developer publicly advertising a Washington County data center project then appearing before every commissioner with that particular team deserves considerably more explanation than “we haven’t approved a data center.”

They Had Been Recruiting This Industry for Years

Washington County’s involvement goes back well before Rubin’s donation. In 2020, Washington County Business Development Director Jonathan Horowitz submitted the county’s support for SB 397, legislation offering tax incentives specifically to attract data centers. The county was helping make Maryland more attractive to the industry years before officials began presenting themselves as people still learning what data centers might mean for residents.

On June 5, 2023, Diversified Capital appeared in Washington County Planning Commission records concerning the Martin property. By June 27, 2024, a listing for 12440 Burkholder Lane advertised it as “Ideal for Data Center”. The marketing offered several possible uses, including cold storage, automated warehousing, and distribution. Data centers were already part of the sales pitch.

The county’s involvement also extended beyond supporting tax incentives. We have found economic development materials promoting local industrial property for data center development and directing prospective developers to Horowitz. A state property listing for the Martin property identifies Washington County’s business development department and gives Horowitz’s office and cell numbers. County government was making itself available to help sell the property.

Private Meetings, More Tax Breaks, and an Industry Leadership Role

The recruitment continued into 2026. On January 16, the county sent a letter supporting another tax exemption, this time for Mount Aetna Technology Park. On February 2, Horowitz was announced as a member of the Data Center Alliance of Maryland Steering Committee, alongside representatives from Amazon, BGE, Constellation Energy, Rowan Digital Infrastructure, Turner Construction, and others involved in the industry.

The very next day, February 3, the commissioners voted 4–0 to ratify their support for the Mount Aetna exemption. Data center brokers had already been asking about the property’s land, zoning, utilities, and power availability. The resulting legislation expressly includes “computer systems and equipment” among eligible equipment, while the property’s ORI zoning permits “Computer and data processing services.” Officials were helping recruit development at another site with known data center interest while their business development director helped guide a statewide organization advancing the industry.

Then Came the Moratorium Performance

On June 12, 2026, Cline returned Rubin’s $500 donation, almost ten months after receiving it and approximately six months after the confidential presentation. Four days later, on June 16, the county quietly posted its draft data center moratorium. Why did the contribution suddenly become unacceptable at that particular moment?

On June 30, the commissioners adopted their dog-and-pony-show moratorium. That same day, the owners of the Martin Farm property sought annexation into Hagerstown. The annexation proposal covers roughly 172 acres, where the county’s moratorium would not apply. We find that timing difficult to dismiss as coincidence. It does not prove coordination, but it absolutely warrants releasing communications about the moratorium and annexation.

By September 30, Washington County set criteria for data center development. Residents were watching the rules take shape after years of recruitment and months of undisclosed developer discussions and being deceived.
The commissioners should explain when each of them first learned of Diversified Capital’s data center plans, what was presented on December 9, and whether officials discussed annexation as a way to move the property outside the moratorium. The broader record makes their supposed ignorance increasingly implausible. Either they knew far more than they told residents, or they failed to understand a development effort their own county government was helping promote. Neither explanation is much of a campaign platform.


r/hagerstown • • 2d ago

Recommendations for kitchen counters?

2 Upvotes

I'm in need of new kitchen counters. Who have you used that you can recommend? Who would you avoid? I do't know where to start.


r/hagerstown • • 3d ago

Any good boxing gyms in or around here ?

3 Upvotes

r/hagerstown • • 5d ago

Washington County Calling All WashCo Area Gamers!

13 Upvotes

PRIOR PERMISSION GRANTED BY HAGERSTOWN MOD TEAM! THANKS AGAIN!

r/WashCoGaming is a place for the greater Washington County area community who enjoy video games and similar media to discuss current news, meet new gaming friends, talk about local game spots, trends, and much more.

We’d love to have you join our discussions and bring our local/and online community together. So even if you’re mildly interested consider joining and giving us your two cents!


r/hagerstown • • 5d ago

Washington County Commissioner Jeff Cline Promises Data Centers Won’t Cause Water Shortages. Also, We’re Going to Need More Water.

Thumbnail
blog.hagerstownrapidresponse.com
63 Upvotes

A data center developer’s campaign donation, a meeting under an NDA, and a no-bid contract for an old friend. But please, residents, remember your decorum.

Recently, the Herald-Mail published Washington County Commissioner candidates’ responses to a handful of questions, and Commissioner Jeff Cline’s contribution was to mention the moratorium, suggest recycling water, shove energy back into the grid, and leave out his own dealings with a data center developer.
In one question, candidates were asked to share their thoughts regarding whether Washington County should allow data centers and what restrictions or requirements should be placed on them.

Commissioner Cline’s response:
“Currently, Washington County Government has a moratorium on Data Centers. Data Centers should be required to place energy back in the grid to assure no increase in electric bills to the public. Water consumption from Data Centers should be recyclable, limited to prevent any shortfall in daily consumption and economic development. Location and setbacks from residential neighborhoods should be considered.”

His solution is about as serious as he is a commissioner, which becomes considerably more obvious when you compare those answers with his actual record.

Start with the dog-and-pony-show moratorium he so helpfully mentions. It only applies to unincorporated Washington County, a rather substantial limitation the County failed to highlight in its original announcement. In addition to that, the commissioners can vote to end it at any time they want, which will presumably happen right after the election in November. Meanwhile, as we first reported, Diversified Capital is seeking to annex roughly 172 acres into Hagerstown, where that moratorium would not apply.

In an October 5 Herald-Mail interview, Diversified Capital’s CFO, Moshe Rubin, decided to play coy and pretend that a decision has not been made about whether the property his company is developing specifically for a data center is in fact going to be a data center. Laughably, Rubin wants the public to know it is “under serious consideration” but that no decisions have been made. This, of course, is coming from the CFO of a company which describes itself as having a “portfolio of investments including a data center development project in Washington Count, Maryland.” Residents are being reassured with a county moratorium while a developer pursues annexation into a jurisdiction outside its reach.

Cline has already met Rubin, but if the Herald-Mail is your only news source, you would not know this. As we previously reported - and informed Herald-Mail reporter Julie Greene about the day we reported it - Rubin donated $500 to Cline’s campaign in August of 2025 and then just a handful of months later was having a private land deal meeting with the Washington County Commissioners, County Administrator Michelle Gordon, Business Development Director Jonathan Horowitz (currently on Maryland’s Data Center Alliance Steering Committee), and Zack Fritz, COO of Sage Policy Group (a Baltimore-based, pro-data center consulting pushing for data centers in Maryland), the project’s land-use attorney and former Maryland Lieutenant Governor Boyd Rutherford, and others. And all are bound by an NDA.


r/hagerstown • • 6d ago

Hagerstown Volunteer opportunities

6 Upvotes

I am unable to work do to OCD so I’m figuring volunteer work. What are some good places that are possibly looking?


r/hagerstown • • 9d ago

Say Yes to Recess Maryland

16 Upvotes

Hi! Maryland mom here advocating for MORE RECESS TIME for our children!

Currently, most Maryland elementary schools only recommend 20-30 minutes of recess per day. This varies by school and county, with some counties recommending as little as 15 minutes of recess per day.

Join us as we call on policymakers to guarantee Maryland students 60 minutes of recess every school day!

You can help by SIGNING OUR PETITION and following us on Facebook and Instagram!

Petition- https://c.org/Mz2ZxjfGX4

Facebook- Say YES to RECESS Maryland

Instagram- sayyestorecessmaryland


r/hagerstown • • 9d ago

Forester moving from central WI to western MD. Sell me on Hagerstown.

5 Upvotes

Hey everybody. I'm 28, finishing a forestry degree in Wisconsin this December, and recently accepted a job offer for a Habitat Forester position that'll have me moving to Western Maryland in January. My job is remote but involves fieldwork throughout the region (Garrett, Allegany, Washington, Frederick and Carroll Counties), so the more I stare at a map, the more Hagerstown starts making sense as a home base. TL;DR at the bottom.

My fiancée (34F) will be staying in Wisconsin until our wedding next August and joining me afterwards. Frostburg/Cumberland are probably our frontrunners right now, but Hagerstown's location is hard to ignore. Zillow, Google Maps and citywide stats/rankings never give you the whole story. So what's Hagerstown actually like to live in, where should we look, and what do people who live there genuinely like and dislike about it?

We're pretty easily entertained. I'm 28 going on 60. Nature, birding, kayaking/water in general, foraging, farmers markets, old architecture, reading, occasional live music and weird local stuff are much more our speed than nightlife, clubs or trendy restaurants. We're both practicing Catholics, so finding a good parish community would be a major plus too. Politically, we're not about the whole MAGA thing, but we currently live in central Wisconsin, so we're used to it. It hasn't really been an issue. We're not particularly concerned with fitting into a totally red or totally blue area, because we probably wouldn't fit squarely in either.

I do have to ask the obligatory safety question. My fiancée is considerably more apprehensive about moving somewhere unfamiliar than I am. I'm aware it's an economically depressed area, and that that can often bring issues. While some of what I've heard about Hagerstown sounds a bit dicey on paper, I'm aware that reputations can be exaggerated and citywide statistics don't necessarily tell you what living on a particular block is actually like.

I'm just trying to distinguish "rough around the edges but perfectly livable" from "I don't want my 5'1" preschool-teacher wife walking the dog here." For people who live in Hagerstown, especially women, where would you look, and where would you avoid?

Housing-wise, I'll be making about $55k with no car payment, and would ideally like to stay around $1,100–1,300/month. A small house, duplex or townhouse with something resembling a lawn would be ideal since we'd eventually like a dog, but we're flexible. She'll probably eventually find work as a teacher or para at a school nearby, but we'd like her to have a few months after the wedding to settle in and find her niche rather than taking the first job she can find. So I'm budgeting based on my income alone. We're fine with living outside Hagerstown proper.

Beyond the risk assessment, sell me on the place. What's actually cool about Hagerstown that I'm not going to find by Googling it? Favorite parks, neighborhoods, bookstores, restaurants/bars, local events, weird institutions, outdoor spots, whatever. If there's a weird little museum that seems like someone's obsession, a decent mountain biking or kayaking spot, a local festival everybody knows about or a cool place I can disappear into for two hours, I want to hear about it. What would you actually miss if you moved away?

Give me the good, the bad and the ugly. I'm aware of how economically depressed it's been, but I also know that it gets caricatured a lot and that the full story is more nuanced than how it gets portrayed.

TL;DR: I'm a 28-year-old forester and recent grad moving to Maryland from central Wisconsin. Considering Hagerstown. My fiancée and I are outdoorsy, bookish, practicing Catholics and more interested in community and nature than nightlife. ~$55k single-income budget temporarily, hoping for $1,100–1,300 rent and potentially a dog. Where would you choose to live, where would you avoid, and most importantly, what do you enjoy about Hagerstown that an outsider would overlook?


r/hagerstown • • 10d ago

Hagerstown Got jokes? Or just need a good laugh? Either way, we’ve got you covered! Join us at The Hub Pub on Monday, Oct 5th & Oct 19th for Monday Night Open Mic!

Post image
9 Upvotes

r/hagerstown • • 12d ago

Local Social Media Site (townie)

Thumbnail townie.social
12 Upvotes

**the invite link is canceled. Too much of a spam/box risk. If you are interested, DM me or use the contact form on the site. www.Townie.Social *\*

Hey all, Matt here, the Mods gave me the OK to share this, so here goes.

A while back I deleted all my social media. It was rotting my brain. Endless scrolling, ads, rage bait, and barely anything from people I actually know. Lately I've been thinking about the good old days of MySpace and early Instagram, when you logged on to see what your friends were up to and that was it.

So I built one. It's called townie.social. It's centered on Hagerstown, but it's for all of Washington County and the neighbors around us too: Frederick, Franklin and Berkeley Counties. And out of townies are always welcome. I made it because I wanted a social site I'd actually look forward to using.

It looks and feels like those old sites. You get your own page, a guestbook, friends, and a feed of what's going on around town, newest first. No algorithm deciding what you see, no ads from outside companies, nobody tracking you or selling your info.

A few things I care about with it:

  • Real people, real names. It's meant to feel like your actual community, not a comment section.
  • Lifting up local businesses. Local places get their own space on the site, so you can find them and see what they're up to, without it cluttering up your friends' posts.
  • Getting off the screen. There's a "porch light" you can flip on when you're up for hanging out or grabbing a bite, so friends know to reach out.
  • Invite only. Everyone who joins is invited by someone, and their page says who. Anyone who joins via the link, will have my real name on their page as the person who invited them.

Here's the honest part: I'm not looking for a big pile of sign-ups. A site like this only works if people actually show up, post what they're up to, and say hi to each other. So if you'd make a page, check in now and then, and post once in a while, I'd really love to have you. If you'd sign up and never come back, no hard feelings, but please leave the spot for someone else who is interested in giving it an honest try and using their real name.

I've opened 25 spots with the link attached to this post, and the link will be good for 5 days. If it fills up and you're interested, DM me here or use the Contact tab on the site. If this picks up and people like it, I'll setup an email service.

It's free, and it's just me running it. If something's broken or you have an idea, let me know. I'll be in the comments, @ me.

The site is for 18+, no exceptions.


r/hagerstown • • 12d ago

Hagerstown Parks with evergreens?

2 Upvotes

I am wondering if anyone has any suggestions for places to do some photos in November? My inlaws are coming to meet their first Great grandchild. And we want to do family pictures. I have a photographer coming from out of town. But I need suggestions for local places I could get some good family photos of like 10ish people in multiple groupings. So I'm looking for a place that I can do with still green. Or still work for photos.

Any suggestions I would appreciate


r/hagerstown • • 13d ago

Washington County Calling All WashCo Gamers!

12 Upvotes

DISCLAIMER: post approved by Hagerstown mod team. Thank you!

Hello all! I’ve created r/WashCoGaming for the Washington county/4-state area community to discuss all things video game related. If you have any interest in gaming, retro gaming, gaming news, PC’s and PC hardware/software and much more come on over and join us. Come find your next gaming buddy or just join the conversations. I’ve got some interesting topics planned over the coming weeks and I’d love to read your responses. Please make sure as with most subs you check out the rules and we’ll look forward to hearing from you!


r/hagerstown • • 14d ago

Hagerstown Hagerstown Won’t Tell Us Who Signed an NDA With Data Center Developer Diversified Capital.

Thumbnail
blog.hagerstownrapidresponse.com
100 Upvotes

We asked the City for records showing who entered into confidentiality agreements with the developer connected to the Martin Farm property. Hagerstown’s answer: You get nothing.

Multiple Hagerstown City employees told us that a City representative signed a nondisclosure agreement with data center developer Diversified Capital. We filed a Maryland Public Information Act request seeking the agreement and related records. Unfortunately, the City of Hagerstown has refused to provide a single record in response to our request.

Diversified Capital is the data center developer which now owns the 171.88-acre Martin Farm property at 12440 Burkholder Lane, a site that has been marketed for a major data center project and is now seeking annexation into Hagerstown. The county’s data center moratorium does not apply inside the City - or any incorporated municipality in Washington County- and is generally viewed as a dog-and-pony-show created in an effort to give cover to the county commissioners before the November election. This makes it especially important for residents to know what conversations, commitments, and confidentiality agreements may already exist between the developer and the city of Hagerstown.

We submitted a detailed MPIA request seeking any NDA, confidentiality agreement, confidentiality provision, or similar arrangement involving the City and Diversified Capital, Diversified Capital subsidiaries, Diversified Capital Moshe Rubin, or anyone acting on their behalf. We also asked for records identifying every City employee, elected official, consultant, attorney, or representative who signed, approved, reviewed, negotiated, or was subject to one of those agreements.

The City refused to turn over the agreements. It did not identify the officials involved. It did not provide correspondence explaining the decision to enter into secrecy with a developer connected to one of the most consequential development proposals facing Hagerstown.

Instead, the City’s legal department gave us nothing but noticeably did not say an NDA with data center developer Diversified Capital does not exist.

That silence matters because we already know how this kind of secrecy works in Washington County. As we previously reported, Washington County Commissioners and senior staff signed NDAs connected to a confidential December 2025 presentation involving Diversified Capital. The public was left to learn about that agreement in one of our blog posts months later, while officials publicly discussed data centers, tax breaks, moratoriums, and development policy as though the public had been brought into the conversation.


r/hagerstown • • 13d ago

Bird vets in the area?

8 Upvotes

I recently let my child talk me into getting a bird that a friend of his had that needed to be rehomed, so now we have a green conure. Are there any vets in the area that can see birds? Are there any to stay away from?


r/hagerstown • • 13d ago

A Maryland mother’s deportation to Vietnam forces an agonizing choice

Thumbnail
thebanner.com
3 Upvotes

r/hagerstown • • 14d ago

Hagerstown Car mechanic

6 Upvotes

Help a girl out, to my dad's disappointment I am not mechanically inclined when it comes to cars lol

I have a 2017 Nissan rogue with a few issues going on so I'm not even sure where to start if I should be looking at us small like independent mechanic or just go to a dealership if I should try to get multiple things done at once or spread them all out....

In order of urgency:

1)Brakes -making a grinding sound

2)Wheel bearings -everyone keeps telling me there going bad

3)Intake exhaust manifold - issues where I lose all acceleration but from what I understand I think the part it's been discontinued

4)AC - I think this one might be more electrical in nature and tied to my faulty temperature gauge but this is a least concern to me I've gone a few years without it

Brakes are the most important to me right now possibly the wheel bearings depending on how bad they actually are.

Recommendations of places I could go for this to get in and out pretty quickly? What type of pricing am I looking at and independent mechanic shops offer financing like dealerships do?


r/hagerstown • • 17d ago

Flock cameras

38 Upvotes

What's the deal with all the Flock cameras popping up, Lowes just got more. How is anyone ok with this ?


r/hagerstown • • 17d ago

Hagerstown Officiants?

11 Upvotes

Hey all - I'm looking for a marriage officiant available on Halloween morning for an elopement. It's supposed to be very chill - just one guest at the C&O Canal. I got quoted $400 and I gotta be honest, I'm on disability and that's quite a bit of money. Our main focus is getting the date (a Saturday, so the court is closed) and having the officiant submit the paperwork. I hate the online officiant directories because they're all expensive people meant to make a formal event special - my wedding will be special because I'm getting married lol

Anyone know any officiants that can let us say our vows and get the paperwork done for (much) less? I'd prefer someone that has some experience submitting everything.


r/hagerstown • • 17d ago

Hagerstown Meritus

8 Upvotes

What’s happening in Meritus right now? Lots of police activity from what I hear


r/hagerstown • • 18d ago

RIP 🙏

Thumbnail
gallery
38 Upvotes

Love, peace and prayers for the family and friends and to any and all who knew him 🙏🪽