Hogan pledges $7M for western Maryland city's downtown

HAGERSTOWN, Md. (AP) — Gov. Larry Hogan played Santa Claus on Thursday, pledging $7 million over five years to help the western Maryland city of Hagerstown with a downtown revitalization plan anchored by educational and arts institutions.

The Republican governor even sang "Jingle Bells" with scores of students from the Barbara Ingram School for the Arts, a public high school that opened in 2009.

Students at the arts high school now take academic classes in the university center and perform at the 1,300-seat theater.