Articles

County Seeks Resort's Tourism Funds

SNOW HILL - A quarter of a million dollars earmarked for Ocean City Tourism should be directed to Worcester County marketing's efforts, Tourism Director Lisa Challenger said Tuesday, to benefit towns and businesses outside the resort. Challenger requested the change during a Worcester County Commissioners work session Tuesday in which many of the county government departments made their budget requests for the next fiscal year. Ocean City, in addition to funding from the room tax, receives...READ MORE

Polls Say Most Marylanders Support Alcohol Tax Hike

BERLIN - With the release two polls suggesting a great majority of the residents of Maryland support a proposed 'dime a drink' hike, a proposed alcohol tax increase appears to be gaining some momentum in Annapolis, but the measure is still fiercely opposed by business owners in the hospitality-rich resort area. The results of a National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence of Maryland poll released this week suggest 72 percent of Marylanders support a proposed tax increase on alcohol,...READ MORE

Taxi Medallion On Web For Sale

OCEAN CITY •€' It certainly didn't take long, but it also didn't surprise anyone. Just one day after the town sold all 175 taxi medallions last week at $1,500 a pop, one found its way to the web on the popular site Craigslist for $2,000. The ad pitches the medallion as 'a once in a lifetime opportunity to start a taxi business in Ocean City', and was essentially targeted to the handful of people who left City Hall empty handed on March 1, saying 'if you missed out of getting a medallion, I...READ MORE

Texas Teen Extradited To Face Murder Charges In 2007 Case

SNOW HILL - A Texas man is behind bars in Worcester County this week, charged with first-degree murder in the death of Christine Marie Sheddy, a Delaware woman reported missing in Pocomoke in November 2007. Justin Michael Hadel, 19, of College Station, Texas, was extradited to Worcester County this week to face first-degree murder and other charges related to the death of Sheddy, whose remains were uncovered on the grounds of a Snow Hill bed and breakfast on Feb. 19. Hadel appeared in District...READ MORE

Zero-Tolerance Policy Approved For Guns, Booze

OCEAN CITY •€' After weeks of debate, the safest number concerning alcohol, guns and off-duty public safety officials in the eyes of the Police Commission is apparently zero. The Police Commission voted unanimously on Wednesday to instill a zero-tolerance policy to the final section of the new Ocean City Police Department General Order guidelines (200-B2), which will simply mean that off-duty officers will not be permitted to carry a weapon if they have any trace of alcohol in their...READ MORE

Berlin Aims To Follow Md. Standards With Election Laws

BERLIN - As part of an ongoing effort to clean up the Berlin town code and modernize its provisions, some minor changes to Berlin's election laws were introduced this week at Monday night's Mayor and Council meeting. The Berlin Board of Election Supervisors recommended making the changes after reviewing the election laws already on the town books. 'The primary purpose for all these ordinances and resolutions is to modernize the language. In some cases, Berlin's established code uses terms that...READ MORE

Berlin Comp Plan Heads To Council

BERLIN - After years of prep work, the draft of the new Berlin Comprehensive Plan has been given a favorable recommendation by the Berlin Planning Commission. The commission, which met Wednesday night, agreed that the draft comprehensive plan should be sent on to the Berlin Mayor and Council for the next step in the approval process. The state's Maryland Department of Planning reviewed the draft comprehensive plan this fall for comment. Changes related to those comments have been made, said...READ MORE

Berlin Stormwater Change Dependent On State Vote

BERLIN - A new Berlin stormwater ordinance emphasizing the preservation of natural run-off patterns is slated for approval by the town in the next few weeks. The new stormwater approach has been mandated by the Maryland Stormwater Management Act of 2007, which calls for the use of Environmental Site Design (ESD) 'to the maximum extent practicable.' ESD is an approach using nonstructural stormwater management and site design, 'to mimic natural hydrological runoff characteristics and minimize the...READ MORE

County Wants More Private Meeting Rights

SNOW HILL - If legislation to be considered Tuesday passes, county elected officials will legally be able to eliminate or consolidate county departments behind closed doors, as they did in late May when they decided in closed session to fold three departments into one and lay off 11 employees. The proposed law has sparked community concern. 'Good government equals open government, transparency,' said Joe Fehrer, board member and past president of Assateague Coastal Trust (ACT). 'The fact the...READ MORE

Dorchester Murder Trial Opens In County

SNOW HILL - Testimony began in Circuit Court this week in a high-profile murder case from Cambridge dating back to 2004, which was moved to Worcester last year after the state's Court of Special Appeals overturned a conviction and life sentence in 2006 and granted the defendant a new trial. After some pre-trial motions were dispensed with, including issues with victim photographs, DNA evidence and witness testimony, the first-degree murder trial for Richard Lavonte Blanks, 42, of Cambridge,...READ MORE

Experiment To Nix Trash Bins For Three-Block Project Rejected

OCEAN CITY •€' The City Council shot down two new ideas last Monday aimed at furthering efforts in cleaning up Ocean City's beaches, arguing the ideas could have the reverse effect. The local chapter of the Surfrider Foundation has been credited over the past five years as coming up with and executing one of the best slogans for keeping the local beaches clean with the now infamous 'Please Leave Only Your Footprints' campaign. The campaign had humble beginnings as it was created in the...READ MORE

Mayor Would Veto Further Expansion Of Biking Hours

OCEAN CITY •€' Despite extending hours for bicycles to be permitted on the Boardwalk this summer until 11 a.m., the City Council had to deal with yet another conflict concerning bikes and the Boardwalk tram, albeit a small one. City Manager Dennis Dare noticed a potential conflict when the council recently passed an amendment to an ordinance allowing bicycles to operate on the Boardwalk up until 11 a.m. during the summer months and brought that concern before the Mayor and City Council at...READ MORE

Ocean City News In Brief

OCEAN CITY •€' In the brief this week, the town continued its rightsizing efforts, the police department announced it's getting ready to turn on a new 'red light' and an emergency response training session was announced. Departments Restructured Several town departments are about to get a little more crowded as City Hall announced this week that a handful of town departments were being restructured and reorganized in the name of 'right sizing.' The Building Inspections division, which...READ MORE

Questions Raised On Limits Of Energy Assistance Program

BERLIN - Berlin's energy efficiency improvement help program needs more time before the Berlin Mayor and Council is comfortable adding the replacement of old appliances and systems with more energy efficient models to the list of items eligible for reimbursement. The energy audit credit program offers money to homeowners who make repairs or improvements based on energy audits of their homes. Home improvements and materials costing up to $500 qualify for a credit of 50 percent of the amount...READ MORE

Successful Weekend For OC Trade Show, Job Fair

OCEAN CITY •€' Despite unemployment numbers and economic conditions as tumultuous as most can remember, the turnout for two annual events was something organizers will not soon forget. The Roland E. Powell Convention Center was packed with thousands of people last weekend as the Ocean City Hotel-Motel-Restaurant Association's (OCHRMA) Annual Trade Show and the Ocean City Chamber of Commerce's Job Fair welcomed literally thousands of people, vendors and exhibitors. Organizers for both events...READ MORE

Town Of Berlin Notebook

BERLIN - The Berlin Mayor and Council discussed several topics briefly at the March 8 meeting, including the town's new official dessert, a new finance director, commercial recycling in town, sinkholes in town streets and the potential for eco-tourism related manufacturing in Berlin's warehouse spaces. -- As of Monday night, Berlin's official dessert is the Original Peach Dumpling. The council voted unanimously to anoint the dessert as its official sweet treat. The Original Peach Dumpling is the...READ MORE

Wallops Rocket Launch Delayed

BERLIN - Showers and fog early yesterday morning forced NASA officials to scrub the latest significant rocket launch from nearby Wallops, a 30-foot Terrier-Malemute sounding rocket with experimental satellites from different universities around the country attached. For several hours early yesterday, it appeared inclement weather would hold off long enough for NASA's Terrier-Malemute rocket launch at Wallops, which was expected to be visible throughout the mid-Atlantic including the coastal...READ MORE