Articles

Berlin Bank Repairs Will Close Intersection For Weeks

BERLIN – The intersection of William and Main streets will be blocked for a few weeks once reconstruction work on the PNC Bank in downtown Berlin begins in the near future. “It [construction] could start within a week,” Police Chief Arnold Downing told the Mayor and Council on Monday night. Due to the extensive work needed, Downing explained that the intersection in front of the bank would likely be blocked for a significant amount of time, probably between two and three...READ MORE

LCB Decision Expected Next Week

SNOW HILL – After hearing a proposal from the newly formed Worcester Alliance for Free Market (WAFM) and a rebuttal from the Worcester County Liquor Control Board, County Commission President Bud Church expects the commission to make a ruling regarding the fate of the LCB within the next two weeks. “We’re working on it daily,” Church said this week. Last summer, the LCB came under state scrutiny after allegations of trade code violations were discovered. Since then, the...READ MORE

Bar Crawl Record Confirmed

OCEAN CITY – Almost six months to the day after completing the grueling task, a group of nine friends who successfully completed a trek into the Guinness Book of World Records in Ocean City in July for the most pubs visited by a team during a 24-hour period received word the new record was official. Team organizer John Egan last week received official confirmation of the new record of 102 pubs visited during a 24-hour period from Guinness Book officials after a complicated and stringent...READ MORE

Proposed Resort Bike Week Event Not Happening

OCEAN CITY – A proposed “OC Jam” event during Delmarva Bike Week looks doomed this week. During last week’s Mayor and City Council meeting, Cliff Sutherland, proposed “OC Jam” for the Inlet parking lot to the council as a way for the resort to have an open gathering place for the public during the annual September event. Sutherland is one of the founding members and president of Wild and Wonderful MountainFest motorcycle rally and also organizes JamFest in...READ MORE

City Council Eyes Talks On Pension Changes

OCEAN CITY – The Mayor and City Council had a hiatus this week in advance of next week’s work session that will likely determine whether compromise among this divided group is possible. As of result of Mayor Rick Meehan vetoing seven out of 11 ordinances proposed to cut down on newly hired town employee pay and benefits in order to decrease town expenses, the City Council is to return to discussing the motions on Tuesday in order to meet on common ground. Last week Council President...READ MORE

Shore Lawmakers Weigh In On Social Issues

BERLIN – While the economy and budget issues have dominated the early part of the 2011 General Assembly session, several weighty social issues will soon likely come to bear including a potential resumption of the death penalty and an anticipated debate on same-sex marriages in Maryland. Gov. Martin O’Malley last Friday introduced his proposed 2012 budget and much of the debate in the early phases of the General Assembly has focused on fiscal issues, but there are a handful of...READ MORE

Berlin Power Outages Caused By Faulty Shut Off Device

BERLIN – A malfunctioning piece of equipment is responsible for a series of brief power outages that struck Berlin this week. The device is called a “DPU” and Electric Utility Director Tim Lawrence compared it to a mainframe computer in regards to the duties it performed for the electric department, the most important of which being to shut down systems to prevent damage to the generator in certain situations. With it malfunctioning, however, the power was shut off several...READ MORE

Council Majority Says Ordinances Aimed At Starting Discussions

OCEAN CITY – Though there was no government meeting this week, the extreme philosophical differences among the seven City Council members continue to dominate Ocean City politics. Over the past few months, the Mayor and Council has been divided over a list of 11 ordinances that would decrease newly hired town employee’s pay and benefits and address some changes for current workers as well. The majority of the council, Joe Hall, Brent Ashley, Jim Hall, and Margaret Pillas, set the...READ MORE

County Will Assume $1M Cost To Fund SDAT Office

BERLIN – With Gov. Martin O’Malley introducing his proposed fiscal year 2012 budget last week, it appears on the surface to be a case of good news, bad news for Worcester County in terms of absorbing expenses paid by the state in the past. As promised, O’Malley’s budget introduced last Friday did not include an earlier proposal to shift the teacher pension program off to the counties. The governor’s budget advisors had recommended passing as much as 40 percent of...READ MORE

Home Energy Audit Called Key To Reducing Waste

OCEAN CITY – Maryland homeowners can be reimbursed through federal and state rebate programs to improve energy efficiency. This week the Maryland Coastal Bays Citizens Advisory Committee hosted a presentation on reducing energy waste and rebate programs available to homeowners. Allen Luzak of Total Home Performance has been performing energy audits for 25 years. He said that most homeowners are under the impression that their homes are energy efficient because the builder told them so, as...READ MORE

Group, Berlin May Join Forces On Youth Services

BERLIN – The Worcester Youth and Family Counseling Services (WYFCS) made a presentation to Berlin’s Mayor and Council on Monday in the hopes of forming a partnership with the town. Prior to the meeting, the council had planned on hiring one part-time employee to handle youth services. However, when WYFCS Executive Director Teresa Fields heard about the town’s need, she approached the council about the possibility of having Berlin take the funding it would have used to hire that...READ MORE

Wallops Exercise A Success

OCEAN CITY – Perhaps providing further evidence of a growing presence at Wallops Island, along the coast just south of Assateague, NASA last weekend conducted a significant rocket launch visible in much of the mid-Atlantic area, as part of a joint training exercise with the U.S. Navy. Shortly after 1 a.m. last Saturday, residents and visitors to the resort area still awake were treated to a rare spectacle when the Terrier-Oriole sub-orbital rocket arched its way across the Delmarva sky and...READ MORE

Phillips Wins Governor’s Award

OCEAN CITY – Phillips Foods President and CEO Steve Phillips has been awarded Maryland’s 2011 Governor’s International Leadership Award. The award is the highest honor given in the Maryland business community, according to a press release. Those honored with this award demonstrate creativity and innovative strategies to drive industry leadership and world-class results while positively impacting Maryland’s place on the global stage. Phillips earned a bachelor’s...READ MORE

Stamped Concrete Lane Tops Boardwalk Poll

OCEAN CITY – The town is taking a poll of what material the majority of the public would prefer Ocean City’s famous Boardwalk be renovated with. City Engineer Terry McGean presented the Mayor and City Council last December with three different options to renovate the Boardwalk. The three options are an all wooden board surface, boards with a plain concrete train lane and boards with a stamped concrete train lane to resemble wood. “Option One” will replace the entire...READ MORE

School Officials Await Md. Budget’s Impact

BERLIN – The other shoe dropped last week when Gov. Martin O’Malley introduced his proposed state budget as expected on Friday, but just how far it fell remains uncertain for Worcester County Public Schools officials. Last week, the Worcester County Board of Education introduced its own fiscal year 2012 budget without knowing precisely what to anticipate in terms of state aid. Board officials bemoaned the fact they were required to submit a balanced budget in advance of knowing what...READ MORE

Proposed Carry-In Wine Concept Meets Resistance

OCEAN CITY – A proposed change in state law to allow diners in many jurisdictions to bring their own bottles of wine into licensed establishments appears to be gaining some momentum, but the state’s largest restaurant association remains staunchly opposed to the revised policy. For years, many restaurants across the state, including many in the resort area, allowed diners to bring their own bottles of wine to dinner, but a change in state law a few years back prohibited the practice....READ MORE