Articles

NEW FOR THURSDAY: Independent Report Confirms Divide In OC Public Safety Operations

OCEAN CITY -- An independent review of Ocean City’s emergency services dispatch system has confirmed the town has a major communication problem involving two key public safety departments. The International City/County Management Association’s (ICMA) Center for Public Safety Management was commissioned by Ocean City last year to conduct an in-depth analysis of the town’s emergency services dispatch operation as a result of the town “facing a decision regarding the future...READ MORE

NEW FOR THURSDAY: Decatur Graduate Honored With Medal For Role In Daring Rescue In Thailand

BERLIN -- An Ocean City native and Stephen Decatur High School graduate, now an experienced U.S. Army Blackhawk helicopter pilot serving in Korea, was honored last week with a Joint Service Commendation Medal after piloting his aircraft and leading his crew on a daring rescue of seven U.S. Marines last month. U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer Adam McDonough, a 1993 Stephen Decatur graduate and former high school quarterback, was honored for piloting a Blackhawk helicopter during the precarious...READ MORE

NEW FOR THURSDAY: Council Balks At Approving More OCPD Tasers

OCEAN CITY – The Mayor and City Council was torn this week between spending funds available in this fiscal year’s budget to purchase eight additional Tasers for the Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) or wait to prioritize expenditures when the budget picture clears. OCPD Captain Gregory Guiton came before the council, with Mayor Rick Meehan, Council President Lloyd Martin and Councilman Joe Mitrecic out of town attending the National Hurricane Conference, to discuss the OCPD’s...READ MORE

NEW FOR WEDNESDAY: OC Police Break Up Pot Growing Operation

OCEAN CITY -- An Ocean City man faces numerous drug charges this week after an OCPD narcotics unit raid on his residence Tuesday evening revealed an alleged marijuana growing operation including over 100 plants. Around 6 p.m. on Tuesday, the OCPD Narcotics Unit executed a search and seizure warrant on a residence on Sunset Drive in Ocean City following an investigation into the illegal manufacturing and distribution of marijuana in and around the resort area. During the on-scene investigation,...READ MORE

NEW FOR TUESDAY: Ocean City, Dew Tour Outline June Event Expectations

OCEAN CITY – The town of Ocean City is starting to feel the heat as this summer approaches with a crammed schedule of events. Last week several private event requests were scheduled under the Mayor and City Council’s legislative consent agenda when most of them were removed to discuss in further detail. Up first, Chris Prybylo of Alli Sports requested approval of the 2013 Dew Tour. The Dew Tour’s stop in Ocean City this summer is June 20-23 when professional BMX, skateboarders...READ MORE

NEW FOR MONDAY: Prosecutors Drop Death Penalty Bid In Local Murder Case After Legislature’s Repeal

SNOW HILL -- In what is likely one of the first reversals of its kind, the Worcester County State’s Attorney’s Office last week withdrew its intent to seek the death penalty for the accused murderer of a Delaware woman just days after state lawmakers voted to repeal the death penalty in Maryland. Last August, a Worcester County grand jury indicted Matthew N. Burton, 29, of Dagsboro, on eight counts including first-degree murder and first-degree rape in the death of Nicole Bennett,...READ MORE

NEW FOR MONDAY: Snow Hill Kindergarten Teacher Honored With County Prize

OCEAN CITY -- The 2013 and 26th annual Worcester County Teacher of the Year (TOY) is Karen Eure, a kindergarten teacher at Snow Hill Elementary School (SHES). “I am stunned and amazed to be here to represent the most wonderful group of teachers anywhere in the country,” said Eure after the award was announced Friday. “You are the ones who make our job the best job in the world.” Eure has been teaching at SHES since 1987 and has “enjoyed the ever-changing world of...READ MORE

Ocean City Holds Off On Ad Campaign Advocating For Post-Labor Day School Start

OCEAN CITY – A potential advertising campaign to gain support for pending state legislation that would have schools start after Labor Day was postponed this week to avoid any kind of conflict with the political arena. Last week Ocean City Mayor Rick Meehan testified before the Maryland Senate about the benefits associated with schools going back in session after Labor Day and extending the summer season for another week. This week city officials returned to Annapolis to testify over the...READ MORE

Minimum Wage Hike Rejected

BERLIN -- The latest effort to significantly raise the minimum wage in Maryland died late Wednesday when the Senate Finance Committee voted 8-3 to kill the legislation. Early on in the current General Assembly session, Senator Robert Gariagiola (D-Montgomery) and Delegate Aisha Braveboy (D-Prince George’s) joined the advocacy group Raise Maryland for a rally in Annapolis announcing proposed legislation aimed at increasing Maryland’s current minimum wage from the current $7.25 to $10...READ MORE

City Awards Ice Cream Truck Franchise Despite Objections

OCEAN CITY – A new ice cream truck vendor has been chosen in Ocean City, despite other potential franchisees asking for the decision to be postponed. This week the Mayor and City Council scheduled bid openings for the recent vacated vehicle vending franchise, more specifically the roaming ice cream trucks that work Ocean City. The franchise will be a term for four years with only one franchise holder. The franchise holder is limited to a maximum of six trucks. The bids had to be submitted...READ MORE

Worcester Files Motion To Dismiss Equal Pay Suit

BERLIN -- Worcester County this week filed a motion to dismiss a lawsuit filed last August alleging the now-defunct Liquor Control Board (LCB) violated the federal Equal Pay Act by paying female employees at retail outlets less than their male counterparts in the same positions. Last August, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) filed the suit in U.S. District Court. The complaint outlines an alleged pattern by the old LCB of undercompensating female retail clerks at the...READ MORE

Wicomico Seeks To Ease Business Tax Requirements

SALISBURY – Wicomico County is looking to relieve frustration among businesses by exempting manufacturing equipment under certain conditions when determining a company’s assessed value. The Wicomico County Council introduced legislation Tuesday to exempt from county property taxation manufacturing equipment under certain conditions by reducing the percentage of the assessed value subject to county property tax from 100 percent to 0 percent. Director of Administration Wayne Strausburg...READ MORE

Storm Leaves County Facing $250K In Park Damage

SNOW HILL -- Due to stringent Little League regulations, the loss of one lighting pole in a storm earlier this month at John Walter Smith Park means no more Little League night games can be played at the location until the entire lighting system is replaced, a cost of about $250,000. For the time being, the Worcester County Commission has decided to hold off on the replacement, instead suggesting that Little League games be held during the day for the time being. “On Thursday, March 7,...READ MORE

Worcester Looking To Address $7.3M Budget Gap

SNOW HILL -- A first look at Worcester County’s proposed Fiscal Year 2014 Operating Budget shows an increase of over $800,000 in estimated revenue but an anticipated budget shortfall of $7,374,149. “Based on current tax rates, revenues are estimated to be $166.7 million,” Chief Administrative Officer Gerald Mason explained to the County Commission Tuesday. “Requested operating expenses are $174.1 million which leaves a shortfall of $7.4 million which must be reconciled...READ MORE

MARP Program Issues Advice For Seal Sightings

OCEAN CITY -- With more and more beached seal sightings and strandings in and around the resort area, the National Aquarium’s Marine Animal Rescue Program (MARP) coordinator this week briefed the Maryland Coastal Bays Program and other allied agencies on the appropriate response and reinforced the message the public should report sightings but generally leave the animals alone. Largely due to a variety of natural and man-made causes, seals, sea turtles and other creatures not typically...READ MORE

Questions Abound Over Offshore Wind Bill’s Passage

OCEAN CITY -- After three failed attempts in prior sessions, Governor Martin O’Malley’s Offshore Wind Energy Act of 2013 was officially approved late last week, but it remains to be seen if the legislation is merely symbolic or if a vast wind energy farm off the coast of Ocean City will become a reality. Last Friday, the House approved O’Malley’s offshore wind energy bill by a vote of 88-48 after reconciling some of the amendments attached to the legislation by the...READ MORE

Waterkeeper Motion Maintains Hudson Farm Case ‘Not Frivolous’

BERLIN -- The unsuccessful plaintiffs in a civil suit against a Berlin farm family and Perdue this week filed a motion asking the court not to award the defendants a combined $3 million being sought in legal fees and other costs associated with litigating the case. In March 2010, the New York-based Waterkeeper Alliance, along with the Assateague Coastal Trust and the Assateague Coastkeeper, filed suit in U.S. District Court against Perdue and Berlin’s Hudson Farm after sampling in ditches...READ MORE

Major Skimmer Island Restoration Project Underway

OCEAN CITY -- Work began this week on the dredging of a navigation channel at the entrance to a West Ocean City marina in a plan that includes depositing the dredged material on Skimmer Island just north of the Route 50 bridge in an effort to restore critical nesting habitat for a handful of threatened species. In a continuation of a project that began two years ago, the Maryland Coastal Bays Program, in conjunction with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR), the Ocean City Fishing...READ MORE

School Resource Officer Proposal Could Cost $1.6M In First Year

SNOW HILL -- A trained, active School Resource Officer (SRO) is a necessity in every Worcester County Public School facility, said Worcester County Sheriff Reggie Mason this week, but it will come with a steep cost ranging from $600,000 to $1.6 million depending on the county’s preferred course of action. “No child should feel in danger when attending our schools,” Mason told the Worcester County Commissioners Tuesday. “Our children need to be learning, not sitting there...READ MORE

Table Games At Casino Still Under ‘Consideration’

SNOW HILL -- Table games at the Casino at Ocean Downs are under “serious consideration,” according to General Manager Joe Cavilla, but there are no concrete plans in place currently. Cavilla was on hand during this week’s Local Development Council (LDC) meeting to update the group on what’s new with Ocean Downs. He said improvements are being made to parking and the race track. Additionally, Cavilla confirmed that casino revenue this year has been “flat” with...READ MORE

Fire Chief Supports Private Meetings With Employees

OCEAN CITY -- As City Manager David Recor holds private talks with members of the Ocean City Fire Department (OCFD) this month, Fire Chief Chris Larmore has made it clear he is not worried about what his superior is going to hear from his personnel. With questions continuing to abound about general operations with the OCFD and at least two internal investigations being conducted -- one by the city’s labor law firm, Miles & Stockbridge, and another less formal one by Recor and Human...READ MORE

County’s Rezoning Decision Overturned In Court

BERLIN -- A visiting Worcester County Circuit Court judge this week overturned last year’s controversial property rezoning decision by the Worcester County Commissioners, but an attorney for the property’s owners has confirmed the ruling on the land off Route 589 will be appealed. The roughly 30-acre parcel near Ocean Pines is owned by Jack Burbage through Burbage-Melson Inc. It currently exists in an A-1 agricultural zone. In August of 2012, after months of hearings and discussion,...READ MORE

‘Lucky Summer’ Campaign Planned For Ocean City

OCEAN CITY – This summer in Ocean City will be the “Lucky Summer of ’13” as the town will continue to focus its message on deals, discounts and free events. The town’s advertising agency, MGH, reveled last Friday during a Tourism Commission meeting this summer’s marketing campaign will be called “Lucky Summer of ’13”. Last summer the Ocean City advertised the “Summer of Thanks” that highlighted the value in vacationing in Ocean...READ MORE

Awareness Key With Potential Grant Program

SNOW HILL -- A joint application has been filed with Worcester County and the Anne Arundel Economic Development Corporation (AAEDC) seeking to access potentially millions of dollars in small and minority owned business account grant funds. According to Worcester County Economic Development Director Bill Badger, the application has a high probability for success. If funds are received, however, Badger stressed that it will be up to the county to get the word out to businesses owners who could...READ MORE

Concessions Proposed In Casino Liquor Squabble

BERLIN -- One week after a dust-up over potential legislation allowing the Casino at Ocean Downs to serve alcohol 24 hours a day and a subsequent proposal to move up the sunset provision for the county Department of Liquor Control’s (DLC) wholesale operation, it appears the parties involved are closer to a solution amenable to everyone. Last week, feathers were ruffled when it was learned an amendment could be added to a bill in the General Assembly addressing other issues related to...READ MORE

Resort Adapting Advertising Buys To Reflect Market; Officials See Cautious Opportunity With Jersey Recovery

OCEAN CITY – Most of the resort’s competition to the north will not be up to par this summer following the unfortunate damage left by Hurricane Sandy, and Ocean City tourism officials are cautiously looking to remind Jersey shore visitors what lies a few hours to the south. Following a Tourism Commission meeting last Friday when the town’s advertising firm, MGH, presented recommended media advertising buys for the upcoming summer season, MGH President Andy Malis returned...READ MORE

More Detailed Tourism Data Eyed

OCEAN CITY – Several suggestions are currently being weighed in the hopes of using other measures than Demoflush as the town’s primary tourism metric. The Tourism Commission met for the first time in over two years last Friday, and Council Secretary Mary Knight was elected chair with a unanimous vote. Among those in attendance were representatives from the Mayor and City Council, department heads, the town’s advertising agency, MGH, the Ocean City Hotel-Motel-Restaurant...READ MORE

Off-Duty Officer’s Gun Swiped In Hotel Burglary

OCEAN CITY -- A Bridgeville, Del. man was arrested on numerous charges last weekend after allegedly swiping a handgun from the hotel room of a federal officer and firing the weapon in the room before being nabbed on the Boardwalk a short time later. Around 11:15 p.m. last Saturday, Ocean City Police responded to the Comfort Inn on the Boardwalk in response to a burglary and the theft of an off-duty federal law enforcement officer’s handgun. OCPD officers arrived at the scene and met with...READ MORE

Ocean City Hotel Using Spring To Boost Efficiency

OCEAN CITY -- Gearing up for the summer season, the Clarion Resort Fontainebleau Hotel in Ocean City is spending the spring becoming more energy efficient through the installation of new LED lighting in all public areas as well as more effective skylights over the hotel’s indoor pool. The replacement of traditional fluorescent lights with new LED bulbs began in mid-March with project completion expected by the end of the month. “It’s a huge energy savings,” said General...READ MORE

Mitch Scott Remembered; ‘He Just Lived To Help Others’; Services Set For This Weekend

OCEAN CITY -- The Ocean City area lost a giant last weekend when Mitch Scott, best known for his remarkable charitable efforts in the community, lost his battle with a lengthy illness on Sunday. Mitchell Kevin Scott, 56, of Ocean City, who was the CEO of Great Scott Broadcasting and its fleet of area radio stations, passed away at his home in Ocean City last Sunday, after a lengthy battle with leukemia. Scott officially presided over a large, multi-station broadcasting company in Ocean City and...READ MORE