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Dispensary Admits Mistakes In Liquor Promotion

OCEAN CITY •€' The Liquor Control Board for Worcester County (LCB) admitted it 'made some mistakes' during the Stoli Orange promotion in March that has brought accusations of price discrimination and an alleged comptroller investigation to the forefront. At Wednesday's LCB meeting in Snow Hill, Executive Director Brian Sturgeon conceded that mistakes had been made and that those mistakes had been rectified, but he also contested that he was only trying to help the licensees and in no way...READ MORE

Gulf Spill, Economy Spark Seafood Concerns

OCEAN CITY - While the potential for oil from the ongoing Gulf of Mexico spill reaching Maryland's shore remains a long shot, fear and trepidation is already beginning to affect the state's seafood industry in the height of the summer season. Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley this week convened a roundtable discussion in Ocean City including several of his department heads, Ocean City elected officials, scientists and other stakeholders to discuss the state's preparations for the ongoing Deep Water...READ MORE

Man Dies In North OC Pool

OCEAN CITY - Tragedy struck last week when a 24-year-old Middle River, Md. man died in an unguarded north Ocean City hotel swimming pool, which it was discovered yesterday was required to have a lifeguard on duty at the time. Around 10:30 p.m. last Thursday, James Robert Cullum, 24, of Middle River, was swimming in the pool at the Fenwick Inn in north Ocean City with friends and family when he jumped in and did not come back up. Attempts to resuscitate the victim at the pool were unsuccessful...READ MORE

Mikulski, Kratovil Announce $4M In New Beach Funds

OCEAN CITY •€' Congressman Frank Kratovil said that if Ocean City were to ever go under, so would Maryland. Senator Barbara Mikulski joined Kratovil on the Boardwalk in Ocean City on Monday morning to announce that they had fought to secure roughly $4 million in federal funds for the beach replenishment project, which had come back into the limelight after a November storm destroyed almost half of the dune system (roughly $10 million in damage) in Ocean City. Although the dunes were...READ MORE

Teen Saved From Drowning

Kylie Joson Staff Writer OCEAN CITY - Even when the lifeguards are on duty, you should take caution when swimming in the ocean, but when the lifeguards are not on duty your chances of injury or death dramatically increase. Last Wednesday around 8 p.m., Justin Lowe, 17, of Dagsboro, fractured his fifth cervical vertebrae (neck) when he ran from the beach and dove into the shallow water at the Inlet beach. 'This is the second incident this summer where teenagers were swimming when the lifeguards...READ MORE

'Big Gamble' Paying Off Well For Hooters' Newest Operation

OCEAN CITY •€' Hooters of Ocean City's new 5th Street location might be the new kid on the block as far as Boardwalk businesses go, but in just its third week of being open it's drawing crowds like a seasoned veteran. Hooters Director of Operations Matthew J. Ortt says that the 5th Street location is like 'a new baby that we are prepping for the future,' but he said that the early signs are pointing to a bright one. 'I saw the impact and the potential for this location in about the first 10...READ MORE

A Modest Start Behind Turtle Legacy

T.K. Dickerson Staff Writer WEST OCEAN CITY - If it wasn't for the laid back atmosphere, personalized mugs hanging from the bar and the copious amounts of peanuts, I don't think that I would be able to make the connection from the Greene Turtle today to the place where I sat in the middle of T-shirt racks, being passed crackers by the bartender over 15 years ago. I am no longer four years old, and the Greene Turtle isn't the same small sports bar it was when it was starting out. However,...READ MORE

Berlin Officials Turn Attention To Zoning Code

BERLIN - With Berlin's new Comprehensive Plan now approved, the town must turn its attention to modifying the zoning code to enshrine the plan's vision. At Berlin Administrator Tony Carson's suggestion, the Berlin Mayor and Council agreed to hold a council work session in the future to offer town staff direction and suggestions on the rezoning, which must follow the newly approved Comprehensive Plan. Staff will do the technical work, but the Berlin Planning and Zoning Commission will guide the...READ MORE

Berlin Sewer Work Slightly Behind

BERLIN - One year after starting work on the long-awaited Berlin wastewater treatment plant expansion and improvements at the existing plant site in eastern Berlin, construction is only a few days off schedule. 'They are probably around 12 to 14 days behind on the wastewater treatment plant which is not bad considering the winter we had,' said Berlin Administrator Tony Carson this week. Work had been behind about 20 days as of last month, so crews have made up work, he noted. 'We're looking at...READ MORE

Church, Gulyas Unopposed With Deadline Near

SNOW HILL - With the deadline to file for the upcoming primary and general elections this fall rapidly approaching, the field of candidates for local and state positions has started to take shape in the last week or so, but at least two offices up for grabs are conspicuous by their apparent lack of challengers. The Worcester County Board of Elections late yesterday updated its list of candidates who have filed for election this fall and nearly every one of the state and local seats on the ballot...READ MORE

Gulf Oil Spill Called 'A Wake-Up Call' For Maryland

OCEAN CITY - While the ongoing oil crisis in the Gulf of Mexico nudged past the three-month mark, Gov. Martin O'Malley and several ranking state officials convened in Ocean City this week to discuss plans for potential direct and indirect impacts on the resort and the rest of Maryland. O'Malley and many of his cabinet members, along with Ocean City Mayor Rick Meehan and other local officials, met at Bahia Marina on Tuesday to discuss plans for potential impacts from the gulf disaster in Maryland...READ MORE

Ocean City News in Brief

OCEAN CITY •€' In the brief this week, the dangers of windy days on the beach became a reality for one woman this week and the city may not have to make a move to ban a potentially harmful substance after all. Woman Impaled By Own Beach Umbrella Resort paramedics rushed to 48th Street on Monday afternoon to attend to a 48-year-old Baltimore woman who had been struck in the leg by her own beach umbrella. Ocean City Beach Patrol Captain Butch Arbin said that the woman's umbrella had been...READ MORE

Paint Berlin Event Planned

BERLIN - Artists will take to the streets of Berlin in August for three days of open-air painting in the town's first annual Paint Berlin event. 'We had been thinking about this for a few years. No one else had decided to come up to bat,' said Carol Dorman, assistant administrator of the Worcester County Arts Council. 'Our mission is to promote arts in Worcester County. We thought this was a good chance to do that.' After the three days of Paint Berlin, from Aug. 13-15, the artworks produced...READ MORE

School Master Plan Outlines Possible Future Projects

BERLIN - The design for the Snow Hill High School renovation will need to be updated before the school board seeks funding for the long-planned project. The plan for the renovations was approved and adopted by the state in 2006, and the plan will be 54 months old when the Worcester County school system goes back to the state to request funding. Two years ago, the school board agreed to defer the school's improvements until fiscal year 2013. That plan is still in effect. The plan update would be...READ MORE

School Officials Re-Elected Unless Challengers File

BERLIN - A decade after a controversial referendum vote to change Worcester County's Board of Education from a body appointed by the governor to one elected by the voters of the county, there appears to be little interest in challenging the incumbents in the upcoming election. In 2000, the voters of Worcester County approved by referendum a switch from a school board appointed by the governor to an elected body after months of considerable saber-rattling and gnashing of teeth. In the following...READ MORE

Snapshot Finds Coastal Bays Showing Small Improvement

BERLIN - Maryland's coastal bays watershed earned an overall score of C+ in the 2009 Coastal Bays Report Card, compared to just a C for 2008. 'The good news this year is we're up slightly,' said Dr. Bill Dennison, vice president of science applications at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science. 'It's a snapshot. It's not necessarily a trend. We want you to get an idea of how things are going,' said Maryland Coastal Bays Program Executive Director Dave Wilson at the report...READ MORE

St. Louis Cyclist Ends Journey In Ocean City

When Allen Baumgartner got the key to Ocean City this week, the first thing he wanted to do was jump in the ocean. The next thing he wanted was a hamburger. Baumgartner, a St. Louis, Mo. native, was presented with the key to the city from Mayor Rick Meehan on Monday morning after a two-month journey from St. Louis to Ocean City on a bike. Baumgartner had been biking toward the coast since April 28 on a specially made hand-cycle, in hopes of raising money and awareness for Friedrich's Ataxia, a...READ MORE

Tourney Drama Raises Local Fishing Questions

OCEAN CITY - After a Virginia angler and crew lost over $1 million over the lack of a $30 North Carolina fishing license during the Big Rock Blue Marlin tournament in mid-June, questions have been raised about the need for the proper permits and licenses for anglers as Ocean City rolls into the height of its summer offshore tournament season. On June 14, angler Andy Thomasson and the crew aboard the Virginia-based 'Citation' landed an 883-pound blue marlin on the first day of the Big Rock Blue...READ MORE