Let’s take a look inside some numbers that have been in the news recently:
· 70: Approximate number of former New York City subway cars that the Ocean City Reef Foundation has raised enough money to purchase so far. The end goal is to sink about 600 of the cars off the coast of Ocean City to better offshore fishing.
· 50: Miles the released harbor seal Secca had traveled as of Monday morning since her release on Monday, March 3. She was reportedly located around the mouth of the Delaware Bay.
· 25: Years separating potential presidential election foes John McCain, 71, and Barack Obama, 45. It’s the largest margin ever between two candidates.
· 138,000: The unofficial total raised for charity by the Ocean City Parrothead Club’s Mardi Gras Carnival. Congratulations to all those who participated. What a huge success.
· 32: Percentage of Americans between the ages of 25 and 29 who have a tattoo, according to a Harris Poll. The number was 25 percent for those in their 30s and 12 percent for those in their 40s.
· 42: Millions of dollars Mitt Romney reportedly spent of his own money on his failed presidential election bid. Romney’s total was no where near the amount Ross Perot dumped into his campaign.
· Two: Number of times per school year children in Georgia are to be weighed under a new state law requiring schools to post the weight information on a website.
· 50: Percentage of Americans who are reportedly unable to save because they are living paycheck to paycheck, according to USA Today.
· 18: Years since the price of a barrel of oil surpassed $103.76 as it did last week.
· 65,000: Dollars Diakonia needs from the county to continue operating until the start of the new fiscal year in July. Of its 2007 revenues, Ocean City contributes 4 percent from its budget, while Worcester County allocates 7 percent.
· 7,001: Dollars a Pennsylvania man bid for a beach stand on 11th Street. The second highest bid for that parcel came in at $800, leading to the man’s request to withdraw his winning bid. The City Council rejected that request.
· 42: Mike Baylis’ age when he passed away in Ocean City. Baylis was well known throughout the local service industry and for many years was a respected member of the management team at Hooters in uptown Ocean City. Many remembered Baylis last Saturday at a service in Berlin. He will be missed.
· 29,852: Dollars an Ocean City police officer earned in overtime in 2007. His base salary was $65,679, bringing his total pay to $95,532.
· 97: Pet photos this newspaper has received over the last two months as candidates for its monthly “Cutest Pet of the Month” contest.
· Eight: Approximate number of weeks the contract post office will remain open inside the Greater Ocean City Chamber of Commerce building on Route 50. The U.S. Postal Service reportedly has plans to seek a new contract facility in the West Ocean City area.
· 76: New contracts written on condominiums in Ocean City in February compared to 62 the same month in 2007.
· 12: Days into April the 2008 Ocean City Half Marathon will be held. Contrary to plans announced earlier, the 13.1-mile route will follow the same course as previous years, starting at the Ocean City Inlet, heading west across the Route 50 bridge and south to Assateague Island.
· Two: Number of Decatur wrestlers who won individual state titles last weekend.
· Four: Baltimore County students who wrote about Ocean City when they were tasked with writing about their favorite places as part of their second-grade curriculum. My favorite lines came from Carleigh Wisner. “A lot of times I build sandcastles. It feels squishy between my fingers. If you ever taste the crunchy salt water, it will be as crunchy as a pizza crust.”
