OCEAN CITY — In the brief this week, taxis underwent the annual inspection process, the city manager is set to offer another round of cost cutting measures and a bus pilot program is set to go before the Mayor and Council for word on its future.Taxis Get Inspected, Meters TweakedThis week, the Ocean City Police… Read more »

WEST OCEAN CITY – The food pantry at Diakonia homeless shelter has reopened after a fire on March 8.Around 9 p.m. on that Monday night, a small fire sprang up in a utility closet. When a bottle of Lysol fell off a shelf and punctured, the fumes were ignited by the pilot light of a… Read more »

SNOW HILL – Next year, library patrons in Worcester County will have fewer new books and periodicals to peruse.“We took a pretty savage cut there,” said Worcester County Library System Director Mark Thomas.Local libraries must work with less revenue next fiscal year, with little to reduce aside from materials and personnel.The entire county library system… Read more »

OCEAN CITY – A federal lawsuit claiming free speech violations over less than flattering remarks about the management of the Ocean City Municipal Airport, which led to the withholding of a hangar lease at the facility, was formally closed this week when both parties agreed to a settlement.On Jan. 29, Berlin resident and airport regular… Read more »

BERLIN – A new stormwater ordinance mandated by the state would not affect proposed development projects in Berlin, according to town staff.There are no projects in Berlin that have reached a stage where stormwater management has been set, so nothing has to be changed, or grandfathered into the ordinance.“They’re not far enough along that anybody’s… Read more »

FENWICK ISLAND – For the second time in a week, a deceased whale washed up on a local beach, this time in Fenwick Island with similar circumstances surrounding its ultimate demise.On Saturday, March 13, a sub-adult female humpback whale washed ashore in Ocean City first at 5th Street and later at 3rd Street after the… Read more »

OCEAN CITY — If you’ve got a secret or not-so-secret desire to be in show business, you might get your shot in April, as a New York City-based filmmaker is shooting the first season of a new web series in Ocean City.Al Thompson, a former University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) graduate and New York-based… Read more »

ANNAPOLIS – With the 2010 Maryland General Assembly session entering its final stretch, several bills germane to the area finally started moving this week as the deadline for proposed legislation to cross from one chamber to the other rapidly approaches.Crossover Day, or the point in the session calendar when legislation introduced in the House must… Read more »

OCEAN CITY — The Fire Marshal’s office said this week compliance with the town’s carbon monoxide detector law has quadrupled since last fall.Ocean City Fire Marshal Sam Villani told The Dispatch this week he has received compliance reports from 79 percent of the town’s 32,000 dwelling units (up from just 17 percent in September 2009)…. Read more »

OCEAN CITY — The newest layout for the proposed performing arts auditorium at the Roland E. Powell Convention Center could be the key to getting even the harshest naysayers on board with the idea.Convention Center Director Rick Hamilton said a new concept, which he has pitched to the Mayor and Council, the Maryland Stadium Authority,… Read more »