It’s rare that Worcester and Wicomico school systems do not agree on closings and delays. Typically, they announce identical decisions and usually around the same time. The exception was Thursday.
Wicomico announced before the end of the work day on Wednesday that its schools were closed on Thursday, while Worcester waited until Thursday morning around 5 to announce a two-hour delay.
I had no problem with that decision, particularly after school being closed for three straight days — two for the snow and one for the holiday. However, I also understand the parents’ concerns expressed on social media about it being too cold for students to stand in the snow at bus stops, some schools not being properly heated and road conditions worsening overnight Wednesday due to the new dusting of snow as well as the heavy winds that blew snow onto roads that were clear the day before.
In this case, the school system just needs to have thick skin. Evaluate the situation in its totality in an objective fashion and understand no matter what decision is made there will be people unhappy and airing their concerns in some fashion.
Although they will never be as lucrative as they once were due to changes in commerce and technology, there does seem to still be money to be made in the beach stand and beach photo franchises. I don’t think the same can be said any longer for the ice cream truck franchise.
The city manages these franchises and charges a flat annual fee to operators for the exclusive right to do business within the city. For the beach stands, the blocks are auctioned by the city in what is essentially a bid process. Some blocks are coveted more than others and this year many of the blocks up for auction did not meet expectations. For example, the stretch of beach between 79th and 81st streets received a bid of $100, compared to the nine-year average of just under $1,000. That’s a sure sign interest is low as well as operator confidence.
In the case of the ice cream truck franchise, which has clearly been struggling for some time, one vendor is historically picked to sell throughout the town but there are rules as far as where it can go, based on the city’s desire to compete unfairly with private businesses. The most recent vendor was paying $71,200 annually. The city was made aware recently that the vendor cannot continue to make those annual payments and is defaulting on the contract, which was for two more summers.
There is a tradition associated with these trucks and beach-goers will certainly recall seeing the man or woman ringing the bell and screaming “ice cream” at the street ends. There was a time when kids would hear the bell, stop in their tracks and head for their parents for cash. Those days are long gone and recent operators have felt the financial pinch of the large payment to the city as well as increasing supply and manpower expenses. Add those expenditures to the fact the demand from the public has waned in recent years and the business model is no longer profitable.
It’s a dying franchise, and the city will at some point have to accept the private sector simply cannot make the numbers work any longer. This could be the case for the scopers and beach stands at some point as well, but it’s certainly true for the ice cream truck in these times.
It seems every day the results of new online lists or polls are being released and a couple of note recently included Ocean City. I am always skeptical of these sorts of listings because the methodology is not always known, but nonetheless they prove interesting.
A listing of the “Top 25 Beaches-United States” was recently compiled by Trip Advisor in its 2015 Travelers’ Choice campaign. Ocean City came in at No. 25. Ranked ahead of Maryland’s beachfront resort were, in order starting with No. 1, Siesta Key, Fla., Saint Peach Beach, Fla., Ka’anapali Beach in Hawaii, Wai’anapanapa State Park in Hawaii, Pensacola Beach, Fla., La Jolla, Calif., Kailua in Hawaii, Clearwater, Fla., St. Augustine, Fla., Panama City Beach, Fla., Hanauma Bay in Hawaii, Poipu Beach Park in Hawaii, Ogunquit, Maine, Hunting Island State Park in Beaufort, S.C., Manini’owali Beach in Hawaii, Race Point Beach in Provincetown, Mass., Newport Beach, Calif., Fort Myers Beach, Fla., Coronado, Calif., Hollywood, Fla., South Beach in Miami, Hanalei Beach in Hawaii, Carlsbad, Calif. and Laguna Beach, Calif.
Another Trip Advisor compilation that featured Ocean City was “13 Family Trip Ideas Everyone Will Love.” Each destination listed on the Trip Advisor website featured a little biography and a link to vacation rentals in that place. In Ocean City’s case, it read, “Ocean City offers endless amounts of friendly family fun from roller coasters to saltwater taffy. Kids will love the pirate-themed waterslides, go-karts and bumper boats along the three-mile boardwalk.”
Other destinations listed were Puerto Vallarta, Chicago, Pensacola Beach, Playa del Carmen, New York City, London, San Diego, Fort Myers Beach, Anaheim, Orlando, Paris and Myrtle Beach.