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Council To Decide Smoking Issue After Hearing

OCEAN CITY •€' There will be no voter questions on the ballot for the upcoming Ocean City municipal election after the council removed three topics from the table. At Tuesday's City Council work session at City Hall, City Clerk Kathy Mathias gave the final query to the voting seven to decide which, if any, questions would be placed on the ballots when local voters go to the polls in October. On the table was a Councilwoman Margaret Pillas-led campaign to put the recent hot button topic...READ MORE

LCB Data Proves Bad Year, Raises More Questions

OCEAN CITY •€' The Liquor Control Board for Worcester County (LCB) admits it made many mistakes, but it adamantly claims recent financial reports prove there was no wrongdoing that should necessitate abolishment. Board member Larry Wilkinson stresses that the quasi- governmental monopoly just had a bad year. As licensees and politicians continue to dissect the county liquor dispensary's 2010 financial reports, LCB Executive Director Brian Sturgeon puffed out his chest in vindication this...READ MORE

Limited Ocean Swimming Likely This Weekend

OCEAN CITY •€' As Hurricane Earl roars just a few hundred miles off the Eastern Seaboard, the question in the back of many people's minds is: will the storm merely delay Labor Day weekend or will it ruin the resort's last big summer weekend completely? Town officials say they know that today is going to be a lousy day in Ocean City as the effects of Hurricane Earl are scheduled to be felt throughout the region by way of 40-50 mph winds, and at least an inch or two of precipitation until...READ MORE

Summer Flounder Stock Rebounded, Feds Say

OCEAN CITY - Federal fisheries officials last week announced the summer flounder stock in the mid-Atlantic region has officially rebounded, resulting in increased quotas in 2011 and perhaps a loosening next year of the regulations that have choked one of the staples of the resort fishing community. After reviewing the second and third wave of catch data collected on summer flounder thus far this year, the federal Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council last week voted to increase the 2011...READ MORE

Suspect Claims He Ran Over Mother By Accident

SNOW HILL - A Pennsylvania man charged with first-degree murder for allegedly running over his elderly mother several times late Tuesday night stuck to his story the incident was just an accident during a bond review hearing in District Court in Snow Hill early yesterday morning. Steven Frederick Molin, 58, of Darby, Pa., charged with first- and second-degree murder and manslaughter in the death of his mother Emily Belle Molin, 85, also of Darby, remained behind bars yesterday after he was...READ MORE

Ban On Lead Fishing Tackle Being Pursued

OCEAN CITY - The federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) last week denied a petition filed by environmental groups seeking a ban on the use of lead in hunting ammunition, but the debate of the use of the toxic substance in fishing tackle such as sinkers and lures continues. Early last month, a coalition of environmental groups, led by the Center for Biological Diversity, filed a formal petition with the EPA seeking a ban on the use of lead in all hunting ammunition and fishing tackle,...READ MORE

Berlin Native's Latest Work Follows Iconic Photographer

OCEAN CITY •€' In less than a month's time, things are going to change drastically for documentary filmmaker and Berlin native John Chester. With the DVD release of his acclaimed documentary 'Rock Prophecies' set for distribution later this month, and widespread airing on PBS soon to follow, the Berlin native who now calls California his home is primed for millions of people to see his moving documentary film, which follows legendary rock and roll photographer Robert Knight on a personal,...READ MORE

Bunting Says Tax Hike Unacceptable, More Jobs Needed

BERLIN - Madison 'Jimmy' Bunting, Jr. will challenge incumbent County Commissioner Linda Busick in the District 6 Republican primary on Sept. 14. The primary is a high stakes election in this District 6. No Democratic candidate emerged in District 6 this election season, leaving the division's highest office to be filled during the Republican primary. The victor would only need to garner more votes than any write-in candidates in the November general election to hold the District 6 commissioner...READ MORE

Busick Wants To See Ongoing Issues Resolved, Goals Reached

BERLIN - One term is not enough to accomplish what she planned, incumbent District 6 Worcester County Commissioner Linda Busick said of her reasons for seeking another term. District 6 will find out who its next County Commissioner will be in less than two weeks, after the only candidates in the race, Busick and challenger Madison 'Jimmy' Bunting, Jr., also a Republican, face each other in the Sept. 14 primary. When Busick, a retired Baltimore County police officer, won her seat in 2006, she...READ MORE

Councilman Embarrassed By Worker Serving Minor Cadet

OCEAN CITY•€' Councilman Joe Hall was put in a precarious position this week as his family's restaurant received a RAAM (Reducing the Availability of Alcohol to Minors) violation for serving an underage cadet alcohol several weeks ago. 'My family and I are extremely embarrassed by what has taken place, and I believe it's the first violation that we've received in over 30 years of having a liquor license in Ocean City, said Hall.  'We plan on going to our hearing next month at the Board...READ MORE

County Murder Conviction Overturned, New Trial Ahead

BERLIN - A Worcester County man found guilty of second-degree murder will get a new trial after the state's Court of Special Appeals this week remanded the case back to Circuit Court after overturning the conviction on appeal. Kendall Irin Northam, now 22, of Pocomoke, was convicted of second-degree murder and first-degree assault in September 2008 for his role in the beating death of Judy Wojcik in an apparent sex for drugs deal gone wrong in a rural area near Pocomoke in January 2008. Northam...READ MORE

Knight's Motion To Extend Ad Agency Contract Stuns Many

OCEAN CITY - Councilwoman Mary Knight has been a staunch supporter of the town's advertising agency MGH since she was elected in 2006, but when she made a motion, reportedly on behalf of the Tourism Commission, to extend MGH's contract for three years at Tuesday's work session, she took the majority of the people in the room by surprise, including MGH President Andy Malis. 'At a recent Tourism Commission meeting, the stakeholders which include the Ocean City Hotel Motel Restaurant Association,...READ MORE

Missing Swimmer Presumed Dead After Major Search

OCEAN CITY - Dangerous rip currents likely claimed the life of a Washington, D.C. man who went missing in the surf at night near 20th Street last Saturday and is presumed drowned. Shortly after 8 p.m. last Saturday, the U.S. Coast Guard received a call about four swimmers in distress just off the beach at 20th Street. Coast Guard Ocean City launched two rescue boats and responded to the scene. By the time the Coast Guard arrived, off-duty Ocean City Beach Patrol officers with the help of a...READ MORE

Report Finds OC Starting Salaries A Bit High

OCEAN CITY - In hopes of getting the so-called 'clear picture' on whether Ocean City's employees are paid too much money, the town's Human Resources Director Wayne Evans was tasked to put together an additional salary study comparing the resort with just the Eastern Shore. Several weeks ago, Evans had given a similar report that showed Ocean City's pay a bit high on the starting salaries, when compared to like jobs across the state, and in competing resort destinations, but Councilman Jim Hall,...READ MORE

Stalled Bishopville Pond Project Gets Funding Boost

BERLIN - The Bishopville Pond project might be back on track with the recent assignment of about $500,000 in state funds to complete the project. Project organizers learned of the additional funds last week. 'It looks like we'll be able to proceed with it,' said Dr. Roman Jesien, science coordinator for the Maryland Coastal Bays Program (MCBP).   County Commissioner Linda Busick, whose district is home to the pond, confirmed that reality. 'We will be seeing the project moving forward. It...READ MORE