BERLIN – County staff will not see any pay raises in the next budget, elected officials confirmed this week, maintaining a decision made in November, and one said work furloughs for county employees appear inevitable.How much the county will save through freezing salaries is not known. County staff contacted this week said those numbers are… Read more »
Monthly Archives: February 2009
City To Examine Take Home Vehicle Use
OCEAN CITY – Employee take home vehicles might be next on the proverbial chopping block as town officials continue to exhaust all options to cut expenditures.City Manager Dennis Dare hinted this week that a “vehicle study” will be released soon that may alter the current usage of take home vehicles used by some of the… Read more »
Friday, February 13–Route 50 Bridge Project Starts Monday
OCEAN CITY – Residents and visitors who routinely use the Route 50 bridge will likely have another batch of headaches starting next week when the State Highway Administration (SHA) begins the second half of a $2.4 million deck replacement job on the span, the first phase of which was undertaken this time last year.SHA officials… Read more »
Friday, February 13–Public, Private Partnership Key To Berlin Green Effort
BERLIN – A packed room greeted the launch of the Grow Berlin Green environmental partnership between town government and three local environmental organizations Tuesday night.Grow Berlin Green (GBG) is a coalition of the Assateague Coastal Trust (ACT), Lower Shore Land Trust (LSLT), and Maryland Coastal Bays Program (MCBP) with the town of Berlin.Mayor Gee Williams… Read more »
Friday, February 13–Ocean City Unions Agree To Freeze Member Salaries
OCEAN CITY – After the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) announced last week it would follow the town of Ocean City’s lead and freeze employee salaries, the Fire and EMS divisions weren’t far behind in making a similar announcement. In efforts to be on the same page, and work as part of a unified team,… Read more »
Friday, February 13–New Big Box Design Impresses
SNOW HILL – Planners thought outside the big box and have decided to redesign the long-planned Super Wal-Mart, intended to replace Berlin’s standard Wal-Mart, changing the design to a more localized, attractive style.Architect Gabriel Massa presented the new design to the Worcester County Planning Commission last week, seeking acceptance of the new plan.The building was… Read more »
Voices From The Readers
Consider Wind FarmProject CarefullyEditor:(The following is an open letter to the Ocean City Mayor and Council and residents.)As we go through the process of evaluating the acceptance of the Bluewater project of constructing energy producing windmills off of our shore, we need to be very careful of making a decision that could permanently alter a… Read more »
Starting Slow With Slots Is Proper Course
After all the bids were submitted last week, it’s appropriate to refer the current turn of events regarding slots in Maryland as a debacle.The word “disappointment” was often used over the last two weeks to describe the fact there were only six bids offered for the five selected sites for slots parlors in Maryland. More… Read more »
Thoughts From The Publisher’s Desk
Excuse me for a moment while I wipe the proverbial pie off my face. Last week while crediting the Ocean City Mayor and Council for making the obvious decision to freeze all employee salaries, I commented I hoped the county would “see it the same way.” It turns out the county back in November issued… Read more »
Juveniles Arrested For Break-Ins
OCEAN PINES – Ocean Pines Police this week arrested two juveniles in connection with a series of thefts from unlocked autos in the south section of the community on or around Jan. 30.The youths, ages 15 and 16, were arrested and charged with numerous counts of felony and misdemeanor theft after Ocean Pines Police were… Read more »