SNOW HILL – Donations are down slightly at area houses of worship, and churches are cutting back, but business will go on as usual, local institutions say.“We’ve seen a little decrease. It’s hard to figure for us. Here in Ocean City it’s so seasonal,” Father Richard Smith of St. Luke’s Catholic Church said. “We’re down… Read more »
Yearly Archives: 2009
Friday, January 9–Nine Injured In High-Speed Crash
BERLIN – A high-speed chase throughout the Berlin area on New Year’s Eve ended in a huge collision near Stephen Decatur High School that sent a total of nine people to area hospitals including seven members of one local family.Shortly after 8 p.m. last Wednesday, New Year’s Eve, a Berlin Police officer on routine patrol… Read more »
Friday, January 9–Impasse Leads To Track Suspending Bets
BERLIN – At an impasse in its negotiations on the new contract with local horsemen, Ocean Downs racetrack last week announced it was suspending simulcast racing indefinitely until the issues, including closing the barns and practice track areas, can be resolved.Track officials announced on Dec. 31 they would be forced to suspend simulcast wagering at… Read more »
Friday, January 9–Erika Sifrit’s Quest For New Trial Begins In Frederick
BERLIN – Convicted killer Erika Sifrit, who along with her husband Benjamin, brutally murdered and dismembered a Virginia couple vacationing in Ocean City on Memorial Day weekend in 2002, made her first bid for a retrial this week in the Frederick County Circuit Court where she was tried and found guilty of the heinous crimes… Read more »
Friday, January 9–County Slashes Long-Term Project Outlook
SNOW HILL – A re-ordering of the capital improvement plan (CIP) for Worcester County has nearly halved the proposed future outlay on county capital projects, reducing the September estimate for the next 10 years of capital improvements from $335 million to $176 million.The Worcester County Commissioners asked staff to revise the CIP in November to… Read more »
Smoking Ban Reflections One Year Later
OCEAN CITY – The smoke may have cleared, but the argument certainly hasn’t.It’s been almost a year since the Clean Indoor Air Act took effect last Feb. 1, banning smoking inside of restaurants and bars, and leaving smokers statewide literally outside looking in.Since then, some local businesses have tried to cater to their smoking clientele… Read more »
Merchants React To Berlin Hotel Closure
BERLIN – The closure of Berlin’s iconic Atlantic Hotel and Solstice, the associated restaurant, should be temporary and should not affect other town businesses too strongly, locals predicted this week in the wake of the announcement.Few were surprised at the closure. Like many small towns, bad news travels fast in the town of Berlin and… Read more »
Killer Faces Life In Prison
SNOW HILL – After listening to emotionally charged testimony from several members of the victim’s family, Worcester County Circuit Court Judge Theodore Eschenberg on Monday sentenced convicted killer Roberto Antonio Murillo to life in prison for the stabbing death of a West Ocean City woman in April.In October, Murillo, 29, of West Ocean City, was… Read more »
County Sues Internet Companies Over Room Tax
BERLIN – Worcester County this week filed suit in U.S. District Court against a bevy of Internet-based travel booking companies, seeking what could be millions of dollars in alleged unpaid hotel room taxes, joining a legion of other jurisdictions taking similar action in recent months.Attorneys for the Worcester County Commissioners on Tuesday filed suit in… Read more »
Budget Amendment Shows Drop In Room Tax Collections
OCEAN CITY – The first official amendment reading of 2009 dealt with what will no doubt be the largest challenge facing Mayor and City Council this year: the budget.Ocean City Budget Manager Jenny Knapp gave the first reading of the amended FY09 budget for the town of Ocean City on Monday night at City Hall,… Read more »