While there are some proposed changes to the general law governing the liquor industry in Worcester County expected to be approved by the General Assembly this year, the big news on the liquor front here in Worcester County involves the retail side of the industry.
Department of Liquor Control Executive Director Bob Cowger was unavailable for comment this week, but it’s well-known the county has a plan on the table to shutter its existing retail stores in Berlin off Old Ocean City Blvd. and in West Ocean City near the Routes 611 and 50 intersection. With those stores closing, which reportedly will be staggered with the one in West Ocean City shutting down this spring and the Berlin store sometime next year, the idea is to consolidate operations at a location along Route 50 currently under construction.
The proposal is expected to be further flushed out at a meeting next week, and word has it nothing is official yet until significant details can be decided. Nonetheless, it has been confirmed the plan has been shared with several County Commissioners already and multiple liquor license holders in the county have reported the new retail outlet will also serve as a storage facility on the north end. Currently, the West Ocean City store serves as an emergency replenishment operation for many businesses who run low on certain spirits when the wholesale operation is unavailable to deliver.
One way or the other, it appears the retail liquor landscape in the north end of Worcester County is in for a major shakeup in the coming months.
Misinformation seemed to be floating around a lot this week in regards to the United States Postal Service’s plans to cut costs.
I was not surprised to see the USPS abandon residential service on Saturdays and don’t see it as a huge deal. It’s no secret the USPS is struggling and the reasons are obvious. Less and less people are using the mail service on a daily basis, and the trend will only continue in the years to come.
Here’s an excerpt from the official release confirming Saturday residential mail will cease this summer.
The United States Postal Service announced plans today to transition to a new delivery schedule during the week of Aug. 5, 2013 that includes package delivery Monday through Saturday, and mail delivery Monday through Friday. The Postal Service expects to generate cost savings of approximately $2 billion annually, once the plan is fully implemented.
“The Postal Service is advancing an important new approach to delivery that reflects the strong growth of our package business and responds to the financial realities resulting from America’s changing mailing habits,” said Patrick R. Donahoe, Postmaster General and CEO. “We developed this approach by working with our customers to understand their delivery needs and by identifying creative ways to generate significant cost savings.”
Over the past several years, the Postal Service has advocated shifting to a five-day delivery schedule for mail and packages. However, recent strong growth in package delivery (14 percent volume increase since 2010) and projections of continued strong package growth throughout the coming decade led to the revised approach to maintain package delivery six days per week.
“Our customers see strong value in the national delivery platform we provide and maintaining a six-day delivery schedule for packages is an important part of that platform,” said Donahoe. “As consumers increasingly use and rely on delivery services — especially due to the rise of e-commerce — we can play an increasingly vital role as a delivery provider of choice, and as a driver of growth opportunities for America’s businesses.”
Once implemented during August of 2013, mail delivery to street addresses will occur Monday through Friday. Packages will continue to be delivered six days per week. Mail addressed to PO Boxes will continue to be delivered on Saturdays. Post Offices currently open on Saturdays will remain open on Saturdays.