OCEAN CITY — The six candidates for the four open City Council seats along with Mayor Rick Meehan, who is running unopposed, weighed in this week on last month’s pop-up rally.The Dispatch hosted on Tuesday a virtual town hall meeting (full video of the event can be viewed on the newspaper’s website) and posed questions… Read more »
Author Archives: Shawn Soper
About The Author: Shawn Soper
Officials Discuss Bolstering Public Safety Aide Program
OCEAN CITY — The debate over bolstering the Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) continued this week with a discussion of expanding the public safety aide (PSA) program.Over the last few weeks, the Mayor and Council and the OCPD command staff have been discussing how best to grow the police department’s ranks. Chief Ross Buzzuro requested… Read more »
Mayor, Council Hopefuls Discuss Tourism Direction
OCEAN CITY – One of the topics discussed during this week’s forum with candidates for next month’s election was diversifying the town’s tourism base and hiring an economic development direction.The Dispatch this week hosted a virtual town hall-style forum for the six candidates for four open City Council seats along with Mayor Rick Meehan, who… Read more »
Retiring Ocean City Museum Curator Celebrated
OCEAN CITY — An era ended this week with the retirement of Ocean City Lifesaving Station Museum curator Sandy Hurley, whose family has been at the helm of the iconic facility at the south end of the Boardwalk for over half a century.Hurley was feted with a special retirement ceremony by the Mayor and Council… Read more »
Program Would Detail Visitor Trends
OCEAN CITY — Resort tourism officials this week got a look at an innovative data collection platform geared toward tracking visitors to Ocean City, where they stay, how long they stay and what they do when they are in town.For years, Ocean City officials have tried to pin down a profile of their typical visitors… Read more »
North OC Community Voices Traffic, Speed Concerns
OCEAN CITY — Impassioned pleas for a traffic-calming device or stronger enforcement in a densely-populated north-end community did not fall on deaf ears this week as resort officials begin to explore solutions to the problem.During the public comment period of Monday’s Mayor and Council meeting, the first such meeting to be held in person at… Read more »
Ga. Man Held After Multi-State, High-Speed Chase
OCEAN CITY — A Georgia man is being held without bond this week in Worcester County after allegedly leading multiple law enforcement agencies on a high-speed chase last Friday.Around 10:20 p.m. last Friday, the Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) Communications Center started receiving numerous calls from citizens regarding a reckless driver on Coastal Highway in… Read more »
Beach Bonfire Popularity Surges In Ocean City, Bringing In Additional $50K Than Expected
OCEAN CITY — Likely a by-product of restrictions imposed by the pandemic, the beach bonfire program soared this summer in Ocean City with a significant spike in permits.One of the takeaways from Tuesday’s budget update presentation was the growing success of the beach bonfire permit program. Naturally, with the COVID-19 pandemic in full swing, many… Read more »
Resort’s Seasonal Officer Interest Continues To Decline
OCEAN CITY — A takeaway from the recently requested and approved 10 additional full-time officers in Ocean City is the steady decline of interest in the seasonal officer program.Two weeks ago, the Mayor and Council approved the hiring of 10 new full-time OCPD officers at the request of Chief Ross Buzzuro and his command staff…. Read more »
Pocomoke Man Held After 17-Hour Standoff
OCEAN CITY — A Worcester County man remains behind bars this week on first-degree assault and other charges following a 17-hour stand-off with allied law enforcement agencies when he allegedly fired a gun in the direction of officers.Last Saturday, a Worcester County Sheriff’s Deputy attempted to stop a vehicle for traffic violations when the vehicle,… Read more »