It’s looking more and more like students returning to school in the fall may not be required to wear masks. Some local private schools, like Worcester Prep, for example, adopted the “restaurant concept” last month following CDC guidance where masks are worn in common areas like hallways but removed when students are seated at desks… Read more »

Twice within the last month, the Worcester County Commissioners spent considerable time talking about the “Read Woke” program the county library offered. The main concern is whether the program, which is funded by Beanstack Black Voices microgrants, crosses a political line for the county library system as a result of a line on its website… Read more »

It’s been compelling to watch the happenings at Town Hall in Berlin of late. Mayor Zack Tyndall appears to be on an island these days over the budget with staff, division heads and council members disagreeing with him on key aspects of his budget, namely the fact his spending plan does not include any salary… Read more »

The first Berlin budget process under Mayor Zack Tyndall has certainly been an eventful one.This week, Tyndall was successful in asking the Worcester County Commissioners to reconsider decreasing their annual allocation to Berlin by $115,000 over concerns fire company funding has been decreasing over the years. Rather than send a tough message through a funding… Read more »

Gasoline was on the minds of many this week. All the panic over a gas shortage earlier in the week appears to be overblown, but those concerns were not allayed until it was announced the Colonial Pipeline would get back online today. Supply levels are expected to improve within days, but it’s unclear at this… Read more »

Four years later and the Town of Ocean City is still spending money on legal fees defending its ban on topless women. The attorneys on both sides of the argument laid out their positions this week during the appeal of the U.S. District Court’s dismissal of the civil suit was heard.Representing a small group of… Read more »

Rising with the mercury these days appears to be frustrations over government mandates and the inconsistences associated with implementation and reality. It’s understandable, as the phrase “pandemic fatigue” has now become cliché and aggravations are boiling over amid fears this summer could be even more challenging for many businesses than last year.An example was this… Read more »

Ocean City’s decision to bring Tom Perlozzo back as the newly created department director is intriguing on many levels. Word Perlozzo was in the running leaked out last month, resulting in an assumption the position was essentially created for him. Once he was confirmed as a finalist against a far inferior candidate, it was clear… Read more »

Operating any business today is incredibly difficult, but running a restaurant amid the ongoing pandemic and its ramifications comes with unique challenges. Food supply is a major issue currently with some restauranteurs boldly predicting crab meat will be unavailable by this summer. With supply tight, demand high and fuel costs skyrocketing, the price of goods… Read more »

For months, I tracked Maryland’s coronavirus website daily for data on the positivity rate. I only check it once a week now and pay more attention to the vaccination numbers. Here’s a look at some key points after a review of both metrics this week.•Test Data: After about a month of positivity percentage numbers falling… Read more »