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 »

President Biden let the proclamation banning the critical J-1 visa program participants expire this week. It’s good news, but only one piece to a complicated puzzle on the resort’s labor front.Time will tell whether it’s too late to have a major impact on this summer’s tourism industry. About 4,000 foreign workers typically come to Ocean… Read more »

There was a healthy discourse Monday night over the property tax rate at Berlin’s Town Hall. It had a bit of everything, including a few awkward silences, unsuccessful motions, some raised voices and a handful of harsh comments pointed at the mayor.New members of the council are clearly feeling their way through their first budget… Read more »

This week’s listening session on the future of Heron Park was productive, provocative and enlightening. The meeting was specifically planned to solicit feedback from the community on selling two parcels of the park property to nearby landowners. The consensus among the citizens was to keep the property near the ponds on the north side of… Read more »

It appears Worcester County is effectively being penalized for doing too well with its efficient vaccination distribution. Several health officials have been discussing the fact the county’s vaccine supply vs. demand issues are likely to get worse in the short term. It seems the state is going to cut, or at least not increase as… Read more »

During last fall’s election season, all five mayoral candidates in Berlin vowed not to raise property taxes in their first year. Then-Councilman Zack Tyndall said, “I think it’s important for the people to understand that the role of the mayor is to one, set the tax rate, and two, present a balanced budget to the… Read more »

Vaccinations continue to be on the minds of many and understandably so. Health officials report this week approximately 18% of the county’s population (9,381) has received the first vaccine and 7% (3,742) the second vaccine as of Thursday. Worcester County ranks second (behind Kent’s 21%) in Maryland in the proportion of population vaccinated by county…. Read more »