There were mixed reactions to this week’s announced entertainment lineup for the inaugural Jellyfish Festival in Ocean City.While we were generally underwhelmed by the lineup based on the buildup over the last year and assurances bigger names would be landed, we support the festival and believe this could be just the type of event Ocean… Read more »
Worcester Technical High School was in the spotlight this week when a privately-funded makeover was unveiled for its welding program. It was an occasion to demonstrate the wealth of learning opportunities available to students in a non-traditional learning environment.Thanks to winning an online contest through the Channellock Trade School Trade-Up contest last year, the school’s… Read more »
Legislators need to look no further than Worcester County to conclude a post-Labor Day school start does not harm public school students or educators.Senate Bill 128 seeks to repeal the mandate signed into law by Gov. Larry Hogan in 2016. It reads, “requiring each county board to set the start date and end date of… Read more »
(Editor’s Note: The following commentary was submitted by Worcester County Commissioner Chip Bertino.)A threat looms over the horizon.Earlier this month I attended the annual Maryland Association of Counties (MACo) conference held in Cambridge. One of the conference sessions entitled “Keeping Up with Kirwan,” was an update on the Kirwan Commission’s progress. What was said was… Read more »
The year after an election routinely brings tax increases for local property owners.It’s an unfortunate tactic elected officials employ to avoid consequences at the ballot box from voters. The idea is voters will not remember three years from now their taxes were increased. Even if they do recall the decision, enough years will have gone… Read more »
Ocean City needs to take the next several years to re-evaluate the future of its contracts with summer franchises – beach stands, beach photos (scopers) and vehicle vending (roving ice cream trucks).From a revenue perspective, it’s become time for the city to decide whether any revenue is better than nothing. The revenue from each of… Read more »
Audits of government fiscal operations are typically boring stuff, but that was not the case in Berlin this week. It was an interesting review, and it’s important for town property owners to understand what was discussed.The annual audit report raised concerns about the town’s shrinking general fund balance. Although each government handles these funds differently,… Read more »
There were some surprises with the first-ever School Report Card from the Maryland State Department of Education this week, most notably the fact no public school in Worcester County received a five-star rating on a new statewide evaluation system.Worcester is annually ranked in the top five in all statewide barometers measuring school systems and has… Read more »
During a fiscal review this week at City Hall, the Ocean City Mayor and Council had cursory talks about increasing the city’s room tax rate.It’s been nine years since the room tax rate was raised to 4.5 percent. That increase came with the understanding 2 percent of the gross revenue would be earmarked for advertising… Read more »
It’s tough to understand Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh’s decision to appeal a judicial panel’s opinion the state’s current congressional district map is unconstitutional.Earlier this month, a special three-judge panel ruled the state should “establish a neutral commission” to redraw Maryland’s congressional boundaries. The panel was unanimous in its opinion with one judge writing, “There… Read more »
