OCEAN CITY — The town brought in an expert to basically tell the Mayor and City Council that a massive overhaul to Ocean City employee’s pension packages would be a dumb move.Pat Donahue, President and CEO of Municipal and Financial Services Group (MSFG) and 10-year veteran of the Anne Arundel County Pension Oversight Committee, was… Read more »

BERLIN – Berlin’s three parks should echo the town’s historic downtown to present a sense of identity and cohesion, according to a parks master plan presented this week.Steve Engel and Frank Kea of Vista Design offered a new vision for Berlin’s three parks that should improve usability and aesthetics and make Berlin’s dedicated open space… Read more »

OCEAN CITY — In the brief this week, the Ocean City Police Department got a grant for some new technology, and the Fire Marshal’s Office reminded single-family homeowners that they too need a carbon monoxide detector.Police Department Gets NodFor New Surveillance GearCaptain Robert Bokinsky of the Ocean City Police Department asked for permission to use… Read more »

BERLIN – Two new programs to help Berlin electric customers pay their bills and reduce their electric costs have been put in place just in time for colder weather.Electric customers in dire straits can now receive assistance in paying those bills through Berlin’s new Energy Assistance Program. The new program is available through ShoreUp! and… Read more »

BERLIN – For the first time in months, the Berlin Planning Commission was asked to consider a new housing development in town.Developer Main Street Homes from Gaithersburg, Md. asked the Planning Commission Wednesday night to offer comments on its concept for a 38-house subdivision on 11 acres at the corner of Tripoli St. and Route… Read more »

OCEAN CITY – The bad news is the Route 90 Bridge was closed yesterday for an estimated two months while contractors remove an 85-section of the span deemed unsafe by corrosion, but the good news is large sections of the damaged bridge could find a new home as part of the resort area’s growing artificial… Read more »

OCEAN CITY — Until the insurance issue gets resolved, any debate about the Ayres Creek kayak venture is going to look and sound like paddling in circles. The debate concerning the Ayres Creek kayak venture was revisited on Tuesday at City Hall as Dr. Roman Jesien of the Maryland Coastal Bays Program argued to the… Read more »

BERLIN – While both candidates have been decidedly sheepish about their intentions for the upcoming 2010 election, it now appears both Delegate Jim Mathias and former House challenger and Ocean City hotelier Michael James could be on a collision course for the District 38 Senate seat.There has been much speculation about both candidates’ intentions following… Read more »

OCEAN CITY — For two hours on Tuesday, the eight seats reserved for the Mayor and City Council sat empty as they debated about the Ocean City Air Show behind closed doors, but the council remains mum about the details of that conversation.As per usual, council members are supposed to be tight-lipped about the information… Read more »

BERLIN – A series of changes have recently taken place for The Dispatch, the Berlin-based newspaper that has circulated weekly throughout northern and central Worcester County and lower Sussex County for the last 25 years.In an interview Tuesday, Publisher J. Steven Green announced a new partnership this week between the weekly publication and Bartash, a… Read more »