SNOW HILL – A little less than two acres of Worcester County’s growth allocation in the Coastal Bays Critical Area has been awarded to Eagle’s Nest Campground for boat and RV storage.Since the campground was taken over by developer John H. Burbage, business has increased and more storage is needed.The 1.92-acre site, adjacent to the… Read more »

OCEAN CITY – Ocean City locals will be featured tonight in an Animal Planet series premiere.“Hillbilly Hand Fishin’” will feature Ocean City native Josh Hardt taking part in “noodling”, a sport of extreme cat fishing.Mike Stavrinos will join Hardt, a friend he had met while attending Towson University.Kevin Meehan, son of Ocean City Mayor Rick… Read more »

OCEAN CITY – Damaged portions of the beach are about to get new life, as the familiar pipes and equipment associated with beach replenishment have returned.The town of Ocean City, the state of Maryland and Worcester County have a 50-year contract with the Army Corps of Engineers to perform periodic beach nourishment as needed to… Read more »

NEWARK – Worcester public school officials learned this week the county is receiving more than $1.2 million less in federal grants than anticipated in the current fiscal year, placing several key programs in jeopardy.Board of Education officials learned in late July the local system would be receiving about one third as much in certain federal… Read more »

SNOW HILL – Despite lingering technical and cost questions, a divided County Commission attempted to settle whether sprinklers would be required in new homes, or whether the county would opt out of that rule, determining after two failed votes that the sprinklers would stay in the building code.Commissioner Virgil Shockley repeatedly asked for clarification of… Read more »

OCEAN CITY – Two days after Ocean City officials approved a contract for the rehabilitation and repair of the north-south runway at the municipal airport, banking on approval in federal funding for the project, Maryland Senators Barbara Mikulski and Ben Cardin formally announced the federal grant had been cleared.During last Tuesday’s work session, the Ocean… Read more »

BERLIN – Continuing a recent trend, state officials this week approved the preservation of a 48-acre tract of pristine waterfront land in Worcester County along the Chincoteague Bay in the latest round of state Program Open Space expenditures.The state’s three-member Board of Public Works (BPW), which includes Governor Martin O’Malley, Comptroller Peter Franchot and Treasurer… Read more »

BERLIN – State school board officials this week approved regulations requiring environmental education in public schools in Maryland, but the new mandate will likely have little affect in Worcester where “green” issues are already woven into the curriculum.The Maryland Board of Education on Tuesday approved regulations mandating environmental education in public school across the state…. Read more »

Steve Green EditorBERLIN – State’s Attorney candidate Beau Oglesby was told this week he needed to refund his active campaign account the $2,000 he paid to a local printer for debt dating back four years ago.According to a letter from Jared DeMarinis, director of the State Board of Elections’ Division of Candidacy and Campaign Finance,… Read more »

BERLIN – A new law prohibiting talking on a hand-held cell phone while driving takes effect across Maryland next week after the General Assembly approved the legislation last spring.Starting next Friday, it will be illegal for a motorist in Worcester County and across Maryland to use a hand-held cell phone while driving in the latest… Read more »