SNOW HILL – The long-awaited comprehensive rezoning document must be completed by the end of 2008, the Worcester County Commissioners told staff Tuesday morning.The comprehensive rezoning, the final step in the new Comprehensive Plan process, has been delayed since the new plan was approved in March 2006, two years and three months ago.The first reason… Read more »

BERLIN – A former local resident forced by the court last December to pay $75,000 in restitution to his ex-wife after absconding with over $100,000 of her money before heading out west and assuming a new name and new identity nearly a decade ago was back in District Court in Snow Hill on Tuesday for… Read more »

ASSATEAGUE – Several national, state and local dignitaries were on Assateague this week to officially dedicate the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) marine science teaching and research facility on the barrier island in the name of long-time U.S. Senator Paul S. Sarbanes, who was instrumental in securing the funding for the ecology center nearly… Read more »

OCEAN CITY – Establishing a viable, productive aquaculture industry in the coastal bays while minimizing the potential impact on those who use and enjoy the waters are among the objectives of Maryland’s new 10-member Coastal Bays Aquaculture Development Workgroup formed recently to study the budding industry in the waters in and around the resort area.Aquaculture,… Read more »

BERLIN – The opportunity to reapply for the Maryland Main Street Program was fleeting, but Berlin managed to get its application in just under the wire, local program coordinator Michael Day reported last week.Day personally drove the application, along with a similar application for Pocomoke City, to Annapolis on the due date, June 11, two… Read more »

SNOW HILL – A legal decision eliminating Baltimore County’s time restriction on political campaign signs prompted Worcester County to introduce a bill this week to strike out the local time limit on those campaign signs.The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) successfully sued Baltimore County in federal court over the county’s time limit on political campaign… Read more »

OCEAN CITY – The Mayor and City Council decided which legislative issues they would be submitting to the Maryland Municipal League (MML) for consideration during the next legislative session, deciding to withdraw two seasoned pieces of legislation and submit two new ones. The City Council reviewed the proposed legislation at a work session last week,… Read more »

SNOW HILL – Water was on the mind of the Worcester County Commissioners this week, as bids and other funding decisions for water towers and hydrants in local communities came before them at their meeting Tuesday.“We’re in the water tower business, it seems,” Boggs said.Newark should have a replacement water tower by next spring to… Read more »

SNOW HILL – Ilia Fehrer, one of the first to champion the environment in Worcester County, will be honored with a park or conservation area named after her.Fehrer was instrumental in the creation of Assateague Island state and national parks, the preservation of tens of thousands of wild acres, the effort to designate the Pocomoke… Read more »

OCEAN CITY – The second of two Pennsylvania men wanted in connection with a double-stabbing incident in Ocean City early last Saturday morning was nabbed this week after OCPD detectives tracked the suspect to his hometown of Lancaster, Pa.One of the suspects in the double stabbing, Edward Cockrell, 18, of Lancaster, was taken into custody… Read more »