OCEAN CITY – Less than 24 hours after the County Commissioners formally opposed slots in Worcester, the resort business community was celebrating the apparent demise of the gaming machines at Ocean Downs as proposed, but it remains to be seen if the letter from the county’s elected officials will achieve the desired results.After listening to… Read more »

SNOW HILL – A Seaford, Del. man accused of first-degree rape and first-degree assault for allegedly raping his former girlfriend at knifepoint and gunpoint at a downtown Ocean City residence last March was officially cleared of all of the charges this week after a two-day trial.Juan Vicente-Morales, 33, of Seaford, appeared in Circuit Court this… Read more »

OCEAN CITY – While the sluggish resort real estate market has not completely turned a corner, there are signs it might be starting to recover, resort business leaders learned this week.Looking for any sign of optimism in what has been a dismal several months for the local real estate market, members of the Economic Development… Read more »

OCEAN CITY – In a regular session of the Mayor and City Council Monday night, a variety of topics were addressed and voted on. The following is a brief look at issues:New AppointmentsChris Shanahan, co-owner of K-Coast Surf Shops, was appointed to serve as a member of the Planning and Zoning Commission.Walter “Buck” Mann, of… Read more »

SNOW HILL – A large commercial project adjacent to two schools should tie into Berlin’s utilities, the Worcester County Planning Commission said last week, and not build its own wastewater and water facilities.The sketch plan of the Liberty Square commercial development, planned for the east side of Seahawk Rd. opposite Stephen Decatur Middle and High… Read more »

SNOW HILL – On Tuesday, the County Commissioners approved county enrollment in a program to provide free prescription drug discount cards to local citizens.The discount drug card program, established by the National Association of Counties (NACo) in partnership with Caremark pharmaceutical services company, is free and covers the entire family.There is no word yet on… Read more »

SNOW HILL – No elected official reported the outcome of the County Commissioners’ private discussion of its public comment policy at Tuesday’s meeting, but one thing is clear: open comments from the public are still not permitted. The commissioners reportedly made some kind of decision on public comments, but there was no announcement of any change… Read more »

BERLIN – The reality of the County Commissioners’ no public comment policy was brought home this week when they ignored this reporter’s questions after the last item of the day.Obviously smarting from an extensive article published in last week’s issue on the lack of public comment at commissioner meetings and the capricious nature of the… Read more »

OCEAN CITY – The retail carts and several special events will not be returning to Somerset Street for the 2008 season. At a regular session of the Mayor and City Council Monday night, Ocean City Development Corporation (OCDC) President Greg Shockley and Executive Director Glenn Irwin presented the OCDC’s recommendation on the retail carts that… Read more »

SNOW HILL – The new Worcester County Technical High School is slightly behind schedule, but the time is being made up, project supervisors reported to the County Commissioners this week. “We’re just a little off on our timeline, but we’re catching up,” said Board of Education President Gary Mumford.The journey to the new high school, now… Read more »