The giving season is underway, and that’s not referring to specific holidays. As is always the case when summer is over, school is back in session and the calendar moves toward its conclusion, and charities and other benevolent organizations launch their one last fund drive of the year. If there is one thing to be… Read more »

No one would think that Pocomoke and Ocean Pines have much in common, separated as they are by a fair amount of distance, demographics and form of government. But it turns out this week that these two otherwise disparate communities share one thing: they both have had to confront legal problems over unmet financial obligations…. Read more »

The search for a general manager in Ocean Pines is as much about finding the right person for the position as it is determining what kind of operation the Ocean Pines Association wants to be. All in all, the approach the community has followed over the years — a general manager and staff overseen by… Read more »

The phone rang and the caller had just one question: “What’s going on?” The answer was simple: “Not much. It’s quiet on all fronts.” And that’s the way it is throughout the county at the moment, as governing authorities take care of business quietly and without controversy. In Ocean Pines, the board of directors continues… Read more »

It can’t be said that the Berlin election suffered from a lack of interest, judging from the number of votes cast Tuesday in a contest that promised few surprises. In the case of Mayor Gee Williams, who won by a four-to-one margin, it wasn’t so much a vote to reelect him over challenger Lisa Hall,… Read more »

Endorsing Berlin Mayor Gee Williams for reelection is an easy call, given the burst of vitality the town has experienced during his tenure. Although the town had begun moving in the right direction before he took office in 2008, it was during the past eight years that Berlin completed one of the most stunning economic… Read more »

Anyone who is surprised by this week’s court challenge to the state’s award of medical marijuana growing permits last month has forgotten one of the principles of the legalized pot industry: it’s about the money. High-minded motives (no pun intended), public opinion, political realities and medical research aside, the essence of the lawsuit filed in… Read more »

The Ocean Pines Board of Directors gave itself something last week that most politicians would rather not have: full responsibility for delivering on its members’ campaign promises. By elevating Doug Parks to the board because his thinking matched their own, the four-member majority that voted him into office has an unbeatable caucus that should be… Read more »

Mainland residents of Worcester County should pay close attention to the tax differential discussions that will take place, again, this fall and winter between the Town of Ocean City and the Worcester County Commissioners. In essence, the differential, which Ocean City has been seeking for years, involves reducing the county property tax rate for Ocean… Read more »

Let’s take a breath and reflect on how the dismissal of Ocean Pines Association General Manager Bob Thompson last week will affect the community’s property owners, who are, after all, the real stakeholders in this mess. How about not at all? Unless some unusually bizarre twist takes place — and no jokes about how bizarre… Read more »