To employ a cliché, it’s all over but the shouting, and possibly that is over as well, as the voting deadline passes in Ocean Pines’ Board of Directors election. The results of the months-long campaign will be revealed Saturday and the two winners will be installed on the Ocean Pines Association’s ruling body. The business… Read more »

As the voting deadline approaches in Ocean Pines, property owners who have yet to mail their ballots would be wise to keep in mind that this election should not be considered a referendum on the Ocean Pines Association on how the general manager should do his job. It is, and should always be, about which… Read more »

What can we say about last week’s Berlin Bathtub races, except that we came in second to the military-industrial-government complex of Berlin’s Water Resources department. While it is true that its entry was somewhat faster than ours, that’s what anyone would expect when word is that Water Resources called in favors from some of its… Read more »

People who cringe at what they perceive to be the negative cloud that seems to float over Ocean Pines Association politics and government don’t realize how fortunate they are. The frequently unrestrained public discussions, disputes and assertions that are viewed by many as a source of embarrassment are actually refreshing as compared to the subtle… Read more »

Ah yes, the annual Berlin Bathtub Races. It’s so nice to have something on which to expound besides local politics, even if it is plumbing related. This also one of the rare instances when we can talk about people pushing each other around without having to worry about a public backlash. That, after all, is… Read more »

The Ocean Pines Association election forum last Wednesday was an interesting exercise in … filling up the allotted time and letting the public see who was running. Beyond that, it offered no new revelations, few, if any, bold visions and no detailed plans for solving whatever problems were identified. That’s hardly the fault of the… Read more »

In the aftermath of the Charleston, S.C. church massacre, the public’s focus has turned to the appropriateness of flying the Confederate battle flag at government institutions, rather than on the greater problem of how a deranged black-hating person like Dylaan Roof got a gun in the first place. Hauling down that flag at South Carolina’s… Read more »

 It’s far too early in the conversation about the possible development of the Bay Club outside Berlin for anyone to take a definitive position, other than to express a willingness to listen. The prospect of a project that would entail the construction of 300 or so luxury homes and, perhaps, the town’s annexation of that… Read more »

The question of whether the Ocean Pines Association should attempt to re-open contract discussions with natural gas supplier Sandpiper Energy is easy to answer: The OPA has nothing to lose by trying. That is the direction the OPA’s board of directors appeared to be heading as of mid-week, with a closed meeting set for Wednesday… Read more »

No matter how simple it might seem for the Board of Directors to establish a policy regarding community groups’ use of Ocean Pines Association facilities, the reality is that deciding who pays what is an exercise fraught with danger. Okay, maybe not real danger, but it is still an uncomfortable and awkward business of deciding… Read more »