Despite the occasional wisecracks and flip observations about Ocean Pines politics, the community does more than most jurisdictions in the region to involve its citizens in the political process. While it’s been observed frequently over the years that the members of various boards of directors haven’t gotten along that well with each other, the only… Read more »
Editorial
Berlin makes right call on project’s annexation
To grow or not to grow, that is the question just about every prosperous community asks itself at one time or another, as residents and officials debate the question of how much success is too much. What makes that question so arguable, as the Berlin Town Council demonstrated Monday, is that there isn’t any clear… Read more »
OP avoids potholes, uses art of compromise to pass FY16 budget
And that, as they say, is that, which is this case with the Ocean Pines Association budget. After several weeks of quarreling over whether to increase or decrease assessments, which company should manage the golf course and whether General Manager Bob Thompson was out of line when he criticized the board for its golf course… Read more »
Waiting for movement in town vs. fire company
Maybe what the Town of Berlin and the Berlin Fire Company need to do is hire a mediator to sort out the conflict between the two. The issue, after all, has gone beyond who is right and who is wrong and has become a matter of how to repair the relationship for the benefit of… Read more »
Board and Thompson butting heads, harder
If the Ocean Pines Association Board of Directors were to say to General Manager Bob Thompson, “We’ve got to hand it to you,” the majority might be thinking about his walking papers. That’s certainly how it appears, given the obvious friction between Thompson and some of the directors, a circumstance highlighted during Saturday’s meeting, when… Read more »
Time will tell on OP golf
The Ocean Pines Board announced this week that there will indeed be a change of management at the golf course this year, with Landscapes Unlimited taking over from Billy Casper Golf. There will certainly be a lot of debate on whether the timing is right to make a change, as Billy Casper Golf supporters have… Read more »
Public input could be key to harmony in Pines
As Ocean Pines looks to the future and, hopefully, tries to determine how much and on what they will need additional member funding for, board members should follow the recent example of the Town of Berlin. Given the opportunity to make a landmark purchase of the old Tysons chicken plant and faced with a decision… Read more »
‘5-year’ plan feels slushy
The Ocean Pines board should reconsider its stance on continuing the so-called 5-year funding plan until a proposal for those monies is in place and put to referendum. The special assessment was instituted about six years ago and billed as a short-term increase that would be dissolved after that timeframe. The intent was to… Read more »
Media could learn lesson
Recent events in Berlin made for big headlines with an ensuing rush to get a “big story” pressing a daily media outlet go awry. An example of why rash decisions by both adults and kids can have unfortunate consequences. The firestorm kicked off with an unseemly posting by one student on Instagram, quickly followed by… Read more »
Vandals and vandalism will soon be forgotten
As disturbing as it was, people shouldn’t read too much into the vandalism spree that ruined cars and defaced buildings in Berlin last week. This was not the result of a societal upheaval or the emergence of a hate group that threatens to grow and develop, but was the work of one or more young… Read more »