Berlin, Ocean Pines News Worcester County Bayside Gazette
By Jack Chavez, Staff Writer Another day, another award for the Town of Berlin. Last week, Tripadvisor selected the cozy community as a recipient for the 2022 Travelers’ Choice award, the second time in four years Berlin has won the honor. “It feels like a great accomplishment for such a small town,” said Berlin Economic… Read more »
By Jack Chavez, Staff Writer Nearly two weeks into the implementation of Berlin’s short-term rental ordinance, everything seems to be running smoothly, according to Planning Director Dave Engelhart. “The only thing is I still get people in the R-1 and R-2 (zones) who don’t like the fact it has to be their permanent residence,” Engelhart… Read more »
By Jack Chavez, Staff Writer Monday’s meeting of the Berlin Mayor and Town Council ended with impassioned speeches from multiple people in the Berlin law enforcement community asking the town to take the retention of officers and competitive pay and benefits more seriously. Former Berlin police officer and resident J.B. Bunting kicked off the topic,… Read more »
By Jack Chavez, Staff Writer Maryland State Police are investigating a fatal pedestrian hit-and-run crash that claimed the life of a 14-year-old boy Monday night. Gavin Knupp, of Ocean Pines, was pronounced deceased by hospital personnel at Atlantic General Hospital, according to a press release. The preliminary investigation indicates that at approximately 10:45 p.m., Knupp… Read more »
By Greg Wehner, Staff Writer Challenge to land purchase obtains signatures it needs The fate of the not-yet-planned sports complex off Route 50 in Berlin, just north of Stephen Decatur High School, is teetering on a pin as efforts to put county government’s purchase of the proposed 95.6-acre property for $7.15 million to a public… Read more »
By Jack Chavez, Staff Writer The Ocean Pines Volunteer Fire Department held a town hall on June 30 to discuss the upcoming renovations to the South Station. A panel consisting of OPVFD President David VanGasbeck, OPVFD Chief Steve Grunwald and Gary Campbell, a public safety architect from contractor Manns Woodward Studios, anchored the gathering. At… Read more »
Election Committee wants to reassure voters their privacy will be protected By Jack Chavez, Staff Writer One of the priorities for the Ocean Pines Elections Committee ahead of the board of directors election in August is to ensure voter privacy and to allay any concerns about the security of electronic voting. Those goals were front… Read more »
Being asked to come back major factor in his decision By Jack Chavez, Staff Writer John Viola isn’t going anywhere. On July 1, the Ocean Pines Association announced that they had agreed on a two-year contract with its general manager that includes an option for a third year. In a press release issued that day,… Read more »
Array of festivities planned for July 3, 4 and 5 By Mallory Panuska, Staff Writer Fireworks will not blast off in Ocean City limits on July 4, but an array of other activities are planned in and around the resort this weekend and beyond to celebrate America’s independence. As of earlier this week, these are… Read more »
Board of directors hopefuls field questions on goals By Jack Chavez, Staff Writer The six hopefuls in the 2022 Ocean Pines Association Board of Directors election spent two days last week — June 22 and June 25 — answering a total of 12 questions regarding the state of the community and their goals if they… Read more »