Berlin, Ocean Pines News Worcester County Bayside Gazette
By Jack Chavez, Staff Writer (Oct. 13, 2022) Troy Purnell could be found where he’s usually found every other week two nights ago, at the Berlin Mayor and Town Council Meeting. But instead of sitting on the panel of elected officials at the front of the room, he was in the crowd, for the first… Read more »
By Jack Chavez, Staff Writer (Oct. 13, 2022) After an association-alarming slip-up and a month-plus of questions, accusations and all-around turmoil, the entire Ocean Pines Election Committee resigned from their positions on Oct. 5, the OPA announced. The resignations come a week after the committee recertified the results of the August Board of Directors election… Read more »
By Jack Chavez, Staff Writer (Oct. 13, 2022) The Berlin Oktoberfest and Sidewalk Sale are back in full swing Saturday, after two years marked by covid precautions. “It’s on,” said Economic and Community Development Director Ivy Wells said. “It’s on. It’s Oktoberfest in Berlin just as you remember.” The fall beer festival kicks off at… Read more »
By Jack Chavez, Staff Writer The new Berlin Town Council is in. Incumbents Dean Burrell and Jay Knerr and newcomer Steve Green took their oaths of office at the beginning of the mayor and Town Council meeting on Tuesday, which should solidify the dais on the second floor of the Town Hall for the next… Read more »
By Jack Chavez, Staff Writer (Oct. 6, 2022) On a wet, dreary day that turned out less than 75 voters in a district with more than 700, incumbent Berlin Town Councilmember Dean Burrell fended off challenger Tony Weeg by just two votes. The remnants of a nor’easter that spun off from Hurricane Ian, having pounded… Read more »
By Jack Chavez, Staff Writer (Oct. 6, 2022) When the calendar turns to October, many new laws go into effect in Maryland. Del. Wayne Hartman and Sen. Mary Beth Carozza talked with Bayside Gazette about the laws — both good and bad — that they have their eyes on. Hartman started with a trio of bills that… Read more »
By Jack Chavez, Staff Writer (Oct. 6, 2022) Ocean Pines’s finances continue to outperform expectations. After reviewing the numbers at its Sept. 26 meeting, the Ocean Pines Budget and Finance Committee found no cause for concern as the association enters the final quarter of the calendar year. “We have a positive operating variance of $161,000… Read more »
By Jack Chavez, Staff Writer (Oct. 6, 2022) One week later, nothing has changed. The Ocean Pines Association’s hand recount of ballots and votes in the 2022 board of directors election yielded plenty of drama in recent weeks but in the end, directors Stephen Jacobs, Stuart Lakernick and Monica Rakowski retained their seats. The recount… Read more »
By Jack Chavez, Staff Writer (Sept. 29, 2022) Barely a month into the 2022-23 term of the Ocean Pines Association Board of Directors, questions of election integrity and accusations of a clandestine rendezvous of association officials, both employed and elected, are dogging the new administration. On Tuesday, the OPA announced a formal audit of the… Read more »
By Jack Chavez, Staff Writer (Sept. 29, 2022) The Berlin Town Council elections are just five days away. Candidates have long been settled, though they were officially confirmed only recently. No write-in candidates filed before the Sept. 27 deadline, leaving only District 4 up for grabs, where incumbent Dean Burrell looks to fend off a… Read more »