By Josh Davis, Associate Editor (Dec. 13, 2018) Berlin Mayor and Council members are still not comfortable with traffic patterns coming out of the new Ocean’s East apartment complex onto Seahawk Road and near Stephen Decatur High School. Town officials complained of unsafe conditions during the last several months and asked Planning Director Dave Engelhart to… Read more »
News
Thousands brave cold for annual Christmas parade
By Josh Davis, Associate Editor (Dec. 13, 2018) Below-freezing temperatures did little to deter the crowd of several thousand spectators who lined up to watch Berlin’s annual Christmas parade, last Thursday. Eighty-two groups participated in the parade, sponsored the Town of Berlin and Berlin Main Street, and paid for from donations by Berlin-area businesses. “It went… Read more »
Wor. Youth Snack Shack seeking donations
By Josh Davis, Associate Editor (Dec. 13, 2018) With the final “Bus Stop Snack Shack” scheduled next week, the program’s organizers are focusing on continuing the monthly events next year while also tackling issues of hygiene. Worcester Youth and Family Counseling Services in Berlin began the Bus Stop Snack Shacks in June as a way to… Read more »
Pines signs point to Northstar; special meeting Friday
By Josh Davis, Associate Editor (Dec. 13, 2018) A decision on new financial software narrowed on Friday, as the Ocean Pines Board of Directors appeared to rule out outsourcing through Legum & Norman, a regional subsidiary of the Associa corporation that manages 8,000 communities in the U.S. Following that apparent decision at a board work session,… Read more »
Utility deficits eroding general fund, audit shows
By Josh Davis, Associate Editor (Dec. 13, 2018) A Town of Berlin fiscal 2018 audit report on Monday night came with several notes of caution, as representatives from Ocean City firm PKS & Company said negative fund balances were rapidly eating away at the general fund. Auditing Partner Michael Kleger began by presenting an unmodified, or… Read more »
General manager asked to explore OPA organization
By Josh Davis, Associate Editor (Dec. 13, 2018) A special Ocean Pines Board meeting on Friday was short-lived, as the directors said they had already discussed the lone agenda topic, board priorities, at length. The top priority that emerged was an exploration of the organizational layout of the association, with directors tasking General Manager John Bailey… Read more »
Berlin art stroll taking trip to ‘Other Side of the Tracks’
By Josh Davis, Associate Editor (Dec. 13, 2018) Rather than the traditional 2nd Friday art stroll this month in Berlin, two local artists on Friday will host an exhibition of “nontraditional art for nontraditional people.” Dubbed “Other Side of the Tracks,” illustrator Pedro Mule, aka Pete Mueller, and metalworker Jordan Pippin will be joined by eight… Read more »
Disbelief following cell tower lease rejection
By Rachel Ravina, Staff Writer (Dec. 13, 2018) Calvert Crosslands partner Barb Pivec said she was blindsided by the Worcester County Commissioners’ decision last week to reject a lease agreement for a cell tower site at the Ocean Pines Wastewater Treatment Plant. Pivec said she entered the meeting with the belief the lease would be approved…. Read more »
County found not in compliance
By Josh Davis, Associate Editor (Dec. 13, 2018) Based on an Oct. 9 complaint filed with the state’s Open Meeting Compliance Board by this paper, the Worcester County Commissioners were cleared of violating the open meeting act in one instance, but found not in compliance in another. In a letter dated Dec. 10 from Jonathan A…. Read more »
Gazette Editorial: ‘Person of the Year’ honors are reminder
Rachel Pacella, formerly of Ocean Pines, and Rick Hutzell, who started his newspaper career in Ocean City, are among those honored by Time magazine this week as its “Person of the Year.” They and the rest of the staff at the Capital Gazette in Annapolis join Jamal Khashoggi, the Washington Post reporter who was murdered… Read more »