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JANUARY 19, 2018
SERVING NORTHERN WORCESTER COUNTY
SPORTS
WOTS CHAMP Stephen Decatur senior Caleb Bourne captures 220-pound tournament title; first school winner since 2012 – Page 25
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Now, it’s how and when bill becomes law
Dispensary will explain it all in OP
Effort to mitigate its impact underway
Info session suggests biz will be open soon
PAID SICK LEAVE
By Greg Ellison Staff Writer (Jan. 19, 2018) After the Maryland General Assembly opened its session last week by overriding Gov. Larry Hogan’s 2017 veto of mandated paid sick leave, area legislators and the Greater Ocean City Chamber of Commerce are continuing efforts to mitigate the impact on businesses that depend on seasonal employees. Last Thursday, the House voted 88-52 to override Hogan’s veto of HB01, the Maryland Healthy Working Families Act. The Senate followed suit the following day with a 30-17 vote. The legislation will become effective within 30 days, retroactive to Jan. 1, although the potential to delay the start date by several months is under discussion in Annapolis. Montgomery County is exempted from the bill as it already requires businesses to provide paid sick leave. The new law stipulates that businesses with 15 or more employees who clock in for at least 12 hours per week must give them one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 worked. Businesses with 14 or fewer employees would be required to provide unpaid sick leave at the same rate. Following the veto override last week, Sen. Jim Mathias said the Maryland Attorney General is being consulted as work began to develop an emergency bill to extend the legislation start date. “This isn’t over,” he said. “This is a work in progress.” Mathias also noted the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation has yet to write regulations for See EFFORT Page 3
BRIAN GILLILAND/OCEAN CITY TODAY
Minutes after this photo was taken of the Instigator returning to harbor with a load of black sea bass last Friday, it ran aground because of increased shoaling in the waterway.
Stuck again, fish on board Capt. says inlet talks continue to produce shallow outcomes
By Brian Gilliland Associate Editor (Jan. 19, 2018) There have been meetings, there have been talks, there have been “action items” and there has been dredging, but boats are still running aground in the state’s only ocean port, and the commercial fishermen have had just about enough. “We’ve been battling this for five years, I just don’t know what to do,” said Mike Coppa of the fishing vessel Instigator. “What happened [on Friday] was a crock of crap. We’re told they have to study this, they have to study that, but in the meantime, the boat has to get from point A to point B.” The Instigator attempted to navigate the inlet around 4 p.m. on Friday. It was a challenge from the start, because the recent storm had caused the buoys to be removed. Buoys 10-12, which marks the major trouble spot in the inlet,
PHOTO COURTESY MIKE COPPA
Crews work into the night to sort fish caught by the Instigator after it had run aground in the Ocean City inlet. If the fish weren’t processed quickly enough, they would have to sit an extra day due to the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.
had been replaced by the time the Instigator tried to return, but couldn’t prevent the boat with its thousands of pounds of black sea bass from hitting bottom and running aground on its way back in. Merrill Campbell, of Southern Connection Seafood, said he’s been to meeting after
meeting and nothing is being done. “I’ve got guys waiting to unload the boat. I just want to be able to work. We waited for high tide and everything,” he said. Commercial fishermen, in a workaround to the current See DREDGING Page 5
By Brian Gilliland Associate Editor (Jan. 19, 2018) With all signs pointing toward an opening next week, Worcester County’s first medical marijuana dispensary, Positive Energy, is set to hold an information session for prospective patients in O c e a n Pines on Saturday. “ I ’ m really ex- Lyndsey Odachowski cited for the opportunity to let the community get to know us,” Lyndsey Odachowski, general manager, said. “It’s one thing to read about us, but it’s another thing to be able to approach us in a way that can be easily absorbed. That way people can understand what it is we’re doing here and can maybe support us.” The meeting is scheduled to start at 3:30 p.m. in the Assateague Room of the Ocean Pines Community Center at 235 Ocean Parkway. “I’m calling it ‘New Year, New Medicine,’ and it’s going to explain what the medicine can and can’t do for you, and how you can get it,” she said. During the presentation, expected to last between 30 and 45 minutes, Odachowski said she would explain, in depth, the merits of medical marijuana. Following her presentation will be a question-and-answer period. “You’ll be able to learn about the different benefits and the different ways to consume the medicine,” she said. “I’ve talked to people who don’t like the smell or don’t want to smoke — and that’s See APPLICATIONS Page 4