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MARCH 25, 2022
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Lawsuits over redistricting in Maryland lead courts to postpone key dates for races – Page 4
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Hotel, resort Margaritaville clears council Approval carries additional conditions for developer
GREG WEHNER/OCEAN CITY TODAY
BJ’S REPLACEMENT
Work on the new Windward Restaurant, located at the former BJ’s on the Water property between 74th and 75th streets, is underway as crews continue to build a two-story bayfront establishment with a sandy beachfront area along the water. Along with the construction of the restaurant, the former Quiet Storm building next to the Ocean City Fire Station and between the new establishment and Coastal Highway was demolished as part of the project.
Concert’s setup no overnight job Pushing event back one weekend reflects scope of undertaking By Greg Wehner Staff Writer (March 25, 2022) A concert that started out as a way drive a tuner car pop-up rally away from Ocean City may have been pushed back a week, but city officials say logistically it needed to happen and music fans won’t be disappointed. Oceans Calling, a production from C3 Presents is tentatively scheduled to take place in the
downtown portion of the resort and will occupy space at the inlet parking lot and adjacent beach. Since the concert’s announcement, the Lollapalooza-planning company said Baltimore-based music ensemble O.A.R. will play three sets during the three-day festival, featuring over 30 performances on three stages. When Tom Perlozzo, the city’s director of tourism and business development, presented the idea to host the festival, it was intended to help fill area hotels with concertgoers on a weekend that many businesses and lodges shut down to
avoid shenanigans that came with past pop-up car rallies. While great on paper, the idea ran into problems because the weekend before the pop-up rally was BikeFest, which has grown in magnitude and last year featured top acts such as Kid Rock, Brett Michaels of Poison, and George Thorogood and the Destroyers. According to an announcement in early March, the Zac Brown Band will play BikeFest this year. City officials had originally hoped to be able to use parts of BikeFest for Oceans Calling, but loSee C3 Page 4
By Mallory Panuska Staff Writer (March 25, 2022) Monday came, and it was all right for the developers of a proposed Jimmy Buffett-themed hotel and resort in downtown Ocean City. After an initial discussion in the fall, City Council members got their first real look at the plans for a 13story, 265-room Margaritaville hotel and accompanying amenities on a stretch of lots at the corner of 14th Street and Coastal Highway. The space is best known as the site of the Phillips Beach Plaza Hotel, which shuttered in 2020. For roughly three hours Monday, the developers presented details of two requests to help advance the project, and council members discussed and voted on them. During the first public hearing, See COUNCIL Page 10
Route 90 stretch to close nightly for maintenance By Greg Wehner Staff Writer (March 25, 2022) State Highway Administration crews will be performing maintenance work along Route 90 during the overnight hours next week, forcing motorists to use alternate routes into Ocean City. According to a press release from the Maryland Department of Transportation, the 12- mile stretch of Route 90 will be closed from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m. See DRIVERS Page 3
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Ocean City Today
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State Highway Administration crews are scheduled to work on Route 90 during the overnight hours next week to restripe the roadway, improve drainage, clear debris and repair a guard rail that was damaged in a multi-car accident in May 2021, when a truck was left teetering on the metal beam. Be advised that crews will reroute traffic to Route 50 while work is being completed, and officials recommend drivers allow an extra 30 minutes to get to their destination.
Drivers must detour around Route 90 at night next week Continued from Page 1 each night between Sunday, March 27 and Friday, April 1, weather permitting of course. Crews are expected to redirect all drivers to Route 50, or Ocean Gateway as the work is being completed, and the State Highway Administration suggests all drivers add an additional 30 minutes to their commute time if heading to the resort. Some of the work to be conducted includes debris removal, drainage improvements, lighting repairs, line striping, and guardrail repairs. A portion of the guard rail between Isle of Wight and Ocean City was damaged when a multi-vehicle accident occurred on the Route 90 bridge on May 2, 2021. A truck wound up teetering on the guard rail because of the crash, and a 2-year-old girl fell into the water before Berlin-resident Jonathan Bauer jumped in to rescue
her. The section of rail where the truck came to rest remained un-repaired since the crash. In October, SHA District Engineer Jay Meredith and SHA Assistant District Engineer of Construction Brett Deane told City Council members they planned to wait until after winter to complete maintenance and repairs to the bridge. The winter, Meredith explained at the time, introduces the risk of trucks sliding and damaging the bridge. The meeting in October was primarily to discuss the dualization of Route 90 between Route 113 and Ocean City and came after Gov. Larry Hogan announced plans to widen Route 90 from two lanes to four. “MDOT SHA works hard to maintain safe traffic mobility in work zones for our crews as well as our cusSee OFFICIALS Page 11
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MARCH 25, 2022
C3 date change reflects complex nature of setup Continued from Page 1 gistically, there was not enough in common between the two events to have enough time to break down one and set up the other. As a result, the concert will now be held Sept.30 through Oct. 2. “The reason the Tourism Department recommended approval for moving the C3 Presents event was because we exhausted every option of set-up and tear-down in hopes the two events could fit within a oneweek timeframe,” Jessica Waters, the city’s director of marketing and communications said in an email, adding that each event requires 10-14 days for set-up and tear-down. “Ultimately, despite exploring several alternatives, there simply isn’t enough time for the required event build-out in the inlet lot for the two large events to go on back-to-back weekends.” Perlozzo said Oceans Calling will be double the size of BikeFest and 1020 nationally recognized entertainers will perform at the event. He also pointed out that the set-up and tear down logistics suggest the C3 production will not be anything like BikeFest.
PHOTO COURTESY C3 PRESENTS
An aerial photograph taken by Grant Hodgeon shows the layout of last week’s Innings Festival in Tampa, Florida, which Director of Tourism and Business Development Tom Perlozzo said he attended. The festival was put together by C3 Presents, the same company pitching Oceans Calling in Ocean City, and featured bands like O.A.R., Green Day, and The Lumineers.
Rather than have the stages confined to the inlet parking lot – which is what BikeFest traditionally does – C3 will have two stages on the beach and one in the inlet parking lot. “The stages require cranes for construction and are massive in size,” Perlozzo said. “Other logistics include matting to be placed on the beach for the staging and pedestrian walkways between the staging south and north of the pier.” Along with the music aspect, Oceans Calling will feature a culinary
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component with nationally recognized chefs, though the details were still being worked out. Perlozzo recently attended the Innings Festival, a C3 production in Tampa, Florida which featured bands O.A.R., The Lumineers, and Green Day, saying the proposed event is as simple as night and day for Ocean City. “This isn’t a one and done concert
and has the ability to bring national attention to the resort for years to come,” he said. “I could go on forever, but they don’t leave a stone unturned and provide the best experience for an event that size, I have attended.” The bands and logistics for the event are still being worked out, Perlozzo added, but once a contract is signed, a full announcement will be made.
Redistricting lawsuit delays primary election until July By Jack Chavez Staff Writer (March 25, 2022) In a significant move for Worcester County, where the majority of the county commissioner elections will pit Republican incumbents against Republican challengers in the primary election, the state Court of Appeals has pushed that contest’s dates from June 28 until July 19. “Following the Court of Appeals’ decision last week to move the primary election to July 19, the State Board of Elections has been working with the local boards of elections to ensure that Maryland voters have the opportunity to participate fully in the election process,” Maryland State Board of Elections Administrator Linda Lamone said in a statement. “We continue to work with the local boards to review any possible logistical issues resulting from the change to the election calendar, including the availability of early voting centers and election day polling places, recruitment of election judges for early voting and election day, and equipment allocation. The deadline to register to vote in the primaries is now June 28 and the new deadline to request a mail-in ballot is July 12 for voters who want to receive their ballot by mail, according to the statement. Early voting takes
place July 7-14, including over the weekend. The statement didn’t point to a reason for the delay, but on Tuesday during the budget workshop held by the Worcester County Commissioners, Election Director Patricia Jackson said the delay is due to the legal battle over new legislative maps working their way through the state Court of Appeals. No redistricting work can begin until a decision is made, thus the court decided to delay the primary. “That’s a great time for an election in Ocean City,” Commissioner President Joe Mitrecic deadpanned in response. Furthermore, the Roland E. Powell Convention Center in Ocean City will be the only location for early voting in Worcester. When Commissioner Josh Nordstrom bemoaned the fact that such a location, in July, is around an hour from Pocomoke, Jackson pointed out that voters will also have the opportunity to vote by mail. But even that option has voters angry, she said. “It’s (state) law that we have to mail mail-in ballots to all voters. We’re getting some very interesting responses, pretty nasty responses from the voters,” Jackson said. “But that’s their See VOTERS Page 6
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Tram driver positions filled, bus operators still needed By Mallory Panuska Staff Writer (March 25, 2022) Efforts to recruit more bus and tram drivers have paid off, and resort officials are hoping the bodies stay in the driver’s seat for a chance to rival pre-pandemic levels in Ocean City this summer. “We are MUCH further along than we were in previous years, “ Public Works Director Hal Adkins said of the number of drivers hired to date at a Transportation Committee meeting Tuesday. Adkins said the department has 66 bus drivers, including the five fulltimers working now; 25 tram drivers, which is all they need; 19 of 25 needed tram conductors, eight of eight needed tram techs; and one of
two needed tram ticket sellers. Recruiting drivers for both buses and trams has been a challenge since covid hit. In summer 2020, both virus protocols and a lack of applicants forced staff to run a limited number of buses, while trams were scrapped completely. The staffing strain led to less deployments for both buses and trams, which hurt the tram division especially since it is typically a big moneymaker for the transportation department. At the close of last season, committee members and staff put their heads together to create a series of incentives to help fill the driver rosters for both divisions. The department offered incentives
MALLORY PANUSKA/OCEAN CITY TODAY
An Ocean City bus drives along Coastal Highway.
that included $50 early application bonuses, reimbursements for out-ofstate applicants to provide their driv-
ing records, and $500 referral bonuses. Adkins said several appliSee PUBLIC Page 7
Voters will see busy ballots in ’22 elections Continued from Page 4 choice. You can vote in person or you can vote early or you can vote by mail. We just have to mail an application to every voter from now on.” The decision by the Maryland Court of Appeals to push the primary
election into July was so it could hear arguments this week in a case that alleges gerrymandering in a dozen or more legislative districts. Following that, the court has the option of leaving the new district maps as they are, ordering new maps
to be redrawn, or ordering the state to replace the current map with the one by Gov. Larry Hogan’s citizen commission. Regardless, county races will not be affected, and those eligible to vote in the Republican and Democratic primaries will see an interesting ballot come July and then in November. On March 23, the Board of Elections had the following County Commissioner races listed on their online database: In District 1, Caryn Abbott (R) will challenge incumbent Josh Nordstrom (D). In District 3, Eric Fiori (R) will take on Thomas Gulyas (R) in the primary. In District 4, a three-way, Republican primary race is shaping up between incumbent Ted Elder (R), Worcester County Fire Marshall Jeff McMahon (R) and former commissioner Virgil Shockley (R). McMahon is set to retire at the end of this month. In District 5, Grant Helvey (R) will
challenge incumbent Chip Bertino (R) in the primary. In District 6, Richard Addis (R) will challenge incumbent Jim Bunting (R) in the primary. Commissioners Diana Purnell and Joe Mitrecic are running unopposed in Districts 2 and 7, respectively. Vying for spots on the non-partisan Board of Education are: In District 1, John Abbott will challenge incumbent Bill Buchanan. In District 4, Jamie Marie Rice will challenge incumbent Bill Gordy. In District 6, Katie Ann Addis will challenge incumbent Nate Passwaters. In District 7, incumbent Todd Ferrante runs unopposed. In other races, State’s Attorney Kris Heiser (R) is running unopposed, Jeffrey Buhrt (R) will challenge incumbent Sheriff Matt Crisafulli (R) in the primary, and Mike Diffendal (R) and Linda Hess (R) will challenge Orphans’ Court incumbent Judge Cheryl Jacobs (R) in the primary.
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Ocean City Today
Public Works Dept. hires new transit chief members and encouraged them to keep recruiting to ensure enough drivers are still available when the season starts. “Let’s keep hiring, because we’re going to lose a few,” he said.
Continued from Page 6 cants took advantage of the incentives. He also said that Transportation Operations Manager George Peak recently did a stint on a news broadcast to get the word about hiring and recruiting, which brought in a “wave of applicants.” “This is very, very positive. I’m tickled to death,” Peak said of the numbers. Mayor Rick Meehan, who also sits on the Transportation Committee, commended the work of the staff
New transit manager Ocean City transportation officials have hired a new transit manager. Adkins told members of the transportation Committee Tuesday that Robert Shearman will step into the role on April 4. Shearman knows the transporta-
tion industry well. He started out as a driver, and advanced to running the bus system at University of Maryland College Park and the parking system at Johns Hopkins. The position opened at the end of last year with the retirement of longtime Transit Manager Steve Bartlet. Mask mandate extended A federal mask mandate for anyone inside a public transit vessel was supposed to be lifted on March 18, but eight days before, transportation officials received notice it would ex-
tend another month. Staff members have said that the bus drivers and passengers are ready for the mandate to be over, and Peak said he was disappointed that the notice of the extension came so close to the proposed lift date. Adkins said he believes airline industry officials led the charge to extend the mandate and reiterated that staff are ready to be rid of it. “If April 18 rolls around and they’re ready to lift the mask mandate, we’re ready to flip the switch,” he said.
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