OC Today WWW.OCEANCITYTODAY.NET
JUNE 17, 2016
SERVING NORTHERN WORCESTER COUNTY
LIFESTYLE
FIREMEN VISIT OC Thousands to gather in resort for MSFA’s annual conference, convention and parade – Page 77
FREE
FEMA fix going to take time And quite a bit of it, as city wrestles with bureaucracy over erroneous flood map
After initial concerns about whether they would appear, the U.S. Air Force’s precision flight demonstration team, the Thunderbirds, will scream overhead during the Ocean City Air Show this weekend. The Thunderbirds were grounded after
By Katie Tabeling Staff Writer (June 17, 2016) Despite appearing on the radars of a number of elected officials, the expensive error on Ocean City’s flood zone map doesn’t appear to be headed toward resolution any time soon. Following several letters from Sen. Barbara Mikulski, Sen. Ben
Cardin and State Sen. Jim Mathias, Federal Emergency Management (FEMA) representatives have met with resort officials in person to see the properties afflicted by a mapping error that is costing property owners tens of thousands of dollars in flood insurance. “We got their attention,” said Planning and Zoning Director Bill Neville to the Planning and Zoning Commission Tuesday evening. “By having them come to the community, they were ac-
tually able to see the situation in a different way from looking at aerial photograph versus standing there.” Eight or nine FEMA representatives met with city staff after the resort’s representatives in Congress sent a letter to the agency Director Craig Fugate about incorrectly recording two dunes as a double-humped feature. This mistake erroneously places properties between 93rd See CITY Page 7
Police go for stronger power If a cop tells you to knock it off, you’ll have two choices: you can do it or face arrest
By Katie Tabeling Staff Writer (June 17, 2016) The Ocean City Police Commission has fast-tracked an ordinance that would grant police officers the power to penalize more severely civilians who ignore a direct order to cease and desist disruptive behavior. After studying the resort’s and Maryland’s laws
for a month, Capt. Kevin Kirstein proposed that the City Council create a new ordinance that would make it unlawful for people to continue unlawful or disruptive behavior after receiving first warning from the police. The wording of the proposed ordinance makes it “unlawful to fail to obey a police officer’s order to immediately cease and desist while committing any offense which is classified as a municipal infraction upon such order from a police officer.” See OCPD Page 10
a crash during a performance at the Air Force Academy graduation ceremony in Colorado. The pilot ejected safely but the planes had to be checked thoroughly before they could be placed back in action. Ocean City Air Show coverage begins on Page 69
MORNING CONSTRUCTION
STEWART DOBSON/OCEAN CITY TODAY
The early Tuesday morning sun stands out above the construction work at the site of the redevelopment of the Riviera Motel on 26th Street and Baltimore Avenue. The above photo incorporates two exposure settings on the same frame.