OC Today
LIFESTYLE
BIKE WEEK Thousands of motorcycle enthusiasts are expected in Ocean City this weekend where many activities are planned – Page 63
WWW.OCEANCITYTODAY.NET
SEPTEMBER 18, 2015
SERVING NORTHERN WORCESTER COUNTY
Fast action restricts fire to boat
Fines up for rental scofflaws
Pair push burning boat out into bay away from pier
R1A still in limbo as city moves to toughen existing license rules
By Zack Hoopes Staff Writer (Sept. 18, 2015) As the City Council realized this week, the carrot and stick approach only works if the stick is bigger than the carrot. To that end, the city is not only introducing a more thorough license ap‘We need to plication find out from for rental them if we properties can just in R-1 sinforget about gle-family it, or if this zones, it (R1A) is still will also be out for implementing a hefty further fine for discussion.’ renting without a –PZ Chair Pam Buckley. license – in any area, not just R-1. “Right now, as it stands, there is no reason to buy a rental license in Ocean City. None whatsoever,” said Councilman Wayne Hartman. “There’s not a problem until you get caught and then you have time to fix it with no penalty.” Presently, if a landlord is found to be renting a property without registering with the city, he or she needs only to get a rental license ($116) and police noise permit ($25) within 10 days. There is no punitive fee. But on Tuesday, Hartman proposed, and his colleagues See SYSTEM Page 5
PHOTO COURTESY TOWN OF OCEAN CITY
Ocean City firefighters Corey Brown, left, and David Lewis attempt to extinguish a boat fire from shore last Friday near 94th Street, but found the vessel had drifted too far out into the bay. Fire Boat 1 was called in to finish off the blaze.
By Brian Gilliland Staff Writer (Sept. 18, 2015) Quick thinking by a Laurel, Md., grandfather and grandson prevented the possibility of much greater damage when the duo pushed their 20-foot Wellcraft boat out onto the bay when the center console vessel exploded into flames last Friday. Theodore Smith Jr., 71, and Travis Smith, 22, had just launched the vessel from a trailer, according to Natural Resources Police spokeswoman Candy Thomson, and turned the ignition when “flames jumped from the cenSee BLAZE Page 3
Beauregard’s back at sea By Brian Gilliland Staff Writer (Sept. 18, 2015) It certainly wasn’t the weather that brought hundreds of people to Assateague State Park last Friday, as overcast skies and cooler temperatures prevailed, it was the turtles. Three Kemp’s Ridley turtles, protected in the U.S. through the Endangered Species Act and internationally through the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), were released after their rehabilitation period at the National Aquarium in Baltimore. “Kemp’s Ridley turtles migrate from Florida to MassaBRIAN GILLILAND/OCEAN CITY TODAY See RECOVERED Page 6
He’s one of three Kemp’s Ridley turtles released at Assateague
HVAC TUNE-UP only
FREE
89
$
BRIAN GILLILAND/OCEAN CITY TODAY
Heather Mortimer with the Baltimore National Aquarium shows off Beauregard, a Kemp’s Ridley sea turtle rescued last November.
CENTRAL HVAC SYSTEMS Cooling • Heating • Plumbing • Electric • Appliances ng at
MARC ANTHONY HOME SERVICES Call NOW!
DRYER VENT & DUCT CLEANING SPECIALS 888-353-4050 • www.marcanthonyservices.com
Star ti
$
2999!
0% Financing for 1 year!