12/7/18 Ocean City Today

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OC Today WWW.OCEANCITYTODAY.COM

DECEMBER 7, 2018

SERVING NORTHERN WORCESTER COUNTY

LIFESTYLE

OCEAN CITY COMIC CON Second annual event slated to take place at convention center this Saturday – Page 25

FREE

Officials say no to testing with airguns Federal ruling greeted by protest from elected reps. and environmental groups

STEWART DOBSON/OCEAN CITY TODAY

DOWN AND OUT Despite hopes to renovate the century-old Taylor House property on the corner of Talbot Street and Baltimore Avenue extensive structural deficiencies brought the wrecking ball out last week to level the historic structure. See story page 5.

Believe in Tomorrow wins $100K NASCAR recognizes volunteer’s work with award of two-year partnership

By Morgan Pilz Staff Writer (Dec. 7, 2018) Wayne Littleton, coordinator for the Believe in Tomorrow Children’s Respite Housing Program in Ocean City, is known for saying “ordinary people do extraordinary things,” which must have been the case leading the Believe in Tomorrow Foundation to win $100,000 and a two-year partnership with NASCAR. Carl Dakes, a longtime volunteer with Believe in Tomorrow, has been chosen by an online fan vote as the winner of The NASCAR Foundation’s eighth annual Betty Jane France Humanitarian Award. The award ceremony took place in Las Vegas last Thursday. “It was just an unbelievable experience to walk on that stage and look out all the people who were there,” Dakes said. “I’ve won trophies in the past, but nothing has ever come close to See VOLUNTEER’S Page 6

PHOTO COURTESY NASCAR FOUNDATION

Carl Dakes, of Crofton, Maryland, center, won the annual NASCAR Foundation’s Betty Jane France Humanitarian Award as a representative of Believe in Tomorrow. He is pictured with Believe in Tomorrow CEO Brian Morrison and Secretary Maryanne Davis.

By Morgan Pilz Staff Writer (Dec. 7, 2018) The Trump Administration last Friday granted five “incidental harassment authorizations,” or IHAs, which gives private companies permission to use seismic airgun blasts to search for fossil fuels buried beneath the sea floor of the Atlantic Ocean. The technique, which has drawn bipartisan opposition, uses a specialized air gun to blast the seafloor every 10 seconds for weeks at a time, possibly to detriment of marine mammals. The blasts are so powerful they penetrate rock layers beneath the sea floor, and can travel through the ocean for thousands of kilometers. By analyzing the rebounding signal that bounces back from the blast, scientists can determine what is beneath the surface and detect the presence of oil or natural gas. Permits were issued by the fisheries office of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which claims it has been assured the testing would not jeopardize endangered or threatened species. These permits give those five companies permission to work in an area spanning from southern New Jersey to central Florida. This is the second attempt by the Trump Administration to encourage offshore drilling off the East Coast. On April 28, 2017, President Trump signed Executive Order 13797, aimed at expanding offshore drilling and exploration in U.S. waters. The Department of the Interior reversed a decision made in January 2017 to deny seismic airgun blasting permits See SEISMIC Page 7


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