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APRIL 21, 2017
LIFESTYLE
POOCH PALOOZA Assortment of activities for dogs including an agility course and ball drop planned – Page 41
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White marlin prize money restored by City Council Acknowledging tradition, town officials will again offer $5K for season’s first
By Katie Tabeling Staff Writer (April 21, 2017) The angler who lands Ocean City’s first white marlin of the season will have extra cash in his or her pocket, as the sportsfishing community and the City Council will contribute $5,000 each as prize money. During last Friday’s budget wrapup meeting, Mayor Rick Meehan asked the council to appropriate funding for a 30-year-long tradition. In the budget process, councilmembers voted to use the $5,000 to promote fishing activities in other ways, such as fishing television show “Hooked on OC.” The council voted unanimously,
with Councilman Wayne Hartman absent, to restore funding through the Tourism Department’s budget. In doing so, the city will be working with Marlin Club President Franky Pettolina and Scott Lenox of “Hooked on OC” to promote the award. “Sometimes you take action and it leads to something good,” Meehan said. “I wasn’t aware about a lot of the tradition. I think we need to promote this to make it something special.” Ideas floated amongst the council and staff included live-streaming a formal check presentation by the city to the angler. That would revive an old tradition, as Sen. Jim Mathias presented the money at a formal ceremony with the Marlin Club in 1999, when he was mayor. Lenox thanked the council for allocating the prize money during the public comment period during MonSee COMMUNITY Page 6
A second offshore wind farm pitch
Another cool reception PHOTO COURTESY MICHAEL PANCO
LONG VIEW Licensed drone pilot Michael Panco captured this end-to-end shot of Ocean City while flying his aircraft a couple of hundred feet above the inlet over the weekend.
County anti-heroin boss gets handle on new role Fred Webster sees himself coordinating with agencies and providers of programs
By Brian Gilliland Associate Editor (April 21, 2017) Fred Webster, the county’s emergency services director and Worcester’s first heroin czar, has
been familiarizing himself with his new responsibilities and the work that’s already been done to combat the crisis following Gov. Larry Hogan’s state of emergency declaration last month. The governor dedicated $50 million to the cause over five years, and tapped former Ocean City Emergency See LEADERS Page 3
City Council declares it’s all for green energy, but a site unseen is best approach
By Katie Tabeling Staff Writer (April 21, 2017) After a dozen people criticized the Ocean City Council’s recent opposition to the location of the proposed wind farms, city officials clarified that they welcome green energy in the resort. “It’s not like we’re writing letters saying that we don’t want this,” Council President Lloyd Martin said Monday night. “We want to do this right the first time. We’re not the bad guys here – we want to make this work.” The show of support for the wind farm came two weeks after city officials objected to a plan that would have wind turbines close enough to shore to be seen. Fearing that the such
a view might affect tourism negatively, the mayor and council agreed to send a letter to state officials expressing their opposition. Two weeks ago, it was the U.S. Wind’s proposal that concerned the council, while on Monday the council heard Deepwater Wind CEO Jeff Grybowski outline his company’s plan to build an offshore wind farm. Like US Wind, Deepwater is seeking Public Service Commission permission to develop at least part of the 80,000-acre wind energy field created by the Maryland Offshore Wind Energy Act in 2013. The energy areas are somewhere between 10 to 30 miles off Ocean City’s coast and are divided in two lease areas: closer to the Delaware line and the other near downtown Ocean City. Deepwater’s “Skipjack” project See RESIDENTS Page 5