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APRIL 30, 2021
SERVING NORTHERN WORCESTER COUNTY
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Frontier Town managers clear up social media confusion about themes, attractions – Page 18
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OC geared up for gear heads in September Task force reviews steps taken to quell tuner cars By Greg Wehner Staff Writer (April 30, 2021) Nearly 50 socially distanced people filed into the City Council chambers in City Hall on Friday afternoon to discuss preparations for the tuner car pop-up rally expected to take place in Ocean City about five months from now. The Motor Event Task Force meeting was attended by representatives of the council, Ocean City Police Department, Worcester County government, a representative from Gov. Larry Hogan’s office, State Del. Wayne Hartman, and residents, most of whom are concerned about what will happen this year during what is expected to be a September event. The rally is a social media-generated See TASK Page 4
County weighs fire companies’ money in budget By Jack Chavez Staff Writer (April 30, 2021) Worcester County Commissioner President Joe Mitrecic updated the rest of the county commissioners on the state of the fire departments’ budget review during the county commissioners meeting on April 20. Mitrecic said that there was “much discussion” recently on an unofficial committee that’s reviewing the departments’ budgetary needs. The discussions regarded the flat rate of $450,000 funding per See COMMISSIONERS Page 3
LISA CAPITELLI/OCEAN CITY TODAY
TRAFFIC JAM
As the weather continues to get warmer, visitors and guests flock to Ocean City for food, fun and games. The Boardwalk has been bustling with activity on the weekends and so have the amusements. This trio enjoys a Saturday afternoon bumper car battle at Trimper Rides.
H-2B workers fill some gaps Resort business helped by replacing J-1 students with other nonimmigrant crews By Mallory Panuska Staff Writer (April 30, 2021) In an effort to quell resortwide staffing struggles, the same international workers who were once reserved for seafood packing houses and farm labor are taking on new roles at some Ocean City businesses this year. Each year, a set number of H-2B Nonimmigrant Temporary Worker visas are granted to individuals from foreign countries for six months to come to the United States and work for money to send home to their families. Businesses apply for cer-
tification to hire them and receive a number based on a lottery system. The workers are adults, not students like those who come from the J-1 student work and travel program, and typically perform manual labor — until this year. “We’ve always gone the J-1 route, now we’ve also gone the H2B route so that’s a new avenue for us,” said Steve Pastusak, the vice president of Ocean City’s Bay Shore Development Corporation. As the owner and operator of Jolly Roger Amusement Park, the Boardwalk Hotel Group and several other businesses and attractions in town, Bay Shore needs 500-plus employees to operate during the peak of the season, Pastusak said. But because of this year’s staffing challenges, that number would have been difficult to hit.
So, he decided in the fall to apply for H-2B certification and is now set to receive 150 workers through the program. “With the uncertainty there and what was going to happen, we needed to cover ourselves and go the H-2B route also,” Pastusak said. “The H-2B route is very different from the J-1 program because there is a lot of cost involved and it’s not so much a cultural exchange as it is a purely work visa.” Pastusak said 50 H-2B workers arrived earlier this month and that another 100 are expected to arrive in the coming weeks from countries that include Mexico, South Africa, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. He said they are mostly working as housekeeping staff in the hotels and as See BUSINESSPage 6