OC Today WWW.OCEANCITYTODAY.NET
JULY 7, 2017
SERVING NORTHERN WORCESTER COUNTY
LIFESTYLE
BJ’S ANNUAL CANOE RACES Ocean City restaurant continues tradition of hosting competition. Event July 11. – Page 49
FREE
Route 113 stretch set for paving New asphalt to go down, as next phase of project pushes toward spring ‘18
LISA CAPITELLI/OCEAN CITY TODAY
HOLIDAY BEACH
Thousands of people take advantage of the warm, sunny weather and visit the Ocean City beach and Boardwalk over the July 4 holiday weekend. Guests, colorful umbrellas and towels line the beach as far as the eye can see on Sunday.
MGH deal extended, but with questions asked By Katie Tabeling Staff Writer (July 7, 2017) Ocean City government has renewed a three-year contract with its advertising agency, MGH of Owings Mills, even as some council members asked whether the marketing techniques the agency has been using were reaching the desired audience. During Monday’s session, the City Council unani-
mously voted to renew the 36-month contract with MGH at $23,000 per month. The advertising firm is one of several line-items that is paid through the 2.5 percent of room tax allocated for marketing the resort, or $6.14 million in fiscal year 2018. Before the vote was taken, Councilman Wayne Hartman asked if MGH had recently looked into how effective See COUNCIL Page 4
By Greg Ellison Staff Writer (July 7, 2017) Compactors and pavers will be a regular sight for commuters on Route 113 between Snow Hill and Berlin as construction crews begin laying base asphalt on portions of the highway. Maryland State Highway Administration spokesperson Bob Rager provided a status update on Phase 3 of the $86 million highway dualization project, which covers a 4.6-mile stretch of road between Massey Branch at the north end and Five Mile Branch Road. “We just started paving last week,” he said. “The order of business for the rest of the summer is going to be paving, paving, paving.” The initial base asphalt paving was done last week between Massey Creek and Langmaid Road, Rager said. “We paved last week right up to Langmaid Road,” he said. “Now we’ll work south of there and continue that throughout the summer all the way down to the railroad crossing by Basket Switch Road.” The process becomes more entailed, Rager said, because two layers of base asphalt are required. “They’ve got to go up and down that See DUALIZATION Page 6
No smoking ... and this time we mean it By Katie Tabeling Staff Writer (July 7, 2017) Now that the Boardwalk smoking ban is in its second year, Ocean City Police have issued more tickets in the first weeks of summer.
Altogether, 52 citations were issued to smokers on the boards as of June 30, according to Police Public Affairs Specialist Lindsay Richard. “Officers are taking a stricter enforcement approach rather than focusing on education,” Richard said. “Signage has continued to improve
each year and we feel as if our residents and visitors should be aware of the ordinance by now.” The smoking ban was imposed by the City Council in May 2015 as a health initiative and a way to keep the Boardwalk air clean and the beaches free from cigarette butts. The ban also applies to cigars, pipes, e-cigarettes and other substances that contain tobacco. That summer, dozens of orange metal barrels were put See CIGARETTE Page 6