of License Commissioners (BLC)
meeting, with the expansion of two
area restaurants' license premis-
es, multiple requests for the addi-
tion of live entertainment and the
postponement of a decision to al-
low facility alterations for an
Ocean City business recently
found itself in hot water with noise
complaints.
at 12407 Coastal Hwy. in Ocean
City. It requested the inclusion of
live entertainment and was award-
ed two pieces, four nights a week,
from 4-10 p.m. Though live enter-
tainment is always a big change
for any business, the size and
scope of Grotto's addition is con-
sidered tame for Ocean City.
more ambitious request. Besides
asking for live entertainment, own-
er Scott Heise also requested per-
mission for a disc jockey. The BLC
does not have a strong track
record of granting businesses DJs
due to the fear that they make it
easy for a crowd to get out of
hand. Attorney Hugh Cropper, rep-
resenting Pizza Tugos, acknowl-
edged the common concern with
disk jockeys but pointed out that
Pizza Tugos is relatively removed
from residential areas.
faces Route 50," said Cropper.
to the board that Heise is not look-
ing to transform his business into a
nightclub.
buy his pizza," said Cropper.
round business."
body," he said.
that he has a full arcade and other
options devoted strictly to families,
like a new Coca-Cola mixing ma-
chine that can create over 144 fla-
vors of soda and has proven a hit
with kids. Besides the 144 sodas,
Pizza Tugos also has 50 kinds of
beer, illustrating Heise's argument
that he's taking a full spectrum
approach in appealing to all cus-
tomers.
ey, the BLC denied the request,
with member Charles Nichols cit-
ing concern over noise leaking out
to affect the highway.
issues, that we deny this request.
There's way too much here for us
to swallow," he said.
This can only improve the situa-
tion. There is not, in my opinion,
any way in which this can be detri-
mental to the neighborhood," he
said.
partitions now wouldn't make
sense unless the end goal is to
have the late-night music or even
the DJ returned.
sic after 8:30?" he asked.
wanted to ask for, he would not
come before the board to ask for
an entertainment change given the
problems that occurred last sum-
mer.
er and Tammy that I am not com-
ing down here and requesting any
change in entertainment if I'm part
of this," he said.
ney who represented several im-
pacted families at the last board
hearing, stated that the glass by
itself wouldn't be an issue as long
as it didn't bring the DJ and "night-
club crowd" back.
re losing their dinner crowd at 8:30
because they have to shut down
their music," said Robins, "and
they're looking for their own music,
in-house music, as ambient back-
ground music for their dinner
crowd, then that's going to be fine
and not an issue."
night music and what Robins
viewed as a bad atmosphere for
the neighborhood, then there
would be obvious worries.
they come back and say, `we're
going to play the loud thumping
music, and we control the volume,
and we control the genre of the
music that we're playing,' and
they're serving cocktails ... then
that is going to be a concern," he
said.
meeting and will instead table it
until their next meeting.
that it needed to be advertised, not
discussed at the last minute with-
out being on the agenda, so that
the public could weigh in if they so
choose.
as Mark Cropper argued, Esham
said that the people in that neigh-
borhood are owed a right to take
part in the discussion, no matter
how minor, due to all of the distur-
bances they had to endure from
the Skye Bar last summer.
1/2 miles of Tugos that already
offer live entertainment.
expanded to include more outdoor
seating. The Crab Bag on 130th
Street in Ocean City and Tap
House on the Bay Bar and Grill/-
OC Steamers on 45th Street in
Ocean City both received permis-
sion to expand from the board.
about 60 outdoor seats.
feet of beach that would include 30
new tables and a large outdoor
bar.
ing alcohol and then simply leav-
ing that section of the beach,
which would violate the Tap
House's license since it doesn't in-
clude a carry-out alcohol permit.
General Manager Jeff Burton
promised the board that he would
have a staff member outside keep-
ing an eye on everything to make
sure that no one wandered away.
walk off there with a drink, you're
in trouble."
beach with the condition that fenc-
ing be installed to prevent wander-
ers.
and not on their agenda. Galaxy
66 Bar and Grille owners Roger
and Tammy Cebula came before
the board asking for permission to
install a series of adjustable sliding
glass partitions around their Skye
Bar.
operation by forcing music to be
shut down by 8:30 p.m. and re-
moving permission for the bar to
have a DJ of any kind. The board
also issued a $5,000 fine. The
crackdown was all due to the ex-
traordinary number of noise com-
plaints and citations that the Skye
Bar managed to accrue last sum-
mer.
board that his clients are aware of
how badly the noise got out of
hand and are not asking for any of
the privileges that were stripped
away in May to be returned at this
time.
license premises. Mr. and Mrs. Ce-
bula, since that hearing, have tried
to do whatever they can to miti-
gate any impact and improve on
the situation," said Mark Cropper.
control over any noise they might
generate, Mark Cropper contin-
ued.
venting public access to infor-
mation about how agricultural
operations manage their waste."
sues.
clean water," the statement
reads. "Without access to this
information, local communities
and citizens cannot be assured
that these operations are not
polluting the waters ..."
last week was awarded two
grants totaling $25,000 by Per-
due Farms through the Arthur
W. Perdue Foundation, the com-
pany's charitable giving arm, to
expand efforts to raise oysters
for the Chesapeake Bay and re-
cycle oyster shells.
liance and Marylanders Grow
Oysters Program. The grants al-
so strengthen a partnership be-
tween ORP and Perdue Farms,
which has been a long-term
supporter of bay oyster restora-
tion efforts.
apeake Bay," said Stephan Abel,
executive director of the Oyster
Recovery Partnership. "They
have been active with the Mary-
landers Grow Oysters Program
since 2009 and have helped us
expand the important communi-
ty-based program throughout
the Eastern Shore of Maryland."
string of burglaries throughout
Wicomico County over a period
of six months from August 2012
to January 2013 pleaded guilty
last week in Wicomico County
Circuit Court and was sentenc-
ed to a combined 130 years in
jail with all but 37 suspended.
two men, including Michael
James Tingle, 26, and William
Paul Tingle, 31, both of Nanti-
coke, in connection with a spree
of a dozen burglaries in the
county from August 2012 to
January 2013. During the spree,
entry was gained to the burglar-
ized residences through both
locked and unlocked doors.
burglary cases and one attempt-
ed first-degree burglary case
related to the Wicomico County
spree. He was sentenced to a
combined 130 years in the Di-
vision of Corrections with all but
37 years suspended. He was
also ordered to pay restitution to
the many victims. William Tin-
gle's trial is set for next week.