parking meter areas will be permitted next summer or hold off until the
November 2014 general election?
issue of the new meter locations before voters. If verified, and history
shows us at least 10 percent of the gathered signatures will be rejected
for a variety of reasons, the new areas of paid parking will be put on hold
until the matter is determined by the electorate.
decides. Special elections on specific issues typically have poor voter
turnouts and tend to attract those most in an uproar over the matter at
hand. Special elections to fill elected official seats typically bring larger
turnouts, on the other hand. In Ocean City, the most recent special elec-
tion was in April 1998 when a Vince Gisriel-led citizens group petitioned
a sizable addition at Northside Park. Voter turnout was 28% and the ma-
jority favored the expansion project. Back in April 1985, following Mayor
Harry Kelley's death, a special election was held to elect his replacement
(Fish Powell) with a whopping voter turnout of 72%.
2014. However, the problem is the lost $100,000 in estimated revenue,
and the city will need to find that somewhere and it could come in in-
creased taxes or in service cuts elsewhere. Either way, if the signature
minimum is met, the group behind the petition will have scored a victo-
ry.
is a major demand for timely reporting and up-to-date information is al-
ways coveted. Along with our print publication and our website, posting
to our Facebook page relevant information and photos is our favorite
medium to release content.
week in ranking of "Total Reach" (the number of people who actually saw
the post):
during Hurricane Sandy)
4. An album of photos of the humpback whale jumping offshore
6. Opening ceremonies at the Inlet of the USSSA Softball World
9. OCPD vehicle strikes civilian motorist (12,990)
south.
on the Boardwalk is there is no retail. There are restaurants, but primari-
ly the Boardwalk, which is concrete and features a bike-only lane, is
home to hotels and condominiums only. The only aspect of Virginia
Beach's Boardwalk and beach that was favorable to Ocean City in my
opinion was the designated play areas for kids on the beach. There were
several huge playgrounds constructed on the beach between the ocean
and the Boardwalk as well as a couple huge inflatables that were offered.
Other than that, the beach was not nearly as pristine as Ocean City's and
the Virginia Beach Boardwalk did not offer as a whole the same level of
amenities as Ocean City's.
porter hat, playing dumb and asking lots of questions. One common top-
ic people were talking about was the slower than usual tourism season
that was confirmed by most businesses we frequented. Service industry
workers were complaining about the lack of shifts being given to them
by employers and the poor results from the hours they were working.
the Boardwalk during a social media-driven event called "College Beach
Weekend." Apparently, the organizers of that event, which attracted
40,000 to the "Oceanfront" and featured battery, shootings, stabbings
and robberies, had planned a summer edition of the spring event. Noth-
ing out of the ordinary took place apparently.
sation in both resorts tourism and public safety.
ful moments with us.
and even more proud to be a part of
this community. They gave and
gave so much to us that the pain we
suffered was so much easier to
face. We can never thank everyone
enough. We will always be grateful
to this wonderful place that we are
lucky enough to call home.
characterized the omission of
Ocean City from the Baltimore
Sun's list of 12 hot summer get-
aways as "startling." As someone
who has worked at the front line of
Ocean City's tourism economy for
most of my life, I am not at all sur-
prised that Ocean City was left off of
the list. The omission should be rec-
ognized as a wake-up call for the
town's leaders and stakeholders.
been slowly bleeding away. Many
people who once chose our town as
their vacation destination now go
elsewhere. While at work at my fam-
ily's retail business, I am regularly
asked by visitors whether the
Boardwalk "is always this bad" or
some other variation of that ques-
tion. Can we reasonably expect
people who ask such questions to
return in the coming years?
more destination rivals than in years
past, and internet-savvy vacation-
ers will search out the best value
and return for their buck. Informa-
tion flies between strangers: people
share their experiences through
social media networks and look to
the comments of others for guid-
ance while planning their vacations.
Maintaining a positive reputation as
a destination is therefore of para-
mount importance. Indeed, we can-
not afford to have our guests blog
about their "scary" Boardwalk expe-
riences. Moreover, the combination
of cell phones and the internet al-
lows bad news to travel fast: consid-
er the negative exposure generated
by the video of the Division Street
beach melee two weeks ago.
in fact healthy. At times, when busi-
ness leaders have spoken of poor
performance, their concerns have
been dismissed as being the result
of poor weather. We were told that
violent criminal behavior would de-
cline once we got through June. Do
our leaders really believe their posi-
tions, or do they just hope that the
rest of us are naïve enough to be-
lieve them?
sons than during the 1990s in
spite of a construction boom that
created many more housing units in
Ocean City. Some people point out
lower than they were before. How-
ever, counting how many toilets are
being flushed is less important than
knowing the identity of the people
flushing them. The desirable vaca-
tioners seem to be flushing toilets
elsewhere.
ly right, and often such shifts are be-
yond the control of public leaders.
But linking behaviors to societal
trends doesn't act as a viable ex-
cuse for not attempting to curb
these behaviors. For example,
Drew Haugh, who has worked on
the beach for more than three dec-
ades, noted in a letter published last
week that he had never heard so
many "F-bombs" yelled on the
beach and Boardwalk as he has re-
cently. I concur reason in part that
my wife and I do not bring our chil-
dren to the Boardwalk during the
summer months. While such
speech may be constitutionally pro-
tected, we should still be discussing
ways to mitigate the problem. Cer-
tain "types" of people cannot be
kept out of town, but their conduct
can certainly be better monitored
and regulated than it is now. Efforts
must be made. Continuing to side-
step the issues is not an option.
smoking on their beaches, and that
Wildwood now regulates droopy
drawers. Those who question the
efficacy or administrability of enforc-
ing such statutes are missing the
point. The true effectiveness of en-
acting such legislation lies not in en-
forcement, but in sending the mes-
sage to visitors that their concerns
are recognized and that steps are
being proactively taken to address
these concerns. Perception is ev-
erything; poor perceptions of Ocean
City are likely the root of why our
town was shunned by the Baltimore
Sun. We need to change these per-
ceptions.
not believe so should consider the
fate of Wildwood during the 1970s.
Wildwood had allowed itself to be
overrun by partying young adults,
whose behavior effectively collaps-
ed the town's economy by encour-
aging families to seek alternative
vacation destinations. Rebuilding
the city's brand took years of hard
work, but today, Wildwood is widely
acclaimed for its family-friendliness.
taken now. The crucial first step is
for our leaders to summon the cour-
age to candidly, transparently rec-
ognize and address the problems
that we are facing. If they cannot do
so, they should step aside and let
others take the lead in the interest
of preserving our town's economic
well-being. There is no longer room
for egos.
economy to the peak years we en-
joyed during the late 1980s and
1990s. And maybe one day, the
pride we feel from again being en-
dorsed by media outlets as a worthy