Page 42 The Dispatch Forever In Memory Of Our Founder, Dick Lohmeyer (May 25, 1927-May 5, 2005) The Dispatch, Serving Greater Ocean City Since 1984, Is Published By Maryland Coast Dispatch Inc. Weekly On Friday Mornings MAILING ADDRESS: P.O. Box 467 Berlin, Md. 21811 PHYSICAL ADDRESS: 10012 Old Ocean City Blvd. Berlin, Md. 21811 PHONE: 410-641-4561 FAX: 410-641-0966 WEBSITES: www.mdcoastdispatch.com www.facebook.com/thedispatchoc J. STEVEN GREEN Publisher/Editor editor@mdcoastdispatch.com NEWS DEPARTMENT SHAWN J. SOPER News Editor Sports Editor ssoper@mdcoastdispatch.com JOANNE SHRINER Staff Writer joanne@mdcoastdispatch.com TRAVIS BROWN Staff Writer travis@mdcoastdispatch.com CHRIS PARYPA Photographer SALES DEPARTMENT TERRI FRENCH Account Executive Entertainment Editor terri@mdcoastdispatch.com Ocean City is not a year-round resort because it’s not a destination point 12 months out of the year. That’s the simple answer to a citizen’s question posed to the Mayor and Council this week. At this week’s government meeting, Tony Christ of the Ocean City Taxpayers for Social Justice Group requested the opportunity to poll the Mayor and Council and seek a “yes or no” to the question: is Ocean City a year-round resort? Considering it was Christ, a general critic of this Mayor and Council’s as well as the previous body, it was obvious he had a beef and wanted to see if the town’s elected officials were blind to reality. Christ believes too many marketing dollars are being spent with the goal to expand Ocean City into a “year-round or out-of-season business location.” He thinks if that’s the city’s goal the current effort is not being successful and needs to be reconsidered. Council members Margaret Pillas and Brent Ashley and Mayor Rick Meehan were the only council members to respond to Christ’s question. Pillas said she views Ocean City as more of a “six-month resort” based off the financial impact from tourists, and Ashley said he thinks Ocean City is less of a year-round resort today than it was several years ago due largely to the com- Year-Round Discussion Raises Valid Points HOW WE SEE IT mercial and residential emergence of West Ocean City taking business off the island. They both raise legitimate and accurate points. So did Meehan, who told Christ he sees Ocean City as a year-round community. The mayor maintained the town has grown commercially to meet the demands of a residential base that has expanded tremendously since he moved to town in the early 1970s. We believe Christ, Pillas, Ashley and Meehan made valid comments. While we question whether the town is truly spending a lot of marketing dollars trying to promote visits during the first quarter of the calendar year, there is no question the winter, particularly after the holidays, is the doldrums here. It will remain this way till Easter for the most part with the exception of a couple busy weekends, such as Presidents Day and St. Patrick’s parade weekends. It’s quiet and the businesses that stay open simply do it for their employees and are typically not seeing much in the way of net returns. Ocean City will never be a yearround resort, mainly due to the weather. It’s just not appealing to many. The beach is the town’s biggest draw, and it can’t be enjoyed this time of year. It’s still beautiful, but it does not lure tourists to town The Dispatch/Maryland Coast Dispatch January 10, 2014 JEANETTE DESKIEWICZ Account Executive jeanette@mdcoastdispatch.com MANETTE CRAMER Account Executive manette@mdcoastdispatch.com ART DEPARTMENT CINDY WARD Art Director art@mdcoastdispatch.com JENNIFER T. O’BRIEN Graphic Artist COLE GIBSON Graphic Artist Webmaster BUSINESS OFFICE PAMELA GREEN Bookkeeper Classifieds Manager classifieds@mdcoastdispatch.com The Maryland Coast Dispatch (USPS #015125) is an official and legal newspaper for Worcester County. Periodical postage paid at Berlin, Maryland, and additional mailing offices.. The Maryland Coast Dispatch, 10012 Old Ocean City Blvd., Berlin, Md. 21811, is published weekly on Friday mornings, 52 weeks a year. Subscription rates are $75 per year, $55 for six months. POSTMASTER: Please send change of address to Maryland Coast Dispatch, P.O. Box 467, Berlin, Maryland 21811. Maryland Coast Dispatch offices are located at Route 346 and Graham Avenue, Berlin, Maryland. Senate Republicans blinked this week on the issue of unemployment benefits, but you can bet that their House counterparts won't be so easily swayed by compassion. At least that's what Democrats are counting on. After legislation to resume longterm unemployment insurance benefits cleared a procedural hurdle on a 60-37 vote on Tuesday, House Speaker John Boehner announced that he'll only consider the measure if there are off-setting cuts in spending and the legislation "includes something to help put people back to work." In his mind, that translates into loosening federal regulations governing such things as the environment and workplace safety. Such conditions are likely to doom it in the House, assuming it gains final passage in the Senate, which is no sure thing. The cost is relatively modest – $6.4 billion for the proposed threemonth extension – but the impact is much greater for the estimated Help Needed For Jobless In Time Of Job Scarcity WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING 1.3 million Americans who have exhausted their unemployment insurance benefits and would now would be eligible to receive an average of about $300 a week. An extension ought to be a nobrainer. In times of high levels of unemployment, the federal government has repeatedly jumped in to extend benefits so that people can hold their lives together until they find work. The only difference this time is that high unemployment has lasted longer in the wake of what was a record-setting recession and slow economic recovery. We don't begrudge conservatives their goal of long-term reductions in the federal deficit which, incidentally, fell by a whopping 37 percent in 2013, the first federal budget deficit to fall below 5 percent of the nation's gross domestic product since 2008. But they have generally embraced policies that "redistribute" wealth, cutting federal programs that benefit the poor and middle class while preserving for an extended period of time to spend money in hotels, condos and restaurants. However, an argument could be made that it is an attractive option eight months of the year, in varying successes, and a growth in conventions and special events could be critical to getting to that point. Non-weather related events or gatherings are the only way to boost the winter months. Sports tournaments, like the March soccer events held at Northside Park over multiple weekends, are proof that youth-related activities carry a heavy economic impact here. The new Performing Arts Center, currently under construction at the Roland E. Powell Convention Center, might help, too. Private enterprise diversity could as well. The fact is the peak season is too short here. We all know that. To say otherwise is silly. The best shoulder months have solid weekends, but they could be even better, and the weekdays during the heaviest shoulder months are hurting. We look to the town’s current tourism strategic plan initiative for more insight on this entire longer season discussion and what the realistic expectations should be for a destination like Ocean City. We are looking forward to that objective process and the final document’s findings. tax breaks that disproportionately benefit the very wealthy. Cutting off the unemployed is exactly the wrong way to try to balance the budget — as it not only discourages people from seeking work but harms their families which, in turn, raises dependency and the cost of safety-net programs in the future. What the government ought to be focused on is job creation. As President Barack Obama observed, the unemployed aren't lazy but victims of the economic crisis, and any of us could be in the same shoes. As a matter of principle, we don't think unemployment benefits should have to be "paid for," but if that's the only way the extension can gain support in the House, then the off-sets ought not to hurt the unemployed or working-class families generally. Better to ask more from those who can afford it than deny those who are just barely holding their lives together. © 2014, The Baltimore Sun