OC Today WWW.OCEANCITYTODAY.COM
MAY 26, 2023
SERVING NORTHERN WORCESTER COUNTY
HOLIDAY
MEMORIAL DAY EVENTS
Many opportunities to honor war heroes around the region this weekend – Page 3
FREE
County uses PIA to seek school info Md. Public Information Act invoked by commissioners in duel over board budget
PHOTO COURTESY JANET HOUGH
SUNSET PROVISION
A solitary seagull crosses in front of the big red/orange ball of the setting sun looking west over Isle of Wight Bay. In many ways, it says vacation time has arrived and it’s time to get outside.
Memorial Day: fun begins now Season’s first big weekend has businesses wondering if weather will cooperate By Mallory Panuska Staff Writer (May 26, 2023) Coming off of a busy, successful Cruisin’ car event weekend, the glass is half full when it comes to expectations for the Memo-
rial Day weekend in Ocean City — if the weather cooperates. “In terms of the weekend, historically, Memorial Day is quite weather dependent,” Ocean City Hotel-MotelRestaurant Association Executive Director Susan Jones said in an email earlier this week. “That being said, I do have several hotels reporting 80 percent-plus occupancy for this weekend, while oth-
ers aren’t at that point yet,” Jones added. “So, I do believe the weather will continue to play a role in the outcome.” Non-controllable factors such as rainy weather and the covid pandemic have challenged the official kick-off to summer in the resort town the past few years. According to The Weather Channel’s online 10-day See MEMORIAL Page 6
By Jack Chavez Staff Writer (May 26, 2023) Budget negotiations between Worcester County government and the public school system took another turn on Monday, when the county commissioners filed what both sides consider to be a Public Informa- ‘It wasn’t done tion Act (PIA) re- because we’re quest for a worried about line-item budget from the finding anything wrong. We Worcester County School wanted a full Board of Educacopy of the tion. budget broken The request down line comes after the commissioners by line.’ voted to not fund — Jim Bunting a $4.4 million requested increase to the schools budget and instead stick with the Maintenance of Effort (MOE) minimum, or not less than was spent last year. The request calls for detailed documentation of salaries and grant usage as well as a five-year expense report. It’s not meant to be taken as an escalation in tactics, though, Commissioner Jim Bunting said. “(The PIA request) was more (about), when we ask for not just a summary of the budget but line-byline budget, they sent us an extra 21 pages and it only amounted to about See SCHOOL Page 4
THINK FEDERAL DEBT CRISIS DOESEN’T AFFECT WORCESTER? THINK AGAIN — PAGE 63