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Stella Fleming placed third runner-up in last year’s Little Miss Ocean City pageant and between tears and smiles, it was clear she was ecstatic. On Friday night, Stella’s tears and beaming smile returned, as the 10-year-old danced her way into the hearts of the audience and judges with her talent and poise. She brought some extra wow with her dance rendition of “All That Jazz” and was crowned 2024 Little Miss Ocean City.

With just weeks to go before the start of the school year, Ocean City school district officials say they are confident that they have an interim school superintendent in place to lead the district while they narrow the search for a candidate who is a good fit to join the district on a permanent basis.

Sun or clouds, it doesn’t matter when the Ocean City Regional Chamber of Commerce Farmers & Crafters Market is in full swing. On Wednesday, huge, shiny red Jersey Toms filled farm stand tables, peppers from red, to yellow to green, were fresh and ready for the taking. The weekly Farmers Market, which opened in June, is from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Wednesdays through Sept. 13 on the Ocean City Tabernacle grounds at Sixth Street and Asbury Avenue.

The Ocean City Housing Authority went out to bid Tuesday for a 60-unit affordable housing development that will replace the aging Pecks Beach Village family complex. Jacqueline Jones, the Housing Authority’s executive director, said the agency expects to award the contract in September as the project transitions from the planning stage to actual construction in the next few months.

The OCFPL Board of Trustees gave an update Monday on the Ocean City library's second floor renovation project, which includes an expanded Young Adult section, slated to begin in the fall. There will be a slight delay with the project so that the architect can review spacing issues to see about creating more room for office space and other improvements, library officials explained.

When Lola DeMarco was crowned Miss Ocean City 2024 on Saturday night, she thought of one person, someone who was the guiding light in her life, her mom, Kim. “My mom always pushed me to do my best and she loved watching me perform and dance,” Lola, of Ocean City, recalled in an interview Sunday. Kim, a businesswoman and entrepreneur, lost a long, courageous battle against cancer in July 2022. She was 49. On Saturday, Lola danced before a crowd at the Ocean City Music Pier to a song dedicated to her mom.

Babies took over the Ocean City Boardwalk in toy cars and tractors. Some were dressed as little lifeguards, while others were Disney characters, farmers and even a watermelon. From elaborate floats featuring jungle or beach scenes to decorated wagons and strollers with children tucked in among balloons and other adornments and costumes, there was a whole lot of cuteness going on at the 113th annual Ocean City Baby Parade on Thursday morning.

The clock at Ninth Street and the Boardwalk in Ocean City has been a fixture since 1999. It is a well-known gathering spot, a location that sees thousands of summer tourists each day. The distinct post clock with a Roman face painted in black with gold accents has a problem, though. It doesn’t always work. Now, the city is planning to replace it.

Ocean City police are patrolling neighborhoods and looking for suspicious activity as they continue to deal with the rise in auto thefts. Police Chief Jay Prettyman said Tuesday that police are doing all they can to stop the thefts.

The Ocean City School Board election will give voters plenty of candidates to choose from with three seats open and seven candidates running in the Nov. 7 election. As of the filing deadline July 31, incumbents Cecilia Gallelli-Keyes and Robin Shaffer handed their petitions in to the Cape May County Board of Elections. The other candidates are as follows, Michael Allegretto, Steve Flogaus, Corey Niemiec, Jocelyn Palaganas and Kevin Schaffer, according to capemaycountyvotes.com. Longtime Board of Education member and current vice president of the school board, Joe Clark, is not seeking reelection. Cape May County Clerk Rita Rothberg said that in recent years, there has been a growing excitement for school board races. School board elections were held in the spring prior to 2012. “Especially with changing the deadline, now we have many contested races for school board,” Rothberg pointed out. She also noticed something else about the school board elections. “People are more involved and aware of the issues that their children and the schools are facing,” Rothberg said. “It is nice to see all of the interest.” Voters will get sample ballots and if they are on the list, they will get a mail-in ballot...