mvitale

The Ocean City Board of Education has adopted the budget for the 2023-24 school year, keeping the school tax rate stable while offering new classes and expanded programs. The total budget is $45.2 million, up from $44.3 million for the 2022-23 school year.

Philadelphia Eagles Super Bowl champion Brandon Graham didn’t just say how he felt when he strip-sacked Tom Brady in the 2018 Super Bowl, which secured the victory for the Birds. He showed it. He threw his arms in the air and enthusiastically shouted, “Yeah!” To that, the audience of devoted Eagles and Graham fans applauded. Graham was the major attraction in the afternoon at the fifth annual Sports Memorabilia Show on Saturday at the Ocean City Music Pier.

The Ocean City Board of Education formally accepted the resignation of Schools Superintendent Matthew Friedman at a meeting Thursday night. But not before some members of Fairness in Taxes -- a local government watchdog group -- blasted the outgoing superintendent for expenses he billed to the district for seminar-type of trips he took as an educator, despite already interviewing for another district.

Playland’s Castaway Cove stopped construction about eight weeks ago on a project to rebuild the arcade building destroyed by a 2021 fire and also to create a third-floor control room for a new roller-coaster to sit atop. The matter had to go to the Ocean City Zoning Board for an interpretation. The board had to determine whether a height variance would be needed for the third floor or if it would be considered part of the ride and, hence, not have the height limitation. After two months of waiting, Playland's management got the answer they were looking for in a brief meeting Wednesday night in which the board voted unanimously that there was no height variance needed.

Stephanie Gaitley described her season coaching the Ocean City High School Red Raiders girls basketball team as a “fairy tale.” Gaitley, a local legend who had a storied career playing high school and college ball, came back to help a team that had a difficult couple of seasons because of controversy over the former coaching staff. Now, after reviving the OCHS program, she is leaving to take the women's basketball head coaching job at Fairleigh Dickinson University.

An online petition drive in opposition to offshore wind farms following the deaths of dozens of whales along the East Coast has now hit a milestone of 500,000 signatures. Suzanne Hornick, an Ocean City resident and a founder of Protect Our Coast NJ, the independent grassroots organization that started the petition drive, said the goal is to collect a million signatures as a push continues to halt the wind farm projects.

Playland’s Castaway Cove -- an amusement park on the Ocean City Boardwalk -- once featured an iconic pirate ship, with a pirate holding a parrot. But the eye-catching attraction that served as the main entryway into the park was destroyed on Jan. 30, 2021, in a raging, early morning fire. Well, not only is the beloved pirate ship going to sit atop the arcade building once again in a newer form, thanks to advanced technology, but there are also plans for a roller-coaster, also on the roof of the arcade, to add thrills and chills.

Parking fees are going up in Ocean City this summer -- from the meters to the municipal lots. The Downtown Merchants Association, a group representing local business owners, had come up with the idea to have parking meters on Asbury Avenue remain in operation year-round, and it was a provision included in the parking ordinance approved by City Council at the April 13 meeting. Since then, the merchants have reconsidered and want the meters to remain in effect only from May through October -- the traditional time for parking fees in Ocean City each year.

There are plenty of reasons why homeowners are moving to Ocean City or making their second home a full-time residence. They want to live near the beach and the bay and take advantage of all the attractions and amenities the town has to offer, from the Boardwalk, downtown shopping and good schools. And to add to the allure of living in the family-friendly, year-round community is this: it ranks No. 15 -- smack dab in the middle of 30 towns -- with the lowest tax rates.

In a potentially serious setback for offshore wind energy, the Pentagon is expressing concerns that wind farm projects along the East Coast could pose a threat to national security. According to published reports, the Pentagon is troubled that the Biden administration has plans to expand offshore wind farm projects along the Atlantic coast, warning that nearly all of the new territory is in conflict with military operations. Congressman Jeff Van Drew pointed to the Pentagon’s concerns as another reason why a moratorium should be placed on wind farm projects until there is further study of the impacts.