Donald Wittkowski

It was a near-perfect landing – on the beach. When it was all over Saturday morning, the pilot walked away unharmed and the plane was relatively unscathed, except for the tip of the left wing and a propeller blade that was bent from striking the sand on the 49th Street beach. “The guy made a pretty amazing, safe landing,” said Sgt. Patrick Randles, Ocean City Police Department’s public information officer. “He picked the best place because 49th Street has the widest beach.”

The Ocean City Housing Authority received construction bids for a proposed 32-unit senior citizens housing complex on Thursday in what is the latest attempt to get the project back on track after some setbacks and delays last year. Two bids were made. The apparent low bid of $6.9 million was submitted by Gary F. Gardner Inc. of Medford, N.J. The other bidder, Fabbri Builders of Vineland, N.J., came in at nearly $7.3 million.

It’s not the blockbuster $9 million deal that Ocean City has been hoping to make for a major piece of property owned by local businessmen and brothers Harry and Jerry Klause. Instead, City Council approved a $9,000 agreement Thursday night with Klause Enterprises to lease the land, once the site of a now-closed car dealership, for public parking over the summer. Encompassing nearly an entire block, the property on Simpson and Haven avenues, between 16th and 17th streets, will be used by the city through Sept. 9 for free public parking.

About 700 people took part Sunday in the Walk to End Lupus Now fundraiser on the Ocean City Boardwalk. Now in its 11th year in Ocean City, the walk was expected to raise about $60,000. Altogether, the event has raised an estimated $400,000 to $450,000 for lupus-related research and education during its 11-year run, an organizer said.

Cape May County’s tourism industry is a $6.6 billion colossus that draws nearly 10 million visitors annually to an area that has diversified its attractions well beyond the ever-popular beaches and boardwalks, state and county officials said Friday. Freeholder E. Marie Hayes described Cape May County as a “top” vacation destination that includes gourmet restaurants, fishing, historic and cultural sites, wineries, craft breweries and eco-tourism, along with family-friendly beaches and boardwalks. “It’s like a puzzle with so many pieces,” she said in opening remarks during the 2019 Cape May County Tourism Conference in Cape May Court House.

As usual, he will wear his tailor-made black suit, a tie and dress shoes. He will also be carrying his trademark leather briefcase. Ocean City real estate broker John Walton will look very much the part of a serious businessman who is ready to close a big deal on Friday, May 24. But don’t expect to see him huddled in his office on that day. Instead, he will be out on the beach. The nattily attired Walton will march straight into the ocean during a wacky local tradition known as the Business Persons Plunge. The well-dressed masses from the local business community will join Walton. Now in its 16th year, the Business Persons Plunge is a widely anticipated spectacle that serves to officially “open” the ocean during Memorial Day weekend for the summer tourism season.

A new sound system that will improve the acoustics for concerts and other shows at Ocean City’s historic Music Pier was approved Thursday night by City Council. The $402,000 sound system is one of the main components of a series of upgrades planned this year for the landmark building, which serves as the city’s main venue for entertainment and cultural arts.

The grounds of Ocean City’s historic Bayside Center are about to be given a lush new carpet of green sod as well as an irrigation system to make sure the grass remains healthy even during scorching summer days. But there will be something missing from the grass. There will be no fertilizer or pesticides put on it. Mayor Jay Gillian has decided to use the grounds of the Bayside Center as a test area that is free of pesticides and fertilizer. The “experiment” is in response to suggestions from local residents for the city to consider using environmentally friendly measures to take care of the grass, shrubbery and flowers on public property.

A large tract of land that Ocean City had hoped to buy and preserve as open space will instead be redeveloped for 21 single-family homes, under the latest plan by the property owners. Voting 6-0, the Ocean City Planning Board gave preliminary site plan approval Wednesday night to the housing project proposed by brothers Harry and Jerry Klause of Klause Enterprises. Encompassing nearly an entire block, the land is bordered by Simpson and Haven avenues between 16th and 17th streets and was formerly occupied by a now-closed Chevrolet dealership.

Ocean City Fourth Ward Councilman Bob Barr calls it the “large fix.” As the city continues to search for ways to fight flooding, one massive project under consideration would involve transforming an abandoned railroad bed into a barrier to block stormwater rushing in from the bay. “This is the large fix,” Barr told local residents Saturday during a Fourth Ward community meeting held at the Ocean City Free Public Library.