Donald Wittkowski

City Council has called an emergency meeting following an outburst of underage drinking, vandalism and assaults over the Memorial Day weekend that prompted Ocean City to impose a stricter curfew and other measures to prevent teenage rowdiness. Council will discuss the city’s strategy to crack down on large groups of disruptive teens during an emergency meeting 1 p.m. Thursday at City Hall. The meeting will be followed by a 3 p.m. news conference by Mayor Jay Gillian and Police Chief Jay Prettyman at the Music Pier on the Boardwalk.

Kathleen Harper said she had never been part of an organized protest before. But she felt compelled to join with other protesters Saturday in Ocean City in opposition to a proposed offshore wind farm project that critics believe would be nothing less than an environmental “disaster.” Harper, who lives in Dennis Township, carried a sign that declared, “Stop the Wind Turbines. Save the Whales. Protect Our Oceans.” She also placed a toy shark on top of her head as another symbol of her concerns for the marine life.

Ending months of discussion, City Council gave final approval Thursday night to a $98.9 million municipal operating budget for 2023 that includes a slight local tax increase for Ocean City property owners. The tax increase of 1.7 cents will add an extra $85 on the annual tax bill for a homeowner who has a house assessed at $500,000.

This summer in Ocean City, the beach will serve as a vast buffer to protect the Boardwalk. Not from storms, but from rowdy teenagers. Ocean City plans to continue with its strategy of keeping large groups of teens out on the beaches at night under police supervision rather than having them spill onto the family-friendly Boardwalk and becoming a nuisance.

It’s unlikely that Douglas Crawford will be invited back for an encore performance in front of City Council. Crawford, a guitarist and singer known professionally as “Doug Memphis, the Rockin’ Crooner,” is one of the performers who entertain the crowds on the Ocean City Boardwalk each summer to earn money. He appeared at a City Council meeting Thursday night to urge the governing body to allow Boardwalk performers to use small amplifiers to avoid getting drowned out by the background noise created by the crowds, amusement rides and wind on the famous oceanfront promenade. Council, though, did not support his idea.

Shoppers visiting Ocean City’s downtown stores and restaurants won’t have to worry about having to pay for parking all year long. Voting 7-0 at its meeting Thursday night, City Council introduced an ordinance to rescind a short-lived proposal to keep the parking meters in operation on the downtown Asbury Avenue shopping corridor throughout the entire year.

An Ocean City condominium complex that remains shut down after being declared unsafe in April has a history of structural problems dating back more than 40 years and should be demolished, according to a newly released engineering report.

An Ocean City condominium complex has been shut down after it was declared structurally unsafe by a state agency. City Solicitor Dorothy McCrosson reported to City Council on Thursday night that the Seaspray condos at 34th Street and Bay Avenue have been “red-tagged” by order of the state Department of Community Affairs and remain closed. In other business, Council introduced the proposed $98.9 million municipal budget for 2023.

Frustrated homeowners in a bayside Ocean City neighborhood vented their anger over a series of projects that have turned their community into an active construction zone, but were assured by Mayor Jay Gillian that “we’re going to fix it.” Gillian and other Ocean City officials listened to some harsh criticism during an hour-long meeting Saturday morning with about 60 homeowners on West 17th Street, although the tone became more conciliatory by the end.

It took only seconds for the former B.L. England power plant to come down in a thunderous implosion. Onlookers lined the banks of the Great Egg Harbor Bay on the Somers Point and Upper Township sides to watch the spectacle unfold Friday morning.