mvitale

For anyone who wants something that looks too good to eat, take a picture of an acai, pitaya, coconut or banana bowl from one of the Playa Bowls locations in Ocean City and Sea Isle City. And then take a bite. Not only are the treats scrumptious looking, they are flavorful delights for the many customers who lined up at both locations recently at the Promenade Food Court in Ocean City and 33 42nd Street in Sea Isle to give their orders – while socially distancing. The bowls are just as healthy as they are great tasting. They are loaded with vitamins, fresh fruits, veggies and even tailored to specific dietary needs, explained the owner of the two franchise locations, Joe Wallash, of Dennis Township.

At approximately 6 a.m. Saturday a fisherman located the body of an unidentified adult male floating in the Great Egg Harbor Inlet between Longport and Ocean City. The fisherman called 911 and Longport fire and police personnel were dispatched. The Longport Fire Department launched a boat and recovered the body. The Southern Regional Medical Examiner’s Office is investigating and working to identify the body. The body could be that of Jabed Ikbal, 24, of Clementon, Camden County, who went missing around 7 p.m. Sunday, July 12 after rescuing two family members from the surf at Ocean City’s Great Egg Harbor Inlet. He was last seen near the Ocean City-Longport Bridge. The family of Ikbal has been notified about the unidentified body...

Cape May County already offers Fare Free Transportation rides to seniors, the disabled, veterans and low-income residents who need to get to appointments, shopping and other places. Next week, a trial run of Fare Free Now begins. The service will give all Ocean City residents the ability to get to wherever they need to go on the island at no cost. All they have to do is fill out a short application and once signed up, they can call for a ride or use the Fare Free Now app, explained Fare Free Transportation Assistant Director Katie Hollenback. “If you live in Ocean City and just want to get a slice of pizza, we will bring you and pick you up,” Hollenback said.

Francis X. McCormac is a U.S. Army veteran – and the Ocean City resident is one of a dwindling number of servicemen still alive who fought valiantly in World War II. At 99 years old, McCormac said in an interview Tuesday he still feels pretty good, as he lounged on the deck of his daughter Maureen’s resort home while awaiting the arrival of some important people. Members of the French Consulate were en route to present him with the highest honor – a Chevalier (Knight) of France’s National Order of the Legion of Honor. The award was for McCormac’s service from 1942-45 as a signal corpsman, most notably during the D-Day invasion of Omaha Beach in Normandy.

The search continues for a Clementon, N.J. man who rescued two family members in Ocean City’s Great Egg Harbor inlet Sunday night, only to disappear in the rough waters. Ocean City Beach Patrol and the U.S. Coast Guard searched again through Monday to try and locate 24-year-old Jabed Ikbal into. Beach Patrol Chief Mark Jamieson said in a phone interview Monday afternoon that it has become a recovery, rather than rescue effort. At 6 a.m. Monday members of the beach patrol began their day of assisting the U.S. Coast Guard with the search. The Ocean City Police Department and Ocean City Fire Department personnel also assisted. “We are doing a mixture of visual from the shoreline, to see if there are any abnormalities in the water and we also have guards out on the water,” Jamieson said. He noted that search and recovery are vital to the family of the lost swimmer. “It is important to give the family closure,” he said...

The city will be replacing the heating and cooling systems at the Ocean City Free Public Library and Community Center from Tuesday to Wednesday. The library's nonfiction collection and computer center will be closed during this time.,,

There was one place to forget the COVID-19 troubles Sunday afternoon. That was on any of the Ocean City beaches, where beachgoers did their best to social distance amid the pandemic, enjoy family time, the sun, the surf and a getaway from the rest of the world. Alicia Crist and her family ventured down from Delaware County, Pa., for the day with her children, Taylor, 4, and 2-year-old son Robbie. Her sister, Nikki Crist, and her boyfriend, Scott Ruoff, made a day of it at the 34th Street beach. While the adults sat in lounge chairs, the kids had something else on their minds – sandcastles.

Determination, perseverance, and above all, uniqueness, are some of the qualities that make the Ocean City High School Class of 2020 stand out, Principal Dr. Matt Jamison told graduates seated in Carey Stadium to mark their milestone on Thursday. The graduates are unique in many ways, Jamison emphasized. They were born in the shadows of 9/11. They started school during a recession and in middle school they faced challenges living at the shore when Superstorm Sandy hit in 2012. Yet, through it all, the students’ unwavering strength allowed them to forge ahead and achieve great things, Jamison noted.

In a season when positive and encouraging trends are desperately needed, beach tag sales in Ocean City seem to be one indicator that people are getting out and spreading out on the seven miles of sand that the resort has to offer. “We just got the June numbers in and they were great, almost doubled June of 2019,” Chief Financial Officer Frank Donato said Wednesday. For June of 2019, the total revenue for tags was $623,000. For this June, it was $1.16 million.

Major milestones in life cannot be forgotten. The COVID-19 pandemic may have altered plans for a traditional graduation ceremony at Carey Stadium for the Ocean City High School Class of 2020. But there will be a ceremony -- just a socially distant one -- this Thursday at 10 a.m. However, due to Gov. Phil Murphy’s order that there may be no more than 500 people assembled at an outdoor event, only the graduates and school faculty will be permitted in the stadium.