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Ocean City has an ambitious dredging program for the back bays and lagoons to maintain the waterways so that sediment-choked channels remain a thing of the past. Under the city administration’s multiyear, multimillion-dollar dredging program, waterways are cleared of silt and mud when needed, so that boaters, swimmers and homeowners alike can enjoy the bay. During its Nov. 22 meeting, City Council approved a resolution to hire ACT Engineers Inc. for a professional services contract for construction management and construction inspection services for Ocean City's next round of dredging.

Following a scary e-bike accident involving his son, Ocean City Councilman Tony Polcini is calling for stricter enforcement of helmet laws. On Nov. 17, Polcini's son, JD, who is a sophomore at Ocean City High School, was riding his e-bike to school, when he wiped out going around a sharp turn near the Post Office at Ninth Street and Ocean Avenue.

Ocean City’s version of Black Friday, called “Our Miracle on Asbury Avenue,” transformed the town into a scene reminiscent of a Christmas movie set, complete with a Santa's Mailbox on the corner, elves and Santa in Mark Soifer Park and plenty of holiday cheer. The holiday shopping event spanned Sixth Street to 14th Street. In the evening, carolers sang on City Hall steps, to name just one of the many activities that built up to the evening's crescendo. The event was capped off when Santa Claus emerged from the rooftop of City Hall and with the help of an Ocean City Fire Department ladder truck, he lit the Christmas tree.

They’re called “rolling billboards,” and they serve as a strong reminder that drunk driving kills and it is vital to have a designated driver. They are HERO-wrapped patrol cars. The John R. Elliott HERO Campaign for Designated Drivers kicked off in Somers Point Wednesday afternoon, during one of the busiest travel days of the year, to unveil a newly HERO-wrapped Somers Point patrol car and a Northfield police car and to announce a new initiative partnering with local bars and taverns.

Ocean City realtors were part of a seven-car caravan Wednesday headed for a major delivery of clothing and other necessities to help those in need. Every year the Ocean City Board of Realtors (OCBOR) hosts the “Warmth for Winter” clothing drive. The clothing drive is done in cooperation with the Ocean City Ecumenical Council, an association of local churches that gives families in need some assistance.

With time running out, Ocean City school officials say that they are confident they will have a new interim schools superintendent in place by Jan. 1. Retired longtime educator Dr. Scott McCartney, of Egg Harbor Township, has served as the interim superintendent since July, filling a gap until a full-time superintendent is in place. McCartney, who receives a stipend of $700 per day, has only a short-term contract with the district, however. While interim superintendents can stay in a district for up to two years, he leaves at the end of December.

Ocean City definitely was the place to be Saturday morning. And all one had to do was roll out of bed, in their best and most festive pajamas, of course, to shop downtown for the zany “Earlier than the Bird” mega-shopping event. From 8 a.m. until noon, shoppers took advantage of deals at stores from Sixth Street to 14th Street along Asbury Avenue. Holiday decorations, such as garland-wrapped lamp posts and wreaths with bright red bows that hung on swags, added to the jubilant atmosphere.

The Ocean City school district plans to honor former students who served in the military, specifically Vietnam. There are approximately 125 alumni who served in Vietnam, which for American troops began in 1965 and ended in 1973.

A PTA book sale at the end of October in the Intermediate School angered parents who took their feelings to the Ocean City Board of Education meeting Thursday, saying that some of the content available to students was sexually explicit.

Recently retired Ocean City Police Chief Jay Prettyman, who helped guide the department and community through public safety challenges during the pandemic and was instrumental in a strategy to contain rowdy teens, received recognition for all of his hard work. The Ocean City Regional Chamber of Commerce honored Prettyman with the “2023 Citizen of the Year” award during a dinner at the Flanders Hotel on Wednesday. In addition to his honor, the program included the “Outstanding Business and Beautification” awards.