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Disston Vanderslice could have just gone into his family’s successful real estate business, Grace Realty, and continued the tradition of excellence and knowledge of Ocean City’s Real estate market and the surrounding communities. But he didn’t. Instead, he got his real estate license, went to college where he earned his degree in finance and went off to work in Philadelphia in marketing and advertising. Then the love of his hometown and the desire to be in business with his father, Harry Vanderslice, brought him back to Ocean City, to work with him at his real estate agency. “I grew up learning so much from my dad. He has 50 years of experience in real estate,” Vanderslice, 35, who is a new Ocean City Board of Education member, said this week. “We team up for a lot of business. For the last six years, since returning to Ocean City from Philadelphia, my dad has helped me so much. He has been my role model and my inspiration for doing the right thing.” The father/son team is paying off. Disston Vanderslice won the New Jersey Realtors 2021 Platinum Level Circle of Excellence Sales Award for selling $45 million in properties in January. He, along with other realtors who won Circle of Excellence awards this year, will be honored at a gala next month...

The Oceanfront Motel has been on a piece of Ocean City’s prime property at 1417 Ocean Ave. since 1960. For some, it is an iconic landmark that creates nostalgia of what once was part of the city’s landscape. For others, it was becoming “an eyesore.” On Wednesday night, the Ocean City Planning Board granted approval to the new owner of the motel, Oceanfront Development Group LLC, for construction of a three-story quadruplex condominium on the 12,500-square-foot lot.

Ocean City Police Chief Jay Prettyman announced a new program Tuesday, the Citizens Police Academy, that he hopes will help further community knowledge of what police officers do and enable them to become more involved in the process.

The Ocean City Intermediate School recognizes students who are not just exceptional at academics, sports, the arts or other activities, but also for being of good character. Each month, the district honors some of the students for exemplifying a trait that defines someone who is good. In January, the character trait for “Students of Character,” which replaced the Students of the Month, was respect.

When food shopping, an extra microwavable dinner or two or cans of juice may not seem like much added to the grocery list, but donating them for those in need will make that purchase very meaningful. With that in mind, the Ocean City Board of Realtors (OCBOR) kicked off its 2022 Community Service Projects this month with the “Food Is Love, Share Some Love” winter food drive.

The Ocean City Intermediate School hosted a "Pajama Day" dress down day event to raise awareness and funds for the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Students were inspired by Frankie LaSasso, an 8-year-old from Hammonton who is battling cancer. Frankie's father, Frank LaSasso, is a math teacher at the Intermediate School.

Orsted is putting its offshore wind farm plan in motion, despite opposition by some city leaders and residents of Ocean City. On Wednesday, the Danish energy company filed a petition with the state Board of Public Utilities to install a transmission line through Ocean City to connect the offshore turbines to a substation next to the decommissioned B.L. England Generating Station in Marmora.

Preparing for the Jan. 28-29 blizzard meant the Humane Society of Ocean City’s team needed to move fast. They had to make sure that their 70-plus adoptable cats and dogs had ample food, bedding and stayed safe during the storm. So, for 36 hours prior to the storm, Executive Director Bill Hollingsworth and his staff got to work.

Ocean City officials planned for a major storm. And when the blizzard hit Friday night, a city team worked around the clock to keep up with the snowfall and clear the streets. By Saturday afternoon, roads were passable, and by Sunday, many of them were cleared. More than 15 inches of snow made Ocean City the top town in Cape May County for snowfall.

The Ocean City High School is hosting a Career/Job Fair in February and is seeking local businesses to participate. "This is a school-wide effort to connect all Ocean City High School students with community employment opportunities," said Tobi Oves, the district’s K-12 college and career counselor. Details follow.