Open Boardwalk Restrooms
Editor:
Twenty-five boardwalk property and enterprise house owners attenDed the downtown neighborhood watch conferences on Sept. 27, Oct. 20 and Nov. 11.
One of many points they had been involved about was the Boardwalk public restrooms want to remain open till midnight in the course of the tourism season. They complained that the Boardwalk shops can’t adequately accommodate toilet wants of 1000’s of Boardwalk guests who change into contentious and belligerent once they can’t use the shops’ restrooms.
The city added the general public restrooms on the Boardwalk for the precise goal for the vacationer and for relieving the burden of the Boardwalk enterprise group. Maintaining the Boardwalk public restrooms open for the vacationer would resolve the issue.
Newt Weaver and Margaret Pillas
Ocean Metropolis
(The writers are the Downtown Neighborhood Watch coordinators.)
x
Incoherent Babble
Editor:
Our present political environment is in whole disarray. All too typically, voters that trouble to take part of their civic obligation merely test a field as a result of the individual has a “D” or an “R” subsequent to their identify. And due to gerrymandering, some extremely certified candidates from one social gathering will undoubtedly lose to a woeful candidate from the opposite social gathering merely as a result of an edge in voter enrollment. Whereas unlucky, the outcomes beneath this technique are one thing that I can perceive.
Nonetheless, I’m extraordinarily confused in regards to the outcomes of some nonpartisan elections, corresponding to that of the latest election for Mayor and City Council right here in Ocean Metropolis. By definition, any victory over an opponent of greater than 15% is taken into account a “landslide”. For instance, a 58% to 42% victory can be a landslide. In our election, the highest vote getter within the City Council race acquired a vote from roughly 75% of voters, whereas the underside vote getter garnered help from lower than 29%. So, it was a landslide by definition, however a lot nearer than it ought to have been.
The highest vote getter with 1,137 votes is a younger, formidable legal professional who’s nicely rooted in the neighborhood. The underside vote getter acquired 439 votes. This final place finisher participated within the Coast Dispatch’s “Candidates Discussion board” again in October of 2020, has submitted feedback on line throughout Mayor and City Council conferences and most not too long ago penned a letter to the Coast Dispatch bashing the Mayor and Council in a letter than can solely be described as incoherent babble. After studying it a number of occasions, I stay clueless of the aim of his letter.
The Mayor and City Council have a particularly vital job. They’re tasked with figuring out tax coverage, progress initiatives, offering a clear, protected and reasonably priced seaside for each residents and vacationers. Every resolution made results all of us who care about Ocean Metropolis. This can’t be overstated.
It’s shameful that solely 23% of registered voters participated on this election. We should do higher. After all, we should always all vote, however we must also try to observe what’s going on on the town authorities. Attend the common conferences when you can. In the event you can’t, at the least watch them on-line or the rebroadcast on tv so that you could change into extra knowledgeable. An informed citizens is wholesome for our city. Assuming that the dropping candidate for workplace voted for himself, this implies there have been an extra 438 folks that did the identical factor. These folks clearly should not have considered the candidate discussion board. I do hope they take the time to learn the Letter To Editor printed on Feb. 12, 2021 and ask themselves in the event that they took the election severely. I strongly encourage all voters to coach themselves on the candidates and to vote for the very best individual for the job.
Scott Chismar
Crofton and Ocean Metropolis
x
The Dying Of A Nation
Editor:
Let me start with the beginning of our Republic type of authorities. It mainly began with simply three branches of presidency. They had been the Legislative, Govt and the Judicial. I’m certain you who’ve studied our historical past understand that it was a novel type of authorities in that it was totally different from all different types of governments on the time of its inception. What was very particular about it was that it was a authorities of, by and for the folks.
That’s all a part of the Legislative previous nevertheless, via the previous 232 years the federal government has grown. Presently, not counting the Army, there are 14 Departments which can be energetic. They’re the division of State, Treasury, Justice, Inside, Agriculture, Commerce, Labor, Well being & Human Providers, Housing & City Improvement, Transportation, Vitality, Schooling, Veterans Affairs and Homeland Safety.
Do any of you might have any concept of what the estimated variety of folks and value of those departments is? Not counting the Army the approximate variety of workers are 1,276,000 at an approximate value of slightly over $2 trillion yearly. If you wish to add into this the estimated variety of army private of two.86 million at an added estimated value of $722 billion plus as of 2019 and the approximate variety of folks presently receiving Social Safety of slightly over $45 million the quantity our authorities is liable for is nicely over $3 trillion yearly.
You understand, in fact, the chief manner our authorities will get its cash is thru taxes. We the folks pay 45% of this tax via private revenue tax, 39% is thru Social Safety and Medicare tax, 12% via company revenue tax, 3% via different taxes and 1% via property and present taxes. You must also understand that the cash the federal government will get via taxes pays the salaries of all these presently working for the federal government and people who have labored for the federal government and are actually retired. Additionally, these on Social Safety obtain their funds by collected funds deducted from private staff salaries.
Do you perceive now why the debt of our authorities is nearly $28 trillion and counting and that they haven’t positioned themselves on a finances for over 20 years? I feel it’s time we the folks demand a change within the measurement and variety of departments in our authorities. Additionally time period limits and what they get after serving may be start line. Only a thought of us, give it some thought.
Paul St. Andre
Ocean Metropolis
x
OC Trying To Halt Wind
Editor:
As Maryland lawmakers convene in Annapolis for a brand new legislative session, they’ll quickly rejoice the two-year mark since passage of the Clear Vitality Jobs Act of 2019.
They could not know the extent to which the City of Ocean Metropolis is utilizing its tax {dollars} to halt offshore wind growth and, by extension, stall implementation of the Clear Vitality Jobs Act.
Paperwork supplied to my group by Ocean Metropolis authorities beneath the Public Info Act reveal that greater than $300,000 in taxpayer cash has been spent on a futile effort to cease offshore wind power. Here’s a partial abstract of how Ocean Metropolis authorities reviews spending public cash:
Ocean Metropolis taxpayers have paid greater than $120,000 to the Prince George’s County-based regulation agency Joseph Greenwald & Lacke to foyer Maryland’s Public Service Fee to cease offshore wind initiatives greater than 20 miles off Maryland’s coast. That expense was in useless for the reason that fee unanimously rejected the city’s request final summer time.
They paid $92,000 to Annapolis lobbyist Bruce Bereano in an try to influence Governor Hogan to cease offshore wind growth. That try failed, as Governor Hogan endorsed offshore wind in October and joined a three-state partnership to assist Maryland seize offshore wind jobs.
Baltimore PR agency KO Public Affairs was paid $45,000 by metropolis authorities for what the city describes as “a letter to Ocean Metropolis residents.” Has there been a costlier letter in Maryland historical past?
They paid greater than $15,000 to a viewshed professional in hopes that he would persuade the Public Service Fee to ban a selected type of wind turbine. That effort failed.
They paid $7,500 to an leisure manufacturing agency to choreograph a regulatory listening to held the Public Service Fee in January 2020. I attended the listening to. Nearly all of audio system had been truly supporters of offshore wind.
All instructed, Ocean Metropolis has spent greater than $300,000 in taxpayer cash in an unsuccessful try to cease clear power’s development. They’ve just about no outcomes to point out for this costly endeavor. Tax {dollars} that would have helped shut town’s looming finances deficit are actually within the financial institution accounts of out of city attorneys and lobbyists.
Ocean Metropolis authorities needs to be attempting to reap the big financial and environmental advantages of offshore wind – not plowing tax {dollars} right into a useless try to oppose clear power and the roles it can carry to our group. State lawmakers ought to do their half to remind Ocean Metropolis that the Clear Vitality Jobs Act is right here to remain.
Jared Schablein
Pittsville
(The author is the chair of the Decrease Shore Progressive Caucus.)
