Ocean

Ignite the charcoal, crack the crabs. Then rise to your feet for a salute to another tradition of Maryland summer: the Admirals rocking Ocean City.The Baltimore band, formed by seven teen-agers at the Lutherville teen center in 1958, debuted in Ocean City in 1961. It inaugurates its 34th straight summer there next Monday, opening for seven days at the Sheraton Fontainebleau Hotel. The Admirals are also booked at the hotel Aug. 15-21 and Sept. 12-18."If you went around Ocean City and asked people, 'Of all the bands that have played clubs and hotels in the area, which one comes to mind?

The Palestinian immigrant and his brother lived next door to each other in homes in West Ocean City , over the years opening a number of businesses throughout the area — three pizza shops, a Mexican restaurant, a liquor store, gas stations, and development companies, court records show. This week, however, authorities in New York alleged that Basel, 42, and Samir Ramadan, 39, were also at the top of a multimillion-dollar cigarette-smuggling ring and said they believe members of the organization may have funneled some of their proceeds to terrorist groups.

In the ocean's languid yearningWet sand recedingIn the water's stillness movingFeel the TaoIn the child's tightrope tiptoeFeel security of mother's armsThe watchful eyeSoft sand belowIn the ocean's heave and breathingBreaking cold upon meWith you naked beside meSleeping lateI reawaken

Ocean City Restaurant Week starts Sunday. Participating restaurants in the 7th annual spring dining promotion, which runs through May 19, will offer menus fixed at $10, $20, $30 or $40. Dining options range from simple to fine dining. Organized by the non-profit Ocean City Hotel-Motel-Restaurant Association, the event is billed as celebration of Ocean City's local cuisine  "Having fixed prices allows diners to budget a day or evening out," said Restaurant Week event manager Amy Tingle.

Ocean City in the summer is a tradition to Marylanders. But the tradition may change considerably for many if a state proposal to lengthen the school year becomes reality.Businesses that rely on the traditional summer trade are natural opponents of the proposal by the state Board of Education to lengthen the school year by 20 days in the hope of better educating students."It would be devastating here, absolutely devastating," said Anne FauntLeRoy, executive director for the Ocean City Chamber of Commerce.

Thousands of fun-seekers are gathering in Ocean City this Memorial Day weekend, kicking off the start of the summer beach season at Maryland's premier beach and at neighboring Delaware's Atlantic resorts. It's far too early to tell how this season will stack up in comparison to past years, but initial indicators are promising.According to local Realtors, condo rentals are running 60 percent ahead of last year; occupancy rates for hotels and motels are expected to top 90 percent this weekend.

The Coast Guard reported yesterday that it has stopped searching for an Ocean City man missing since being yanked into deep Atlantic Ocean waters by a blue marlin 60 miles off Morehead City, N. C., on Thursday.Meanwhile, relatives and friends in Howard County, where Chris Bowie, 29, grew up, and in Ocean City, where he lived and worked, were planning memorial services.Petty Officer Fred Kephart of the Coast Guard station at Fort Macon, N. C., said yesterday that the last search for Mr. Bowie ended at 7:23 p.m. Friday.

Ocean City crowd estimates are like kites -- they always tend to go higher. Listen to Ocean City Mayor Roland Powell: "Judging by the traffic and the number of the people on the boardwalk and the beaches and the hotels and motels, I think it's been the best Memorial Day we've ever had."Ocean City mayors are known for their optimism and exaggeration. But there is no denying the success of Maryland's major ocean resort last weekend when 250,000 people went there, spending tens of millions of dollars.

Unless Mayor Roland E. "Fish" Powell can stop the state in court, Ocean City soon could lose its image as a family sea-side resort. Big-time gambling, in the form of fast-paced keno, is on its way into town.Mayor Powell isn't the only local official in Maryland concerned about the insidious implications of this vast gambling expansion being pushed by the Schaefer administration. In Westminster, Mayor W. Benjamin Brown wanted to slow the keno invasion by forcing all operators to get a conditional-use permit.

You would think a tourism strategy for Ocean City would consist of planting the beach umbrellas each Memorial Day and counting the receipts by Labor Day. Apparently, it's not that easy.Room tax revenues were down 10 percent in June over last year, when they hadn't grown much from the previous summer. The resort's business community surmised several reasons: cheap air fares, which lured away more affluent travelers; the lingering recession, and dismal spring and early summer weather.One of Ocean City's most devout visitors, Gov. William Donald Schaefer, suspected one more reason, something he abhors: timidity in promotion.

In the off-season, Ocean City often adds some new feature for tourists: a miniature golf course perhaps, a seafood restaurant or maybe a bar that caters to the beachgoing crowd. But here's a possible addition that might not be so welcome - parking meters north of 10 t h Street. On Friday, the Ocean City Council is expected to be briefed on a proposal to create a whopping 4,800 paid parking spaces. The most ambitious version of the plan would require visitors to pay for parking at any space along the streets on the Atlantic Ocean side of Coastal Highway from 10 t h Street to the Delaware line.

The Navy's famed Blue Angels aerial demonstration squad has canceled the rest of its 2013 performances, including dates this summer in Ocean City, in San Diego, Navy officials announced earlier this week. "This is one of many steps the Navy is taking to ensure resources are in place to support forces operating forward now and those training to relieve them," the Navy said in an official statement. The move was caused by the automatic budget cuts known as sequestration, officials said.

Revenue at Maryland's three casinos in March reached $58 million, with two that have been opened for at least a year seeing a decrease from a year earlier, the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency reported Friday. Hollywood Casino Perryville in Cecil County generated $9.48 million for the month from slot machines and newly introduced gaming tables - a decrease of $4.24 million, or nearly 35 percent, from a year ago. The Casino at Ocean Downs in Worcester County reported revenue of $3.95 million - a decrease of $130,622, or 3.2 percent, from the year before.

St. Patrick's Day Celebration Don your best green outfit for this Irish celebration. Ocean City is hosting their annual St. Patty's Day celebration complete with parade and golf tournament. Sign up for the second annual St. Patrick's Golf Scramble at Eagle's Landing Golf Course and enjoy the luck of the Irish while you play, and a traditional Irish-American Lunch. Also, make sure to head down to Ocean Highway for Ocean City 's annual St. Patrick's Day parade. The St. Patrick's Day Golf Scramble at Eagle's Landing begins at 9 a.m. on March 16. Entry fee is $50 per person, and includes lunch.

Volvo Ocean Race organizers wanted to come to Baltimore in May 2015 as part of their 'round-the-world competition but had one request: Could it share the spotlight with the Preakness Stakes or bump the Triple Crown horse race to another date? The city said thanks, but no way. So Tuesday, the only U.S. stopover of the Volvo went instead to Newport, R.I. "We were shocked," said Robert Housman, executive director of Ocean Racing USA, the Baltimore bidder. "It would be discouraging to work hard on something and lose, but clearly they moved the finish line.

Attendance at the National Aquarium's Inner Harbor and Washington venues rose 2.4 percent last year, the first increase since the recession, thanks to an improving economy and a more interactive aquarium experience, CEO John Racanelli said. The attraction drew 1.55 million people last year, including 1.34 million at the Inner Harbor destination, marking the first increase since 2006. During an interview Wednesday at The Baltimore Sun, Racanelli said the more than 30-year-old aquarium is repositioning itself to not only offer entertainment, but also to advocate for cleaner, healthier oceans.

Maureen Skelly remembers her trip to the beach after she graduated from high school. She and her friends spent every last nickel and didn't have enough cash to pay the toll on their way home. They had to go into the toll office and fill out a form promising to pay the money at a later date. Now that her son, Sean, is a senior at River Hill High School, she is hoping he will make wiser decisions during his Senior Week in Ocean City. "I wanted Sean to come and hear and get educated about appropriate behavior," said Skelly, sitting in the auditorium at Reservoir High School on Wednesday before a two-hour talk.

Daniel Trimper III, who had retired as head of several Ocean City businesses, including the complex of rides at the lower end of the boardwalk that includes a turn-of-the-century carousel, died Monday of cancer at his home in Vero Beach, Fla. He was 84.Mr. Trimper also maintained a home in Ocean City, where his grandfather started the amusement business and his father was mayor.Mr. Trimper retired nearly 10 years ago as president of Windsor Resorts Inc., the family business that operates the carousel and other rides, and as owner of the Trimper Marine Railway and a dredging business, both in West Ocean City.

A 20-year-old Ocean City man awaiting trial on more than a dozen charges in connection to six house burglaries in the beach town this spring was arrested again this weekend for allegedly stealing a car and fleeing police, Ocean City Police said Monday. Alexander George Ellis, of the 100 block of Sandy Hill Drive in Ocean City , was eventually caught early Saturday morning after ditching the stolen vehicle and trying to escape police by jumping into the water, police said.