“Baltimore Breaking News” — Cutting-Edge News Web Site

Thanks to Alphainventions.com, I have just discovered a new Baltimore Sun Web site, and I am impressed! Beyond impressed. I think The Sun may have finally solved the puzzle that has been bedeviling newspapers everywhere: How to best use the Web to for news content.

Take a look at Baltimore Breaking News and see what you think. It appears to be a cooperative effort of The Baltimore Sun, WYPR, and other local broadcast news feeds, including even The Washington Post.

The site is not cluttered and difficult to read or navigate, like traditional newspaper sites that are overloaded with garish advertising. Baltimore Breaking News looks more like a blog. It has only one sidebar, one primary sponsor, and one main ad by that sponsor. If The Sun can stick with this formula (and resist the temptation to clutter the site with advertising) it may have a big winner.  – Bernie Hayden

Sand Art On The Beach At Ocean City

This sand art was created in early spring 2009, even before the winter snow fencing in the background was removed from the beach.

An image of Jesus Christ crucified. The sand art is lighted for viewing at night.

The beach in front of the Plim Plaza Hotel has been a place to view religious sand art for as long as I can remember. Impressive sculptures in the sand can be seen from the Boardwalk just a few steps south of 2nd Street in Ocean City, Maryland.

Ocean City Ready For Picture-Perfect July 4 Weekend

    Thursday morning was all sunshine on the beach at Ocean City, Maryland, where clean sand and brightly colored chairs and umbrellas are ready for a perfect July 4 weekend.

The Ocean City Beach Patrol conducts lifesaving practice drills on the beach in Ocean City, Maryland, early Thursday morning.

The Ocean City Beach Patrol protects the resort's 10-mile beach, from the inlet to the Delaware line.

Sunshine and more sunshine is the forecast for the long Fourth of July holiday weekend in Ocean City, Maryland, from Thursday right on through at least Monday. It will be seasonably hot, high temperatures each day in the 80-84 degree range, just right for swimming in the Atlantic Ocean. The surf felt warm this morning, to me.

Is there a larger Fourth of July celebration anywhere in Maryland? Ocean City is expecting more than 300,000 visitors to spend the weekend on the beach and boardwalk. 

Fireworks can be viewed from virtually anywhere on the island Saturday evening, beginning shortly after dark. Zambelli International, the premier fireworks company in the world, will put on two simultaneous shows, one at the south end of the beach, and another at Northside Park. Ocean City will spend $62,500 on this year’s fireworks, which are free to the public.

Hotel and motel rooms are still available, but you may have to make a few phone calls. Be advised that almost all hotels and motels in the resort are requesting a minimum stay of two or three nights for the July 4 weekend. Call ahead and book a reservation, if at all possible. For information on accommodations, and everything else you want to know about Ocean City, Maryland, go to the resort’s official Web site, www.ococean.com.

Crab houses and seafood restaurants are everywhere in Ocean City. The local specialities are Maryland crab cakes, crab imperial, and steamed hard-shell crabs, along with the fresh catch of the day.

Ocean City is a family town, and nearly all restaurants are child-friendly. Dress is summer beach casual. Shirts or cover-ups should be worn over swimsuits during the day for breakfast or lunch in resort restaurants, even at the most casual Boardwalk places. Swimsuits should be replaced by casual resort wear for dinner. Shorts and T-shirts are acceptable in all but the dressiest resort restaurants.

Some of the major food groups in Ocean City: Popcorn, Pizza, Ice Cream, and of course Crab cakes. In this outstanding photo, courtesy of Maryland photographer David Baus, a worker fills a customer's order for fresh popcorn at Fisher's Popcorn, a landmark family business on the Boardwalk.

Most of the larger Ocean City restaurants are along Philadelphia Ave. and the Coastal Highway. A number of good seafood restaurants can also be found across the Route 50 bridge in  West Ocean City. Or you can select restaurants for breakfast, lunch, and dinner simply by strolling down the Boardwalk.

You don’t need to use your car in Ocean City. City buses and boardwalk trams run constantly. The Ocean City buses might be the best bargain in public transit in America. You can ride the bus all day and night, as many times as you want, $2 for 24 hours. The Boardwalk trams are $3 per boarding. The trams run from 10 a.m. until midnight on weekends.

For information on Route 50 traffic, listen to WBAL radio, 1090 am, go to the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Web site, www.baybridge.com, or call the Bay Bridge traffic line, 1-877-Bayspan. To avoid the heaviest traffic, come early (i.e. today or Friday morning) and stay late (Monday, or better yet, Tuesday). If you decide to make a week of it, most hotels and motels have rooms available for next week, and plenty of condos are available to rent as well.

Fourth of July is a family holiday everywhere in America. My Uncle Raymond’s big July 4 family reunion and crab feast at his summer home in Bay Ridge, MD, was a Hayden family tradition for many years.

In Ocean City, the June graduation celebrations are over, the firefighters convention has come and gone, and now it’s family time throughout July and August.

More photos later, if I have time, and that’s a big IF. Right now, I have to go to work. Enjoy a safe and pleasant weekend in Ocean City. Please buckle up and drive gently. And don’t forget the sunscreen.  – Bernie Hayden

How To Pass Health Care In The U.S. Senate . . .

. . . If 41 members of the U.S. Senate are determined to block the will of the American people, then let them . . . No, make them . . . FILIBUSTER.  If there are 41 arrogant senators who would deny majority rule, make those 41 senators talk all day and talk all night until they are sick and old, or until a few of them come to their senses.

When did 60 votes become the functioning majority in that formerly great deliberative body, the U.S. Senate?  Look: Half of 100 senators is 50. Therefore, 51 senators is a majority. That’s the way it used to be, and that’s the way it should be.

The U.S. Constitution provides for “extended debate” to protect the rights of a minority, not to smother the rights of the majority. Sixty votes is the number required to end a filibuster. The filibuster was used sparingly through history. Usually filibusters proceeded for a few nights or a few weeks, until some senators switched sides to end the obstruction and allow a vote on the issue of the day.

Now, by pretending that a 60-vote filibuster-proof super-majority is necessary to conduct business, the U.S. Senate has effectively rendered itself dysfunctional.

In the present case of health care reform, requested by President Barack Obama and supported by a decisive majority of the American people, there is a solution.  The solution is to vote for cloture, or make the obstructionist minority talk until they wear out their vocal cords and the voters’ patience.

After the filibuster collapses under the anger of the voters, a majority of 51 or more Democratic senators (and moderate Republicans, if any) will pass a health-care bill and send it to President Obama for his signature. 

And let the record show that we are talking about a health-care bill that includes a “public option” alongside  private health insurance.  – Bernie Hayden

Health Care Public Option Explained (Thank you, George Will)

Wordsmith George Will, the venerable arch-conservative newspaper columnist, has made some astute observations about the economics of health insurance.

Note that Mr. Will is arguing against the proposed “public option” as an alternative to private health insurance. 

“Competition from the public option must be unfair because government does not need to make a profit and has enormous pricing and negotiating powers. Besides, unless the point of a government plan is to be cheaper, it is pointless.”

Right on, Brother George. It appears that you have stumbled onto the reasons that President Barack Obama and a decisive majority of the American people are in favor of a public-option health insurance plan.

Brother George is suggesting that a government health insurance plan would be less expensive than private health insurance. He gives two obvious reasons for the lower cost of government health insurance: government doesn’t have to make a profit, and government could bring prices down by negotiating volume discounts.

As Brother George acknowledges, the “the point of a government plan is to be cheaper.”

So let me get this straight, Brother George.

1. You’re against a public health insurance option because it would bring the cost of health insurance down?
2. You think it’s more important to protect the profits and inefficiencies of private insurance companies than it is to make health insurance affordable to ordinary people?
3. You haven’t heard that rising heath care costs threaten to ruin the American economy?

You’ve got one thing right, Brother George. “The point of a government plan is to be cheaper.” I think that’s what Barack Obama and the American people have in mind. – Bernie Hayden

Health Care Public Option Is Not An Option, It’s A Necessity

Congress and health insurance companies are mired in dysfunction and denial

Polls show decisive majorities of Americans favor the “public option” health care reform proposed by President Barack Obama.

If U.S. democracy were working properly, the debate would be over, and Congress would be ironing out the details.

But entrenched powers resist change fiercely, and the dysfunctional U.S. Senate dithers.

Many cling to hope that America can return to business as usual. Many deny the need for change. At stake now is not only the future of health care in America, but also the viability of democracy in America, the ability of the American economy to adjust to new worldwide realities, and the willingness of American elites to accept necessary change.

In addition to health care for all, these questions are in play:

1. Who controls America, a cabal of medical interest groups? Or do the American people control America through democracy?
2. Who leads America? President Barack Obama? Congress? The health insurance companies?
3. Is America locked into a spiral of economic and social decline. Or is American able to change?

Health care reform doesn’t mean business as usual. Health care reform is not about protecting and increasing profits for the private health insurance industry.

Health care reform is all about three things:

1. Making excellent health care available to all Americans.
2. Empowering doctors, nurses and hospitals to focus on providing excellent medical care.
3. Reducing the waste and inefficiencies inherent in the present private health insurance system.

Health care reform requires the will to change

– Bernie Hayden

Signs of Summer

The daylily is beginning to bloom in Maryland. It can only mean that July 4 is around the corner.

Saw my first fireflies of summer last night. Also yesterday, we turned on the home air conditioning for the first time this year.

Ocean City’s spell of unusually cool and cloudy weather is about over. Yesterday afternoon was hot and muggy enough for AC in West OC, but a nice breeze made for a comfortable evening on the Boardwalk.

Ocean City has been spared from the record-setting heat wave that toasted the middle of the country this week. We’re expecting a high of 82 this afternoon, and the temperature will peak at around 86 on Saturday.

As I write this Thursday morning, the sky is overcast, but the forecast is for mostly sunshine through Monday. And that’s your fragment of a blog post for Thursday. -- Bernie

Seaside Cityscape at Morning

An early morning view of Ocean City rooflines looking south on the alley that runs parallel to the Boardwalk. You can see a mix of buildings, from very old to very new. Just a taste of the variety of seaside architecture on display in Ocean City, Maryland.

A June morning in Ocean City, Maryland.

Bicycling on the Boardwalk

 Ocean City has extended Boardwalk bicycling hours until 11 a.m. Monday through Friday

Bicycling on the Boardwalk is more popular than ever in Ocean City, Maryland.

For as long as I can remember, the cutoff time for riding bicycles on the boardwalk has been 10 in the morning during the summer season. This summer, the City Council has extended the bicycling hours until 11 a.m. weekdays. The cutoff hour for bicycles on the boardwalk remains at 10 a.m. on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays.

The starting time for the boardwalk trams has been pushed back to 11 a.m. weekdays.

The bike riders above were enjoying the ocean air early Monday morning, June 22, the second day of official summer. You’ll also see a lot of joggers on the Boardwalk in the morning.

Most of Ocean City’s main roads have bicycle lanes, which can be used 24 hours a day. Many of the resort’s seasonal workers use bicycles to get to and from work.

You can bring your own bike to Ocean City with you, but most people just rent a bicycle (or an assortment of other pedal-powered contraptions) at a shop on the Boardwalk or Baltimore Avenue. – Bernie

Volleyball, Surfing, Skateboarding, Art — All in OC This Weekend

Update (Friday, 3:15 p.m.) 82 degrees in West Ocean City, bright sunshine.) The professional beach volleyball tournament, on the sand in Historic Downtown Ocean City, is going to have awesome semifinals and finals Saturday and Sunday. The center court is on the beach at Somerset Street. Can anyone send me pictures? I can’t pay you, but I’ll give you credit if I publish your pix in the blog. BJHaydenolney@gmail.com)

Sunday is the longest day of the year, and also Father's Day. It's a great June weekend for enjoying the beach and the ocean.

We’ve been enduring a dreary and unseasonably chilly week in Ocean City, Maryland, for the middle of June. Fortunately, things are looking up for the weekend. It will definitely be warmer today (Friday), around 80.

We had the Maryland Firefighters’ Convention this week, and it was the second week of high-schoolers celebrating graduation. The June Bug season is nearing its end.

We should be seeing lots more sunshine Friday, Saturday and Sunday, but there may also be some cloudy times. Highs around 84 on Saturday. As I write this (2 a.m. Friday), the local Doppler radar is clear.

The professional beach volleyball tour visits Ocean City for the first time this weekend, with the volleyball finals on Sunday. It’s also Beachfest weekend, including surfboarding and skateboarding competitions. And on top of that, Arts Alive at the park in north Ocean City.

I only have time for a fragment of a blog post, so you’ll have to check ococean.com or the local papers for times and locations of the volleyball, Beachfest, and Arts Alive events. Now, back to work.

Don’t forget that Sunday, June 21 is the longest day of the year (may it be sunny) and also Father’s Day. Buy Dad a new golf shirt, stylish sunglasses, or maybe a nice beach chair. Take Dad out to dinner. What better place than Ocean City?   –  Bernie Hayden

Plenty to do besides watch pro volleyball and play in the surf. Historic Trimper Rides is at the south end of the Boardwalk. Stroll off the Boardwalk at the Dough Roller restaurant at South Division St, and there's Trimpers.