More than usual, it feels like something is ending in Ocean City this September. But take this report with a caveat: Events and perceptions often appear distorted after a long summer season, to those who remain when the visitors go home. This year, Hurricane Irene put an exclamation point at the end of the season. Ocean… [Read more…]
November 29, 2010
New restaurants have a notoriously short life expectancy. And it’s no secret that we’re in a difficult economy. But I figured that Boog’s Barbeque on Route 50, just outside Ocean City, MD, would be a home run, or at least a solid hit. Boog’s Barbeque has been thriving on the Boardwalk, next to Thrasher’s, for years.… [Read more…]
October 17, 2010
Sobering story by Martin Fackler on the front page of The New York Times, Sunday, 10-17-2010. The headlines: Japan Goes From Dynamic to Disheartened Retrenchment Offers the West a Grim Vision of the Future The Great Deflation Coping With Decline Summary: “Since about 1989, Japan fell into a slow but relentless decline that neither enormous budget… [Read more…]
June 22, 2010
Since when do U.S. generals give interviews to Rolling Stone? Double-dip recession? There was never any real question of that. You can see bigger storm clouds on the horizon. Of course, they could blow over. You never know. BP lies. So which big corporation can you trust? What about government? Everyone turns to the federal… [Read more…]
April 12, 2010
In New York, the Dow-Jones closed above 11,000 today, and the Newsweek cover proclaims “America’s Back!” Maybe so. But one Ocean City businessman told me today: The recovery is affecting Wall Street, and a little recovery might be trickling down to Main Street, but recovery hasn’t started on the side street.” I’ve been looking for… [Read more…]
March 8, 2010
Will the recent pre-spring condo auctions establish a bottom, or a floor, for condo prices in Ocean City, Maryland? I hope so, but I do not know. All 20 condos offered for sale at the Bahia Vista I and II, on Edgewater Avenue between 10th and 11th Streets, were reported sold at two auctions, one… [Read more…]
March 4, 2010
I want to call your attention to a very though-provoking article on the state of the Worcester County economy over at Lost On The Shore, which is one of Maryland’s best political blogs. <a href="http://blogitti.blogiche.com/">Blogitti<⁄a> The post is entitled “Depression Amidst The Fun,” and as you might gather from the title, it paints a gloomy… [Read more…]
February 20, 2010
Maryland On My Mind takes a break from our wall-to-wall winter weather coverage to ponder our economic predicament. It’s so rare that I find a graph I can actually understand. Here’s something interesting, courtesy of PIMCO’s Bill Gross: “The most vulnerable countries in 2010 are shown in PIMCO’s chart “The Ring of Fire.” These red… [Read more…]
February 17, 2010
The Makai condo auction in Ocean City generated a modicum of interest this past November. Some condos were sold, and some remain available. Three months after the Makai auction, a sign in front of the property advertises condos starting at $135,000. The Makai is on Coastal Highway in Ocean City, just north of the Convention… [Read more…]
February 15, 2010
Dueling Auctions for Bahai Vista Two Auctions — Same Day, Same Time, Different Place It could only happen in Ocean City, Maryland. Beautiful new three- and four-bedroom condominiums at the Bahia Vista I and II, on Edgewater Avenue between 10th Street and 11th Street in Ocean City, are scheduled to be sold by competing auctioneers… [Read more…]
September 19, 2011
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