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WEEKEND #02, 2014

Rehoboth Beach, Delaware

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STINGRAY RESTAURANT BUILDS PATIO; LIQUOR LICENSE COMING SOON?

After an extensive legal battle, Stingray Restaurant in Rehoboth Beach is coming close to its goal of completing its outdoor patio which will allow the restaurant to serve food and liquor until 11 p.m.

After initially rejecting the construction permit, the city has recently granted the restaurant a permit to build a patio which is being constructed on the west side of the business at 59 Lake Ave.

On Dec. 26, Darius Mansoory, owner of Stingray, applied for a liquor license for the patio. The state received at least eight separate protest letters, including petitions with more than 10 names of property owners, objecting or requesting a hearing.

The city had denied the patio construction permit twice, but Mansoory took it to a higher court, which overturned the decision. "I believe the decision should have stayed within the Rehoboth local community," states Gloria Walls, who lives across from Stingray.

At the hearing in Georgetown for Stingray's patio liquor license on April 3, several property owners appeared to contest the proposed patio. When Mansoory arrived for the hearing, he had no construction permit from the city. The commissioner denied the request at that time because of the lack of paperwork.

Locals in attendance included Walls, Joseph Dougherty, who owns the home adjacent to the future patio, Carol Schwartz, former D.C. councilwoman who owns a home on Sussex St., Rehoboth Beach Comm. Stan Mills and Tom McGlone, candidate for mayor.

McGlone, who lives on Laurel St., was the only person in attendance who was supportive of the application. McGlone had written in the Nextdoor social media website that he had filed a FOIA request with the city to determine how much the city had spent in legal expenses. He said the city paid $10,000 with an additional $65,000 covered by insurance. Despite that, Mansoory persevered in his legal battle to build a patio and eventually won.

"I supported Darius Mansoory as he followed the law and was successful," McGlone says. "The City has adequate enforcement options should the patio pose a noise issue to the neighborhood. Many of Stingray's neighbors supported them, but did not appear at the hearing."

On April 7, Mansoory resubmitted his application to serve liquor on the proposed patio. In a letter Mansoory sent to neighbors dated April 9, he wrote: "During the original application process, I was made aware that some of our neighbors were opposed to this application, and had voiced their concerns to the D.A.B.C.C. Honestly, I was a bit surprised to learn of this, especially since a harmonious relationship with our neighbors and total support of the community where we operate has been, and will always be, our top priority. In our nearly six years of doing business, we have had zero police calls and one neighbor concern which we addressed immediately, and were subsequently sent a Thank You card for showing our concern."

On Friday, Robert Wiest, deputy commissioner for the Office of Alcoholic Beverage Control, stated that no petitions were received requesting a hearing as result of the April 7 application. But no patio alcohol license has been granted as of yet.

"It has been frustrating how many times we have had to send the letters and repeat the process because of errors on the part of Stingray," Walls said. "I responded at least three times. It was very disappointing and a great inconvenience to go to the hearing in April for nothing," Walls added. "Mr. Mansoory arrived 15 minutes late and showed up without the required paperwork so the permit was denied and the process was once again repeated! It feels like the intention of the LCB [D.A.B.C.C.] and Stingray was to wear down the opposing petitioners."

"I don't want to win D.A.B.C.C. approval in a battle against the neighbors in our community, only to be eternally considered as the business owner who has no regard or concern for the community in which he operates," Mansoory wrote in his April 9 letter to neighbors. "I would like for the neighbors to anticipate patio dining at Stingray, but take comfort knowing the owner has great concern for the community, and expects nobody to have to compromise the quality of the life to which they have become accustomed, and that I will embrace any concern and address it immediately. I am not necessarily seeking your support, however, I am writing to do what it takes to not be an unwelcome addition to the streetscape on Lake Avenue."

This article was written by Alan Henney who also filed comments with the D.A.B.C.C. in regard to the Stingray petition. A draft copy of this article was provided to Mansoory and numerous attempts to contact him for comment have been unsuccessful.


 

DEWEY POLICE, BEACH PATROL CAPTAIN RESCUE SNAPPING TURTLE

Dewey Beach police and the town's beach patrol captain teamed up Saturday to save a misguided snapping turtle found along Coastal Highway.

The turtle was discovered around 3:30 p.m. on the ocean side near Bayard Avenue. At first police did not know what to do.

Not many people relocate turtles, Sgt. Clifford Dempsey said, so Dewey is fortunate to have Capt. Todd Fritchman, who runs Envirotech, an environmental consulting firm, Sgt. Dempsey added. Capt. Fritchman is the town's beach patrol captain during the summer.

Capt. Fritchman came to assist. He lifted the 18-inch long critter by its tail.

He suspected the turtle may have been nesting in the area and probably originated from Silver Lake. Perhaps the increased summer traffic recently had the turtle confused.

In any case, Capt. Fritchman placed the turtle onto a Gator and with a police escort took the animal to Silver Lake where it was released.

This is "another example of cooperation between the Dewey Beach police and the Dewey Beach Patrol," Sgt. Dempsey said.

Photos courtesy Dewey Beach PD


 

MAN ABANDONS DOG IN CAR AFTER CRASH AND FLEES

Police searched for a man who crashed this 1994 Geo Prizm on Coastal Highway outside Rehoboth around 9:15 p.m. Saturday and abandoned a dog left inside the car.

Witnesses reported hearing multiple impacts and said the driver of the wrecked car stopped in front of Outback Steakhouse. According to Cpl. John Day, state police spokesman, the driver had struck a 2006 Toyota Tundra.

When the driver of the Geo Prizm got out of the car, he had reportedly borrowed a cell phone. According to one witness, the man had been talking on the phone when he suddenly took off on foot dropping the cell phone in the Outback parking lot before disappearing behind the building.

A police dog and the state police helicopter searched for him without success.

The SPCA was requested to take the dog.

Cpl. Day said the driver of the Prizm, Angelo Gring-Vazquez, 20, of Lewes, did flee on foot but was later apprehended. He has been charged with driving without a license, DUI, and five other traffic charges.

Cpl. Day added that there were no injuries and he has no details on the dog.


 

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GUS & GUS WINDOW SMASHER MAY HAVE BEEN INJURED IN CRIME

A police officer on patrol discovered that the window at Gus & Gus, one of Rehoboth's iconic boardwalk restaurants, had been smashed out prior to 6:40 a.m. Saturday. An ATM sign appears above the broken window, leading to speculation that it could have been more than mere vandalism.

But Lt. William Sullivan says police are investigating the broken window as a "criminal mischief" and not as a burglary. Nothing was reported stolen.

Lt. Sullivan says they developed a possible suspect. Around 3:05 a.m. that same morning, EMS and police had responded to the ocean block of Delaware Avenue for a man who claimed he fell and cut his wrists on some broken glass.

Lt. Sullivan said the city is checking the Wilmington Avenue boardwalk camera for footage.


 

MYSTERIOUS BLOBS FOUND ON BEACH

A choppy surf Saturday afternoon brought assorted debris, including seaweed, sea grass and these odd "blobs" to shore in Dewey and Rehoboth.

They are poorly defined spongy objects with an odor of decay or sewer gas.

We will attempt to find an answer for next weekend.


 

Catch news as it happens on 92.7 FM and on wgmd.com


 

NEW EXHIBITION OPENS AT REHOBOTH ART LEAGUE

The Rehoboth Art League opened the summer with a wonderful exhibition, the 41st Members Craft Exhibition, featuring a vast selection of work in various mediums from many local artists.

The exhibition includes many functional works including this beautiful Fish Bowl by Sandra Curson.

Here is another one of Gary Crowl's driftwood collages, Sunrise #328.

The exhibition runs through July 13 and is well worth visiting.


 

PURPLE GRACKLE TAKES TO FLIGHT AT DEAUVILLE

 


 

DISTRIBUTION TIME CHANGE

Please look for the Rehoboth Weekend Update e-mail now at 9 a.m. Mondays. If Monday is a holiday, it will be sent on Tuesday.

You can hear discussion-inspired topics from the Weekend Update before 9 a.m. on WGMD 92.7 MHz FM.


 

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OTHER NEWS:

CORRECTION AND UPDATE ON LAST MEMORIAL DAY'S BEACHAVEN FIRE--- Delaware State Police say the fire reported in last weekend's report was the result of a one-pot methamphetamine lab. Although there was a domestic dispute in the parking lot, it was not arson. According to police: "Soon after the initial call, it was reported there was a domestic occurring in the parking lot which may be related to the fire, and the male subject was fleeing. Troopers were given a description of the suspect along with his name, and soon located Eric P. Marine, 37, of Rehoboth, walking in the area of Applebee's where he was taken into custody." Police say he was in possession of a hypodermic needle and drugs. The State Fire Marshal's office helped determine that the fire started in a spare bedroom where equipment and component mixtures of Meth along with key ingredients in making the drug were located. Read more at WGMD.com.

 

FUNLAND REPORTS $90 IN COUNTERFEIT CASH THIS WEEKEND--- Christopher Darr, personnel manager at Funland, reports that the Rehoboth amusement park had received a counterfeit $10 bill on Friday and on Sunday, they discovered four $20 bills within a short time period. "As far as counterfeits go," Darr adds, "they were good. Because they were smaller bills which we exchange often and they were 'good' counterfeits [so] it is not hard to see why we took them in. We have checked all of our other bills from the weekend and they are fine." He says they have turned the bills over to the Rehoboth Beach police.

 

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE RODNEY STREET SIGN?--- Rehoboth Beach police received a tip around 10:35 p.m. Friday that three suspects had stolen the "Rodney Street" sign and had the sign with them as they were walking along the boardwalk. "While en route to the location officers received a description of three subjects in the area possibly involved in the incident," says Lt. William Sullivan. Officers located two of the three suspects, a male and female in the area of New Castle Street and the boardwalk who matched the description.

But neither was in possession of the street sign. Lt. Sullivan says the male suspect, later identified as Lewis K. Foreman, 18, of Dover, was found to have two active warrants out of Family Court in Dover after initially providing officers with a false spelling of his name and a different date of birth. The female suspect, a juvenile from the Dover area, was released after contacting her mother. Lt. Sullivan added that a witness was unable to positively identify Foreman as the man he witnessed carrying the road sign. Foreman was taken to the Sussex Correctional Institute in default of a bond issued by Family Court. The road sign was not recovered.

 

DEWEY POLICE INVESTIGATE ASSAULT/ATTEMPT ROBBERY IN RUDDER LOT--- Sgt. Clifford Dempsey says Dewey Beach police are investigating an assault and robbery attempt that was reported early Saturday. He said the incident began when a man who was staying at the Hyatt was headed to the hotel. While in the Rudder lot, he was accosted by four men. The men punched the victim, chipping a tooth and continued to kick him when he fell to the ground. One of the suspects suggested that they take the victim's wallet, but the other three suspects decided it would be better if they didn't. The victim was able to find a Resort Patrol security guard who called for police.

 

KNOCKED OVER PROPANE TANK--- Firefighters responded twice for an odor of propane in Dewey Beach early Saturday. The first call came for the Sea Esta III around 12:50 a.m. They did not find the source, but returned around 1:20 a.m. to the area of the Pier Point Marina on Rodney Ave. That is where they discovered a large propane tank that was on its side with a busted nozzle and leaking gas. Around 1:35 a.m., officials had given the order to evacuate the Rudder, but the gas cleared less than 10 minutes later. Sgt. Clifford Dempsey of the Dewey Beach PD says they do not know if this were an accident or vandalism.


 

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NEWS RELEASES / NEWS REPORTS:

Public asked to report sick or dead wild birds to DNREC Mosquito Control Section for 2014 West Nile virus monitoring

Forts, shipwrecks and centuries-old architecture

DNREC investigates shark deaths in Slaughter Beach

Coast Guard rescue off Cape May

Three downstate ponds to be treated for aquatic nuisance weeds (Milton, Millsboro, Seaford)

Tanger Midway TD Bank robber arrested after Chase in MD and Newark

Rehoboth Restaurant Week returns

Rehoboth ranks 4th in top East Coast beaches for kids [ABC Travel Guide]

Changes come for Dewey rental licenses this summer

Police investigate similar burglaries near Dewey

Pygmy sperm whale washes up on Delaware beach (south of Dewey)

Increased mammal and sea turtle death investigations the past few days

Woman arrested for September 2013 Dagsboro homicide

Delaware State Police investigating fatal, violent wreck near Frankford

Maryland State Police arrest 20 people after 'out of control' graduation party

Worcester sheriff on alert for unsanctioned O.C. event


 

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