What happens when a New Jersey real estate agent moves to Ocean Pines and decides to develop a media empire including a newspaper, Facebook site, website, and podcast based to a great degree on covering Ocean Pines Association board politics?

Thus far, when it comes to the "news" paper, it looks like lots of innuendo and pure speculation, and not limited to editorial opinion. Front page "news" coverage is often anything but news.

The July 1, 2025 front page of what is called "ROC Edition" says it is "THE PEOPLE'S PAPER." Nothing pretentious there.

The front page headline article by ROC Edition Publisher Sherrie Clifford is titled: "Election trust shaken by coordinated digital attack on community forum."

This commentator knows a little about that event. Clifford fairly accurately reports what transpired with an OceanPinesForum.com candidate poll.

Unfortunately, she then goes totally off the rails and suggests something similar could happen with individuals rigging the actual OPA board election!

She wrote: "While the poll was not an official ballot, the incident raises a larger concern: If individuals are willing to manipulate an informal poll, what might be happening behind the scenes in the actual voting process?"

Wow!

Incredibly, Clifford, via only innuendo, then suggests who might be involved in such skullduggery to rig the actual OPA board election - Esther Diller, wife of candidate Stuart Lakernick, and Steve Ransdell, Chair of the Election Committee!

Wow! Wow!

Clifford writes this conspiracy to rig the actual OPA election results by Diller and Ransdell is possible because "Diller was seen whispering with the Committee Chair while candidates and audience members were gathering" prior to the Candidates Forum.

Wow! Wow! Wow!

This is not journalism. It is not even legitimate commentary.

It is pure muckraking.