CapeCodToday Blog Chowder

this evening's pink sunset at long beach centerville - 365 days of yoga

Link: http://youtu.be/R1G3KzfkoSU

Alexandra demos a leg stretch in this evenings sunset.

http://youtu.be/R1G3KzfkoSU

Klonopin bust in West Yarmouth early Friday morning

Suspect arrested, charged with felony possession

Crystal Marie Santos. YPD booking photo.WEST YARMOUTH - A 20-year-old West Yarmouth woman was arrested and arraigned in Barnstable Friday after an early morning visit from Yarmouth police. According to a Yarmouth police release, Yarmouth officers and members of the Cape Cod Drug Task Force conducting a 6:15 a.m. raid at the home of Crystal Marie Santos of 45 Higgins Crowell Road.

Police were armed with a search warrant for illegal narcotics. At the Higgins Crowell Road home, officers seized an undisclosed amount of Klonopin. 

Santos was arrested and charged with felony possession of a Class C drug (Klonopin).  She was arraigned the same day in Barnstable District Court.

When administered legally, Klonopin is used to treat anxiety and seizures.

“Advantage Week” starts February 14 at DY

Dennis-Yarmouth Region offers a grade 8 accelerated learning program

This Lib Dub by DY student John Terrio Jr. gives you a little idea of the esprit at DY High.

District to showcase its schools, everyone is invited to have a look

This is thetime of year when many parents are thinking about "School Choice", and the Dennis-Yarmouth Regional School District will hold “DY Community Advantage Week” events on Tuesday, February 14, Wednesday February 15 and Thursday February 16.  District schools will welcome parents, students and interested community members to open house events that highlight the district’s many unique programs. 

You have a choice… make yours the D-Y Advantage!
Click image above to see what's happening at DY.

Families considering Dennis-Yarmouth as a school choice destination are especially welcome.

DY offers a grade 8 accelerated learning program at Dennis-Yarmouth Regional High School, the grade 6-7 "Wixon Middle Learning Academy" and the M.E. Innovation School for grades 4 and 5, along with many other innovative learning opportunities.

Events at all levels

Elementary school “Advantage” sessions will be held on each of the three days from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. or 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.  at the Laurence C. MacArthur Elementary School, Station Avenue Elementary School, Ezra H. Baker School and Maguerite E. Small  Innovation School.

Middle school sessions will be held from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. or 1 p.m. to 2 p.m.  each day at the Mattacheese Middle School and the Nathaniel H. Wixon Middle School.

Dennis-Yarmouth Regional High School will hold its “DY Advantage” sessions from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. and from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m.

Location, location, location

   Even Wareham and Plymouth are only 36 miles from DY, and Provincetown two miles further

That's the mantra of every real estate expert, and it applies to parent living on this 75-mile long peninsula when they think about where to send their children to school.

It is only a 15 mile drive from the canal to Yarmouth and that includes the towns of Bourne, Falmouth, Mashpee, Sandwich and Barnstable.

It's the same distance (or less) from Dennis to Orleans which includes Chatham and Harwich.

It appears that at least one district is acting like a "customer-friendly" business and reaching out to parents and students who might to try the "DY Advantage."

Click here to download the flyer.

Dr. John L. Cox to begin Cape Cod Community presidency on July 1, 2012

State Board of Higher Education confirms Cox

Dr. John Cox. Photo courtesy of Cape Cod Community College.

Earlier this week, the State Board of Higher Education met in Framingham where they confirmed the appointment of Dr. John L. Cox as the new president of Cape Cod Community College. Cox, who will succeed Dr. Kathleen Schatzberg as president of the college, will begin on July 1 of this year.

In a unanimous vote on December 7, 2011, Cape Cod Community College Trustees nominated Dr. Cox as the school's next president. Dr. Cox is currently the Vice President of Finance, Operations and Government Relations at Hartford Community College in Maryland. 

CCCC’s Board of Trustees Chairperson Christopher Oddleifson was asked to speak to the State Board regarding the search process and the selection of Dr. Cox. In testimony on Tuesday January 24, 2012, he noted, "…Dr. John Cox has demonstrated… that he has the expertise to meet our institution’s challenges and opportunities ahead…We believe he is an experienced, visionary leader who embraces the needs and challenges of our institution, celebrates the diversity of our region, and for many years to come will champion our mission to serve our unique geographic area and contribute to the growth of the Commonwealth."

Dr. Cox will be replacing Dr. Schatzberg who has served as president for the past fourteen years.

Community colleges help fix the "skills gap"

Community colleges must become a fully-integrated part of the state's workforce development plan

By Governor Deval Patrick

We have 240,000 people looking for work and nearly 120,000 open jobs today in Massachusetts.  How can we have so much opportunity available and so many people still looking for a chance? 

Business leaders tell me over and over again that it is because the people looking for jobs don’t have the skills required.  Many of these openings are for “middle skills” jobs that require more than a high school diploma but not necessarily a four-year degree: jobs in medical device manufacturing or lab technicians or solar installers, for example.  And a lot of those forced by the economic downturn to make a change in their careers, people in their thirties or forties or fifties, don’t have the proper training for those jobs.  We have a “skills gap.”

We can do something about that.  We can help people get back to work.  And our community colleges should be at the center of it.

For the work they do, community colleges rarely receive proper recognition, let alone adequate funding.  I have visited many of our community colleges and seen their good work.  They are an important resource, and we must ask more of them.

For the work they do, community colleges rarely receive proper recognition, let alone adequate funding. - Governor Deval PatrickAt Cape Cod Community College right now, students through the Dental Hygiene Program work in the community to gain valuable hands-on experience and help meet the dental care needs of the local community. This is good - - but we need more of it and we need it everywhere. 

We need that kind of sharper mission across the Commonwealth, so that community colleges become a fully integrated part of the state’s workforce development plan.  Our colleges must be aligned with employers, voc-tech schools and the Workforce Investment Boards in the regions where they operate; aligned with each other in core course offerings; and aligned with the Commonwealth’s job growth strategy.  We can’t do that if 15 different campuses have 15 different strategies.  We need to do this together.  We need a unified community college system in Massachusetts.  Our competitors – states like Virginia, North Carolina and Washington – have instituted unified systems and are using them to their competitive advantage. 

I have proposed a $10 million increase in state funding for community colleges to help them meet this mission – and I have challenged the business community to come up with a match to help make this a reality.  It is not unreasonable for community colleges to ask for more resources to support their mission; and it is not unreasonable to ask for them to be more accountable to our workforce development strategy in exchange.

Given how important community colleges are to their local cities and towns, some are concerned that this proposal would mean Beacon Hill is telling their campus what to do.  I don’t want that any more than you do.

The goal of this proposal is to ensure that community colleges have the tools they need to be as responsive as possible to the job openings in their region.  Creating a more unified system is not about losing local control; it is about connecting every city and town to the full range of economic possibilities in the Commonwealth.  It’s about making sure a large employer in Boston knows that there is a skilled workforce in Barnstable and reason to expand there.  It’s about making sure the small business in Sandwich has a convenient, locally focused, fully supported resource to help its workers build careers on the Cape and grow the economy there. 

The problem we are trying to fix is the skills gap; the problem is not the community colleges.  The community colleges are the solution.

The challenge facing people looking for work, people in doubt about the future of their American Dream and their place in the workforce belongs to all of us. We can meet that challenge if we work together.  For the good of the Commonwealth and the sake of our future, we must.

Deval Patrick is the Governor of Massachusetts.

Barnstable Democratic Town Committee to hold caucus February 11

All registered Barnstable Democrats are eligible to participate

The Barnstable Democratic Town Committee has announced that they will hold a caucus on Saturday, February 11 at 10 a.m. at the West Barnstable Community Building, 2377 Meeting House Way (Route 149) in West Barnstable.

During the caucus, Democratic Convention delegates will be selected.  All registered Barnstable Democrats (registered as of 12/31/11) are eligible to participate.

The Barnstable DTC will nominate twenty-two delegates and four alternates to attend the Democratic Convention in Springfield on June 2. Delegates will be divided equally between men and women. Anyone not elected as a delegate or alternate, may apply to the add-on delegates in the categories of youth, minority or disabled, if qualified.

Doors open at 9 a.m. and will be closed promptly at 10 a.m., at which time no one will be allowed to enter.

To learn more about the Barnstable Democratic Town Committee, visit there website here.

Email us any upcoming Cape Cod political events (campaign kick-offs, fund raisers, informational sessions, debates, monthly meetings, etc.) and we'll feature them here on our Cape Cod Political calendar.

Columbia Journalism Review on new Plymouth newssite

CapeCodTODAY's sister newssite lauded by Columbia Journalism Review

Year-old "paperless newspaper" wins high praise from journalism's bible

While Cape Cod TODAY is the first-ever paperless newspaper begun in 1996, Plymouth Daily News (PDN) is one of the latest, and it is the sister newssite of this publication. Yesterday the the Columbia Journalism Review (CJR) published the review of PDN copied below. CJR is an American magazine for professional journalists published bimonthly by the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism since 1961.

Feb 2, 2012 11:12 AM

Plymouth Daily News
Hyperlocal news for “America’s hometown”

By Caitlin Kasunich

PLYMOUTH, MASSACHUSETTS — For almost two decades, editor and publisher Walter Brooks and his family have run online media ventures in several Massachusetts communities. Starting in the early months of 1996, Brooks helped launch the online edition of the vacation guide Best Read Guide/Cape Cod. Just a year later, he started the hyperlocal news site CapeCodToday.com—an early example of the hyperlocal genre, which CJR profiled in 2011. Around 2000, Brooks and his wife, son, and daughter-in-law set up eCape.com as a separate IT and web marketing corporation. In 2010, PlymouthDailyNews.com, a hyperlocal site serving Plymouth Massachusetts, became the latest addition to the family business. (All of the ventures are incorporated under eCape.com, of which Brooks’s daughter-in-law Julie Brooks is president and CEO.)

Plymouth Daily News offers local news for residents of Plymouth and the five surrounding towns that are part of Barnstable County: Carver, Duxbury, Kingston, Plympton, and Wareham. The site runs five to seven news items per day on average, says Brooks, and regularly features quick-hit hyperlocal news items on everything from crime and business to politics and travel.

Recent stories include a piece on contractors in the area who were cited for failing to pay workers, as well as a brief alert to residents about an upcoming special election. The site’s homepage showcases other, more unique features, including a list of the day’s events in the community, weekly reader polls, and a business directory.

• Brooks serves as editor for both Cape Cod Today and Plymouth Daily News; a managing editor, Maggie Kulbokas, also works on both sites. Beyond them, the Plymouth Daily News staff includes a part-time community editor, a part-time sales employee, and half a dozen freelance writers who come and go as needed (political writers are generally brought on board during election seasons, for instance). A dozen local volunteer bloggers regularly post on the site. Brooks says that he and Kulbokas dedicate about 80 percent of their time to CapeCodToday.com and 20 percent to PlymouthDailyNews.com.
• The community editor, Matthew Nadler, also runs a news site for two Plymouth neighborhoods called The Manomet Current, which CJR profiled in 2011. “In the interest of good community journalism,” says Brooks, Nadler was not asked to suspend the site in order to work with Plymouth Daily News. 
• Although Brooks declines to give specific revenue figures, he says the year-old site is “nearing break even.” 100 percent of the revenue is derived from ad sales; rates are posted on the site. 
• PlymouthDailyNews.com—which has a Facebook page and Twitter handle—received 70,000 unique visitors in its first year, according to Brooks. In the future, he hopes to expand current features of the website while adding new ones, such as obituaries and local court reports. A large-scale re-design of PlymouthDailyNews.com and CapeCodToday.com is also underway, and will hopefully be completed this spring. A mobile-friendly version of the site’s business directory may be on the horizon, and, following what has been a successful model for Cape Cod Today, Plymouth Daily News may soon be joined by a host of niche content outlets for the Plymouth area, including sites focused on weddings, kids, seniors, business, and shopping. Launch dates have not yet been confirmed.

Brooks is all rapture when describing his transition from newspapers to the web: “There is never a need to cut a story, or leave one out because of available space. Our newsprint is in the cloud, and literally, the sky is the limit.”

Read the CJR Review here.

"Homeless hotels" auctioned to local non-profit for $3 million

TODAY's quote: “I hope it is a platform to revitalize our town. It will be a real new, nice facility”
- Brian Braginton-Smith.

Two troubled Yarmouth "homeless hotels" auctioned to local non-profit

$3 million paid for Cavalier motel and West Yarmouth Lodgings

 Yahoo contributor recommends
             the Cavalier Motel
"No complaints...motel was recommended by celly in Barnstable House of Correction and proved to be a be great place start to rebuild my life. Location was awesome.
      Given my license being suspended hotel's proximity to local bus line was great and allowed me to be close to court house, DTA and Social Security office.
      My DSS worker commented how clean and child friendly motel was, which helped with my supervised visits with my children. Many of my neighbors were sympathetic to my plight in life.
      I would recommend this motel to anyone.Route 28 in Yarmouth is about to experience a significant change as Brian Braginton-Smith, a longtime Yarmouth resident who has been active in town issues according to this week's Register, bid $1.75 million for the Cavalier Motel in South Yarmouth and $1.2 million for the West Yarmouth Lodgings at the belated auction of the two trouble properties.

Braginton-Smith of Village Center Group, LLC., which will operate the properties, is chairman of the Yarmouth Board of Health and will serve as project manager. His group has an option to purchase the property from Harry B. Miller, who was fined and found in contempt of court in a town lawsuit for providing illegal long-term housing in two of his motels.

Mr. Miller is said to be hiding in Jamaica.

As recently as November the Cavalier motel still had 21 people living in it, with seven refusing to leave, according to Marvin Munroe, the motel's manager. Eight of the people remaining are either disabled or elderly, he said.

Scene of many police raids and violence

Two arrested, one wanted in separate domestic violence incidents, L to R: Maureen A. Rivieccio, Steven Michael Grover, Sidney D. Paulson. YPD booking photos.

A story we ran in October 4 said that Yarmouth police officers responded to three separate and violent domestic attacks at motels in town over the weekend. 

Just after 9 p.m. on Friday, officers responded to a reported domestic disturbance in a room at the Cavalier Motel on Route 28 in South Yarmouth. Upon arrival, the officers determined that drinking had fueled an argument leading to physical aggression. Maureen A. Rivieccio was determined to be the aggressor and was placed under arrested and charged with domestic violence assault and battery and transported to the Yarmouth Police Department.

See that report here. Read this week's Register story on the auction here.

To see all the Xtras, click here, and to write a Letter to the Editor, click here.

Cape Cod Arraignments and Dispositions - February 3, 2012

BARNSTABLE DISTRICT COURT

February 3, 2012

In court February 2, 2012

ARRAIGNMENTS

ALLEN, Jeremiah P, 32, 7 Jefferson Ave, W. Yarmouth; Class A drug possession with intent to distribute, heroin, January 31 in Barnstable.  Pretrial conference scheduled for February 3.

BARBEL, Allahmanamja, 24, 65 Pires Way, Falmouth; assault & battery; shoplifting by concealing merchandise, February 1 in Barnstable.  Pretrial conference scheduled for March 5.

BOUCHE, Kevin T, 22, 325 Wheeler Rd, Marstons Mills; larceny over $250; larceny from a building, February 1 in Barnstable.  Pretrial conference scheduled for March 6.

COGGESHALL, Branden, 20, 121 Old Dam Rd, Bourne; Class B drug possession, oxycodone, February 1 in Sandwich.  Pretrial conference scheduled for February 27.

GREGORY, Julie M, 25, 17 Hilltop Dr, Sagamore; larceny from a building; larceny over $250, July 23 2011 in Barnstable.  Pretrial conference scheduled for March 8.

HASTINGS, Robert E, 41, 9 Yeoman Dr, Yarmouth; assault & battery, February 2 in Yarmouth.  Pretrial conference scheduled for March 8.

JOSEPH, Christopher A, 41, 28 Newfield Rd, Yarmouth Port; Class B drug possession, oxycodone, February 1 in Barnstable.  Pretrial conference scheduled for March 8.  According to police reports, a confidential source informed Barnstable officers Joseph would be traveling to Rhode Island to secure oxycodone.  Surveillance units tracked his car, a Mitsubishi, back to Hyannis where police effected a traffic stop.  Joseph was found in possession of ninety-five oxycodone tablets and eight methadone tablets, hidden in his right boot.

LIPPARD, Steven J, 22, 92 Cranberry Ridge Rd, Marstons Mills; larceny of property over $250, January 23 in Barnstable.  Pretrial conference scheduled for March 6.

MEDEIROS, Jordan, 21, 45 Burning Bush Rd, Mashpee; larceny over $250 by false pretenses; receiving stolen property over $250, January 17 in Barnstable.  Co-defendant with TURNER.  Pretrial conference scheduled for February 17.  According to police reports, Medeiros was arrested in connection with stolen jewelry he pawned in the company of Turner, at a local jewelery/pawn shop.  Items included gold bracelets, rings and chains.

NICKERSON, Michael J, 34, 12 Hiramar Rd, Apt 3, Hyannis; armed robbery; assault & battery with a dangerous weapon, a small black switchblade, December 27 2011 in Barnstable.  Pretrial conference scheduled for February 27.  According to police reports, Nickerson stole $70, a gold chain and a gold ring from a man at knifepoint.  He was arrested.

SHANNON, John P, 28, 120 Yarmouth Rd, Hyannis; assault & battery, January 25 in Barnstable.  Pretrial conference scheduled for February 7.

SHANNON, same.  Assault & battery, October 21 2011 in Barnstable.  Pretrial conference scheduled for February 7.

SMITH, Samuel R, 21, 28 Weatherdeck Dr, Bourne; Class B drug possession with intent to distribute, oxycodone pills (sic); conspiracy to violate drug laws, January 31 in Sandwich.  Co-defendant with BRABANDS and DALY.  Pretrial conference scheduled for March 1.

TEMPLE, Jillian E, 25, 3 Katie's Way, Sandwich; larceny over $250 by false pretenses; receiving stolen property over $250, January 17 in Barnstable.  Co-defendant with MEDEIROS.  Pretrial conference scheduled for February 3.

THIBEAU, Jennifer R, 29, 21 Courtland Way, Yarmouth; assault with a dangerous weapon, a large fake toy gemstone, February 2 in Yarmouth.  Pretrial conference scheduled for March 5.

DISPOSITIONS

BRANDO JR, Eric A, 19, 366 Old Mill Rd, Osterville; assault & battery, October 24 2011 in Barnstable.  Dismissed.

HAYDEN, Daniel M, 30, 38 Bodfish Pl, Hyannis; child endangerment while OUI; assault & battery; open and gross lewdness; violating an abuse prevention order; using tear gas/mace in a crime, amended to possession of mace (sic); Class A drug possession, December 2 2011 in Barnstable.  Child endangerment, violating an abuse prevention order, guilty plea.  Guilty finding.  Two years house of correction, one year to be served, sixty-three days credit on each count, concurrent.  Probation until January 31 2014.  Drug- and alcohol-free with screens.  Possession of mace without an FID card (sic), filed.  All other counts dismissed.

LAINE, John E, 23, 53 Pkwy Pl, Hyannis; receiving stolen property over $250; larceny over $250, December 3 2011 in Barnstable.  Receiving stolen property over $250, admitted to sufficient facts.  Continued without a finding, continued for payment until August 1.  Larceny over $250, dismissed.

PARADY, Courtney, 30, 11 Januit St, sandwich; larceny over $250; improper use of a credit card over $250; identity fraud, October 5 2011 in Barnstable.  Larceny over $250, improper use of credit card over $250, both admitted to sufficient facts.  Continued without a finding, continued for payment until February 1, 2013.  Identity fraud, dismissed.

WALSH, Michael C, 60, 52 Huckins Neck Rd, Centerville; OUI liquor; negligent operation of a motor vehicle; uninsured motor vehicle; unregistered motor vehicle; marked lanes violation, January 19 in Barnstable.  OUI, admitted to sufficient facts.  24D program.  Continued without a finding until February 1 2013.  Negligent operation, uninsured motor vehicle, dismissed.  Unregistered motor vehicle, not guilty.  Marked lanes, guilty plea.  Filed.

YOUNG, Tiara A, 18, 182 Yankee Dr, Brewster; assault & battery with a dangerous weapon, September 17 2011 in Yarmouth.  Dismissed.

CG Helicopter rescues fisherman with heart attack

Heavy weather prevented on-deck rescue, basket lowered to hoist victim

The U.S. Coast Guard reports that a helicopter crew transported a man experiencing heart attack-like symptoms from a fishing boat 60 miles southeast of Nantucket,  to a Cape Cod, Mass., hospital, Wednesday night.

The rescue occurred in 6-foot seas southeast of Nantucket.The crew of the fishing vessel Monomoy contacted Coast Guard Sector Southeastern New England at 11 p.m., reporting that a 46-year old crewman was experiencing severe chest pains, with tingling hands, clammy skin and heavy breathing and was in need of immediate medical attention.

The 1^st Coast Guard District Command Center conducted a conference call with the flight surgeon who recommended a medical evacuation.

An MH-60T Jayhawk helicopter crew from Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod launched with a corpsman aboard. When performing a medevac, the helicopter crew always has a corpsman to administer first aid.

Corpsmen aboard helicopters are required to have some of the same vigorous training as the rest of the helicopter crew such as emergency egress, dunk tank and low pressure chamber training. Coast Guardsmen's experience, skills and training allow for quick action and an appropriate and efficient response to all maritime needs.

Due to the boat’s rigging and sea conditions, a rescue swimmer could not be lowered safely from the helicopter so the crew lowered a rescue basket to the deck of the boat where the man could climb in to be hoisted up to the helicopter.

"The conditions were definitely challenging but the entire crew did an outstanding job and we were able to hoist the crewmember aboard where our corpsman administered life-saving medications while en route to the hospital," said helicopter co-pilot Lt. j.g. Zephyr Mays.

The weather on scene was 11-knot winds with 6-foot seas.

Courtesy USCG.