EXTRA...

Stop 'n Shop prepares for strike; 200 mile Cape Relay Race; Dennis man charged with growing pot in his house; Store owner convicted of sexual assault; The Elizabeth Islands explained; Cape Cod gave the world Sunroots

TODAY's quote: "We are making contingency plans that include placing ads in local newspapers for temporary workers in order to continue business operations in the event there is a work stoppage." - Stop 'n Shop spokeswoman Faith Weiner.

The ad in local newspapers reads: Stop&Shop Now Hiring Temporary Replacement Workers for Cashier and Clerk Positions. The temporary employment would occur in the event there is a strike or lockout because of a labor dispute. Full-time $15.00/hour • Part-time $12.00/hour, 18 years old and older. Bring proof of identity and work authorization. Apply in person at teh store on Route 28 in South Yarmouth.

Stop 'n Shop hit on ‘strike' hiring

Stop & Shop is hiring temporary replacement cashiers and clerks in case contract talks break down with the union representing some 36,000 New England employees.

The Quincy-based supermarket chain has been advertising for full- and part-time workers "in the event there is a strike or lockout because of a labor dispute."

But a union official for one of five United Food and Commercial Workers locals negotiating new three-year contracts called the move "bad theater" and an attempt by Stop & Shop to persuade workers to accept its contract offers... Herald.

The Provincetown Banner reported last week that the union representing workers at Stop & Shop grocery store (in Provincetown) is girding for a battle with management that could send many of the store's almost 100 employees out on strike in two weeks.

Union contracts with 14,000 Stop & Shop workers in Southeastern Massachusetts are set to expire Feb. 20. Store managers have begun advertising in several local newspapers for temporary cashiers and clerks. In addition, the company held several job fairs, including one in South Yarmouth, on Monday to interview prospective workers.
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Dennis man charged with cultivating marijuana

Derek Pitcher, 23, is charged with cultivating marijuana at his home at 110 Acorn Rd., South Dennis. Pitcher also faces charges related to two default warrants.
   Just before 10:30 Sunday morning, police received a 911 call from the Acorn Road address, where they had previously responded to domestic disturbances. Officers found marijuana growing in two rooms, including a child's bedroom.
   Pitcher was found hiding behind a child's bunk bed... The Register.

Former Dennisport store owner convicted of sexual assault

A Dennisport man has been found guilty of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14 and sentenced to 2 ½ years in the Barnstable County Correctional facility.
   Richard Macaruso, 58, was convicted after a three-day trial in Orleans District Court. Macaruso operated F.I.T. Games in Dennisport where the incidents that led to the charges against him took place in 2006. Macaruso was convicted of having sexual contact with a then 12-year-old boy... The Register.

Relay race will take runners 200 miles from Quincy to Provincetown

The race course winds its way more than 200 miles from the shores of Boston Harbor to the tip of Cape Cod. Competitors in the inaugural Cape Relay on May 1 and 2 won't be running alone, but as part of six- or 12-member teams...

Teams need to average 11-minute miles to be able to finish the course within the 36-hour time limit, he said. The top teams will finish in 22 to 23 hours, he said... So far, more than 200 teams of runners have registered for the overnight event... Patriot Ledger.
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History of Elizabeth Islands shared

Raised on the shores of Buzzards Bay, Seth Mendell had sailed past the Elizabeth Islands countless times.

He was always curious about their history.

So he did what any good history teacher would do: He researched the subject himself... He described how Gosnold sailed "to the New World" from England aboard the Concord with 20 colonists and 12 sailors.

Although Gosnold's original destination was Virginia, he missed his target and landed on Cape Cod in 1602 with four other men, making them the first Englishmen to set foot in New England... Standard-Times.
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Foodie Freak: Sunroots
They were discovered by Champlain on Cape Cod

Sunroots are a potato-like tuber that grows underground and looks like really fat ginger. They are a great food for diabetics because sunroots store their starch in the form of inulin (a polysaccharide) and not carbohydrates.

Diabetics can eat sunroots all day long without having blood sugar problems.

You might not be familiar with this vegetable because they've gone through a little identity crisis. For a long time sunroots went by the name "Jerusalem Artichokes" but the title just confused people since they aren't from Jerusalem and they aren't anything like an artichoke. They're actually a variety of sunflower.

Sunroots were "discovered" in a tribal garden in Cape Cod by Samuel de Champlain (in 1605 ACE) who sent them to his homeland, France. He called them "Canadian Artichokes" since he thought they tasted like artichoke hearts.A Swedish Naturalist then renamed them "Topinambour" after a cannibalistic tribe from Brazil (that's a long, dull story) and they are still called that in France today... Lake County News.

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Mashnee home-owners buy the island; Brewster's Joe Klein on Cape Wind; Why Jeff missed Scott's party; School Admin fails teacher survey; Truro house takes shape as anger lingers; Where are the Stripers?

TODAY's quote: "We're hoping that they will continue to support the kids in Bourne."
- Bourne Community Boating President Kenneth D. Legg.
"I'm terribly sorry that the wind farm will spoil their (the Kennedys)sunrises and turn their sailing into slalom, but this is alternative energy we're talking about here. It's a no brainer and I hope Interior Secretary Ken Salazar will put an end to the slow-walk forthwith." - Joe Klein.

Residents Group Buys Mashnee Island Property

Mashnee is connected to the mainland at Grey Gable in Bourne and juts out into Buzzards bay near the entrance to the Cape Cod Canal.

A group of Mashnee Island residents has purchased the building-and the land surrounding it-that has been the home of the Quahog Republic.

A deed and associated documents were recorded Monday afternoon in the Barnstable County registry. They show a purchase price of $2.75 million and two mortgages.

One, for $650,000 was granted to Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank; the second, for $931,500, to Wianno Road, Mashnee Island, resident James S. Gonet. The remainder of the funding was fronted by the unidentified Mashnee Island property owners who joined together to purchase the property, once the home of a private club... Bourne Enterprise.
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Brewster's Joe Klein on Cape Wind
Derides faux enviro RFK Jr.

As a once and future resident of Massachusetts, can I just say that the opposition to the Cape Cod Wind Farm, in Nantucket Sound, is one of the most blatant cases of NIMBYism I've ever seen--and all the more so, because it has been led by a host of progressives, particularly members of the Kennedy family, including the faux enviro Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
   This is the sort of hypocrisy that conservatives feast upon.
   I'm terribly sorry that the wind farm will spoil their sunrises and turn their sailing into slalom, but this is alternative energy we're talking about here. It's a no brainer and I hope Interior Secretary Ken Salazar will put an end to the slow-walk forthwith. (And I'd be happy to welcome a second wind farm over on my side of the Cape, in Cape Cod Bay.) TIME.

No Brown boater apathy here
Why Jeff missed Scott's party

State Rep. Jeff Perry, who last week jumped into the race against incumbent U.S. Rep. Bill Delahunt (D-Quincy), worked feverishly for Sen. Scott Brown - but on Election Night, he was half a world away.
   While Brown's supporters reveled in victory in Boston, the Sandwich Republican was on a cruise off the coast of Costa Rica... The pol - a key Cape Cod fund-raiser for Brown - and his wife went on the cruise with three other couples and had to settle for texting their congratulations... Herald.

Truro house takes shape as anger lingers
Future of home uncertain as neighbors seek answers

The biggest house in the history of this small town is largely built now, a flat-roofed, modern structure on a sandy, wind-tossed bluff above the beach. But the future of the sprawling, 6,800-square-foot building looks uncertain, more than two years after plans for its construction triggered fiery controversy on Cape Cod.

Donald Kline, the 76-year-old businessman who sought to build the house with his wife, Andrea, died last September. Local subcontractors hired to work on the project have not been paid in months, according to paperwork filed at the Barnstable County Registry of Deeds by the Florida-based builder hired by the couple. And neighbors of the oceanfront construction site say they have seen no recent signs of work... Globe.
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SandwichAdministrators get poor marks on Teachers' Survey

The results of an online survey taken by members of the Sandwich teachers' union in December reflects a lack of confidence in the district's top administrators.

Sandwich Educators Association President Laura R. Carlyle said the survey was prompted by concerns raised by teachers to their school representatives throughout the district.

The survey, which was composed with assistance from the Massachusetts Teachers Association, was administered to teachers though a secure online portal.. Sandwich Enterprise.
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Casting blame in striper dispute

The striped bass is once again facing a decline in its numbers, and efforts to stem the losses have stoked tensions between commercial and recreational fishermen

The wily striped bass - admired by New England fishermen for centuries - nearly disappeared from East Coast waters in the early 1980s. A series of fishing moratoriums restored the stocks, and today a Cape Cod scene is not complete without surfcasters trying their hand against the powerful fish.

But the number of young stripers in Chesapeake Bay, where many of New England's fish come from, is mysteriously beginning to slip again, a warning sign that the population could be in trouble.

As scientists try to figure out why, a group of recreational fishermen is lobbying the Massachusetts Legislature to ban commercial fishing of stripers, exposing long-simmering animosities between some bass fishermen who cast for fun and those who do it for a living. Each group blames the other for the declining numbers - though research does not seem to implicate overfishing... Globe.

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Some State Reps pay No Federal Income Tax; New law requires oil heating upgrade; No bail for accused killer; Mihos in it to win: Mashpee Ponzi scheme; Harwich OKs 11 CPC projects

TODAY's quotes: "The reports of my political death are greatly exaggerated." - Christy Mihos.
"My client was used and abused. Our evidence will show my client was manipulated by one or more people. He was not the shooter in this case." - Gerald Alch, Manoloules' attorney.

New law requires upgrade for homeowners who use oil for heating

Homeowners with oil heating systems that were installed before 1990 will have to pay up to $300 to comply with a new state law that will take effect in July... Before 1990, most pipes from the tank to the burner were buried in concrete. The new law calls for homeowners to either dig up the concrete and line the pipe with a non-metallic sleeve, or simply install the safety valve on the oil tank... A simple leak can cost as much as $15,000 to clean up, while more extensive cleanup costs can top $250,000... Banner.
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11 Harwich CPC projects get nod

Jack Brown, chairman of Harwich Community Preservation Committee, has watched with pride the last two years as 51 of 53 CPC projects which won approved at town meeting, many by a simple voice vote.
   But Brown, who has been involved with the CPC since its inception in 2005, has also witnessed a rapid lowering of the state's matching grant, which was 100 percent in 2008, declined to 75 percent in 2009, and now has fallen to 39 percent for 2010.
   The CPC projects are targeted to historic, affordable housing, and open space-recreation... Oracle.

Judge denies bail request by teen accused of killing uncle

While the attorney for a Southborough teen charged in the murder of his Framingham uncle argued that his client had no motive to commit the crime, a Superior Court judge yesterday denied his request to set bail.
   Christopher Manoloules, 18, is charged with the murder on Cape Cod of Aris Manoloules. Robert Upton, 45, an uncle of Christopher Manoloules on a different side of the family, is also charged in the murder.
   Judge Gary Nickerson denied the defense's request for $250,000 bail in Barnstable Superior Court... MetroWest.

Mashpee business, residents accused of Ponzi scheme

Like money in the bank is how Thomas A. Belekewicz and Merope E. Dayos allegedly described the investments they obtained from mortgage clients and others into a Mashpee business. But even as Mr. Belekewicz and Ms. Dayos were reassuring their clients over the past few years, according to a civil complaint filed by state financial regulators last week, their finances were falling apart.

A scheme that the two allegedly devised broke down when they ran out of money and could not make either guaranteed interest payments or return principal investments, according to civil charges announced last week. A company the two founded is now in bankruptcy. A host of lawsuits have been filed in Barnstable Superior Court... Mashpee Enterprise.
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Some State Reps pay little or no Federal Income Tax
Obscure Federal Law Allows Tax Deduction For Massachusetts Legislators

Imagine paying nothing in federal income tax. It's a dream come true for state legislators living more than 50 miles from the State House. Federal tax law allows them to legally deduct as much as $311 per day from their federal income tax. For some, it could mean deducting their entire state salary.

Federal law does not require legislators to travel to Boston or even prove that they're working for taxpayers on any given day to claim the deduction.

The law, passed by Congress in 1981, only requires the Massachusetts House and Senate to be "in session" on the days claimed. WCVB discovered the last time the Massachusetts Legislature prorogued -- or was officially not in session -- was in 1988... WCVB.
Who was eligable (All of ours)
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Mihos insists he's a gubernatorial candidate

Republican Christy Mihos insists he's still in the Massachusetts gubernatorial race. In an e-mail to supporters Friday, the convenience store magnate said reports of his political death are greatly exaggerated.

Mihos' campaign has been plagued with staff upheavals. And last week a Superior Court judge slapped liens on three businesses he owns after a gasoline supplier claimed he was owed more than $600,000.

The Cape Cod resident has also faced skepticism within the GOP after running for governor in 2006 as an independent.

Mihos faces Charles Baker in the Republican primary.

Gov. Deval Patrick and community activist Grace Ross are competing for the Democratic nomination. Treasurer Timothy Cahill is running as an independent, and Jill Stein is the Green-Rainbow candidate... Lowell Sun.

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Dunford to challenge Peake for Lower Cape State Rep; CBI doesn't bid on Chatham links; Pleasant Bay erosion worse; CCYP launches food drive; Mallory Docked, loses license; DCPC raises red flags for Wellfleet

TODAY's quote: "During the months of February, March and April, the food pantries are very lean, but it's also the time of greatest need." - Sara Whiteley, CCYP.

Orleans Selectman to challenge Lower Cape State Rep Peake
Seeks Republican nomination

David Dunford has long roots the Lower Cape as long-time Olreans Selectman and founder of the Founder of the Bank of Cape Cod in Hyannis in 2006 and has been a Director since the Bank opened.
   He is seeking the State Representative seat for the Fourth Barnstable District now held by Democrat Sarah Peake. He is seeking the Republican nomination to oppose her in the Noember elections.
   David Dunford spent his business career at Travelers Insurance Cos. in Hartford as a Senior Investment Officer and later Merrill Lynch & Co as Senior Vice President and Chief Investment Officer in the Insurance Group.
   He holds a A. B. degree in Economics from Princeton University and a Masters of Business Administration degree in Corporate Finance from New York University.
   Mr. Dunford is launching his campaign for the seat at a reception from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Four Points Sheraton on Route 6 in Eastham.

Cape Cod Young Professionals Launches "Food Is Love" Food Drive

The Cape Cod Young Professionals (CCYP), in partnership with local businesses, will hold the "Food is Love" canned food drive during the month of February.

Spearheaded by the CCYP Community Action Team (CAT), the drive will benefit the Harwich Family Pantry and the Falmouth Service Center.

"During the months of February, March and April, the food pantries are very lean, but it's also the time of greatest need." Said Sara Whiteley, chair of the drive. "Working with these two organizations allows our members to serve as many fellow residents as possible"... Cape Business.
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DCPC raises red flags for Wellfleet town leaders

Roger Putnam, the town's representative on the Cape Cod Commission, is concerned about the Commission's recent vote, at the request of the Barnstable County Commissioners, to designate the waters off Cape Cod a District of Critical Planning Concern (DCPC). This designation would halt all development until the Cape Cod Commission comes up with regulations.

"We are the only estuary on the Cape designated to be controlled by the Ocean Management Planning District," Putnam told the selectmen at their Jan. 29 meeting. "All of the Massachusetts coastline is covered in the plan, but Boston Harbor is left out. Why is Wellfleet Harbor left in?"... Banner.
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Mallory Docked by licensing authority
Town board revokes Yarmouth Road establishment's license

Finding that the establishment had an absent licensee, no food permit, and no lease, the Barnstable Licensing Authority revoked Mallory Dock's common victualler all alcohol license this week.

With the listed manager of the 477 Yarmouth Road venue, Mario Mere, said to be in Florida for the next few months, the board acted to shut down the business.

"I'm trying to get them to leave," building owner Gilbert Wood, who owns car dealerships on Yarmouth Road, told the board. He said he had purchased the property with the thought of eventual expansion... Barnstable Patriot.
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Chatham Bars Inn not among bidders for Chatham Links

When officials sat down Tuesday to open proposals for management of the town-owned Seaside Links Golf Course, Chatham Bars Inn, which sued the town last year over the process, was not among the bidders.
   CBI informed the town last week that it did not intend to submit a proposal to manage the 49-acre, nine-hole course, which is adjacent to the upscale resort, citing a lack of "financial safeguards" in the contract guidelines... Chronicle.

New inlet spells greater Pleasant Bay erosion

To even the casual observer, there's been some high water in Pleasant Bay lately, owing to the change in tides caused by the new inlet. Add to those high tides some high surf from coastal storms, and all the ingredients are present for erosion.

That was the message Coastal Resources Director Ted Keon brought to the board of selectmen last week, explaining the town's efforts to try and stem the severe erosion at Scatteree town landing in North Chatham. There, town officials have all but given up on trying to keep the beach and parking lot from washing away... Chronicle.

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Star of Chatham movie "The Golden Boys" arrested as bank robber

Rip Torn, "Drunk of the Century", once wrestled Norman Mailer

A scene from Chatham film "The Golden Boys", with, from left; Bruce Dern, Rip Torn and David Carradine.

In the biggest upset of the week thus far, Rip Torn just stole the title of Hollywood Dream-Weaver I Identify With Most from Nick Nolte. That's because Rip was arrested last week for breaking into a Connecticut bank, drunk and waving around a loaded revolver. My favorite part of this story is that Rip thought the bank was his house.

He breaks in, and, not realizing immediately that it's a bank, goes to sleep. Awesome. If I were him, I'd have my publicist spin this as some kind of populist activist statement of protest. Instant Academy Award.... Monolith.

You can read a review of the movie when it was still called "Chatham" at the Cape Cinema here. Review Solon Economous wrote, "It was great--a light-hearted comedy with many Cape Cod locations you'll recognize. David Carradine, Rip Torn and Bruce Dern play the grumpy old sea-captains in a 1905 setting who decide to bring a wife into their household to take care of them."
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Rip Torn to enter rehab after his arrest for drunkenly breaking into a bank

Police mugshot of Rip Torn at arrest

Rip Torn is trying to patch things up with the law by going into rehab. The 78-year-old "30 Rock" actor was packed off to a New York treatment facility after he was arraigned Monday on charges of busting into bank while loaded - and armed with a gun.

"Have a nice day," a smiling Torn said after he posted $100,000 bond and was released from the Connecticut clink where he'd spent the weekend in jail.

Earlier, Torn appeared before a judge wearing cowboy boots and shackles to face charges of trespassing, possession of a firearm without a permit, carrying a firearm while intoxicated, criminal mischief and burglary. Torn's lawyer insisted the actor wasn't planning a heist when he broke into a bank Friday night... Torn had a loaded .22-caliber revolver in his pocket... NY Daily News.
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Male, Maler, Malest: Torn vs Mailer; mano a mano video
Personal bloody batle twix Rip & Norman during filming of movie "Maidstone"

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Pocasset Wampanoags say the casino headed to Freetown area; Cape Wind review rushed, still sound; Ptown makes (another) "Top" list; New England poised to be key wind energy player; The Towns that "Think Together, can Drink Together"; An Orrall Fixation

 TODAY's quote: "Provincetown is an American gem that offers visitors the ultimate experience, from its beautiful coastal setting to its unique colonial past."
         - Richard Moe, president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation

The Towns that "Think Together, Can Drink Together"

The 28 acres of Fratus land abuts Harwich Town Forest, the Harwich-Chatham Town Line, and the adjacent Chatham conservation land.

Harwich, Chatham Seek Articles To Jointly Purchase Fratus Property

In what would be a first for Harwich and Chatham, the two towns are actively discussing the possibility of jointly purchasing a 38-acre tract of land in Harwich for water protection. Last Thursday, representatives of both towns met in Chatham to talk about how together they could purchase the land, with help from state grants, to prevent at least 26 houses from being built. The focus of the effort is to protect open space around the towns' existing drinking water wells, not necessarily to install new wells on the $2 million property.

Paul Widegren, chairman of Harwich's real estate and open space committee, said a purchase and sale agreement for the property has been drafted between owner Robert Fratus, Jr., and the town of Harwich, but Harwich needs a financial contribution from Chatham-and likely from the state-to buy the land... Chronicle.
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Pocasset Wampanoags say casino is behind land deal

"It's clear of Mashpee's intentions to get a casino in Fall River. They tried to do the same thing in Middleboro on land they didn't own. The Mashpees don't have any ties to this area. This is a tribe that basically never left the Cape."
   - Pocasset Tribal Council Vice Chairman Daryl Black Eagle Jamieson.

The state's Commission on Indian affairs has requested that a 100-acre parcel of the Watuppa Reservation be put into trust, part of a plan, the Pocasset Wampanoag Indians say, to build a casino. But the local Indian tribe, which has more than 200 members and owns more than 424 acres of land in Fall River and Freetown, said they are not about to let their land be used that way without having a say.

The Mashpee Wampanoag Indians have not announced seeking any particular parcel of land in Fall River other than confirming the initial meeting they had with Fall River Mayor Will Flanagan in December. But Pocasset Indian officials said this week that the Mashpee Tribe and their hunt for a casino site is behind the push to put the land in trust... Herald-News.

Description of area: Just 5 minutes from Fall River and Taunton, and 15 minutes from New Bedford, Freetown State Forest is a vast tract of public land acquired over a twenty year period beginning in the 1930's. Near the main entrance is a day use area, with wading pool, picnic area, fields and restrooms. The remainder of the forest offers 50 miles of unpaved roads and trails. Horseback riders, dog Sledders, mountain bikers, and seasonal motorcycle and snowmobile users are welcome, as are hunters and anglers in season. Rattlesnake Brook, which meanders throughout much of the property, is stocked with brook trout each spring.
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P-town named one of twelve "Distinctive Destinations" of 2010

Other "Distinctive Destinations" this year include Cedar Falls, Iowa; St. Louis, Mo.; Marquette, Mich.; Fort Collins, Colo.; Simsbury, Conn.; Rockland, Maine; Chestnut Hill, Pa.; Huntsville, Ala.; the Crooked Road: Virginia's Heritage Music Trail, Va.; Bastrop, Tex.; and Sitka, Alaska. File photo of old Provincetown postcard.

Cape Cod town and well-loved gay mecca -- received the honorable distinction Feb. 3 of being named one of a dozen "Distinctive Destinations" of 2010 by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

"Provincetown is an American gem that offers visitors the ultimate experience, from its beautiful coastal setting to its unique colonial past," said Richard Moe, president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. "People will discover a vibrant, diverse town that is unlike any other coastal destination out there, complete with Provincetown's trademark artistic flair."

The only town in the Bay State to receive the honor this year, the inclusion kicks off a historically important year for P-town: the 100th anniversary of the Pilgrim Monument will be celebrated, a renovation of the Provincetown Town Hall will be undertaken, and a 50-site historical walking tour will be developed... Bay Windows.
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Weird Cape: An Orrall Fixation

Despite their tender years, the JEFF brothers have already indulged in some lengthy tours. "I remember one show in Cape Cod, where we played for five or six tourists at this bar, and ended up running out into the street, blocking people from leaving because we were playing right by the door," Jake recalls. "One guy, this old dude, drunk all this absinthe and was licking the window while we were playing.This other dude was a bail bondsman or something, and was tying to get us to let him be our manager, then fell backward into the street.There have been a couple of minor hospitalizations at our shows, but never anything too crazy"... New York Press.

New England poised to be key wind energy player
Looking at Cape Wind farm to kickstart the industry

New England is primed to ride a tailwind of advancements in wind turbines for both small and large systems, with the help of a few high-profile, fast-growing companies. While Europe is still king when it comes to large-scale turbine deployments (thanks to its wind-friendly feed-in tariffs), a combination of regulatory changes and financial incentives is making this region an attractive market for wind turbines on both public and corporate properties - exactly the market several local wind companies are going after...

In addition, the region appears poised to be a major center for the development of offshore wind on the East Coast. In January, the University of Maine received a $12.4 million grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce for construction of a deep-water wind energy research and testing facility. The state has already chosen a site off Monhegan Island to test a floating turbine being designed at UMaine. Others are looking at construction of the Cape Wind farm in Nantucket Sound to kickstart the industry... MassHighTech.
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Key Cape Wind Review Rushed, Still Sound

Federal agencies who were part of a key review of a proposed wind farm off Cape Cod felt rushed to finish it before the end of the Bush presidency, according to a government report released Wednesday. But the Department of Interior's Office of the Inspector General said the agencies didn't believe the added pressure affected their final decisions.

"While none of the agencies believed ... (the) timeline affected their overall conclusions, each agency expressed frustration at various levels that the timeline prevented them from being as thorough in their reviews as they would have desired," the report said.

In January 2009, during the final days of the Bush administration, the Minerals Management Service, the lead agency reviewing the project, released a report that found Cape Wind posed no major environmental risks... ABC News.

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ACK's Quentin the Quahog sides with the groundhog; Award-winning Green home here; Park dispute tests scouts; GOP pack looking to take out Delahunt grows; Stay at Mailer's House (if you're British); PETA says no to Lobster Zone; Salazar 'bullish' on wind

TODAY's quote: "The groundhog is obviously not responsible, and his predictions are questionable. You certainly can't doubt a quahog." - Dave Fronzuto, Nantucket harbormaster.

Interior Secretary: I'm 'bullish' on wind energy

The Secretary of the Interior, who is weighing the fate of a controversial wind farm proposed off Cape Cod, said Tuesday that killing the pioneering project wouldn't hurt the country's developing offshore wind industry...

Cape Wind developer Jim Gordon said... that Cape Wind is worthy project that should be approved. If it isn't after such arduous review, it will have "a chilling effect" on the entire offshore wind industry, he said.

"Cape Wind represents an opportunity to jump-start the offshore wind industry in the United States," he said "I think it will, in some ways, demonstrate the resolve of the (Obama) administration to really move forward with offshore wind"... MSNBC.
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Nantucket's Quentin the Quahog predicts six more weeks of winter

Fronzuto proclaimed Quentin much more reliable than Punxsutawney Phil, saying 2002's Quentin predicted the New England Patriots' Super Bowl win that year.

With a squirt to the left, Nantucket Harbor native Quentin the Quahog predicted six more weeks of winter, the Nantucket harbormaster said.

Dave Fronzuto opened the clam at Nantucket Town Pier at noon today.

“Unfortunately, he agreed with the groundhog, but you can’t possibly trust a groundhog,” Fronzuto said.

On Feb. 2 – known to Nantucketers not as Groundhog Day but as Quahog Day – the mollusk predicts how much longer the winter season will last with a squirt of water from its siphon. A spit to the left means six more weeks of winter are on the way, and a spit to the right means winter is over, Fronzuto said. ... Boston Globe.

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Camp dispute tests Eastham Scouts

Stay at Mailer’s House! (if You’re BRITISH.)

If you’re going to spend several weeks crashing at Norman Mailer’s place, it’s probably for the best that the master of the house is no longer around. The British edition of GQ magazine is offering young writers an opportunity to stay for a month at the former home in Provincetown, Mass., of the sometimes disheveled if singularly productive author. Mailer, above, lived in the house from the 1990s until his death in 2007, and it has since been turned into a writers’ retreat. ... New York Times.

Selectmen agreed last night to try and find a way to allow Boy Scouts to continue using town-owned land as a campground, continuing a practice going back 30 years, reports the Cape Cod Times.  The Scouts have been camping on the town's property, located in the middle of the Cape Cod National Seashore, for all that time based on a handshake agreement with selectmen.

"It was done with a wink and a nod," Vinnie Scrivani, who was a scoutmaster at that time, told selectmen at their meeting last night. Ten Scouts and at least as many Scout leaders attended the meeting... Herald.
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Gold Certification for Cape Cod Green Home
Achieved by Cape Associates and ZeroEnergy Design

The house includes a wide variety of green features including solar electric, solar hot water, a living green roof, low flow fixtures and toilets, local and rapidly renewable materials, stormwater management, and a whole house ventilation and allergen filtration system.

A modern Cape Cod house earns both ENERGY STAR and LEED Gold certification for green features including solar electric, a green roof, and the use of sustainable materials.  Cape Associates, a green building contractor, together with ZeroEnergy Design, an architecture and mechanical design firm, recently completed a new modern home in Orleans, Massachusetts - the English Residence.

The lakeside home continues a trend of modern architecture started in the 1950's on outer Cape Cod. In additional to the stunning clean lines, red & orange colors, and outdoor roofdeck, the privately owned property includes many features that make it a very green home... "This project was unique, as it was our first to combine both new 7th Edition state building code requirements for construction in a wind borne debris zone (110mph) and LEED practices" said Rich Bryant, Cape Associates Project Manager..... Source.

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GOP pack looking to take out Delahunt grows

All the action on the South Shore political scene this fall was supposed to have been on the Democratic side, a trickle-down parade of electoral opportunity that was to have reached into boards of selectmen and city councils.

“I am concerned about having a big, messy Republican primary.” - State Sen. Robert Hedlund

State Sen. Scott Brown’s upset of Attorney General Martha Coakley, though, broomed those expectations and now, instead of a string of Democrats sprinting for open seats, Republicans are lining up for the chance to take on a 13-year incumbent. ...

State Sen. Robert Hedlund also signaled he was “looking at some data that will be available to me over the next week,” but was worried by the rapidly filling Republican field of combatants vying to take on U.S. Rep. William Delahunt in a district that stretches from Quincy to Provincetown.

“I am concerned about having a big, messy Republican primary,” Hedlund said. ... Dedham Transcript.

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Lobster Zone Live-Action ‘Game’ Getting No Playtime From PETA

You know those “claw” games you see in bars and such where you try and grab prizes and drop them into a receiving box? ...

Sadly, it seems that one bar in Chicago called Doc Ryan’s is taking the whole claw game to a new level by incorporating live lobsters. ... Ecorazzi.

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Personal Ted Kennedy mementos showcased; Commish nips another business in the bud; Cape Air sends 2 planes to Haiti; Cape a hot spot for fishermen; Chatham concert for Haiti; Perry to run today

TODAY's quote: "It more or less puts the kibosh on the future of wind energy in Cape Cod Bay."
- George D. Bryant.

   Jeff Perry announces run

State Rep. Jeff Perry from the Upper Cape's 5th District, announces his decision to run for the U.S. Congress against incumbent William Delahunt on Ed Lambert's WXTK radio show today. His blog is here. His complete announcement is below.

Cape Air dispatches two planes for Haiti relief

Cape Air, an independent regional airline based in Hyannis, sent two planes to Haiti today after partnering with two organizations, president Daniel Wolf said.

The airline is working with the Virgin Islands Haitian Relief Fund to send medical personnel and supplies from the US Virgin Islands to the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince, and then to swap other medical teams out.

One plane flew from St. Thomas and landed in Port-au-Prince around 11:30 a.m. today, Wolf said. The plane will continue its route between the Virgin Islands and Port-au-Prince.

Cape Air also sent a freight plane from Hyannis to Santiago, Dominican Republic, where it is working with G.O. Ministries to bring supplies to the outlying Haitian cities of Jacmel and Cap-Haitien... With the seats removed, this plane can haul 2,000 pounds in each trip and make about 10 trips per week, he said. "It's like filling a bucket one drop at a time," he said. "Eventually, you'll have enough to fill the bucket".. Globe.
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Personal Ted Kennedy mementos showcased
Will hand in a replica of Kennedy's U.S. Senate office at Kennedy Library

Seascapes painted by the late Sen. Edward Kennedy and other personal mementos will be showcased. Above is one of the Kennedy Compound in Hyannisport.

His mahogany desk on the Senate floor will remain there, his name inscribed in a drawer below his brother's. His papers, spanning almost five decades of lawmaking, will go to the John F. Kennedy Library. And the treasured mementos from his office walls - family letters; his brother's dog tags; Cape Cod seascapes he painted - will hang again, in a replica of the office on Boston's Columbia Point, at the heart of the new Edward M. Kennedy Institute.

The Kennedy home in Hyannis Port is expected to stay private, leaving as the centerpiece of his legacy the new educational center to bear his name in Boston. The institute, to be built beside his brother's presidential library at the edge of Dorchester Bay, will include a model of the Senate where students will stage debates. It will also provide a new home for artifacts the senator kept close at hand in Washington, like a sculpted head of JFK that sat on his fireplace mantel and a typed note from Winston Churchill to his father, keepsakes that were packed up and placed in storage after his death last summer... Globe.
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Ocean District of Critical Planning Concern hearings Begin Feb. 10
Cape Cod Commission unanimously approved move which stops developement offshore

First hearing: Wednesday, Feb. 10 at 6 PM in the basement of the Barnstable First District Courthouse on Route 6A,  Barnstable.
Second hearing: Wednesday, Feb. 24 at 6 PM. at at Bourne High School, 75 Waterhouse Road, Bourne.

The Cape Cod Commission (CCC) unanimously approved the application for the first-ever Ocean Management District of Critical Planning Concern (DCPC), and has scheduled a series of five hearings at which the public may weigh in on the proposal.

The Barnstable County Board of County Commissioners filed the DCPC application last month, nominating for approximately 900 square miles of ocean surrounding Cape Cod - the first three miles of ocean as measured from 1,500 feet from the coast (over which individual towns have jurisdiction). A full moratorium on all development within that zone went into immediate effect, and the acceptance of the nomination last Thursday has now put in place a limited moratorium... Enterprise Newspapers.
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Chatham concert for Haiti

An evening of music featuring Lower Cape Cod musicians will benefit two projects in Haiti that Cape Codders are involved in.
   The concert will include Chandler Travis, David Roth, Jimmy Craven, Tim Sweeney Trio, Crabgrass and the All Worn Out Jug Band. The concert will take place Friday, Feb. 5, at 7 p.m. at Unitarian Universalist Meeting House, 819 Main St., Chatham... The Cape Codder.

Chilly weather has made Cape Cod a hot spot for fishermen

Our frigid winter has tilted conditions to favor ice fishermen. Frozen Cape Cod ponds have lured many Worcester County anglers down Route 495, providing a rare treat. Some winters there just isn't enough Cape ice to fish on at all.

Red Top Bait has witnessed numerous pin yellow perch and pickerel being brought in, many of which were caught by Worcester area fishermen. Reports of a 10-plus-pound brown trout from an unnamed Cape pond had many scurrying to get down to the kettle waters before the ice melted... Telegram.
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Statement from Jeff Perry:

Sandwich State Representative Jeffrey Davis Perry Enters Race for U.S. Congress in 10th Congressional District

A fresh, dynamic and effective new voice in Washington

Sandwich resident Jeffrey Davis Perry announced today he is entering the race for Congress in the 10th Congressional District, which spans from Quincy to Provincetown.

Perry, who currently serves as a Republican member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, is a former small business owner and served as a Wareham police officer for eight years, rising through the ranks to sergeant. He is also a licensed attorney and is partner in the law firm of Flannigan and Perry P.C., which has offices in Hanover and Hyannis.

"The people of the 10th Congressional district need a fresh, dynamic and effective voice in Washington," Perry said. "They need someone who will stand up for the things they believe in and fight for action on issues like real health care reform without mandates, better job opportunities, checks on illegal immigration, national security, lower taxes and less national debt, and an end to the insider and special-interest dealing that permeates Capitol Hill. People across the South Shore, Cape Cod & the Islands are tired and frustrated with what they see as a system in Washington that's broken and that's incapable of progress on issues that matter to them. I want to be someone who changes that."

Simultaneous with his announcement today, Perry is launching a new Website, www.JeffPerryforCongress.com with information about his candidacy and the opportunity to make donations to his campaign. People can also follow his candidacy on Facebook and Twitter with links found on the Website.

Perry has scheduled his campaign kickoff fundraising event which will be held on Friday, March 5, 2010, at 7:00pm at the Cape Codder Resort in Hyannis.

In addition, the Campaign is in the process of scheduling events in Quincy, Plymouth, Pembroke and other locations within the 10th District. Information on all upcoming events can be found on Perry's Website.

Jeff Perry has represented the Fifth Barnstable District (which includes the town of Sandwich and portions of Barnstable, Bourne, and Mashpee) in the Massachusetts House of Representatives since 2003. During that time, he has distinguished himself as a reform-minded leader and someone who is always willing to take a stand in favor of principles that matter to him and to those he represents, whether that means reaching across the aisle to work with members of the other party, or if it means not being afraid to stand alone for what needs to get done.

Perry believes in smaller and more responsible government. He has been a consistent champion for fiscal responsibility in state government, and he has also fought hard against tax increases.

Several years ago, Perry was one of only two members of the House to vote against the proposal for a mandated health insurance system in Massachusetts out of concerns about the Bill's costs and ramifications. Since then, as those rising costs have become even more apparent in the state budget, Perry has worked with other members to push for tort reform and electronic record-keeping proposals that would lower health care costs and improve the delivery of health services for Massachusetts residents.

Perry also believes strongly in taking a stand against illegal immigration, and has proposed legislation which would deny illegal immigrants state benefits that cost Massachusetts legal residents millions of dollars every year.

Education is a powerful force in Perry's life and career. He is an Adjunct Professor at Cape Cod Community College in West Barnstable teaching courses in Criminal Evidence and American Government. Perry has also taught Constitutional Law at Bridgewater State College. He graduated with a Juris Doctorate Degree from New England School of Law where he was presented the Dean Timothy J. Cronin, Jr. Award, which recognizes the student who has shown the greatest promise of outstanding contributions to public service. Perry also has a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Sociology from Curry College and an Associates Degree from Bristol Community College. He successfully completed an executive management program at the Law Enforcement Executive Center at Babson College. In addition, Perry is a graduate of the Plymouth Police Academy.

Jeff is happily married to his wife Lisa and has one son, Christopher, who along with his lovely wife Tiffany have blessed him with two granddaughters.

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Cape Rep in top travel expense spot; Mashpee to Haiti care; Turtle care; Ptown room/meal tax debate; Dogfight over town beach; CC Hospital $63 m debt securities; Aquinnah Wampanoag contact Freetown; Manoloules bail hearing; Cape kids rock

TODAY's quote: "This is something very, very important for our members to rally around. I can't imagine a worse time to raise taxes on meals and rooms. The business community really needs to take a stand against this."- Steve Tait, PBG.

State Rep. Timothy Madden grabs top travel stipend spot for '09

Mode 4 Music Studios had a two hour Rock concert yesterday at the Pope John Paul II High School auditorium in Hyannis with dozens of local, talented kids. Above is "Straight Flush" playing "All the small things" with Will Brooks, drums, Nick Boronowski, bass, Andrew Gottsche guitar and Hannah Gorman vocal.

Lawmakers struggling to close a $3 billion budget gap hauled in more than a half-million dollars in taxpayer-funded travel stipends - led by a freshman Cape Cod representative who has become Beacon Hill's new per diem king, a Herald review found.

Rep. Timothy Madden, a first-year Democrat from Nantucket, took home a staggering $13,900 in per diem travel payments in 2009, putting him at the top of the list among State House lawmakers.

Madden supplants the perennial top travel stipend earner, lame duck Rep. Dan Bosley (D-North Adams), who collected $13,590 in per diem pay last year, records show... Records show Madden collected the allowable $100-a-day payment to travel from Nantucket to Beacon Hill 139 days in 2009, regularly accepting the payments three or four days a week... Herald.
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Treasury Auctions this week include Cape Cod Hospital, $63m

The Treasury's schedule of financing this week includes Monday's regular weekly auction of new three- and six-month bills and an auction of four-week bills on Tuesday. According to traders, at the close of the New York cash market on Friday, the rate on the outstanding three-month bill was 0.07 percent. The rate on the six-month issue was 0.14 percent, and the rate on the four-week issue was 0.01 percent. The following tax-exempt fixed-income issues are scheduled for pricing this week:  Cape Cod Hospital, Mass., $63 million of debt securities. NY Times.

Freetown selectmen, Wampanoag tribe to meet regarding casino plan

The Mashpee Wampanoag tribe has contacted Fall River officials, and the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head has contacted Freetown selectmen.

At Monday's selectmen's meeting, a letter from Aquinnah Wampanoag Gaming Corporation Chairwoman Naomi R.A. Carney and Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head Chairwoman Cheryl Andrews-Maltais was read. In the letter, the tribe expressed its desire "to build a resort-style gaming casino in southeastern Massachusetts."

He said he will bring back information to the Board of Selectmen and a decision would be made as to whether the board will meet with the tribe.

Before Monday's meeting, Interim Town Administrator John Healey said he believes many communities received a similar letter from the tribe and that there is not yet strong interest among selectmen in the proposal... Herald-News.
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Chatham selectmen mull
earlier Sunday drinking hour

In response to a restaurant owner's comment that it would raise revenues for the town, selectmen are considering whether to ask town meeting for the option of changing the hour liquor can be sold on Sundays from noon to 11 a.m... The Cape Codder.

Cape Cod town engaged in dogfight over town beach

Eastham selectmen meet this week to try and resolve a dogfight over a town beach. The beach at the end of Dyer Prince Road was designated in 2000 as the only beach in town where residents could bring pets in the summer if they kept their pooches leashed and cleaned up after them.

But neighbors say the beach has turned into a haven for out-of-town pet owners who let their dogs run free and leave behind their messes. They want the town to establish an inland dog park... Herald.
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Mashpee Business Uses Connections To Help Haiti

When local business owner Ryan Hewson began exporting bottled water to the Dominican Republic last October, he did not imagine he was preparing to help Haiti.  Mr. Hewson, the co-owner of the outdoor gear store Mocean in Mashpee Commons, and his brother had done some market research and found that there was demand for bottled water in the Dominican Republic. After the earthquake, their business opportunity took on a greater significance as Mr. Hewson watched images of desperately thirsty people in the adjacent country... Mashpee Enterprise.
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Debate begins on room & meals taxes in Provincetown

The business community here is gearing up for a full-fledged protest against a move by town officials to raise taxes on meals and room rentals to close a $700,000 budget deficit projected for fiscal year 2011.
   Provincetown Business Guild president Steve Tait, speaking at a PBG meeting last week, urged members to take a stand against two anticipated articles on the April Annual Town Meeting warrant, one to raise the rooms tax from 9.7 percent to 11.7 percent, and another to increase the tax on restaurant meals from 6.25 percent to 7 percent. The state Legislature last year voted to give towns the option to increase those taxes as a way to increase local revenue without raising property taxes... Banner.

Dispensing turtle-loving care
New England Aquarium workers help ailing reptiles heal

A ventilator tube in its beak and an incision in its rear, an ailing sea turtle lay splayed before a medical team that surrounded the operating table in aqua-colored scrubs and collective, concentrated focus.

"Is he dosed?'' asked Dr. Charles Innis, director of animal health at the New England Aquarium in Boston.

"He is,'' answered Dr. Julie Cavin, who had just injected a powerful anesthetic into the reptile's neck.

The small turtle, found half-dead on a Cape Cod beach in November, had come to the right place. Here, in the close quarters of the aquarium's medical center, the Kemp's Ridley turtle had already received two months of state-of-the-art care. Now, traces of urine had been found in its body cavity, and Innis wanted to investigate... Globe.
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Southborough teen faces bail hearing in uncle's death

A Southborough teen charged with killing his uncle in Hyannis is scheduled to face a bail hearing. Lawyers for Christopher Manoloules will argue for bail Friday in Barnstable Superior Court.

The 18-year-old pleaded not guilty earlier this month to number of charges, including murder and aggravated assault and battery with a dangerous weapon... Herald.

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Indoor Birdwatching; Odds stacked against Middleboro casino; Storm takes out Ptown seawall; Baker's bucks bring rebukes; Brown wows Falmouth; Fireman dies in Vineyard fire

TODAY's quote: "I've proven in the past that I can't be bought, but Baker's for sale. It comes as no surprise to me that my opponent was able to raise $90,000 from folks in the health-care industry. What surprises me is that he hasn't raised more."
- Christy Mihos.

Koko the Short-haired Oriental kitten loves to birdwatch. Photo by Marina Brooks.

Storm takes out seawall in East End of Provincetown

The seawall protecting a house in the far East End of Provincetown collapsed during a storm last week that brought high winds and tides.

The recent full Wolf Moon brought high tides that engulfed the fallen wall. And neighbors in the area were concerned about the tides' affect on their seawalls... Banner.
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Scott Brown brings the house down in Falmouth
Thousands waited in the bitter Falmouth cold last night for a chance to catch a glimpse of "rock star" Sen.-elect Scott Brown as he continued his victory lap tour of the state into the night, organizers said.  
   "It's a madhouse," said Scott Bauer, who organized the Falmouth portion of Brown's cross-state victory tour. "This is amazing. The fire department is here now. They're here with the building department saying we gotta get these people out of here. He's a superstar, its unbelievable."... Herald.

Charlie Baker's bucks draw rebukes from Dems, GOP rival

Rivals slammed GOP gubernatorial candidate Charles D. Baker for taking nearly $100,000 from the health-care industry, accusing the former Harvard Pilgrim honcho of being part of the problem, not the solution, to skyrocketing premiums...

The Herald reported yesterday that Baker's campaign war chest - laden with $90,000 from hospitals, HMOs and drug firms - could sink his chances of catching the anti-Obamacare wave that swept Scott Brown to the U.S. Senate...

Cape Cod convenience store magnate and GOP gubernatorial candidate Christy Mihos also blasted Baker for his health-care campaign dough... Herald.
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Fireman dies in fire on Vineyard

Authorities say a fire at a home on Martha's Vineyard has killed a 63-year-old man. State fire marshal Stephen D. Coan says the fire started about 5 a.m. Saturday in the man's house in West Tisbury. Investigators have determined the fire was accidental.
   Assistant West Tisbury fire chief John Early tells the Martha's Vineyard Times that the victim was Daniel Prowten, a former town firefighter. He says Prowten was with the department for more than 30 years... WCVB.

Odds stacked against Middleboro casino
Fall River meeting casts doubt on Middleboro project

Mark Belanger of Middleboro, a member of CasinoFacts, answers his phone, "casino killer."

"The casino is a dead deal, I've thought that for quite a while," Belanger said...

The tribe is downplaying the meeting.  "It was just one meeting around the time the mayor was sworn in," said Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe spokesman Joe Ganley, who called reports of the meeting "overblown."

But it is enough for Belanger, who is calling on Middleboro selectmen to "kill this deal once and for all"... The Enterprise.

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