EXTRA...

Rachael does donuts; State Rep 'unscrupulous contractor'; Jos. McGurl, lanscape artist

^{Considered one of America's best landscape artist, Joseph McGurl lives on Amrita Island in Catamet and paints many Cape Cod scenes like this "Drifting, Buzzards Bay".}

Joseph McGurl: Developing a Critical Advantage

Students fortunate enough to attend one of the two annual Joseph McGurl workshops organized by the Cape Cod Museum of Art in June and the Copley Society of Art, in Boston, in September—both held in the artist’s Cape Cod studio—ask as many questions about the artist’s professional activities as they do his painting techniques. That’s because McGurl is one of the top landscape painters in the country, and many aspiring artists want to learn how he develops and manages his demanding professional schedule. The 12 artists who participated in his workshop this past September were somewhat surprised to discover that the man they might have expected to be aggressive, promotion-minded, detail-oriented, and egocentric is not. But he is competitive—it’s just the only person he competes with is himself...  Read the rest of this article in American Artist here.

McGurl says, “I don’t have written contracts with galleries, I don’t have a publicity agent, I don’t enter many juried competitions, I don’t belong to a lot of art organizations, and I haven’t written a book or produced a video.

“I focus on my painting and try to create the best pictures I can. Some of the artists I measure myself against are the great 19th-century landscape painters.”
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If you thought she was already putting on a few pounds...
Dunkin’ Donuts inks marketing deal with Cape native Rachael Ray

Chipper talk show host and Food Network personality Rachael Ray is one of the new faces of Dunkin’ Donuts.  The Canton chain signed the Cape Cod native to a marketing deal that runs through 2010. Ray will be featured in television, print, radio and online spots, with the first TV commercial scheduled to air next month. She’ll also be used for in-store marketing and will make personal appearances on behalf of the coffee and doughnuts brand...  Read the rest of this Herald story here.
The Canton company's PR release added; "Everyone always asks me how I manage my schedule, and the answer is coffee," said Ray. "Having grown up in the Northeast, I have a long-standing and deep appreciation for Dunkin' Donuts' coffee. In addition, I am excited to work with Dunkin' Donuts' team of chefs as they expand their menu to include new items for customers looking for more health-conscious options."

As part of the campaign, Ray will be featured in television, print, radio spots, online, in-store marketing and personal appearances. The first television spot is scheduled to air in April. The campaign will run through 2010.
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Charges filed against Howland, 'unscrupulous' windmill company
AG calls former state Rep. Howland an 'unscrupulous contractor'

FREETOWN — After investigating complaints from SouthCoast windmill customers, the state attorney general's office has alleged that former state Rep. Mark A. Howland took $595,000 in deposits on windmills that he either did not deliver or did not install properly.  Attorney General Martha Coakley's office filed civil charges yesterday against Mr. Howland and his wind turbine company, WindTech Co., in Fall River Superior Court. In a statement, Attorney General Coakley called Mr. Howland "an unscrupulous contractor."

...The civil charges stem from complaints against Mr. Howland and WindTech Co. by its customers made late last year. The customers, who include a group of dairy farmers in Westport as well as homeowners and businesses throughout SouthCoast and Cape Cod, complained that Mr. Howland did not deliver windmills to them, or delivered windmills that did not generate the energy he promised...  Read the rest of this Standard-Times story here.

Read this Blog Post about ex-Rep. Howland
Ex-pol’s got some swamp land in Fla. to tell you about

A former state rep with a dodgy past is back in the news, with “unhappy customers” calling the local cops and the district attorney’s office - stop me if you’ve heard this one before.

This time it’s a one-term boob named Mark Howland, a retired trout farmer who was elected in 2002 after his opponent, an ex-con named Jailbird George Rogers, was ensnared in a probe involving gay pornography (450 videos) and a male teenager whom he was, ahem, advising. Read the rest of this blog here.
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Cape lawyer charged with trying to sell stolen art
Held trove of $30 million in stolen art for 30 years

BOSTON - A U.S. grand jury on Thursday indicted a retired Massachusetts lawyer who held a $30 million trove of stolen paintings, including one by French postimpressionist painter Paul Cezanne, for almost 30 years.

Robert Mardirosian, 72, was charged with possessing, transporting and trying to sell stolen property.  He accepted the seven paintings from a thief, who stole them from a Stockbridge, Massachusetts, home in 1978, prosecutors said. Loan sharks killed the thief a year later, prosecutors said.

Mardirosian, who splits his time between the summer resort area of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and St. Paul de Vence, France, moved the paintings to Monaco in 1988 and later to a Swiss bank, prosecutors said.  He tried to sell the Cezanne in London in 1999, but was told it was stolen property, U.S. Attorney Michael Sullivan said. He then negotiated a deal with the work's rightful owner whereby Mardirosian would hand over the Cezanne but maintain possession of the other six paintings, Sullivan said...  Read the rest of this Reuters story here.