EXTRA...

Gryboski surrenders licence, Vonnegut dies at 84; Cape.com sold; Coastal growth booms; Cape Air sought by Maryland airport;

Kurt Vonnegut dies at 84, sold Saabs on Cape
Author of 'Slaughterhouse-Five' and 'Cat's Cradle,'

NEW YORK - Kurt Vonnegut, the satirical novelist who captured the absurdity of war and questioned the advances of science in darkly humorous works such as ''Slaughterhouse-Five'' and ''Cat's Cradle,'' died Wednesday. He was 84.

Vonnegut, who often marveled that he had lived so long despite his lifelong smoking habit, had suffered brain injuries after a fall at his Manhattan home weeks ago, said his wife, photographer Jill Krementz.

The author of at least 19 novels, many of them best-sellers, as well as dozens of short stories, essays and plays, Vonnegut relished the role of a social critic. Indianapolis, his hometown, declared 2007 as ''The Year of Vonnegut'', an announcement he said left him ''thunderstruck.''  ...When he returned (from World War 2), he reported for Chicago's City News Bureau, then did public relations for General Electric, a job he loathed. He wrote his first novel, ''Player Piano,'' in 1951, followed by ''The Sirens of Titan,'' ''Canary in a Cat House'' and ''Mother Night,'' making ends meet by selling Saabs on Cape Cod...  Read the rest of this Foster's Democrat story here.  Read one of Kurt's last interviews here. Leave a comment
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Cape doctor surrenders medical license
Agreement follows homicide charges

Dr. Ann Gryboski, the 51-year-old Barnstable physician charged with fatally shooting her husband of nearly three decades, has surrendered her medical license.

According to police reports, Gryboski admitted shooting Patrick Lancaster, 50, but said she did so while intervening in a volatile dispute between Lancaster and their son and after having endured years of abuse, including a battering the night before the killing.

Gryboski, whose face appeared bruised in a Barnstable courtroom Monday, voluntarily agreed to stop practicing medicine by signing an agreement Tuesday with the state Board of Registration in Medicine, which licenses physicians.

The state board seeks voluntary license surrenders in cases in which "there is sufficient concern about public safety," said Russell Aims, a spokesman...  Read the rest of this Globe report here.  Leave a comment
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Cape.Com sold to MegaNet Communications
Area's last major ISP now operates out of Fall River

Around 5 yesterday morning, some, but not all, customers of Cape.com, the area's last, remaining ISP, received emails announcing that their support service would be handles by a Fall River ISP, MegaNet.

The email also stated that the business had "merged" with MegaNet in Fall River. Merged used in that context usually means "sold". 

Some Cape.com clients have been reporting minor problem over the past week which may have been the result of the transfer of ownership.  As of 7am today there was no news about the merger on either company's web site.  The photo on right shows the Cape.com management team winning  the "Business of the Year" award from the Hyannis Chmaber in 2003.

About hald of Cape.com employees will be laid off as a result of this merger. 

Below is the letter local customers of Cape.com received;

Dear Cape.Com Customer,

This week, Cape.Com Inc. and MegaNet Communications of Fall River will merge to form a more diverse network group that will provide Internet and communication services to homes and businesses throughout the region.

MegaNet is a regional ISP with origins similar to Cape.Com. The consolidation of infrastructures and technical expertise is expected to produce a more complete and robust mixture of communication services and support.

Cape.Com customers will gain access to MegaNet's enhanced telecom services, including high speed wireless, and, MegaNet will benefit from the addition of Cape.Com's Web Development group.

Cape.Com's programming, web development, and network consulting group will continue to provide networking solutions to the Cape community and should experience significant growth throughout the combined network footprint.

Current Cape.Com customers will see no change in their monthly billing statement or in the range of services and will benefit from MegaNet's regional infrastructure and expanded technical support hours.

Beginning on April 12th, first level technical support will be handled by MegaNet with sales and higher tier support (including web development) remaining in Mashpee.  

Dramatic Population Growth Along U.S. Coastline Continues Despite Risks
Trend Is Major Contributor to Higher Property Insurance Prices

WASHINGTON, D.C., April 11, 2007 — The U.S. population residing in hurricane-prone states continues to rise, a trend which is likely to impact adversely the nation’s coastal property insurance market for years to come, according to testimony delivered today by Dr. Robert Hartwig, president and chief economist for the Insurance Information Institute (I.I.I.). Hartwig appeared before the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.  “Despite the well-known vulnerability to hurricanes and rapidly escalating property values, coastal development in high risk areas continues at a furious pace,” Hartwig said, noting that 15 new condominium projects, with a total of more than 2,100 units, will be completed by year-end 2009 in South Miami Beach, Florida.  “Rapid build-ups are also observed in many other coastal areas, including Galveston Island, Texas; Hilton Head and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina; the Maryland shore; eastern Long Island; and Cape Cod,” Hartwig noted...  Read the rest of this Insurance Newsnet story here.  Leave a comment
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Maryland airport officials in talks with Cape Air on Salisbury to BWI service

...Cape Air spokeswoman Michelle Haynes said the carrier is looking across the country for opportunities to expand and is also in talks with airports in other regions. The airline is considering how much demand there is in the area for the service, she said, noting that companies such as Salisbury-based Perdue Farms could be a boon for the service. Walsh said the demand is there.  "[Salisbury] is definitely someplace we're interested in," she said...  Read the rest of this Baltimore Business Journal here.