EXTRA...

Buoys protect whales; Nobska 9/11 memorial stolen; Cape bridge problems; Fishing days cut

Thieves Steal Bronze 9-11 Memorial On Cape Cod

 Since the year after 9/11/01 the plaque memorializing Neilie Casey who died aboard American Airlines Flight 11 was a fixture at Nobska Light.

See the WBZ video clip here.   Leave a comment
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Buoys deployed to protect whales in Cape Cod Bay

MASSACHUSETTS BAY - April 30, 2007 - Next month, a Texas-based company plans to begin construction on an off-shore liquefied natural gas terminal in Massachusetts Bay. Excelerate Energy got the go-ahead late last year after agreeing to fund an almost 17-million dollar system to protect the whales that inhabit these waters.

Using specially designed acoustic buoys, scientists will monitor and record the sounds of the whales. It's a joint effort from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Cornell Ornithology Lab.

WBUR's Meghna Chakrabarti joined the Cornell crew on the day they deployed the buoys in Massachusetts Bay...  Skipper Erik Fel'Dotto gooses the engine of the 42-foot research vessel "Nasty Habits", and heads out into Massachusetts Bay, the crescent of the Atlantic Ocean stretching from Cape Ann to Cape Cod bay... we hunker down around his laptop to listen to whale calls recently recorded in Cape Cod Bay...  Read (or listen) the rest of this WBUR story here.  Leave a comment
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Fewer fishing days allowed for groundfishermen 

NEW BEDFORD — Struggling fishermen start the 2007 groundfishing season today with fewer than 50 allotted fishing days to sustain them through the year.  Fishermen also face a 70 percent reduction in the amount of yellowtail flounder they may catch each trip.

During the 2006 fishing year, which ended last night at midnight, fishermen were allowed to land 10,000 pounds of yellowtail per trip in Georges Bank fishing grounds known as the U.S.-Canada Management Area. This year, vessels will be restricted to 3,000 pounds of yellowtail per trip...  Fishing regulators currently manage three different stocks of yellowtail: Cape Cod/Gulf of Maine, Georges Bank and Southern New England/Mid-Atlantic. ..  Read the rest of this Standard-Times story here.  Leave a comment
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State urged to fund transportation maintenance without sacrificing new rail projects
Cape problems are bridge repairs

BOSTON — The state needs to find a way to pay for existing road, bridge and rail work without sacrificing future mass transit expansions, such as rail to SouthCoast, planning groups told a state transportation panel yesterday.  The Massachusetts Transportation Finance Commission issued a report in March that found the state had a deficit of up to $19 billion just to maintain its existing roads, bridges and railways.

The report came as Gov. Deval Patrick unveiled a $1.4 billion plan to extend commuter rail to New Bedford and Fall River by 2016. It also comes as municipal leaders try to drum up support to bring commuter trains from Boston to Wareham and Buzzards Bay at a cost as high as $104 million.

Most of the Cape's immediate needs are in bridge repair, said Clay Scofield, a transportation engineer with the Cape Cod Commission. Mr. Scofield is the commission's liaison with the newly formed coalition.  "A lot of the bridges on the Cape were built in the '50s," he said in telephone interview. "There's a lot of need for bridge maintenance. There's an epidemic in the whole state. That's where we would be looking for funding."  Read the rest of this Standard-Times story here.