EXTRA...

Boating accidents up; Glen Marshall keeps a level head; Biplanes rock

Glen Marshal; 'He's not a hot shot'
Mashpee Wampanoag tribal leader keeping a level head in quest for casino

On the day Mashpee Wampanoag Chairman Glenn Marshall sealed a deal with the Gates family to option more land in Middleborough, Mass., for a possible tribal casino, he also set out to take the pulse of lawmakers on that very subject. 

“The water park is for me”
he said in earnest. “I get to tell my grandsons, 'Hey, we're going to the water park today ... we're not traveling all the way to New Hampshire.' And, you know, it's an easy swallow for somebody to say we're going to the water park and then we're going to have a nice dinner. It's not always just about gaming.” - Glen MarshallThe former U.S. Marine, fisherman and self-described man of "the woods, weeds or water" earned five Purple Hearts and a Silver Star in three tours of duty in Vietnam.

Dressed in khakis and a long-sleeved shirt, his shock-white hair in a ponytail, Marshall walked the halls of the State House on Beacon Hill earlier this week with a stride not unlike that of the politicians he is tracking down... After several minutes spent bonding over the tribal nature of Irish clans and Native Americans (Marshall calls them “bloods” or “skins”), talk soon turned to gaming. Walsh wanted to know if Marshall would consider, instead of exclusive gaming rights, also letting slots be introduced at racetracks in the state. A state compact could require the tribe to give as much as 25 percent of slot revenues to Massachusetts, as Connecticut tribes that own casinos do...    New London Day. Read previous stories about Marshall here.
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Boating dangers, accidents on rise
Alcohol, lack of training cited.only 100 officers in Bay State

It was a beautiful night for boating. The air was cool and breezy and the clouds that had dotted the southern Maine sky for most of the afternoon were gone, revealing sparkles of light from the Perseid meteor shower.

Raye Trott and his girlfriend, Suzanne Groetzinger, were on Long Lake, riding in his 14-foot fiberglass motorboat.  Then a 32-foot speedboat, powered by twin 435-horsepower engines, slammed into their vessel, slicing it in half and killing Trott and Groetzinger. The owner of the speedboat, Robert Lapointe, 38, and his companion, Nicole Randall, 19, were thrown into the water and swam to safety. Lapointe's speedboat was going so fast it flew out of the water and landed 130 feet into the woods.

Officials also point to the lack of enforcement... The Massachusetts Environmental Police says it has 100 officers to patrol waterways from the Berkshires to Cape Cod... Boston Globe
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The enduring passion of controlled flight
Why the biplane rocks at our Air Show next weekend

Air Shows are packages of emotion -- the shock of jet teams as these supersonic aerospace vehicles buzz the crowds, the nostalgia and patriotism of the heritage flights as historic planes and their contemporaries parade before the audience, and the romance of the biplanes as they create intimacy with the spectators. The biplanes perform low and close -- sometimes seeming within reach of the fans.

One of these show stoppers who flies these little gems is Ed Hamill, pilot of the Air Force Reserve Biplane, and he will be performing at The Otis Air National Guard Cape Cod Air Show 2007 in Massachusetts on August 25 and 26. Ed was commissioned in the Air Force and became an F-16 pilot and then an instructor for 11 years before joining the Air Force Reserve. "By joining the Reserve, I could pursue my passion for aerobatic flying and continue to serve my country as an F-16 instructor. It really is the best of both worlds," said Ed Hamill, who is a Major in the Air Force Reserve. "There is no comparison between flying an F-16 and the Biplane. The jet is virtually controlled by the on-board computer, leaving the pilot free to focus on the weapon systems. The Biplane is totally under my control. It's pure stick and rudder."

The Air Force Reserve Biplane is a beautiful, single engine biplane patterned after one built 50 years ago by legendary designer Curtis Pitts. It's six-and-a-half feet tall, shorter than many NBA stars, yet it can loop, spiral and dive at speeds up to 212 mph, far slower than an Indy car. The Biplane has a maximum gross weight of 1,300 pounds and the wings, which span 20 feet, are Dacron-covered. Parked on the runway, the Biplane looks amazingly small. Yet in the air, this very personal aircraft forms a link with the audience as visually it guides the spectators through the history of air show flight.

"I constantly tell kids to set goals, work hard and never give up, and the Air Force Reserve Biplane is the vehicle through which I can get this message out," said Major Ed Hamill.

Ed Hamill and the Biplane are proudly supported by the Air Force Reserve, a team of more than 70,000 men and women, who serve to keep America safe.   From EarthTimes.org & Air Force Reserve

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Barnstable County grand jury indicts New Jersey teacher on rape charges

A Lodi High School teacher was indicted Friday on charges that he raped a former student during a field trip to Cape Cod.

Benjamin Norton -- who taught science until he was suspended in June -- took about 40 students and former students in April 2003 on a three-day trip to Massachusetts, where authorities said he got a 16-year-old girl drunk and had sex with her.

The alleged victim, now 20, was living in Franklin Lakes at the time and met Norton when he taught at Ramapo High School. Norton resigned in June 2002 and was hired a few months later at Lodi High School, records show. ... NorthJersey.com

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Fake Oprah author cops to "error in judgement"
Weekly Dig's Thomas Kilduff first to question Schneider

As you may have already seen while digging for the absolute latest on Jennifer Garner's uterus (fifth item), Bill Schneider, the sometimes-Provincetown tourism official, sometimes-self-published author, has admitted that, no, he wasn't ever on Oprah, even thought he told everybody who would listen that he was. ...Weekly Dig ... first questioned here and noted in Boston Globe (scroll down the page)
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A troubled school lobbies for charter

Silver Hill Elementary may not be making the grade under the 2002 federal No Child Left Behind Act, but principal Themia Gilman believes the Haverhill school can turn things around if it adopts a novel approach.  Her radical idea for improving student achievement: Transform Silver Hill into a Horace Mann charter school.

If the plan wins state approval -- a prospectus detailing the proposal is being reviewed by officials at the state Department of Education -- students from across the city would have the opportunity to apply for admission to the new charter school next year, Gilman said... 
There are eight Horace Mann charter schools operating in Massachusetts, including the Academy of Strategic Learning in Amesbury, which serves students in grades 7 to 12 who struggle with social or academic challenges. The Marstons Mills East charter school on Cape Cod is the only Horace Mann facility in the state to serve elementary students. Educators there have been working closely with Silver Hill as the Haverhill school moves through the complex application process...  Globe.