CapeCodToday Blog Chowder

Exit 6 1/2; Cape Codders have Pats fever; CCBL schedule

Mid Cape News, January 31, 2008

Headlines from the Barnstable Register:
Getting into the game
- Cape Codders gear up for Super Bowl Sunday
Revving up for the big game
-  Dennis selectwoman Heidi Schadt plans to watch the game at home with no interruptions
Funding for a future
- Grant makes a Transition to Adulthood program possible on the Cape
Changing of the guard
- Doug Crook takes over as coach at Barnstable High
Cape Cod Baseball League schedule announced
- Get ready for another season of great baseball starting this June
A helping hand
- Leighton Harris of Chatham lends a hand to Homeless Not Helpless

Read these and other stories in the Barnstable Register here. 

Headlines from the Yarmouth Register:
Legos, the Internet and physics
- D-Y Robotics class takes off
Simpkins school in demand
- Plenty of ideas for re-use
YFD welcomes new personnel
- There are five new call firemen, four of whom are sons of current or retired YFD members
League track titles at stake for D-Y teams
- Two league championships are on the line for D-Y boys and girls when they take on Falmouth

Read these and other stories in the Yarmouth Register here. 

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Headlines from the Barnstable Patriot:
Centerville Civic Association annual meeting Thursday night
- Presentations include the Centerville Public Library and the Barnstable Senior Center and the new Youth and Community Center
More than just wannabe presidents in primary
- You'll find more than just presidential candidates on the ballot Tuesday
Apportionment change means different rules for Bay State's GOP Primary
- Most Republicans won't realize it, but they'll be casting their votes a bit differently
Exit 6 1/2, much more at March 5 meeting
- The Hyannis Access Study Task Force will be holding a meeting at the BHS Performing Arts Center
TV time for county commissioners?
- Will the commissioners' sessions be taped for cable?

Read these and other Barnstable Patriot stories here. 

Two-car crash in Yarmouth sends two to the hospital; Yarmouth robbery suspect IDed; Windy Friday night ahead

Two-car crash in Yarmouth sends two to the hospital

YARMOUTH - A noontime crash on Thursday at a dangerous intersection in South Yarmouth sent two to Cape Cod Hospital with injuries considered not life-threatening. The crash occurred when a Mercury Grand Marquis and a Ford Escort station wagon collided at the intersection of Setucket Road and North Dennis Road.

In addition to transporting the injured parties to Cape Cod Hospital, the Yarmouth Fire Department helped control an extensive oil/fluid spill by applying "Speedy-Dry" to absorb the liquids. Story and photos by Richard Copley.

Yarmouth police ID suspect in 7-11 robbery
YARMOUTH - Yarmouth Police say the man caught in surveillance video allegedly robbing the 7-11 store on Route 28 in West Yarmouth on January 15th is this man seen to the right. As a result of a joint investigation involving the Yarmouth and Plymouth Police Departments 27-year-old Christopher Kennedy of Plymouth was positively identified as the suspect in the West Yarmouth 7-11 armed robbery.

On Wednesday Plymouth Police arrested Kennedy for a similar armed robbery with a knife at a gas station in Plymouth. The break came when Yarmouth Police Detective Stephen W. Renzi and Barnstable County Crime Scene Investigator Terry Dinnan were able to match a fingerprint found at the West Yarmouth crime scene to Kennedy.

Kennedy is currently incarcerated at the Bristol County Correctional Facility in North Dartmouth. He will be arraigned for Armed Robbery in the Barnstable District Court in the near future. 

CWN weather advisory: Wind advisory from 4 p.m. Friday until 8 a.m. Saturday. Westerly winds behind a cold front will blow 25-35 MPH with gusts to 55 MPH possible. Scattered power outages are possible. 

Kerry falls short on climate change

A few privileged politicians are not willing to support those solutions

By PAUL M. MORIARTY, Brighton

Living in a state that is often associated with progressivism, it is ridiculous that all of the commonwealth’s politicians are not openly supporting the Cape Wind Project as a solution to climate change.

Kerry understands the urgent need for solutions to global warming but is failing to take meaningful action.

The fight against Cape Wind does nothing more than solidify stereotypes of politics in the United States.

Most of the politicians in Massachusetts talk an incredible game with regard to global warming, and most are willing to walk that talk.

However, there are a few privileged politicians who are not willing to support those solutions that they regard as ‘‘inconvenient.’’

Our own Sen. John Kerry recently spoke at the Bali conference in Indonesia imploring the international community to move forward with expedient solutions to climate change, despite the Bush administration’s unwillingness to keep pace on the issue. Kerry said he believed the current president does not fairly represent the American people, and the next administration will be willing to do more to address global warming.

Kerry is correct. Recent polls show that over 70 percent of Americans believe immediate action on climate change is necessary. Kerry clearly understands the urgent need for solutions to global warming and the will of his constituency to address it, but is failing to take meaningful action.

The time for action is now. It is no longer enough to talk about solutions and urge others to take actionMore than 75 percent of Massachusetts supports the Cape Wind Project as a solution to climate change and a move toward clean renewable energy.

Kerry has no position on Cape Wind

Sen. Kerry, the time for action is now. It is no longer enough to talk about solutions and urge others to take action, while only supporting those solutions that are convenient. It is time to step up to the challenge, and support the Cape Wind Project as a viable solution to climate change.

The scientific community has spoken. The time for discussion and debate has passed.

We need politicians willing to lead and make difficult decisions in order to avoid the most serious consequences of climate change.

Paul Moriarty is a Regional Coordinator in Greenpeace USA's Frontline Program.  He oversees the Greenpeace  Boston office, which is responsible for face to face member recruitment and grassroots organizing.  This article also appeared in the Patriot Ledger on 1/30/08.

Today in Cape history: Coast Guard "firebombs" oil spill in Buzzards Bay

n this day in 1977, as reported by the Associated Press -

"Thick, black smoke billowed off the Cape Cod coast for several hours after the Coast Guard firebombed just a small fraction of the 100,000 gallons of home heating oil that spilled here."

The oil had spilled three days earlier from a Bouchard barge trapped in thick ice near Cleveland Ledge Lighthouse in Buzzards Bay. The accident was one of several involving oil spills off the Cape and islands in the bitterly cold winter of 1976-1977, including the loss of 7.6 million gallons of oil from the tanker Argo Merchant on Nantucket Shoals a month earlier.

Cleanup efforts after the Bouchard spill in January were hampered by ice floes covering much of the bay. In a seldom-seen strategy, Coast Guard officials decided to try and burn the oil before it hit beaches on the Cape and South Coast.

"A Coast Guard seaplane dropped ten boxes of flammable material and grenades over the largest slick while area residents watched safely from shore," the AP reported. "Suddenly a puff of white smoke shot straight up from the ice. The smoke quickly grew and fanned out, turning from dark gray and into a large mushroom cloud ... Flames leapt 30 feet in the air."

The oil had pooled in three large slicks, one within walking distance over ice from Wings Neck. The barge was hauling 3.1 million gallons of oil from Providence to Portland and its remaining cargo was pumped to another barge. Much of the oil that leaked from the barge was also vaccuumed from shore.

Coast Guard officials decided against burning off more oil after their initial effort consumed only a small amount of the spilled fuel.

Bouchard vessels passing through Buzzards Bay have been involved in numerous spills over the years, including the most recent, in April 2003, when an estimated 98,000 gallons were lost after a barge scraped an underwater ledge.

(photo credit, AP)

Libby Hughes' musical "Ginger & Me" hits the boards Friday

Musical on Ginger Rogers to make its debut

Bruce Fessier
La Quinta Sun

La Quinta songwriter Gary Heath has teamed with a lyricist from Cape Cod, Mass., to create a musical about Ginger Rogers. This musical is more driven by Hughes' words than Heath's music. Hughes is so passionate about telling the story

It doesn't contain the standards Rogers introduced for George Gershwin on Broadway or with Fred Astaire in their musical comedies of the 1930s. But its Rancho Mirage-based producer and director, Allen Worthy said the original music by Heath and lyricist Libby Hughes will take theater-goers back to that Rogers-Astaire era.

Their production of "Ginger and Me" will world premiere Friday at the Indian Wells Theatre on the Cal State San Bernardino campus in Palm Desert.

It will run at least through Feb. 24. After that, it goes to the El Portal Theatre in North Hollywood.

"You might see touches of (Stephen) Sondheim and (Andrew Lloyd) Webber," Worthy said of Heath's music. "It has some contemporary (sounds), little touch of the 1950s, a little bit of  Mel Torme. You'll see something of the flavor of the period. But you couldn't say it's Gershwin because it's original Heath."

This musical is probably more driven by Hughes' words than Heath's music. Hughes is so passionate about telling the story of the late Ginger Rogers properly, she said she turned down $300 million to turn it into a superficial Broadway spectacular.

Hughes, a drama critic, author and playwright, edited Rogers' autobiography 10 years after interviewing the actress and reviewing her one-woman show. She lived with Rogers for four months while editing it."They wanted to change it and it wasn't worth it," Hughes said at Worthy's Rancho Mirage home. "I felt I was the guardian of this property for Ginger and her mother. I had to guard it, and fame and money would not persuade me (otherwise)."

Hughes, a drama critic, author and playwright, edited Rogers' autobiography 10 years after interviewing the actress and reviewing her one-woman show. She lived with Rogers for four months while editing it.

Conceived while writing Reagan bio 

She conceived the idea for "Ginger & Me" in 2001, six years after Rogers' death in Rancho Mirage, while working on a biography of Ronald Reagan.

But its focus has changed over the years.

"I made 287 revisions and it is very different from what it was," Hughes said. "We tried all original songs and we tried old songs only. It just didn't work with the old songs because they were out on DVD."

Central to her fascination with Rogers was Ginger's mother, Lela Rogers, who was not only a drama coach, but a drama critic, a World War II Marine Corps newspaper editor and a screenwriter.

"Her mother was a renaissance woman," said Hughes. "She could tell a story better than anyone. When they were at a party, everyone gravitated to her."

Worthy, a Rancho Mirage-based actor and director, met Hughes in Cape Cod at one of Hughes' play readings. Hughes was seeking a composer for "Ginger & Me" and Worthy returned to Southern California to help her cousin, co-executive producer Don Thomas, search for one.

JJ Rodgers to play Ginger RogerWorthy had worked with La Quinta resident Marilee Warner at Playwrights' Circle, which Warner co-founded to develop new plays. They discussed presenting new plays at Cal State San Bernardino, Palm Desert, five years ago with the school's fundraiser, Betty Barker.

Worthy thought of Warner as Lela Rogers and Warner won the role.

Worthy found his "Ginger" when ginger-haired L.A. actress JJ Rodgers showed up at a Los Angeles audition.

"The moment I saw her in the hallway, I nearly fell over," said Worthy. "I had two or three in mind to play the part, but they weren't quite there. I walked out and saw her and, 'That's it.' "

Hughes' show tells the story of Rogers' life and conflicts with her mother by using paparazzi on stage to ask questions that provide exposition. Worthy also uses a seven-piece ensemble on stage to set the flavor of the era with Heath's original music.

Now, said Hughes, "We have it the way we want it."

Reprinted with permission of the author.
'Ginger & Me' dances its way to Indian Wells
Read another review of Libby's musical here.

Factory Outlet Mall to be redone; The dream of a Cape Verdean Cultural Center is here at last; Our turtles recovering in Maine

Investors eye Factory Outlet Mall for makeover

SAGAMORE - A group of investors plans to buy the Cape Cod Factory Outlet Mall and old Windmill Motel in Sagamore just off Route 6, renovate the entire complex, add parking, enhance aesthetics and reconfigure Factory Outlet Road.

Hyannis attorney Patrick Butler last week said Compass Realty is closing the sale of the mall, which includes part of the old Cape Cod Coca-Cola Bottling plant dating to 1937, to High Rock Rock Factory Outlet Road 1, LLC...  Bourne Courier.  
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Preserving the past, building the future
The dream of a Cape Verdean Cultural Center is here at last

ONSET -  The dream of a Cape Verdean Cultural Center at the Oak Grove School is close to coming true. After a few false starts and plenty of changes to the plans, the committee behind the proposal is preparing to bring it in front of selectmen in February.

The project will add a wing to the Oak Grove School in Onset that will closely mirror the historic structure’s architectural style. The center will house not only a treasure trove of Cape Verdean culture, but also the story of Cape Verdeans and their contributions to the region. There are also plans to include a conference room for visiting dignitaries as well as classes about Cape Verdean language and culture... When the town repossessed the site in 2000 for back taxes, it partnered with the Cape Cod Child Development Program to rehabilitate the site for use as a Head Start program...  Wareham Courier. 
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Cape's endangered Sea Turtles To Be Rehabilitated In Maine

BIDDEFORD, Maine -- Eight endangered sea turtles have arrived in Maine as part of their rehabilitation after washing up on shore in Massachusetts.  Seven Kemp's-Ridley turtles and one green sea turtle were brought to the University of New England's Marine Animal Rehabilitation Center on Friday from the New England Aquarium in Boston. While in Biddeford, they will undergo rehabilitation for several months before they are pronounced fit enough to be released into the wild...

The turtles were found washed ashore on Cape Cod in November. The New England Aquarium said that turtles wash ashore each year after turning hypothermic when the waters turn cold...  WMTM-TV. 

The Great Blizzard & Stromboli

   ^{A sledder's delight overlooking Pleasant Bay in Chatham. Photo by John Fitts.}

30 years ago last week from the Mid-West to the East Coast, the Blizzard of '78 was marked to be blizzard of the century. Here in the Mid-West I remember well going to bed with balmy weather and my window left open. Only to wake up the next morning, looking out my bedroom window to see the neighbors porch divider ripped off at the base and away from their house.

My folks had to get up and get an ice pick to chip the ice away from my window in order to get it closed. By the time it was all over our street was impassable for several days. The city had to bring in front-end loaders, the big ones, to get the street cleared. Our school was closed for 2 weeks and friends of mine were making emergency runs between farms on their snow mobiles for families, getting food and RX to them the best they could. Some of the homes out in the country had drifts as high as 18-24 feet.

I think Dad had only cancelled church service once before that I knew of, but needless to say we could not get down the street in our cars, so church had to be cancelled. However fear not, Dad had a plan, so I went around the neighborhood and passed out an invitation to all the neighborhood homes, Sunday morning service at the Pastor's house. I think we ended up with almost 20 people in our house that Sunday morning. Mom played the piano, I played my trumpet and Dad preached, only thing we didn't do was pass the collection plate. But we still had a wonderful time sharing even if all of us were stuck in our homes with snow up to our keesters.

So what in the world does this have to do with the Cape?  Well as some of you will remember, it was said that some areas from Cape Cod to Providence, Rhode Island got more then 50 inches of snow from that same storm that we had gotten blasted from as well. We called friends to see if all were ok, and to check up on how folks were fairing on the Cape. Amazing they were having the same problems and issues we were and in the end we were all able to laugh at our predicaments. To think that even though separated by some 800 miles we were affected by the exact same causes.

Sometimes we think, even today that we live in our own little worlds and forget sometimes just how much we are all tied together. Weather, news, public affairs, and other things. In 1978 we all learned a few things as our worlds became a little smaller, as friends separated by hundreds of miles were affected by the same things we were having to deal with. May our friendships always be as close as a phone call and may our love for each other never run out.

To all of my Cape Cod friends have a great and wonderful day, and to the rest of you, if ever our paths meet may we share a friendship that runs deep through and through and from beautiful beach to beautiful Cape Cod beach.

Recipe of week: Easy Stromboli

• 1 can    refrigerated pizza dough
• ¼ lb deli ham
• ¼ lb pepperoni
• ¼ lb hard salami
• ¼ lb provolone or mozzarella 
• Italian seasoning
  

Roll out dough from can, then spread on greased cookie sheet. As best as you can, stretch the dough length-wise to thin out dough a little. On half of the dough layer deli ham, pepperoni, hard salami, and cheese, sprinkle top with Italian seasoning. Fold unlayered half of dough over top of meat and pinch the 3 edges closed to create a pocket. Bake in oven for time designated on pizza dough can. When cooked slice into squares. You can either serve plain or with warm pizza sauce on the side to dip in.

Make your own variations, of ham, pepperoni, salami or other favorite deli meats that you like. As for the cheese try doing half and half, add whatever sounds good. This is a great little treat that is easy to make and easy to change around to meet your own or your family's tastes.

Ted Kennedy: champion or hack?