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Yarmouth Rail Trail extension; Gambling study released

Yarmouth Rail Trail coming in 2010

Yarmouth DPW Director George Allaire says the plans to expand the Cape Cod Rail Trail are back on track.  In June, Mass. Coastal Railroad and the Executive Office of Transportation expressed an interest in reestablishing rail service through Yarmouth to the western terminus of the present Rail Trail at Route 134 in Dennis. (Above it a section which presently goes by the town golf course.
   Money has been earmarked to pay for design and construction for the Rail Trail extension though Yarmouth, and Allaire said the town is only waiting for the state to review the scope of design and release funds to begin the project.
   "It's probably going to take us another year to a year-and-a-half to get it done," Allaire. He hopes the trail extension will be ready for your bike by 2010.

Study highlights economic impact of casino proposal

A state-commissioned study released this afternoon bolsters several of Governor Deval Patrick's arguments that building three resort casinos in Massachusetts would improve the economy and provide thousands of jobs.

But the 301-page report -- which includes fresh projections on the impact that casinos would have on jobs, revenue, and the state lottery -- also provides lower estimates than administration officials touted earlier this year as they unsuccessfully tried to persuade House lawmakers to support their plan.

The report, prepared by New Jersey-based Spectrum Gaming, concludes that several of Patrick's estimates were over-inflated:

• While Patrick argued that 20,000 jobs would be created at the casinos, the latest study puts that estimate at 13,131 jobs
• Patrick said there would be 30,000 construction jobs, while the study says 9,000 jobs
• Patrick estimated $2 billion in gross gaming revenues, while the study estimates $1.23 billion to $1.78 billion.

One reason for the different estimates is that Patrick projected that each casino would build 5,000 slot machines, while Spectrum Gaming estimated each casino would build 3,000... Globe.
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A Taste of West Africa just over the Bourne Bridge in Onset

New England is home to the largest population of Cape Verdean immigrants and descendants of immigrants in the country. Celebrate this tiny Atlantic outpost at the Onset Cape Verdean Festival on Saturday, northeast of New Bedford, just over the Bourne Bridge from Cape Cod. (That's the statue of an indian maiden in the Onset seaside Park.)

The archipelago off the west coast of Africa has given us Damon Dash and the NBA's Ryan Gomes, but the fest serves as a de facto reunion for far-flung Cape Verdeans who may have roots in the same town.

Break it down to traditional morna music (a blues-like form often incorporating violins and clarinets) and fuel up on the sausage and corn dish cachupinha. Tiny Island Travel.

Related Stories:
Cape Verdean Festival Is a Homecoming for Thousands [South Coast Today]

It's Summer Somewhere: Cape Verde [Jaunted]