EXTRA...

Manatee may fly home; Beatty accused of Yankee sympathy; Tourism called intellectual property; Voter registration heavy

Cape manatee may get air trip to Florida

An injured manatee discovered in a Massachusetts harbor may get an air trip back to Florida if would-be rescuers can trap it.
   The manatee in Sesuit Harbor in Dennis on Cape Cod has set a record for northward travel by the species, which generally lives in warm shallow waters around Florida, The Boston Globe reports. But the water temperature is falling, and experts fear it cannot live through the winter or make the return trip.
   Chris Cutter of the International Fund for Animal Welfare said the animal appears to have at least two injuries, a missing eye and a damaged flipper.Cutter's group, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Cape Cod Stranding Network plan an attempt this weekend to use a net to capture the manatee. They are also trying to arrange air transport to Florida... IFAW.

Manatee at Sesuit Harbor draws crowd
600 gawkers almost sink Dennis dock

The docks sagged at Sesuit Harbor this morning in Dennis as crowds scrambled to catch what might be their final glimpse of an intrepid ocean explorer visiting the shores of Cape Cod. Wildlife groups are orchestrating a rescue this weekend for the Florida manatee, affectionately known as "Dennis," that has strayed hundreds of miles from its native habitat.

About 600 people came to gawk and snap photos of the lumbering sea cow Thursday. By 10 a.m. today, nearly 150 eager onlookers had gathered, sporting baseball caps and bermuda shorts, toting cameras and fanny packs. One woman pushed a stroller with a toddler in it out onto a wobbly finger dock and peered into the water. At cafes and marine supply stores, it's the manatee, more than the stock market, that dominates the chitchat... Globe.
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Kerry accuses Beatty of - gasp - being a Yankee fan
Republican Jeff Beatty is accusing Democrat John Kerry of leveling the worst possible insult in their U.S. Senate race.
The Cape Cod businessman and former Army Delta Force officer is steamed after a Kerry aide accused him earlier this week of being a New York Yankees fan.
A Beatty spokeswoman says that's not true, and the allegation is off-base. She said a Web site picture showing Beatty wearing a Yankees cap was taken after a doctor put it on his head to cover bandages for wounds he suffered in the U.S. invasion of Grenada.
Spokeswoman Chris Hunsinger assured voters Friday that Beatty is a Boston Red Sox fan. She said her boss would demand an apology "if times were less serious." Clark County Columbian.

New council promoting creative businesses in Mass. includes tourism

Massachusetts has established a Creative Economy Council to examine and promote policies for dealing with industries centered on creating intellectual property products.

They include the visual and performing arts, film, digital media, design, advertising, architecture and tourism... A 2007 New England Foundation for the Arts report found Massachusetts has over 14,600 arts and culture-related businesses and 7,600 cultural non-profits that account for 109,000 jobs... Forbes.
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Voter Registration Particularly Heavy

With the deadline for registering to vote in the presidential election coming up on Wednesday, the Falmouth Town Clerk's office has been especially busy.
Falmouth Town Clerk Michael C. Palmer said he has processed 800 new voter applications for the coming election. In addition to new voters, many are asking for absentee ballots.
Mr. Palmer said he is expecting the ballots to arrive by mid-week next week, since they were due to be shipped on Tuesday.

"There are a tremendous number of people registering for absentee ballots," Mr. Palmer said.  Once the ballots arrive, Mr. Palmer said he will set up a booth outside the town clerk's office where people can fill out an application for an absentee ballot and either vote later and mail in the ballot before election day, or vote right away at the booth.

Mr. Palmer said he is seeing younger people registering to vote as well as people of all ages who have not voted before coming into the clerk's office to register... Enterprise.