CapeCodToday Blog Chowder

Rays sting Red Sox: Garza, near perfect, proves club is still dangerous

You know how one team can end up beating another by a fairly narrow margin, but be so clearly in control that the commentators say "the game wasn't as close as the score suggests"? Well, this definitely was not the case in St. Petersburg, FL this evening, as the Tampa Bay Rays stung the Boston Red Sox by a score of 13-0 and closed out their night by batting against erstwhile outfielder and bullpen-saver Jonathan Van Every.

Sox starter Josh Beckett started strong but ran into trouble in the third inning, when he threw 43 pitches and gave up four runs. All told, he surrendered 10 hits and seven runs in only four and two-thirds innings - but he also struck out eight in that time, so it wasn't as if none of his pitches were working.

Rays righthander Matt Garza, on the other hand, was perfect for six innings and recorded 10 strikeouts before he departed with two outs in the eighth. In many ways, his performance both tonight and in the recent past neatly sums up the Rays' current situation.

According to a note in today's Boston Globe, "Including the postseason, Garza has faced the Red Sox nine times, more than any other team. He is 6-1 with a 2.91 ERA, and the Red Sox are batting .213 against him." On the season, however, he is 1-2/4.97 (coming into tonight), and this inconsistency is precisely what bedevils the Rays right now.

Tampa Bay opened the season by taking two of three in Boston, and then went 6-13 to fall into its once-familiar place in the AL East basement. But in between, it hung back-to-back pastings of 11-3 and 15-5 on the Baltimore Orioles and New York Yankees, respectively, so the club clearly can be a force to be reckoned with.

The Rays are led by good young players like Garza and Evan Longoria (3-5 tonight, with a home run, 4 RBIs, and a run scored), and they learned how to win on the strength of last year's success. So don't think they'll fold up and disappear the way so many of their forebears did; rather, expect them to win more than they lose from here on out, and to be keeping close company with the Sox and Yanks when October rolls around.

 Watch this space for more and/or subscribe to my musings at Boston's examiner.com!

You are the Government, Part 2

  Economic downturn adds unprecedented challenges for us all

This is a very difficult time for state and local governments but we have survived bad times before and we will survive this downturn.  The economic downturn and background budget pressures that have been growing for a decade are placing unprecedented challenges before us. But it is important to remember that we have survived bad times before.   It is equally important to remember the constructive role that government has played in helping us weather past recessions paving the way toward recovery.  In the midst of the current crisis it is easy to forget the essential role that our public systems play in the quality of life we enjoy in Massachusetts.   We must keep in mind that our state and local governments provide the services and infrastructure that we couldn't create as individuals. 

I think most of us would agree that the Commonwealth provides a fairly good life for our citizens.  It's not well known but Massachusetts leads in most quality of life indicators when compared to other states.  For example, we rank in the top five in levels of education because we have more high school and college graduates than most other states.  We rank in the top five in terms of income.  We have a lower divorce rate, lower unwed mother rate and lower teen pregnancy rate than most other states.  We provide more care for our needy citizens.  We also have one of the more healthy populations in the country and more than 93% of us have health insurance.

Yet when you compare our total state and local tax burden as a percentage of our income, we rank only 24^th in the nation in 2008.  Why use total tax burden as a percentage of income?  It's a fairer gauge because we earn a lot more than most other states.  Using a per capita tax ranking is like putting a light weight in a boxing ring with a heavy weight.  Comparing us to the southern states is not fair to them because they earn less and pay a larger percentage of their income in taxes greatly reducing their spending power.  In addition, our sales tax is the 44^th lowest of all states and the current gas tax is ranked even lower and hasn't gone up in 16 years. 

It was never my personal goal to run for office but it grew naturally from my early volunteer work.  Here is the story of how I got involved in public service.  There is great trout stream running through my village of Waquoit.  I had worked with local members of Trout Unlimited to restore the river that had been damned up and turned into a cranberry bog hundreds of years ago.  Because of thousands of man and woman hours we put into the effort, it was turning into a very productive trout stream with large sea run brown trout.

However, all that was on the verge of being destroyed.  A developer had cobbled together various parcels of the river valley and was proposing an 800 unit condominium development on either side of the river.  The pollution from the septic systems would have ruined the fishery in the stream and hastened the deterioration of Waquoit Bay into which it flowed.  While many of my friends and fellow volunteers became despondent by the news, I became incensed and decided to find a way to protect the river by stopping the development.

I organized the community and worked to put a coalition of civic and environmental groups together to urge the legislature to fund the acquisition of some 370 acres of the river valley.  It took three years but the Commonwealth bought the acreage for ten million dollars, an unheard of sum for land protection back in those days.  Without, the Commonwealth, it could not have happened.  Today, we have many parcels of open space throughout the Commonwealth that would have been developed and lost forever. 

It is easy to forget the often invisible role that government plays in our daily lives.  Whether it is simply the park we walk in every day or the some critical service we have received.  Maybe you got a grant or loan to attend college or help with a disabled loved one.  Perhaps it was assistance with elderly parents.  Where would we be without unemployment insurance or social security?  Who would build and maintain our roads, bridges, airports and railroads?  What about the Food and Drug Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency its laws and enforcement?  How would we get mail or the internet services we all take for granted? 

On a local level, who would provide water, trash pick-up, public schools, police and fire protection?  Who would provide planning, zoning, health and building inspections?

On a state level, what would happen if we didn't have our system of laws and the courts? Where would we get money to build and operate our schools?  Who would provide assistance for the sick, hungry, homeless, the mentally ill, the handicapped and our seniors?  There are endless services that our state and local governments provides for us.  We take them for granted but our lives would be more difficult without them. 

We have a clear choice ahead of us as legislators and citizens of the Commonwealth.  We can watch our services and infrastructure crumble because of a lack of funding or we can step up to the plate and take on the responsibility to maintain this great and beautiful state that we have built for ourselves and our children.  For me, this means that we should all be willing to accept a reasonable increase in our state taxes in order to protect and preserve the public systems we rely on and that are essential to our economic recovery.

Patrick talks tourism, turbines, taxes, turnpike and Swine Flu

A packed house at chamber's tourism town meeting mostly enthusiastic

The 28 Atlantic Restaurant overlooking Pleasant Bay at the Wequassett in East Harwich was packed Thursday to hear Deval Patrick's plans to promote Cape Cod

Governor pitches his agenda, asks questions, agrees to sell pike service centers, questions room tax, other revenue proposals

By Walter Brooks

Paula Peters tried to give Deval Patrick a gift certificate to Plimoth Plantation, but when he discovered it was for only $100, he jokingly handed it back.

Mega-restaurateur Bill Zammer gave the guv a bit of a hard time while an amused chamber president Dick Neitz and chamber director Wendy Norcross look on.

The governor took off his coat and got up close and personal with the Cape's tourism sector at Wequasset.

The Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce faced swine flu, a gas tax increase, new room taxes and a host of other concerns with an articulate Governor Deval Patrick Thursday in an impressive display of his skills of persuasion. The comparison to President Obama's style and cool at his press conference last night was inevitable.

The crowd of Cape Cod hospitality industry property owners was augmented with many local town pols and local chamber heads who came to hear how the Massachusetts Office of Travel & Tourism (MOTT) plans to save our summer season despite the threat of a flu pandemic and a proposed 19 cents a gallon gas tax increase to say nothing of a probable 25% increase in the Bay State sales tax.

Mr. Patrick began by eulogizing tourism as a $20 billion a year industry which employs 160,000 Bay Staters to serve our 20 million visitors annually, and the Cape is a big part of that profit pie.

Spyro Mitrokostas of the Dennis Chamber of Commerce, remarked that, "The Governor and the Legislature are in a classic battle with the taxpayer. One wants to raise specific taxes, the other wants to raise general taxes. The problem is that neither wants to cut the budget."

The local town chambers rallied to get a full house for the governor, a stark improvement from the low attendance at some previous such meeting with him arranged by the Cape Cod Chamber which gave the impression that they wanted low attendance to control the discussion.

The governor took off this coat and went to work, touts Cape Wind

Not so this time with over a hundred in attendance including about twenty standees in the adjoining room where The Wequassett served coffee and French pastries.

Complaining with a smile comparing the heat on Cape Cod with his cooler summer home in the Berkshires, Mr. Patrick removed his coat and told the crowd he had visited South Orleans as early as his prep school days  at Milton Academy in the 1970s.

Asked if he agreed that a lot of folks think Cape Wind will be a leading ecotourism attraction in New England, and if he shared that view, he not only agreed but went on to mention that the new offshore wind farms in Denmark were both a boon to tourism and had improved the fishing around their bases which act as artificial reefs to attract sea life.

"If we have to compete with the swine flu this summer, we'll be passing out hand sanitizer at bridges." - Spyro Mitrokostas

Reminded of the Palm Springs California wind farm's popularity with tourists, he countered a negative statement by a real estate broker and said the project was now in the hands of the Department of the Interior and assumed it would get final approval and leases granted shortly.

Swine Flu and this summer's business

The Governor and his MOTT director Betsy Wall tried to assuage the group's concerns about the looming flu pandemic as the alert status was raised to level 5 by the World Health Organization (WHO) as the meeting began.

If we have to compete with the swine flu this summer, we'll be passing out hand sanitizer at the bridges," quipped Spyro Mitrokostas of the Dennis Chamber of Commerce.

Echoing President Obama's admonitions from his press conference last night, Mr. Patrick urged his listeners to "wash your hands frequently and cough into a tissue."

Plimoth Plantation's Paula Peters countered by telling him that she had received a Japanese group's cancellation this morning due to the assumed threat.

A questioner reminded the governor that, although Vice President Joe Biden had said on the Today Show this morning that he wouldn't allow his family to get on a plane, Cape Cod is within a one day automobile drive from a third of the nation's population and that vacationers might think spending the flu season a Cape Cod beach was a good ounce of prevention.

Turnpike tolls to go - if the bids are "fair"

No tolls, like Conn. would encourage more tourists to use the pike to get to Cape Cod and prevent last month's debacle.

As the governor left this reporter asked him if he agreed with his probable Republican opponent next year, Christy Mihos of Yarmouth, who when on the Mass Turnpike Board in 2003 approved a plan to sell the 11 Service Area Plazas to the highest bidder.

The governor was asked if his Turnpike Authority, which has put this plan in process, will sell the stations to the private sector when the bids come in, and will he then pay off the Western Turnpike bonds, which would amount to $166 million and terminate tolls on the Western Turnpike?

Mr. Patrick left himself an out by replying that he would encourage the turnpike board to do so if the bids were fair.

Since the Western Turnpike would then be eligible for Federal Highway Maintenance Funds and people traveling the Western Turnpike would save approximately $130 million in tolls, it seemed slightly disingenuous because private sector bidders would only bid an price which would allow them to make a reasonable profit, and the revenues from the 11 turnpike service areas is a provable amount of money.

This reporter reminded the governor that at present only about 10% of truckers use the pike, and thus detour to other Massachusetts highways like Route 2 and 9 which the state must repair at state expense, and that having eliminated tolls, like Connecticut did recently on their turnpike, would encourage more tourists to use the Mass. Pike to get to Cape Cod.

As Mr. Patrick left the room, a local supporter called after him, "stop messing up," and the governor smiled and promised he would.

Former Hyannis Pontiac dealership now up for lease

Commercial real estate company touts square footage and high traffic location

Puritan Pontiac shortly after the doors were closed and the lot was cleared in early March of this year. File photo by Peter Robbins.

The former Puritan Pontiac dealership on High School Road Extension in Hyannis is up for lease.  According to Carey Commercial of Hyannis, the property is now available to lease as a whole property, 43,000 square feet, or by the minimum divisibility of 5,000 square feet. 

Aerial view of the property, courtesy of the Carey Commercial site.

The company points out the property's high traffic location and proximity to popular downtown shops, dining establishments and other services including the ferries, the harbor and Cape Cod Hospital. The property is on town water and the town sewer system and has over two hundred parking spaces. 

The lease notice comes only days after Chrysler files bankruptcy and the announcement was made that the Pontiac line will be phased out in 2010. 

A victim of the recession, Puritan Pontiac closed its doors in early March of this year.  See the original story here.

Contact Carey Commercial for more information on the property.  A PDF with more details and images is available here.

$1.9 million destined for job training and support services for Cape & Island workers

Governor Patrick makes announcement in Hyannis today

Funds will aid dislocated workers and low income youths and adults on the Cape & Islands

Today in Hyannis, Governor Deval Patrick announced that almost $2 million in federal recovery funds will be heading to the Cape and Islands Workforce Investment Board.  The board operates Career Opportunities Center in Falmouth, Hyannis and Orleans, serving employers and job seekers across the Cape and Islands.  The $1.9 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funding will be used as a immediate investment in job training and support services for dislocated workers, low-income youths and adults on the Cape and Islands. 

Funds aimed a job training and putting the unemployed back to work

The $1.9 million is part of the $67 million announced on Tuesday, and statewide, which will assist all of the 37 One-Stop Career Centers throughout Massachusetts. 

"These funds will help put people back to work, and give unemployed citizens the support and services they need to rejoin the workforce," said Governor Patrick at the Hyannis Career Opportunities Center, one of the thirty-plus One-Stop Career Centers across the Commonwealth.

Summer jobs & putting the state's youth to work

With summer approaching, Governor Patrick plans to combine $6.67 million from the state’s YouthWorks summer jobs program with $3.1 million in public safety funds and $21.1 million for youth employment and educational programming provided under the federal recovery bill totaling $30 million statewide to support summer employment and additional support services. The Governor’s approach is intended to increase the number of jobs for low-income young people between the ages of 14-24 to an estimated 10,000.

These resources will also help support youth disconnected from school and employment to access education and employment opportunities beyond the summer. The Cape and Islands will receive $779,197 of these funds.

Cape & Islands by the numbers

Of the ARRA employment funding resources earmarked for Massachusetts, the Cape and Islands Workforce Investment Board will receive $1,936,497.  The funds breakdown as follows:

Workforce Investment Act Youth Activities
$24,838,038 for the Commonwealth, $779,197 for the Cape and Islands Workforce Investment Board

• These funds are used to support youth activities, including summer employment, for low-income youth through ARRA.

Workforce Investment Act Dislocated Worker Activities
$21,223,446 for the Commonwealth, $522,097 for the Cape and Islands Workforce Investment Board

• These funds are used to support training and employment services for unemployed workers, including statewide programs and rapid response programs for layoffs, as specified in ARRA.

Workforce Investment Act Adult Activities
$10,073,668 for the Commonwealth, $355,219 for the Cape and Islands Workforce Investment Board

• These funds are used to support training and employment services for eligible low income workers, as specified in ARRA.

Reemployment Services
$8,000,000 for the Commonwealth (over two years), $179,836 for the Cape and Islands Workforce Investment Board

• These funds are used to support additional staff assisted training and employment services for unemployed individuals.

Wagner Peyser Programs
$3,023,796 for the Commonwealth, $100,148 for the Cape and Islands Workforce Investment Board

• These funds are used to support One Stop Career Center staffing to support individuals using the career center system.

Cities and towns in the Cape and Islands Workforce Investment Board include Aquinnah, Barnstable, Bourne, Brewster, Chatham, Chilmark, Dennis, Eastham, Edgartown, Falmouth, Gay Head, Gosnold, Harwich, Mashpee, Nantucket, Oak Bluffs, Orleans, Provincetown, Sandwich, Tisbury, Truro, Wellfleet, West Tisbury, Yarmouth.

Domestic assault and batteries, felony breaking and entering top arrests this past week in Yarmouth; Craigville Tabernacle Church fire caused by teak oil soaked rags; Fire extinguisher recall

Craigville Tabernacle Church fire caused by teak oil soaked rags

CRAIGVILLE - At 7:13 a.m. Thursday morning the Centerville-Osterville-Marstons Mills (C-O-MM) Fire Department received a report of a fire at the Craigville Tabernacle Church in Craigville.  Firefighters arrived to find heavy smoke in the church.  The housekeeping staff had managed to contain the fire with fire extinguishers.  As some furniture had burned, firefighters proceeded to wet down the area and ventilate the church.

The historic Craigville Tabernacle is used for religious services and community events. Image courtesy of craigville.org.

Housekeepers from the church conference center discovered the fire involving tables and chairs this morning near the front door.  Upon further investigation, firefighters learned that teak oil was being used Wednesday to clean and stain wood furniture. 

It is believed  that the oily rags were stacked on a table where they spontaneously combusted some time this morning.

According to the C-O-MM Fire Department, had the fire gone unnoticed another few minutes, the church could have been a total loss.  Over the years, C-O-MM has contended with several fires started by the improper storage and disposal of cleaning/staining oil. After use, the oil soaked rags should be placed in water and left outside to dry completely. 

Release courtesy of the Centerville-Osterville-Marstons Mills Fire Department.

IMPORTANT: According to the Wellfleet Fire Department, the Massachusetts State Fire Marshal has notified fire departments in the Commonwealth about a recall on several models of Kidde fire extinguishers. Approximately 167,000 extinguishers were sold across the country between October of 2007 and April of 2008.  It is possible the extinguisher could lose pressure and not operate properly during a fire. Click here for model numbers and more information.

Yarmouth Police Department arrests for week ending 04/27/09

Domestic assault and batteries, felony breaking and entering top arrest this past week

YARMOUTH - During the period of April 20 through April 27, the men and women of the Yarmouth Police Department responded to 634 calls of which 40 resulted in arrests.  Among those were the following.

Release and photos courtesy of the Yarmouth Police Department.

Editor's note: The information and images (mugshots) are included in this blog as a matter of public safety.  Inappropriate comments on this blog post will be deleted.

A 13-year-old male juvenile, arrested on April 20 at 11:41 a.m. during a domestic violence call on Sandpiper Lane in West Yarmouth for Domestic Assault and Battery.

Christopher James Leonard of 78 Agnes Road in South Dennis, arrested on April 20 at 6:30 p.m. during a domestic violence call on Route 28 in West Yarmouth for Domestic Assault and Battery.

James Willis Baker of 24 Vineyard Street in South Yarmouth, arrested on April 22 at 3:21 p.m. during a domestic violence call on Route 28 in South Yarmouth for Violation of a Protective Order.

Michael Adler, homeless, arrested on April 24 at 12:16 p.m. on Route 28 in West Yarmouth on a Warrant for Probation Violation (Orleans District Court).

Cornelius J. Sullivan of 1223 Alewife Circle in South Yarmouth, arrested on April 26 at 3:13 p.m. for Violation of a Protective Order.

Benjamin W. Galvin of 28 Sauna Road in Hyannis, arrested on April 26 at 4:39 p.m. during a disturbance call on Reid Avenue in W. Yarmouth for Felony Breaking and Entering with Person in Fear. Arrested with Silva and Vega (see below).

David J. Silva of 197 Meetinghouse Road in Mashpee, arrested on April 26 at 4:39 p.m. during a disturbance call on Reid Avenue in W. Yarmouth for Felony Breaking and Entering with Person in Fear. Arrested with Galvin (above) and Vega (below).

Karie Vega of 34 Reid Avenue in West Yarmouth, arrested on April 26 at 4:39 p.m. during a disturbance call at that address for Disorderly Conduct. Arrested with Galvin and Vega (above).

Peter Paul Littlefield of 881 Route 28, Room 7 (the Cavalier Motel) in South Yarmouth, arrested on April 26 at 8:58 p.m. during a domestic violence call at that address for Domestic Assault and Battery.

Jose Paul Valdez of 68 Upper County Road in Dennis, arrested on April 27 at 12:32 a.m. during a vehicle stop on Pine Grove Road in South Yarmouth for OUI Liquor.

Can Non-Alcoholic Drug Addicts Become AA Members?

Link: http://gourl.org/dsfaq

Guv to spend Thursday on Cape Cod

Deval Patrick making the rounds on the sandbar today

Governor Deval Patrick will make three public appearances on Cape Cod Thursday, April 30, 2009.  At 10 a.m., Patrick  will make a local economic recovery announcement relative to unemployment services at Career Opportunities on North Street in Hyannis. At the time he will announce new Stimulus funds for employment training programs in Barnstable County.

At 2 p.m., the governor will meet with local tourism industry leaders at Wequassett Inn on Route 28, East Harwich where he will answer questions relating to the the Commonwealth's latest tourism campaign and funding for Cape Cod. 

Finally, to end his Cape Cod day, the governor will  swear in J. Thomas Kirkman as Associate Justice of the Orleans District Court at 4 p.m. at the Barnstable District Court on Route 6A in Barnstable Village.

Email us any upcoming Cape Cod political events (campaign kick-offs, fund raisers, informational sessions, debates, monthly meetings, etc.) and we'll feature them here on our Cape Cod Political calendar.

Craigslist Killer and the Christa case; Airport shrinks; No Prom for the Homeless; Cape gets teen suicide grant; Firefighters make concession; New hotel may cost town $700k; Fin Comm advice; Cops critize judge

TODAY's quotes: "This is a temporary agreement to help us get through this difficult time. The union body decided to change how we man the stations, for one, and to take a zero percent raise for fiscal year 2010."
                - Chris Read, Yarmouth Permanent Firefighter Local 2122 union president.
"This is a motorist. It's not an appropriate use of deadly force. As a citizen, I'm scared of what behaviors I saw from this officer here." - Judge James O'Neill.

Yarmouth Police union objects to judge O'Neill's criticism

A district court judge may be asked to justify comments he made about a Yarmouth police officer's threat of deadly force. The International Brotherhood of Police Officers has filed a formal complaint against Judge W. James O'Neill over his comments about Officer Christopher Van Ness in open court in January. Van Ness apparently pulled his gun on a woman whose car he stopped in the early morning hours of July 6... Herald.

Next Craigslist forensic footstep
And the link with the Truro swabs taken in 2006

The Craigslist killer case has yet to take a key forensic step ... a cheek swab for DNA. The "buccal swab" has long been a sticky matter with Massachusetts murder cases ...

Some of the salty men of Truro submitted to a buccal swab when authorities cast a wide net for a suspect in the murder of Cape Cod fashion writer Christa Worthington. (Trash man Christopher McCowen, 34, was convicted of the murder and is serving life without parole.)

For me, the Truro case is more fascinating. How can you ask an entire community to spit out their DNA? In all, 78 DNA samples were collected out of 800 men in the Truro pool. (McCowen's sample had already been taken.) The unusual sweep set off a wave of protests over civil liberties... Herald.
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Cape: grant to fight teen suicides

Idyllic as the area may appear to tourists, the Cape and Islands has one of the highest youth suicide rates in the state, reports the Cape Cod Times. At one and a half times the state average rate for people ages 10 to 24, "it's not a statistic we can be proud of," said Tim Lineaweaver, director of behavioral health at the Community Health Center of Cape Cod, based in Mashpee... They plan to train every teacher, school bus driver, cafeteria worker and janitor in the area's schools to recognize signs of youth depression and find appropriate avenues to help... Herald.

Public hearing closes on proposed Bornstein hotel

The Barnstable Planning Board closed its hearing on developer Stuart Bornstein's proposed five-story, 132-room Hilton Garden Hotel, but held off taking a final vote on the project's fate...

Deb Krau, chairman of the Hyannis Water Board, said her board concluded that the project will cause a deficit in fire department water needs for the area. That's contrary to opinions offered by Bornstein's engineers and Hyannis Fire Department Deputy Chief Dean Melanson. Water system improvements to accommodate the hotel's needs would run about $700,000, according to Krau... Patriot.
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Students Cape-wide Come together for a good cause
'No Prom For The Homeless'

"Tell the world that we want this to be epic," says Jeff Howell, a Chatham resident and English teacher at Dennis-Yarmouth Regional High School. Howell is referring to the upcoming "No Prom for the Homeless" event that he has organized along with a group of passionate, insightful high school students from D-Y, Chatham High School and Cape Cod Academy. If his language sounds lofty, it has every right to be.

Howell and his students have set a lofty goal for themselves: to shake up the teenaged American tradition of breaking the bank on prom night with expensive dresses, dinners, limos and parties in favor of making a positive change in someone's life with that money. They have planned a party to end all parties, and there won't be a poufy dress of a tux in sight. Best of all, the proceeds go to Homeless Not Hopeless, Inc., a local organization formed by the homeless and formerly homeless of Cape Cod to assist all suffering in that condition to attain a sustainable, satisfactory lifestyle... Chronicle.
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Concessions by union may keep Yarmouth Fire stations open

Concessions by the union representing Yarmouth firefighters could be the key to reopening Station 3 in West Yarmouth.The union and town management Tuesday ratified the new agreement that would reopen Station 3, which has been closed since September, and allow Station 2 in Yarmouth Port to remain open if voters also approve the Proposition 2 1/2 override on the May 12 ballot... Register.

Harwich Finance Committee issues Voter Advisory for voters

The finance committee is going the extra mile to inform voters of major recommendations it will be making to town meeting next week. The committee has drafted a 10-page position paper explaining why it has taken certain stands on several articles... The finance committee was scheduled to meet Tuesday night to complete several of its recommendations. It has yet to take a position on the special town meeting article seeking $214,000 for two additional members of the fire department.

If approved in town meeting, voters will also cast ballots for a Proposition 2½ override question for $214,000 in the annual election on May 19. That would allow permanent expansion of the tax levy... Chronicle.
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Troubled teens need compassion, tough love

When a child is in crisis and spinning out of control, many parents feel blindsided. Guilt and shame compete to create a sense of isolation that only makes things worse... Standard-Times.

Terminal shrinking again
Airport completes land acquisition for project

The planned new terminal for Barnstable Municipal Airport is shrinking again, this time by about 10 percent to 32,000 square feet.

Decisions made this week by the airport commission's terminal subcommittee will trim about 15 feet off one end of the building, removing the baggage carousel, and five on another.

The reduction is made necessary by an uncompromising budget of $20 million for the terminal building and related site work... Patriot.

Pasta & Feta Salad and another note

         Well almost another month gone, and we are almost out of the cold weather which means one month closer to summer and vacation season. If only it could come quicker. I know I was just there about 4 weeks ago, but I think it was just a teaser to remind me of how much I love the fresh seafood, the salt air, and the sand under my feet. It didn't matter to me that the temps could have been a little warmer so I could have actually done the beach. And yes I understand that living there is much different then vacationing, as you have to earn a living. But to me there is no other place to be then on Cape Cod. Well, still in chill mode give me just another week and hopefully by next week will back in full swing. Keep the lighthouse oil lamp lit for me so I can find my way back and keep the sun shinning so it warms up a little more for my next visit... Here is to Cape Cod.....
   
    Recipe EXTRA; EXTRA; EXTRA as this is the 5th Wednesday night in the month, this is bonus week.
    This week is a Salad recipe that I got from a co-worker over 15 years ago that every one in the family has fallen in love with and said this was one for this week.
    So without further ado

        Pasta & Feta Salad  (I know how original right)

•     1    box          Bow tie pasta (16 oz box)
•     1    med.        green pepper (chopped)
•     1    med.        colored pepper (chopped)
•     1    can          ripe olives (12 oz black olives sliced)
•     1    small      Feta Cheese (approx 6 oz container)
•     1    bottle      Kraft Greek salad dressing
•     1    pkg          grape tomatoes (cut in half)

    Cook the pasta, drain and cool. Add chopped pepper, olives, cheese. Pour dressing over top and mix well. If you can allow to sit over night. When you serve you can either add tomatoes before serving or serve on the side. Good as main course or as side dish. Great for spring or summer cookouts.