EXTRA...

Attorney asks judge to throw out firetruck driver's testimony; Offshore wind: US vs. Canada; Cape Air emergency landing in PA; Vehicular homicide charges in 195 accident; Invasive vines; Navy diver from Chatham killed in Hawaii; Hatch to be released Fri.

TODAY's quote: "It was clearly coercive. It was an interrogation behind locked doors in the police station. No reasonable person would have thought they could leave." - Attorney Jans Bahrawy's attempt to convince the judge to throw out his client's testimony.

Attorney asks judge to throw out firetruck driver's testimony

The attorney for Elias Martinez, a member of the local fire department who was at the wheel of the town’s ladder truck when it was destroyed in an accident last year, argued in Orleans District Court last week that testimony given by Martinez to police two days after the incident should be thrown out.

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Attorney Jans Bahrawy said police “coerced” Martinez into telling them he had “quite a few drinks” the night before the incident but had stopped drinking around 10:30 p.m. that evening. Bahrawy said that even though Martinez had not been arrested, he might have thought he was required to speak with police.

“It would have helped him decide whether or not to speak with police,” he told district court Judge Donald Carpenter, referring to the fact that police did not tell him he was free to leave the interview at any time. “It was clearly coercive. It was an interrogation behind locked doors in the police station. No reasonable person would have thought they could leave.” ... Provincetown Banner.

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America's Offshore Wind Race is On: Can the US Compete with Canada?

For years the promise of North America's first offshore wind farm has been just that – a promise. The reality has been a big disappointment: proposals pigeonholed by Bush-era dirty energy policies and NIMBY (not-in-my-backyard) opposition.

The Cape Wind project off Nantucket Sound was to be the continent's first offshore wind park. Eight years on, it remains in limbo. The latest hiccup? Two Indian tribes are trying to block the turbines by getting Nantucket Sound listed as a "traditional cultural property." In other words, more delay is on the way.

But the Massachusetts wind farm is no longer the only offshore game in town. With a pro-renewable energy administration in Washington, increasing state and provincial clean energy standards and coming carbon regulations, a big push is underway that could make North America the next big market for offshore wind generation.

The race is on. And for now Ontario, Canada, is in the driver's seat. ... SolveClimate.com.

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Cape Cod woman charged with vehicular homicide in I-195 accident

Cape Air pilot makes emergency landing in Hagerstown, PA

WBAL, a Baltimore radio station, reported that the pilot of a Cape Air plane headed from Hagerstown, PA to Baltimore made an emergency landing after reporting issues with the landing gear on Wednesday. ... WBAL.com.

A Cape Cod woman is being charged with motor vehicle homicide in a Wednesday accident on I-195 that killed a New Bedford woman.

Dakota Jones, 21, of Marstons Mills, was driving a Mitsubishi Diamante wastbound when it crossed over the median into oncoming traffic, striking a Ford Mustang driven by Susan M. Lepage, 46, of New Bedford. Lepage suffered fatal injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene.

The Mustang was pushed into a Jeep Grand Cherokee operated by Daniel Allende, 29, of Fairhaven, which then rolled over to the right from the center lane and struck a Toyota Prius driven by Amy Lopes, 20, of New Bedford, who had pulled over into the breakdown lane. Allende and Jones were sent to St. Luke's Hospital in New Bedford with minor injuries. ... SouthCoastToday.com.

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Invasive vines assault East Coast beaches

A fast-growing vine imported from Korea to stop massive erosion of sand dunes — home to sea turtle hatchlings and such shore birds as plovers — is destroying dunes in the Carolinas and threatens to creep into beaches up and down the East Coast.

The beach vitex, a woody plant with waxy leaves and a pretty purple flower, was planted widely along the Carolina coast after Hurricane Hugo ravaged beaches and dunes in 1989.

States wanted to act fast because, aside from being a nesting site for shore birds, dunes help hold back storm waters. ...

... Cape Cod received the news this week. The response: "That would be bad," said Mark Faherty, science coordinator for the Mass Audubon's Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary. ... USAToday.com.

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‘Survivor’ star Hatch to be released from prison Friday

Survivor star Richard Hatch is due to be released from federal prison Friday, but he is still fighting his sentence and conviction for failing to pay taxes on his $1-million prize.

Hatch has been held at Barnstable County prison in Bourne, Mass., since he was sent back to jail in August for giving unauthorized interviews to the media. He had been serving the final portion of his 51-month sentence in home confinement at his sister’s house in Newport.

Hatch, meanwhile, is contesting his sentence for failing to pay taxes on the prize he received as the cunning winner of the first season of the CBS reality show. ... Projo.com.

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Navy Diver From MA Killed In Sky Diving Accident

A Navy diver originally from Chatham, Mass. was killed in a skydiving accident in Hawaii on Monday.

According to WBZ's CBS affiliate in Hawaii, KGMB9, Kenneth Owens, 27, fell 13,000 feet and landed in a pond in Mokuleia.

Officials with the FAA believe Owens' parachute was not packed right. "He did have a good amount of knowledge of sky-diving, he packed his own chute, he was certified to jump himself," Frank Hinshaw of Skydive Hawaii told KGMB9. ... WBZ-38.