EXTRA...

Octo-suer Ralph Miller; Cape hospitals reverse loss; Leonids meteor shower; Coakley wants Cape Wind; Brewster blooms; Six Regional Readiness Centers to improve Teachers; Sagamore Bridge open for Thanksgiving

TODAY's quotes: "Cape Wind merits swift approval." - Martha Coakley.

"We predict a sub-storm level outburst on Nov. 17, 2009, peaking sometime between 21:34 and 21:44 UT." - Bill Cooke of the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center.

"Given the history I see a lot of red flags and issues that would make anyone, any reasonable person, especially in this business, suspicious of these claims." - David Rioux on Miller's latest fire.

Sagamore open for Thanksgiving

The Army Corps of Engineers hopes to have the Sagamore Bridge fully open to traffic for the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.
   Work on the current phase of the bridge upgrade should be complete before the holiday. Work crews may have to return to the bridge in the week following Thanksgiving to do some preparation for next spring's phase of work, but the Corps said Monday the fall phase of the work is substantially complete... Banner.

Cape Cod Healthcare reverses loss

The parent company of Cape Cod Hospital recently reported an overall operating gain of $13 million for fiscal 2009, reversing a prior-year loss of $25.1 million, largely because of aggressive cost cutting.

Cape Cod Healthcare Inc., whose operations include Cape Cod and Falmouth hospitals, said total revenue rose 5 percent to $587 million during the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30. The consolidated group also produced a nonoperating gain of $6.4 million during the fiscal year as it realized a gain of about $3.4 million.. Boston Business Journal.
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Tips for watching the Leonids meteor shower tonight

A drawing of the 1833 meteor storm based on a first-person account of the by a minister, Joseph Harvey Waggoner on his way from Florida to New Orleans.

Astronomers from Caltech and NASA say a strong shower of Leonid meteors is coming in tonight. Their prediction follows an outburst on Nov. 17, 2008, that broke several years of "Leonid quiet" and heralds even more intense activity this November.

"On Nov. 17, 2009, we expect the Leonids to produce upwards of 500 meteors per hour," says Bill Cooke of the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center. "That's a very strong display."

According to NASA, the shower should produce a "mild but pretty sprinkling" of meteors over North America (20 to 30 meteors per hour). With the highest number of meteors streaking across the skies around 4:45 p.m. ET tonight.

The full Leonids peak will be visible for viewers in Asia this time.

Sky-watchers are advised to venture out away from bright lights between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m. on Tuesday the 17th, when they should see 30 to 50 meteors an hour.

The Leonids meteors are bits of debris left in the wake of the Comet Tempel-Tuttle, which passes through the inner solar system every 33 years. Much of the debris has drifted across the November portion of Earth's orbit, and that's why we're able to see the Leonids this month.  Look toward the constellation Leo (the lion). Since the moon is new, you don't have to worry about moonlight ruining the show... NASA.
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Falmouth Playhouse owner has collected millions from insurers
Ralph Miller has had eight insurance claims, collected millions

The recent Miller fire in Pennsylvania. BarksdaleBlog.

Months before the Pocono Playhouse burned down, owner Ralph Miller increased the insurance on the building 25 percent. With a $1.25 million policy in force and just an $85,000 mortgage on the building, Miller could be in line for a million-dollar payout from the October blaze...

He has collected payouts on three fires that destroyed buildings: a Bucks County, Pa., warehouse in 1984, the Woodstock Playhouse in upstate New York in 1988 and the Falmouth Playhouse in Cape Cod, Mass., in 1994. The Woodstock and Falmouth fires were ruled arson, but no one was charged with setting them. Miller denies responsibility.

After Falmouth burned, however, Mount Hawley Insurance sued Miller, accusing him of having the fire set and of hiding his history of insurance claims from the earlier fires... Pocono Record.
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US Senate candidate Coakley endorses Cape Wind

According to a story by Jack Berry in today's Cape Cod Times
"Attorney General Martha Coakley appreciates the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy's love for Nantucket Sound. But, as for his vision of its future, that's not a view she shares.
   Despite Kennedy's opposition, Coakley, who is running for the Senate seat formerly held by Kennedy, counts herself as a strong supporter of the Nantucket Sound wind farm, proposed to stand about six miles off the coast from Kennedy's Hyannisport home..."

Brewster Garden Club honors three teachers at Eddy School

There's a lot of talk about going green these days, but plants, they've been green since day one.  In recognition of that point, the Brewster Garden Club is giving three grants to three elementary school teachers - Rebecca McVickar, Cathy Stratico and JoAnn Borsari - in honor of their promotion of the original solar powered green energy producers...

Anyone walking into Eddy Elementary School can see the fruits of the fifth-graders' work. The main entrance is flanked by two small gardens with an arbor and the above-mentioned birdhouses, made out of recycled wood and populated by English sparrows... The Cape Codder.
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State to improve Teacher Quality with Six Regional Readiness Centers
Centers to improve teaching, learning from Pre-Kindergarten though Higher Education

Cape Cod Community College and Massachusetts Maritime Academy are regional partners

Governor Deval Patrick today joined with education and community leaders to launch the state's first-ever Readiness Centers at a gathering at Salem State College. The six regional centers will help address key priorities of improving teacher quality and bridging the achievement gap across the Commonwealth.

Readiness Centers, first announced by the Governor in October, will focus on enhancing the quality of teaching across the education continuum from early childhood through higher education and offer services and activities that address local and regional educational needs as well as statewide priorities... GovMonitor.