EXTRA...

Indoor Birdwatching; Odds stacked against Middleboro casino; Storm takes out Ptown seawall; Baker's bucks bring rebukes; Brown wows Falmouth; Fireman dies in Vineyard fire

TODAY's quote: "I've proven in the past that I can't be bought, but Baker's for sale. It comes as no surprise to me that my opponent was able to raise $90,000 from folks in the health-care industry. What surprises me is that he hasn't raised more."
- Christy Mihos.

Koko the Short-haired Oriental kitten loves to birdwatch. Photo by Marina Brooks.

Storm takes out seawall in East End of Provincetown

The seawall protecting a house in the far East End of Provincetown collapsed during a storm last week that brought high winds and tides.

The recent full Wolf Moon brought high tides that engulfed the fallen wall. And neighbors in the area were concerned about the tides' affect on their seawalls... Banner.
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Scott Brown brings the house down in Falmouth
Thousands waited in the bitter Falmouth cold last night for a chance to catch a glimpse of "rock star" Sen.-elect Scott Brown as he continued his victory lap tour of the state into the night, organizers said.  
   "It's a madhouse," said Scott Bauer, who organized the Falmouth portion of Brown's cross-state victory tour. "This is amazing. The fire department is here now. They're here with the building department saying we gotta get these people out of here. He's a superstar, its unbelievable."... Herald.

Charlie Baker's bucks draw rebukes from Dems, GOP rival

Rivals slammed GOP gubernatorial candidate Charles D. Baker for taking nearly $100,000 from the health-care industry, accusing the former Harvard Pilgrim honcho of being part of the problem, not the solution, to skyrocketing premiums...

The Herald reported yesterday that Baker's campaign war chest - laden with $90,000 from hospitals, HMOs and drug firms - could sink his chances of catching the anti-Obamacare wave that swept Scott Brown to the U.S. Senate...

Cape Cod convenience store magnate and GOP gubernatorial candidate Christy Mihos also blasted Baker for his health-care campaign dough... Herald.
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Fireman dies in fire on Vineyard

Authorities say a fire at a home on Martha's Vineyard has killed a 63-year-old man. State fire marshal Stephen D. Coan says the fire started about 5 a.m. Saturday in the man's house in West Tisbury. Investigators have determined the fire was accidental.
   Assistant West Tisbury fire chief John Early tells the Martha's Vineyard Times that the victim was Daniel Prowten, a former town firefighter. He says Prowten was with the department for more than 30 years... WCVB.

Odds stacked against Middleboro casino
Fall River meeting casts doubt on Middleboro project

Mark Belanger of Middleboro, a member of CasinoFacts, answers his phone, "casino killer."

"The casino is a dead deal, I've thought that for quite a while," Belanger said...

The tribe is downplaying the meeting.  "It was just one meeting around the time the mayor was sworn in," said Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe spokesman Joe Ganley, who called reports of the meeting "overblown."

But it is enough for Belanger, who is calling on Middleboro selectmen to "kill this deal once and for all"... The Enterprise.