CapeCodToday Blog Chowder

Greatness Through Giving

I had the good fortune to have lunch with Shai Bazak, the Consul General to New England from Israel last week.  After an enjoyable meal with engaging conversation, the Consul General hosted a talk and question & answer period, and delivered on of the more moving and pithy quotes I've heard in some time.  In discussing Israel's steadfast and enduring relationship with the United States, Bazak offered his insight into history.  "Other nations have become great by taking things away.  The United States is the only nation in the history of humankind that has achieved greatness by giving,"  said the Consul General.  The reaction was amazing.  The room fell silent, and became draped in a collective blanket of warm reflection and contemplation.  The profundity and wisdom of that statement moved me, and gave me pause to put its meaning in perspective - in local perspective.  My thoughts immediately focused on the giving and special place that is Falmouth, and our enduring and steadfast commitment as Falmouthites to giving and being true neighbors. 

Not long after that poignant and stirring experience, I had the opportunity to share a couple of laughs and thoughts for the day with my good friend and long time Falmouthite Ken Weber.  Kenny and I get the chance often to chat about things, as we both commute good distances and take time to catch up.  On this day, our conversation turned to the annual Falmouth Thanksgiving dinner, a long-standing tradition, which brings generations of Falmouthites together to prepare, partake, and share a day of thanks and a community repast, free of charge, but replete with payback - of the giving kind. 

Kenny, his wife Cheri, and their family have taken over the coordination for this community event from John and Debbie Netto, who for many years, managed this volunteer-a-palooza with amazing organizational skills and a love for community to match.  I remember the first of these events, more than a decade ago, when Jay Bartolomei and I hatched the idea and coordinated the first event.  I can still see and smell my wrinkled and weary hands (the keyboard is the only workout they typically get), after cutting pounds of onions and peeling potatoes starting at a bleary -eyed 5AM with Chef Roland, while Chef Dave Mutti coordinated crews at the old Knights of Columbus.  We laughed, cried (from the onions and the appreciative expressions of grateful neighbors), and somehow, with Roland and Dave's expertise, a whole lot of love, lots of neighbors helping neighbors, and Jay's taxicabs, turned what appeared to be a phantasmagoria of culinary spirits into meals for dozens of Falmouthites on that day. 

You know the rest of the story.  John and Debbie took the reins of our fledgling tradition, and with even more robust energy and affection, turned it into one of Falmouth's most heartwarming and significant holiday traditions.  The baton has now been passed, and Kenny has accepted with the same eagerness that proves the Consul General's theory of greatness - in this case the greatness of our hometown.  "This event brings our community together for good," said Ken, when asked what it means to him to carry on a community tradition.  "My family and I are grateful for so much, and this is a way for us to give back," he continued.  "If you can bring some food or a donation for the Falmouth Service Center, then come.  If you can't, then come.  If you can volunteer and give back, then come.  If you can't, then come and share in a warm meal and sense of community," said  Kenny.  Greatness through giving, the Consul General said.  Falmouth gets that.  Kenny, his family, Chef Dave, and a legion of volunteers now take over a great tradition for the benefit of a great and grateful community.  I'm sure that our great and grateful community will love and thank them all right back. 

PCCS team frees entangled young humpback off Chatham Friday morning

Fishermen watched over whale until rescue crew arrived

The Marine Animal Entanglement Response Team from the Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies (PCCS) freed a young male humpback whale from fishing line and netting Friday morning off Chatham, according to a release from PCCS.  Fishermen stayed with the young whale until the rescue crew arrived in Chatham. The whale was disentangled and quickly swam away.

"The whale took off quickly once free, contrary to popular belief about whales thanking their rescuers," according to Doug Sandilands of the response crew.

Scott Landry, the team director, said the rescue would have not been possible without the support and assistance of the fishermen on scene. Photographs of the whale will be analyzed by the Humpback Studies Program back in Provincetown. The program monitors humpback whale entanglement based on injuries.  Of the estimated 900 humpbacks in the Gulf of Maine, PCCS experts believe more than half have experienced an entanglement in their life and 8-25 percent are involved in new entanglements each year.

PCCS disentanglement work is supported by a grant from the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries (MA-DMF). Support for the Marine Animal Response Team also comes from a grant from the Massachusetts Environmental Trust and contributions from PCCS members. All disentanglement activities are conducted under a federal permit authorized by NOAA.

Source: Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies.

Revenge of the Tarballs

L(This blog was originally published on OnEarth.com)     Last Thursday, I took a walk along the Gulf of Mexico in the Bon Secour National Widlife Refuge in Alabama. I had walked that same beach during the height of the BP oil spill last summer, and though seventeen months had passed since the Macondo Well exploded, and a year had passed since the same well had been declared capped and the tragedy over, you wouldn't have known it if you had been with me.

Up the beach, to my west, dozens of BP workers combed the sand for a fresh crop of tarballs that had come in with Tropical Storm Lee and a thunderstorm that had hit earlier that day. And it wasn't just the tarballs that were fresh: BP was back in the news. Over the span of the last couple of weeks, BP has been declared legally culpable in last summer's Gulf disaster; the BP spill was declared the origin of the new tarballs; and a new scientific study from Auburn University has concluded that the oil on the Gulf floor isn't degrading quite as fast as the earlier, cheerier scientific reports suggested.  Finally, this week marks the first time that BP has submitted a new deepwater exploration plan in the Gulf since the spill.

Still, the national news didn't do justice to what I was seeing with my own eyes. From the newspaper articles I had read, you would have thought that six or seven tarballs had washed ashore, and a few of the old BP regulars had been called up, had a kind of reunion, said, "Hey, what you been doing since last year?" and then set to cleaning. It wasn't like that. The workers were out in force, about forty of them, and after spending a couple of weeks cleaning the more public beaches, they were now turning their attention to this stretch of less-trafficked seashore, where a fresh mess had been tossed up, revealing what BP wanted to keep swept under the Gulf's rug.

I approached a couple of the workers, a man and a woman, who weren't supposed to talk to me, but who, I had learned from experience, usually were so bored after a day of tarball farming that they couldn't help themselves.

"You finding much?" I asked.

The woman held out a net that looked more suited for mullet than oil.

"We've been walking all day," she said. "There are balls all up and down the shore."

The tarballs in the net were the size of quarters, and I mentioned that they didn't look all that big.

"We've got some this big," she said, making a fist.

I thanked her and walked down the beach, away from the workers. A great blue heron barely flew off as I approached, and sanderlings pecked the sand before skittering away. I counted nine natural gas platforms off shore, and soon enough I came upon some tarballs of my own, as well as an orange squiggling line that worked its way down the beach, a kind of foamy stew. This once famously white beach was stained and smeared, as if Dr. Suess's Things One and Two had raced about with cans of red paint.

I hadn't planned on coming to this beach. I was down in the Gulf to hawk my new book about the BP disaster, not to hunt for tarballs. But although I've written the last sentence of that book, the story just keeps on going. I had been eating barbecue chicken and fried okra at a local restaurant called Live Bait when I asked my waitress how the clean-up was going on, and she told me I should drive down to Bon Secour. The locals know that this thing isn't over and that they can expect to see tarballs kicked up by storms for years to come.

The only ones slow on the uptake are the majority of scientists, who have tried to claim the mantle of reason. They have cautioned that it is too soon to make any rash conclusions, that science takes time, and that the studies of the environmental dangers of oil might take years. That's fine, but on the other hand, many of these same scientists are quick to assure the public there is no threat.

George Crozier, director of the Alabama state sea lab at Dauphin Island, told the Associated Press that he doubts that the new tarballs pose much of an environmental danger. But isn't that a fairly rash statement without evidence or long-term studies? Where is the skepticism and caution now? The point is, you can't have it both ways. You can't say that scientists are not allowed to make broad sweeping statements about the dangers of the spill and then turn around and make broad sweepings statements about the fact that there is no danger.

The new report from Auburn is welcome because very few scientists, outside of the University of Georgia's Samantha Joye, have had much negative to say about the way that millions of gallons of oil have affected the Gulf. Many of the Gulf studies are funded by BP, but there are other reasons for this caution. No one wanted to say anything too early and later be proved wrong. Then there is the fact that many scientists, like many people in most professions, are careerists who don't want to scoop themselves by revealing results before they publish them in a paper in a journal. Finally, there is the larger point: scientists are, increasingly, specialists, and can't be expected to see the greater whole.

But it doesn't take a specialist or scientists to see what I am seeing now, and it doesn't take any special observational skills to see this smeared beach. I understand why the cameras are gone. Complacency, boredom, and love of novelty might make us want to turn to something new. But seventeen months later, the oil is still here. It's on my feet, and it's on the skeletal plate of the blue crab swimming in the pool of orange spew, and it's down on the sand that the sanderlings are picking at. I don't need a scientific report to tell me that something is not right here. You can tell me this is normal, but my eyes tell me it is not.

Analysis of Cape Cod Lighthouse Charter School's scores missed the mark

To the Editor:

I am pleased to see your readers engaged in serious conversations about education on Cape Cod. I agree wholeheartedly with Jonah North’s contention that Student Growth Percentiles (SGPs) represent an important metric that should be closely tracked. I also share Mr. North’s admiration for the strong programming in the Nauset Regional school system. Surely, the combination of options available amongst the Cape Cod Lighthouse Charter School, the Sturgis Public Charter School  and the traditional public schools on Cape Cod make Cape Cod families the envy of the Commonwealth.

Mr. North, however, misses the mark in his analysis of the SGP scores at the Cape Cod Lighthouse Charter School (CCLCS). In English Language Arts (ELA), students from CCLCS outperformed students from Nauset Regional Middle School (NRMS) in the Composite Performance Index (CPI) at all grade levels. In addition, students from CCLCS outperformed students from Nauset Regional Middle School on the ELA SGP in 6th grade, the schools tied in 8th grade, and students from NRMS outperformed CCLCS students in the 7th grade. In math, CCLCS students had a higher SGP that students from NRMS in grades 6 and 7, and NRMS students had a higher SGP in grade 8. Clearly, these are both excellent schools.

Each year the Massachusetts Charter Public School Association calculates the test scores of  the weighted average of each charter school’s composite sending district. For the third consecutive year, CCLCS students outperformed students from the composite district at every test at every grade level.

In contrast to Mr. North’s contention, the Cape Cod Lighthouse Charter School continues to fly high in its 17th year of operation. As the only middle level public charter school on Cape Cod, we provide a solid alternative to the other excellent middle school choices available to families here. Aren’t we all lucky to live in a region where taxpayers and public servants work together to provide such great services to our students?

Sincerely,

Paul M. Niles
Executive Director
Cape Cod Lighthouse Charter School

Nauset TV Closes in Orleans, Friendly's heads for bankruptcy

The Great Recession closes what was once a major appliance store on Route 6-A

Nauset TV in Hilltop Plaze in Orleans on its final day today. cctoday photos.

Friendly's restaurants prepping for bankruptcy, had Cape connection

The “Final Clearance Sale” signs were up at Nauset TV and Sound in Orleans this week as another Lower Cape institution closes its doors due to the economy.  When our reporter visited the store on Friday there was little left except for a few televisions and assorted audio items.  According to store signs today is the last day of the sale.

Sign proclaim the last day for a once properous local appliance and television store on Orleans Route 6-A .

Nauset TV is best remembered as the Cape’s Curtis Mathes television dealer through the 1980’s.  Curtis Mathes was at one time advertised as “the most expensive TV in America” and had a reputation for premium quality. 

Three to two to one to none

In the early 1980’s, Nauset TV had three Curtis Mathes stores located in Orleans, Hyannis and Falmouth.  As VHS and BetaMax video technology evolved, their stores offered movies in both formats as part of their “Mountain of Movies” video rental department. 

 In the early 90’s the Hyannis and Falmouth stores closed and Orleans featured the “Video Empire” video rental brand.  The business slowly evolved into “Nauset TV and Appliance”, with multi-line offerings in television, audio and home appliances.  The video rental department closed in 1996 when Blockbuster opened a store in Orleans and the business focused exclusively on TV and appliance sales. 

 Not long after founder Dan Kelley retired around 2000 the new owners dropped the appliance lines and focused on high end TV and audio equipment. 

 While Nauset TV survived countless competitors over the years it could not endure the Great Recession.

Friendly's heads for bankruptcy today
Opened second location on Cape in Orleans in the 1970s

In another business story with an Orleans connection, Friendly's restaurants is preparing for a possible bankruptcy filing as early as next week according to a story in the the Wall Street Journal today.

The company started in 1935 in Springfield, MA at the height of the Great Depression by two spunky brothers, 20 year old Prestley and 18 year old Curtis Blake who sold double-dip cones for 5 cents.

A failed Friendly's became a prosperous Mandy's.

Friendly's opened its second Cape location on Canal Road in Orleans in the early 1970s. It closed several years ago and that location today is a prosperous, locally owned restaurant and ice cream shop called Mandy's Cape Creamery proving once again that good food, good service and good management save prosper even in hard times.

What is left of Friendly's today is best known for its hamburgers and sundaes and today employs roughly 10,000 people at more than 500 restaurants.

The chains had been sold twice before, once to Perkins and then to Hershey's.

Friendly's has more than $250 million in debt on its books.

Election 2012-Republican Candidates

The GOP choices

Republican presidential debates are underway; the public has been introduced to the candidates.  It's time to form a few basic ideas about them, and about the relationship of their messages to the mood of the nation. 

 The Election Landscape

 The election landscape is not favorable to President Obama.  A few poll numbers demonstrate this:

• According to Gallup, Obama's approval rating was 70 percent when he took office. With few variations, it has consistently dropped ever since to its current level of 41 percent.
• Gallup reports that 77 percent of Americans do not believe that the economy is improving.
• About 61 percent do not expect improvement in the near future.
• According to Fox News (Real Clear Politics), 72 percent of Americans believe the nation is headed in the wrong direction.
• Concerning foreign policy, the position of the U.S. vs. China and Russia has deteriorated; the Israeli/Palestinian problem is worse; North Korea and Iran are more dangerous than ever; the delicate relationship with Pakistan has weakened.

Obama is vulnerable, but he still has bite.  Dedicated Democrats will support him; his personal charm will woo others (Give the nice guy another chance), and his hair-raising ability to give a stump speech will continue to attract emotional voters.  To beat him, the Republican nominee must focus on what Obama has done, not on what he says he will do. 

 Republican Candidates

 Nine candidates are in the field -- Michele Bachman, Herman Cain, Newt Gingrich, John Huntsman, Gary Johnson, Ron Paul, Rick Perry, Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum.

 There are two ways to evaluate the candidates: Who can win?  Which man has a message that correlates best to the needs of the nation?

 Who Can Win?

 According to a Fox News poll (September 2011), the candidates rank as follows: Romney (23%); Perry (22%); Cain (17%); Gingrich (11%); Paul, Bachman, Santorum, Huntsman, Johnson (below 10%). 

 Paul may have peaked.  He has a loyal base, but his age (76) is a major drawback. 

 Bachman has a good war chest, and she should last for at least three primaries.  But time is running out - she must recapture the voters that left her for Perry if she is to survive. 

 Santorum performed well in all of the debates, but he hasn't drawn much voter support - his cash reserves are minimal.  At the present time he must be ruled out.

 Huntsman and Johnson have never drawn much voter support and they will probably soon withdraw.

 Newt Gingrich is the smartest Republican candidate; in many respects he is the most qualified to lead.  His performance in debates has been impressive.   But he confronts two things over which he has no control that could permanently disqualify him: 1) Age - he looks like, and he sounds like, a voice from the past, which may not work well for him; 2) His personal history, which features multiple divorces, could alienate much of the conservative base despite his more recent conversion to a faith-driven life style.  Gingrich has a small war chest and he must show well in Iowa and New Hampshire primaries.  It's too soon to count him out, but he's hanging on by his fingertips.    

 Herman Cain may be the most charismatic Republican candidate.  He has done well in debates, especially the last one in Florida, which was followed by a straw poll that he won (37%) with almost as many votes as the next three candidates combined (Perry, Romney, Santorum).  This victory was followed by a Fox News national poll that placed Cain in the top three4 - a major upgrade for Cain.  Watching his progress could become the most interesting aspect of the primary season.      

 Perry entered the race a few weeks ago with a big splash.  In the process he made Bachman a second tier candidate.  The debates have brought the personable Texan down to size as questions concerning Social Security, the education of illegal aliens, border control and foreign policy brought to light some of his positions that do not sit too well with conservatives.  Once the top man in the polls by a wide margin, he has dropped to second place.4  Perry has not yet established his fund raising capabilities and it's fair to say that he'll have trouble matching Romney on this score until he develops a more favorable public image.

  Romney, a seasoned campaigner, is saddled with Romneycare, which he introduced in Massachusetts, and which is similar in many respects to Obamacare.  All Republicans (including Romney) and 56 percent of likely voters want to repeal Obamacare.  Romney   handles this problem deftly, but the fact remains that if he's the nominee, Obamacare will not be the issue that conservatives want it to be.  Romney is the best fund raiser of the group - his war chest is four times larger than the nearest competitor (Bachman).  Considering poll trends, money and Perry's public demeanor, Romney must be considered the favorite in the nomination contest.

 According to Real Clear Politics (October 2011), Obama would beat the Republican frontrunners despite the record he has created domestically and internationally.  Personality, promises and rhetoric won the election for him in 2008, and so far the same formula is holding him up in the polls.  Republicans have not yet made their substantive case for change in a way that captures the public mind.

 Which Man Has The Message That Correlates Best With The Needs Of The Nation?

 This is a special election.  The nation has reached a crossroads, forced by different views of how Government should work.  Should the original constitution limit, as it had for more than a century, the scope of federal power, or should the living constitution free the federal government to expand without restraint, as it has for more than a half century?

 Adherence to the original constitution brought wealth and power to the United States. After the 1960s, guided by the living constitutionalists, America has morphed into the largest Welfare State in the world, bringing with it a back-breaking level of debt. 

 If Obama (a socialist in deed if not in intent) is re-elected, or if he is defeated by a go-along, get-along, backslapping Republican politician, America will sink into oblivion - it will become in decades (or less) one more bone in the graveyard of once-great nations.   

 Maybe a Romney or a Perry can fill the curative roll that history has created for them. But there is no certainty in that statement.  There are, however, existing candidates who seem more surely to have the backbone and the brains to lead America back to the size and the form that was wisely envisaged by the Founders.                     

 ·        Herman Cain: One must listen to a man who holds that the present tax system must be junked.  He would probably be the best candidate of all for the economy - he would need a professional team to help him on foreign policy.  Cain is a highly under-rated candidate whose fortunes are rising rapidly.  

• Michele Bachman: A true conservative motivated by principle and passion. She would need good advisers, but her instincts are sound and her drive unquestioned.
• Newt Gingrich: No question about brain power. His principles are sound. But is he too institutionalized?
• Ron Paul: Unquestionably, the most principled man in the group. Good advisers and common sense would round off his rough edges - he would lead the effort to restore constitutional government. Age for him (76) is a major problem - maybe a disqualifying one.

  Conclusion

 Any one of the above four candidates would lead America to a better tomorrow.  One would hope that either Perry or Romney would do the same, but certainty is not as high.  Of the two, Romney would be the better bet because he has a life outside of politics -- he could afford to be more courageous.

 A dour prediction: If a constitutionalist is elected, and if he institutes all of the corrective policies that are needed, the public will probably reject his bid for re-election in 2016 on the grounds that he's heartless.  A liberal would succeed him and he/she would proceed to re-establish Obama's socialist agenda. 

 In other words, America may no longer have the moxie to tolerate the cure for its ills          

END

Robert Kelly, author of several books on baseball and history/politics, is also a freelance, award-winning journalist whose work has appeared in many Massachusetts newspapers.  His latest book, Neck and Neck to the White House, is available at Amazon and the better bookstores. His e-mail address is bobkelly17@comcast.net

Tito Is Finito

Boston Cuts Ties With Terry Francona
Red Sox make manager their scapegoat

In a collapse like the one the Boston Red Sox had this September, someone has to pay the price. That price was paid this morning, as the team declined to exercise ther option on the contract of manager Terry Francona.

Francona managed te team for 8 years, and was at the helm for our first World Series win in 86 years. He pulled it off again in 2007.

His axe job followed a tremendously uncomfortable press conference yesterday, where Terry and GM Theo Epstein took the heat for the September Swoon.

I'm not a fan of this move, but I wouldn't go nuts on someone who disagreed with me. I just think that Terry had little to do with the injuries to the pitching staff, and he most likely wasn't the driving force behind the decision to bring in Dice K and John Lacking Lackey.

Terry is reported to be heading to one of two jobs available in Chicago, running either the White Sox or the Cubs.

Godspeed, Tito... at least one writer in the region thinks the Sox made a bad move releasing you.

Adventure Shopping~ Where Surveillance is a Bargain!!!!

 At Ocean State Job Lot in Dennisport around 4:45 Thurday afternoon: So the cashier asks me as I'm Slidin' the Debit Card... "Would you like to contribute a dollar to The Wounded Warriors Project?" I surveyed my surroundings for Possible Hostiles and replied, "I didn't vote for Bush, so it's NOT MY FAULT!"      It's the most brutal ad-lib I've ever concocted, certainly.  Coupla older ladies looked shocked, but NOBODY KICKED MY ASS.   I'm on the Surveillance Tape now anyway~ I might as well post it on CapeCodToday!!  I put this up on Ocean State's FB page... maybe I'll get some coupons out of this.

  A "support the troops" litmus-test, as you're online getting Debit Approval AND with the camera rolling!  There's gotta be a little KochBros startup-money in-play here... stay tuned for Charity Scandal Theater.

Incredible response by Orleans highway Department

Orleans Cove Road Wash-Out, Crews Arrive Before Sunrise

The Orleans Highway Department crew literally 'hit the street' running before dawn today in a well-organized effort to repair the damage caused by last night's torrential rain. This photo was taken at 7:45am today. cc2day photo.

We tip our hats to Orleans Highway Manager Mark Budnick

The OHD had swept the road Wednesday preparing for the final stages before last night's rains. cc2day photo.

Last night's torrential rains once again damaged the ongoing sidewalk project along Orleans' Cove Road. Residents and businesses saw the storm coming and the wires were glowing last night after the deluge ended with washouts along most of the curb cuts on the Route 28 end of Cove Road.

Cape Cod Today had prepared a much different story for this morning's edition but withdrew it when an early bird business owner in Orleans told us that Orleans Highway (OHD) crews were at work this morning before sunrise to repair the storm damage so residents and businesses could go about their travels.

While we still disagree with the way this six-day project has turned into a twelve-day fiasco for taxpayers, we tip our hats most graciously to Orleans Highway Manager Mark Budnick for getting out there himself this morning to see the good citizens to and from their workplaces.

Plymouth soldier killed in Afghanistan; Three Yarmouth motels to become homeless housing; Canadian cartoonist captures Kennedys; Liquor lobby gifts Grossman $45k; 34% of readers don't mail letters; Buzzards Bay watershed ride

TODAY's quote: "I love the Kennedys; they're amazing. The Kennedys are fascinating because I'm Canadian and this is a big American thing and they're such a big part of the culture around here. ... That really fascinates me; the drive that they all had to go and to succeed and to push." - Cartoonist Kate Beaton.

Getting 'A Little Dirty' with history
The Kennedys are grist for a Canadian cartoonist's mill

   Kate Beaton's comic strip about Joseph Kennedy the first, is as insightful as it is funny. See the complete Joe Kennedy panel here.

"Son, do you really think you're going to get into the White House with an attitude like that?" - Joe Kennedy.

Kate Beaton's comics tackle both the obscure and well-known sides of history. One of her favorite subjects is the Kennedy dynasty according to an interview yesterday morning on NPR's "Morning Edition."

"I love the Kennedys; they're amazing." What really fascinates her, she says, is the Kennedy drive, and that they all had to go and to succeed.

Beaton's Kennedy strip lampoons much of that drive came from patriarch Joe Kennedy, and her comic shows the Kennedy brothers competing for their father's approval. Even Ted, who's shown as a baby burping on the floor, gets asked about his political ambitions.

"Son, do you really think you're going to get into the White House with an attitude like that?" Joe Kennedy asks the infant.

Read the entire NPR interview here.

5th Annual Watershed Ride Oct. 2

Enjoy a spectacular scenic 75-mile route from Westport to Woods Hole, while raising funds to Save Buzzards Bay. The fully-supported one-day cycling event every October celebrates and builds awareness of the Buzzards Bay watershed.
      Or choose the half-ride option that begins at the Dexter Lane Recreation Area in Rochester Center and joins the main route for a 35-mile ride to Woods Hole.   Each route has a $300 fundraising minimum requirement.
     Read the Coalition story here.

Plymouth soldier dies in Afghanistan
Attended Cape Cod Community College

The Boston Globe reports that Specialist Steven Gutowski, who was with the 515th Engineer Company (Sapper), had been stationed in Afghanistan since February and was killed when an explosive device detonated.

He was Joan Gutowski's only son with an older and younger sister. His mom always said he was her "favorite son", and even wrote that in his class yearbook.

Specialist Gutowski graduated in 2005 from Plymouth North High School, where he played several sports, including football and track, and then attended classes at Cape Cod Community College before deciding to join the US Army in 2008.

He had made a trip home on leave last month for his sister's wedding.

Read the Globe here.

Yarmouth tourism "Growth Management Zone" to become homeless haven

The town of Yarmouth changed its zoning laws to encourage the growth of the motel business along Route 28 in that town which has more rentable rooms than anywhere else on Cape Cod, but as often happens, your best intentions can have unintended consequences.

You can bet that when the town voters approved the change they never dreamed three of the largest motels on "the strip" would be turned into housing for the homeless.

The Register reports that a local nonprofit group called Yarmouth Community Housing Inc. has obtained an option to buy three West Yarmouth motels. Earlier this month Harry B. Miller, who owns the motels was found in contempt of court in Barnstable Superior Court on a charge filed by the Town of Yarmouth for not complying with previous orders to evict long-term tenants from the motels, and the court attached all three of Miller's Yarmouth motels at $300,000 each.

Brian Braginton-Smith said the option to purchase the Cavalier and Sea Gull Beach motels has been accepted by the owners, and Robert Wilds, president of the Admiralty Inn, the umbrella company owned by Harry B. Miller, confirmed that an agreement has been made to purchase the three properties by "a consortium of characters to pursue affordable housing and for further economic development that would fit into the town's GIZ (Growth Improvement Zone)."

Read the Register story here.

State Treasurer gets gifts from Cape liquor stores
Says that Liquor Lobby's $45,000 gifts won't affect his decisions

The Boston Globe reports that among the many liquor stores giving gifts to State Treasurer Steve Grossman were donations from a handful of distributors who control the wholesale market from Cape Cod to Springfield and the Merrimack Valley. Grossman took donations from executives across the state, all of whom have a financial interest in the decisions and policies set by the Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission, the agency he oversees as treasurer.

The newspaper reported that in his biggest one-time haul of political cash since he took office he accepted $45,000 at a fund-raiser earlier this month from package store proprietors, bar owners, and liquor distributors, industries his office heavily controls and regulates.

During his campaign for treasurer last year, Steve Grossman emphasized a platform of transparency. He probably didn't mean it would be as clear as a bottle of Vodka.

Read the Globe story here.

34 percent of readers no longer use the USPS for personal mail

One third of CapeCodTODAY readers haven't snail-mailed a personal letter (you remember, written with a pen on a piece of paper, folded and placed into an envelope, stamped and brought to the Post Office) since email was available to them.

How about YOU? Vote in our poll here.

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Delahunt to build offshore wind farm;
Express yourself on your bumper;
Chatham selectmen want to axe new school region;
Harwich will hire fire chief internally;
Red Sux?