EXTRA...

Abuse case settled for $1/2M; Cape Light likes Cape Wind; Mackerel turns with the tide

Father Foley Cape Cod abuse case settled For $550,000
Lawsuit Stems From Priest's Tenure As Fire Chaplain

The Archdiocese of Hartford agreed this week to pay $550,000 to a man who accused the Rev. Stephen Foley of using his position as Hartford County fire chaplain to sodomize him when he was a 14-year-old parishioner in Windsor Locks.  Foley, who has been accused of abuse by at least 11 men since 1993 and was removed from public ministry in 2002, is still affiliated with the county fire organization he belonged to when the alleged assault occurred. He now holds the title of "chaplain emeritus" of the group, according to board members... 

The current president of the group is Windsor Locks Fire Chief Gary Ruggiero. Haber said Ruggiero sent an e-mail to the board of directors Friday criticizing the newspaper for publishing a story last Sunday that exposed Foley's continued use of a police-equipped Crown Victoria with flashing lights, sirens and scanners...  ce on a weekend when the boy and his friend accompanied Foley to a home on Cape Cod, which Foley said was owned by his aunt, the brief said. Foley gave the boys alcohol before and during dinner, got them drunk, and then took the boy to bed with him.  "Foley took the plaintiff with him into his own bedroom and got into bed with him in his underwear," the brief says. "He then proceeded to fondle the plaintiff, perform oral sex on him and sodomize him."  This is the ninth complaint the diocese has settled against Foley since 1993. Two lawsuits remain unresolved...  Read the rest of this Hartford Courant story here.  Leave a comment
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Cape Light shines on Cape Wind
Seeks talks regarding energy supply contract

The governing board of the Cape Light Compact wants to talk business with Cape Wind Associates LLC.  A resolution, passed by a 10 to 3 vote Wednesday, instructs chief procurement officer Maggie Downey, the compact’s administrator, to “contact Cape Wind Associates for the purpose of entering into negotiations for a long-term power supply contract.”

The decision was something of a shock to observers who have seen the Compact board struggle for months over making even a general statement endorsing utilization of all types of alternative energy, including wind. The Compact is an aggregation of Cape and Vineyard towns organized to seek power supplies at favorable rates and administer energy efficiency programs...  Read the rest of this Barnstable Patriot story here.  Leave a comment
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Mackerel fishery turned like the tide
Not been on usual grounds south od Cape

The mackerel fishery for the mid-water trawl fleet had been dismal most of the winter, but it turned like the tide about 10 days ago.  A Gloucester boat finally found the fish. Unpredictability is nothing new for this small pelagics fishery.

"The mackerel have just not been on their usual grounds. We just haven't had any quantity yet. We have packed only about 25 percent of what we normally do," Dave Ellenton, vice president of Cape Seafoods Inc., reported about a month ago...  In the past, the trawlers have found the mackerel masses south of Cape Cod anywhere from just three miles offshore to the submarine canyons along the continental slope. Fishery biologists deem this stock healthy, and the fishery is open access....  Read the rest of this Gloucester Times story here.

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Homeless horse; Otis may get range; Cape cats get sick too; Murray is NIMBY on gambling

Number of poisoned pets climbs
Two Cape Cats sickened by Iams from Shaws

The precautionary recall nearly two weeks ago of many popular pet food varieties may have done well to save the lives of millions of pets across the nation, but actual numbers of stricken pets are far higher than both the U.S. government and the company that manufactured the tainted food are letting on, one local veterinarian says.

According to Dr. Jeffrey French, a veterinarian at Cape Ann Veterinary Hospital on Essex Avenue in Gloucester, pet deaths and illnesses have been “grossly under-reported” by the Food and Drug Administration and Menu Foods, the Toronto-based pet food manufacturing company whose “cuts and gravy” style foods have officially killed at least 14 cats and one dog, and sickened one woman in Ottawa.

As of several days ago, the Veterinarian Information Network (VIN), an Internet forum for veterinarians, reported 471 cases of cats and dogs that showed symptoms of having been poisoned, and 104 deaths due to kidney failure, Dr. French said... At least two cats from Cape Cod were sickened last week by tainted Iams food purchased at Shaw’s supermarkets. Both cats were treated by vets and released. Calls made to Shaw’s media relations office were not returned...  Read the rest of this Gloucester Times story here.  Leave a comment
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Senator Murray tips hand on casinos
OK for state but not for Plymouth

BOSTON — Senate President Therese Murray yesterday said she has an open mind about casino gambling, but added it could be a significant economic boost to the state and Southeastern Massachusetts.  "I think it would mean a lot for New Bedford," she said in an interview in her Senate office. "It would mean a lot for the revenue of the commonwealth. I'm told that two casinos in Connecticut make $500 million in revenue. Three hundred million of that comes from Massachusetts."

Sen. Murray said it would also create thousands of permanent jobs and construction jobs, "so I'm keeping an open mind" ... said she has been mistakenly described in some media accounts as an outright opponent of gambling.  She does oppose a casino in her hometown of Plymouth, saying there wasn't a place for it in the town. But she said the idea of a casino should be open for consideration in other parts of the state...  Read the rest of this Standard-Times story here.  Leave a comment
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Falmouth equestrian farm forced to close
Insurance now too costly, horses are homeless

EAST FALMOUTH, Mass. -- An equestrian farm is set to close now, the horses that used to call it home have nowhere to go.  The horses were being used to help people with disabilities.  That farm is closing - because of issues with insurance.

This is one of the last times Annmarie Corey (on right with young rider) will feed her seven horses at her stable in Falmouth.  For the last seven years, Corey has used her land to run a horseback riding program for children with disabilities.  In January, she had to sell her house and the land, after losing her property insurance...  Read the rest of this WHDH-TV story here.
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Coast Guard could build firing range at Camp Edwards

BOURNE, Mass.— Camp Edwards on the Massachusetts Military Reservation is one of two sites being considered for new firing ranges needed to train Coast Guard anti-terrorist units, officials say.  The "shoot houses," which would be configured to look like the inside of a ship or building, would be used by elite Coast Guard teams to train for close-quarters small arms combat.

After the 2001 terrorist attacks, the Coast Guard expanded its anti-terrorism and port security duties, which included the creation of 12 Maritime Safety and Security Teams...  The Massachusetts Military Reservation and a Coast Guard training area in Miami are in the running to host the ranges, Coast Guard officials said...  Read the rest of this Telegram story here.

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State sets foreclosure record (again);Repeat offenders deserve more time; Copyright threats erode free expression; Trawling ban will aid groundfish stocks; Writer finally writes

Repeat felons deserve lengthy jail time
Cape Cod murder victim inspires new law

Commit three violent felonies and you should spend the rest of your life in prison. Given the recent upsurge in mindless assaults like the fatal shooting of a Kentucky woman visiting relatives in Boston last weekend, society needs to demand harsh punishment for those found guilty of such behavior.

State Rep. Brad Hill, R-Ipswich, is proposing such a measure (H 972) with a bill he has filed that would impose a mandatory life sentence, without possibility of parole, after a person's third conviction for a serious violent crime. He was moved by the story of Leslie Gosule, who was murdered by a stranger from whom she had accepted a ride after her car broke down on Cape Cod in the summer of 1999...  Read the rest of this Salem News story here.Leave a comment 
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Fair Use It or Lose It
Copyright owners’ threats erode free expression

Tom Forsythe is an artist with a mission. In 1997, he created “Food Chain Barbie,” photographs depicting the iconic doll interacting with various kitchen appliances. The results—“Malted Barbie” and “Barbie Enchiladas,” among others—were intended, Forsythe said, “to critique the objectification of women associated with Barbie.”  Barbie’s manufacturer, Mattel, sued Forsythe for copyright and trademark infringement. Eventually, a federal court ruled for the artist, finding that “Food Chain Barbie” was protected as a “fair use” under both copyright and trademark law. The court explained that there are great public benefits to allowing critique of cultural icons. Letting Forsythe use Barbie’s image encourages “the very creativity” that is at the heart of copyright law.

This was a success story for free expression, but it cost four years of bruising litigation. Most people threatened with suit cannot afford the risk, the cost and the stress. (Forsythe was helped by pro bono counsel recruited by the ACLU.) Often, they cave in to “cease-and-desist” letters or legal threats, even though they might have a legitimate fair use defense....  Among the people we interviewed, for example, were the creator of a parody New York Times corrections page, an editor at the Cape Cod Voice and a small entrepreneur using the term “Pet Friendly Travel” for her company. They received cease-and-desist letters from (respectively) the New York Times itself, the Village Voice and a company selling “pet friendly” chew toys. None of them acquiesced...  Read the rest of this FAIR story here.  Leave a comment
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Backers: Trawling ban will aid groundfish stocks
Ban includes area from Cape Cod to the Canadian border

GLOUCESTER, Mass.— A new ban on inshore trawling for herring that will begin this summer will help struggling groundfish stocks by keeping more herring around for them to feed on, supporters of the move said.  Vessels using trawling gear to catch herring must now take the summers off in the inshore area of the Gulf of Maine as a result of a change in federal fishery regulations approved earlier this month.

Other kinds of gear, such as purse seine nets designed to catch pelagic species, will still be legal, causing some fishermen to cry foul because the hard limit for catching herring in Area 1A — 50,000 metric tons — remains in effect, meaning no more herring can be caught in Area 1A once that limit has been reached...  This change means that vessels cannot use trawl nets, funnel-shaped nets pulled behind the boat to catch fish, in the large inshore area 1A, which stretches from Cape Cod to the Canadian border. Vessels using purse seine gear, which is cast around a school, pulled upward and cinched at the top before being lifted out of the water, can still fish inshore...  Read the rest of this Gloucester Daily Times story here.  Leave a comment
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Stamford author finally finds his words
Cape Cod expatriot was Standard-Times writer

STAMFORD — Julian Padowicz leans with both hands on a chairback and stares at the ground in the basement of his Stamford home, thinking about past regrets. The book he wrote in 2006, he said he should have written 50 years ago.  I now realize if I had more faith in my writing, I could have been a big name now with lots of books," he said, "But it wasn't to be"...

"It wasn't very good," Padowicz said, and the book failed to attract publishers. After a year of penning human interest features for the New Bedford Standard Times in Massachusetts, Padowicz drifted from writing. He once had an interview with the Boston Globe, but his dread of being late caused him to arrive two hours early, so he ventured across the street to a local TV station to ask about writing jobs there...  Read the rest of this Stamford Times story here.
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State's foreclosures hit record highs for 2nd. consecutive month
Cape Cod foreclosures nearly double last years's 

2,227 foreclosures were initiated in Massachusetts in February 2007:

• Foreclosures nearly doubled in February 2007 compared to February 2006. The increase statewide was 85.43% (2,227 v. 1,201).
• On average, there were 111 foreclosure filings every business day in February.
• February 2007 set a record high for the second consecutive month, and marked the fifth consecutive month with over 2,000 foreclosure filings.
  

21,644 foreclosures were initiated in the past 12 months (March 1, 2006 through February 28, 2007):

• Foreclosures increased 81.97% statewide when comparing the past 12 months to the same period a year earlier (21,644 v. 11,894).
• Barnstable, Worcester and Bristol Counties experienced the largest increases. Barnstable County experienced a 95.45% increase (1,030 v. 527), Worcester County had a 93.60% increase (3,390 v. 1,751) and Bristol County jumped by 92.33% (2,031 v. 1,056).
• Every County except Nantucket saw substantial increases.

 Read the full report from ForeclosuresMass here.

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Hyannis Vets clinic has bugs; off-Delawar wants wind; Should courts oversee foreclosures?

Legislature urged to allow courts to oversee foreclosures
Major problems extend from Lawrence and Lowell to Barnstable

BOSTON — Secretary of State William F. Galvin yesterday called for the state Legislature to give the court system oversight over foreclosure cases in Massachusetts to protect thousands of homeowners who may have been victimized by predatory lenders. "We clearly have an emergency situation building here in Massachusetts," Mr. Galvin told the Joint Committee on Housing during a hearing at the Statehouse. "We are looking at over 22,000 notices of foreclosure already filed. There are many more in the pipeline to follow. Are we simply going to stand by while these homeowners lose their homes?"

...And Mr. Galvin noted it was affecting wide areas of the state, from poor cities like Lawrence and Lowell to suburban areas like the town of Barnstable.  Bristol County had 1,982 foreclosure notices from Jan. 31, 2006, to Jan. 31, 2007, a 93.74 percent increase over the same period the previous year...  Read the rest of this Standard-Times story here.  Leave a comment
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Review reveals mice, bugs at veterans’ facilities in New England
Reports of flies at an outpatient clinic in Hyannis

BOSTON -- A review of veterans’ hospitals and clinics in New England has revealed the presence of rodents, bugs, chronic leaks, dilapidated furniture and other poor conditions, according to a report...  The agency, in an investigation made public last week, found those facilities were beset by maintenance problems such as mold, leaking roofs and even a colony of bats.

In New England, the review found mice at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Providence, Rhode Island; persistent reports of flies at an outpatient clinic in Hyannis, Massachusetts; and broken furniture in Manchester, New Hampshire, the Boston Globe reported Monday...  Read the rest of this Herald story here.   Leave a comment
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Gone With The Wind
Delaware wants what Cape Cod fights

The rich may be moaning about wind turbines ruining their coastal views on Cape Cod, but in Delaware, citizens are ardently battling politicians -- and the coal industry -- to build the nation's largest offshore wind park.

Peter Mandelstam says he can power 130,000 Delaware homes without adding to the greenhouse gas emissions dangerously heating our planet. His proposed 600-megawatt offshore wind park -- the biggest such project yet unveiled in the United States -- could supply that power over 20 years cheaper than coal or gas, he vows.  

The tireless founder of Bluewater Wind, a wind energy developer, Mandelstam has been right before, having built a wind farm in Montana that provides power to more than 45,000 homes. And Delaware is no Cape Cod, where an offshore wind plan has stalled amid bitter controversy for the past six years. Polls show that offshore wind is overwhelmingly popular in this state, graded F for air pollution by the American Lung Association, whose coastal residents aren't griping about their ocean views being ruined...  Read the rest of this story in Spiegel here.

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O'Leary, Patrick announce $100M intiative; Cape murder victim's bill gets help; O'Keefe doesn't use witness-protection money;

Witness-protection money rarely used outside Boston's county
No requests made in Barnstable, Middlesex, Worcester counties

Nearly a year after a much-publicized witness-protection fund was made available in Massachusetts, data shows that most prosecutors have yet to take advantage of the fund.  In March 2006, then-Gov. Mitt Romney signed a bill entitled "An Act to Reduce Gang Violence in the Commonwealth," which contained a provision aimed at protecting critical witnesses and their families from potential dangers caused by their participation in criminal investigations.

During its inaugural year, Romney allocated $1 million for the fund, which provides a range of services, including relocation costs, housing assistance and 24-hour security.  But, with the exception of Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley, whose office filed 35 of the first 42 petitions under the new bill, recently released data from the Executive Office of Public Safety indicates that few others have opted to aggressively seek out the funds.

And some suggest that the lack of requests by prosecutors outside of Suffolk County could be why the fund has been slashed by 50 percent under Gov. Deval L. Patrick's proposed budget for fiscal 2008.

Barnstable County District Attorney Michael D. O'Keefe, whose office has not requested any assistance from the fund, said he considered using it in a few matters, including a drug and homicide case, but offered to take what he called "a more frugal approach" in deference to the larger counties.  "I realize that all of the funds have not been used in the inaugural year, and I think many smaller counties in terms of population had a certain hesitancy to be using the money in light of the dire need for it in our more urban areas — specifically Boston," he said...  Reat the rest of this Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly story here.  Leave a comment
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Kate Spade's $117 Lobsters; AF Sues to stop NUKE relicencing; Jamestown is jealous of Plimoth

Attorney General Office sues to stop Pilgrim Nuclear relicencing
NRC ignored "environmental impacts of serious spent fuel pool accidents"

The office of the Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley (shown on right) filed an appeal with the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit on Thursday, March 22, asking that the court review two orders by the NRC regarding licensing proceedings concerning Pilgrim and Vermont Yankee.

The Attorney Genmeral's office contends "that by refusing to address, in an environmental impact statement (EIS) the environmental impacts of serious spent fuel pool accidents caused by a wide range of factors including terrorist attacks, natural phenomena, operator error, and equipment failure, the NRC violated the Atomic Energy Act, the National Environmental Policy Act , the Administrative Procedure Act, and the NRC regulations for implementation of those statutes."

The suiit filed by the office of AG Martha Coakley asks the court to:

1.  review and reverse the NRC rulings on the AGO's Motions on Pilgrim and VY;
2. order the NRC to prepare an EIS for the renewal of the Pilgrim operating license that addresses the environmental impacts of serious spent fuel pool accidents caused by a wide range of factors including terrorist attacks, natural phenomena, operator error, and equipment failure.
3. declare that the NRC may not permit Entergy to continue to operate Pilgrim past the expiration of its current license in 2012 unless and until the NRC fully complies with its statutory and regulatory obligations for the renewal of the license; and
4. grant such other relief as the Court may deem appropriate.
   

See the Law Suit here.
This request is similar to the letter sent to the Attorny General and the NRC last week, see story here.  
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Fashion Report; Kate Spade does Cape Cod
Is the wold ready for a Lobster Hand Bag? 

Yesterday's Washington Post quote; "I'm loving Kate Spade bags this spring as well, especially the Cape Cod with the lobsters! "

The handbay on right is described thus;

cape cod jocelyn
cape cod immediately conjures up images of lobsters, sea shells, and schooners gliding into harbor. inspired by these symbols of summer, the kate spade cape cod collection is a bold, playful print with a nautical theme.

• lightweight canvas with cowhide leather trim
• handheld clutch for daytime and evening
• zip closure
•  interior slide pocket
• light gold plated hardware
• larabee dot cotton twill lining
• imported...  $215.00
  

and the Lobster Tote
     
cape cod griffen pvc
cape cod immediately conjures up images of lobsters, sea shells, and schooners gliding into harbor. inspired by these symbols of summer, the kate spade cape cod collection is a bold, playful print with a nautical theme.

• clear pvc trimmed with boarskin leather
• handheld tote for daytime and weekends
• open top
• interior zip pocket
• imported...  $145.00

 With lobsters around here selling for around $5 a pound, that comes to $117.50 a pond and you can't even eat them.
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In its 400th year, Jamestown rising to Plymouth's prominence
And it's pulp fiction with slavery and cannibalism

Capt. John Smith (shown on right being savied by Pocahontas in an old woodcut), the pint-sized adventurer, left a breathless narrative of his exploits.   Commerce took root here, and so did tobacco and slavery. Then there was the cannibalism.  Still, as the nation prepares to commemorate Jamestown's 400th anniversary in May, many see this swampy outpost on the James River as a coming attraction to the Pilgrims' arrival at Plymouth Rock, even though fans of the buckled shoe will have to wait until 2020 to mark Plymouth's fourth century.

New Englanders, for example, easily tick off why the Massachusetts attraction trumps Jamestown - the Thanksgiving feast, the Pilgrims' pure pursuit of religious freedom, and the Mayflower.

Jamestown is " the creation story from hell"

Jamestown, on the other hand, "is the creation story from hell," writes one historian in a new book on the settlement, "The Jamestown Project." Conflict, disease, horrific killings and starvation - including a man dining on his pregnant wife - are all part of the back story of Jamestown, founded in 1607 as a business venture.

"It's pulp nonfiction compared to the family friendly tale of pious Pilgrims dining with gentle Indians," author Tony Horwitz writes in reviewing a raft of new Jamestown books for The Washington Post... Plymouth's higher profile may have been on Vice President Dick Cheney's mind when he addressed the Virginia General Assembly in January at Jamestown.  "The history of our country did not begin on Cape Cod in 1620," Cheney said to a rousing response from legislators...  Read the rest of this Jacksonville Times-Union story here.

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Banknorth closes 2 offices; Barnstable char ter school a model; Barnstable office charged

Banknorth plans layoffs, closings
Will close offices in Marion and Barnstable

 PORTLAND, Maine— TD Banknorth Inc., which operates Worcester-based TD Banknorth (formerly CCB&T on Cape Cod) Massachusetts, said it would cut 70 jobs in Massachusetts, part of a larger plan unveiled yesterday to trim 400 employees and close 24 branches.
The two branches in Massachusetts slated to close are in Marion and Barnstable, said spokesman Jeffrey A. Nathanson.  TD Banknorth, which has 9,100 employees, said about 20 percent of the total job cuts would come from its 607 retail branches, which operate in eight states.

TD Banknorth, the U.S. consumer-banking unit of Toronto-Dominion Bank, has struggled in recent quarters with narrowed lending margins and stiff competition for loans. The company earlier this year announced plans to trim expenses before 2008 by between 5 percent and 8 percent, or between $50 million and $80 million... Read the rest of this Telegram story here.  Leave a comment
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Barnstable embraces bright side of the charter school model

^{This is the second of three stories about how the pressures of Proposition 2½ combined with creative management to improve schools in Barnstable, Mass.}

In 1993, the hostilities between Barnstable’s municipal government and the school community were heating up. Proposition 2½ in Massachusetts had put all town and school budgets on a serious fiscal diet, and many towns were hosting shrill debates similar to Barnstable’s.

In 1993, Massachusetts passed its landmark Education Reform Act. Some of its provisions were designed to help financially distressed districts and school communities cut through a wastefully expensive tangle of rules, regulations, laws, contracts and policies. Bureaucratic procedures and constraints prevented school professionals from responding directly and quickly to children’s needs.

The Reform Act tried to help school communities take back decision-making powers from overbearing bureaucracies, by promoting “site-based management.” So, for example, school-site councils got more authority to manage their work, and principals were responsible for hiring the staff. But even these provisions were so slow and imperfect that Massachusetts later passed charter-school laws to increase school autonomy further...  Read the rest of this Providence Journal story here.  Leave a comment
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Officer Accused Of Assaulting Boys Who Fired Paintball At Car
Was accused of assaulting a woman in '03

A Barnstable, Massachusetts police officer is due in court next week after being charged with assaulting three youngsters who shot paintball pellets at his personal car on New Year's Eve. Officer John O'Hare, who was off-duty at the time, allegedly confronted the pre-teen boys after finding them hiding in the woods...  Read the rest of this WSCH-TV story here.

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Shellfishermen to get $1,400 for Red Tide damage; Flatley sells 2 Cape malls to Jeremiah W. O'Connor Jr.

Disaster aid for red tide will net each shellfisherman about $1,400

Local shellfishermen can expect on average about $1,400 from federal natural disaster aid, declared in response to a severe red tide bloom in the summer of 2005 that shut down much of the local industry for about three months.

The federal government declared the bloom a natural disaster last summer and allocated $2 million to Massachusetts shellfishermen. This week, the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries held meetings in Gloucester, Chatham and Bourne to explain to shellfishermen how the money will be distributed and how to apply.

"It will be based on landings' value and the duration of the closure," said Mark Rousseau, the red tide relief coordinator for the Division of Marine Fisheries...  A large red tide bloom shut down the shellfish industry from New Hampshire to Cape Cod in 2005. On June 9, 2005, then-Gov. Mitt Romney declared a state of emergency and five days later, the U.S. Department of Commerce declared New England's outbreak a commercial fishery failure eligible for federal assistance.  The federal government appropriated $5 million in disaster aid for the 2005 bloom; $2 million was allocated for Massachusetts, less the $100,000 for administrative expenses...   Read the rest of this Gloucster Times story here.  Leave a comment
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UPDATE:
Flatley picks buyer for properties

A joint venture of Boston-based Wilder Cos. and New York's O'Connor Capital Partners will buy out Tom Flatley's retail portfolio.

The portfolio of 10 properties will sell for about $500 million, Jeremiah W. O'Connor Jr., managing partner of O'Connor Capital Partners, confirmed.

O'Connor, when reached by telephone on Thursday at his New York office, said he was buying the retail portfolio which he described as "very high quality" assets in a supply constrained market where it is difficult to develop retail property...  Read the Boston Business Journal report here.  Below is the original story which appeared here two days ago.
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Flatley looks to sell good bit of his empire
Southwind Plaza in Hyannis and Falmouth Mall to go

Stories don't get much better than the Tom Flatley story. Born in Ireland, Flatley came to America in 1950, at the age of 18, with $32 in his pocket. He went to work at a German delicatessen in the Bronx, did a hitch in the service and then went to night school on the G I Bill, earning plumber's, electrician's, and builder's licenses. He bought his first house in 1957 and built six apartments on 5 extra acres.  Over 50 years Flatley built a real estate fortune worth $1.3 billion, according to Forbes magazine. But he isn't one to talk about his accomplishments. He is, as Forbes once called him, "the anti-Trump," a man who hates the spotlight. He is at once a tough businessman -- "If flies land on him, he'll get a good rent," says one long-time admirer -- and one of Boston's most generous benefactors. Even then, he doesn't believe much in hand outs...

Flatley says he is near a deal to sell his entire portfolio of shopping centers in suburban Boston, Cape Cod, and southern New Hampshire. Together the 10 properties are expected to fetch about $500 million. Flatley is also shopping his Braintree Hill Office Park, which consists of four office buildings totaling nearly 500,000 square feet of space on a 24-acre campus. Asking price: about $120 million. More sales are expected to follow... Read the rest of this Globe story here.  
EDITOR's NOTE: The Flatley Companies owns two malls here, Southwind Plaza in Hyannis and the Falmouth Mall shown above on right.  

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State to spend Gay tourism dollars; Cape medical examiner funded; Search for missing 17-old extends to Eastham; Murray to allow Gay Marriage vote

Media blitz aimed at gay tourists: State launches ad campaign
Patrick admin moves to help hospitality industry here

Tourism agencies, including the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism, are tapping into the gay media to woo visitors to the Bay State. In the coming months, MOTT is looking to make inroads into the gay tourism market with new advertising campaigns. And, under Gov. Deval Patrick’s administration, the state-funded agency hired Ken Brissette, director of specialized marketing, whose mission is to attract gay and lesbian tourists to the state.

"I think Massachusetts has a great opportunity now to attract that clientele,” Brissette said. This year MOTT will sponsor the Gay Pride festival in Boston. The agency has also launched a major public relations campaign, reaching out to publications like the Advocate and Out Traveler in the hopes of hosting tours around the state. And MOTT is reworking its Web site, adding a regular feature tailored to gay consumers...  In addition to its gay marketing initiative, MOTT unveiled a new $3.4 million advertising campaign that will break Monday targeted at a general audience. The general ad campaign will also try to expand people’s view of tourism to the rest of Massachusetts beyond Cape Cod and Boston, said Beth White, MOTT’s director of marketing and communications... Read the rest of this Herald story here.  Leave a comment
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Governor Patrick to approve $1.47b for projects
Includes $1.2 million to reopen the medical examiner's facility on Cape

Governor Deval Patrick said yesterday he plans to sign a $1.47 billion emergency borrowing package that includes money for vital road and bridge repairs, a new psychiatric hospital in Central Massachusetts, four long-awaited transit projects, and the beleaguered state medical examiner's office...

Big-ticket items in the bill, passed by both the House and Senate yesterday, include a $250 million state psychiatric hospital in Worcester that will replace facilities in Worcester and Westborough that are in disrepair...  The bill also includes $1.2 million to reopen the medical examiner's facility on Cape Cod and about $100,000 to fix the ventilation system at the South End headquarters of the state medical examiner, which came under fire last week for severe overcrowding and mismanagement...  Read the rest of this Globe story here.  Leave a comment 
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State police join search for missing 17-year-old on cape
Charlton officers pass out fliers about teenager who disappeared

State police have joined Charlton police in investigating the disappearance of a 17-year-old Shepherd Hill Regional High School student 10 days ago.  Jeremy D. Carroll, of 17 Boynton Road, North Brookfield, was last seen waiting for a ride home about 3 p.m. March 13 near a friend’s house on Beach Road, according to police...  Jeremy is described as about 5 feet, 11 inches tall, weighing 170 pounds, with brown hair and blue eyes.

He has family and friends in Charlton and North Brookfield, and in Eastham on Cape Cod.  Police detectives are asking anyone with information to call (508) 248-2266...  Read the rest of this Telegram story here.  Leave a comment 
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Murray vows vote on gay marriage
Senate president looks to defeat ban

Senate President Therese Murray, who supported an effort last fall to kill a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage without a vote, said yesterday that she will use her power as the new leader of the Senate and of the Constitutional Convention to ensure that lawmakers take an up-or-down vote on the amendment.

Murray, a strong supporter of same-sex unions, said she will continue to help round up votes to defeat the marriage ban but will oppose any move to bury the proposed amendment with parliamentary tactics...  Murray's statement stands in sharp contrast to the vote she took at a Constitutional Convention in November, when she backed a recess motion designed to kill the proposal by keeping it from moving to the 2007-2008 legislative session for a final vote...  Read the rest of this Globe story here.  

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Cape Air heading west? Gore wows Washington; Murray promises much

Cape Air may open Oregon service
Outlook still good for commuter air service in Newport

The possibility of reestablishing commuter air service at the Newport Municipal Airport is still strong, and the CEO of the firm most likely to be providing that service was in Newport last week to discuss the opportunities.

 Dan Wolf (shown on right) heads up Cape Air, an airline based in Hyannis, Mass. He was in Oregon last Thursday to meet with members of the Oregon Airport Managers Association, and he also flew to Newport and met at the airport with members of the Lincoln County Daily Air Service Recruitment and Seat Guarantee Committee. This is a group of community leaders that is advocating for and developing funding for daily air service to and from Lincoln County.

More than a year ago, Wolf signed a letter of intent to bring air service to Newport and Astoria, which would fly daily flights to and from Portland International Airport. That agreement hinged on the airports being successful in obtaining a Connect Oregon grant, or some other source of funding to guarantee a certain amount of revenue for the airline.

This bid for a Connect Oregon grant in 2006 was not successful, but the idea didn't die. Lincoln County officials have continued working toward making commuter service a reality, and Wolf's comments last week indicated that he, too, would still like to establish a presence on the Oregon coast. In fact, he said whenever he visits the area he tends to lose focus on this being strictly a business decision. "My primary feeling whenever I come here is I want to live here." He added that the support Cape Air has received from this area "is huge," and "it's an honor to be recognized as the top carrier to bring service here."

Wolf said the Oregon coast (Newport is a two and a half hour flight from Portland) is the perfect type of niche market, consistent with what Cape Air does in other markets. "I think it's a good fit," he said... 

No firm decisions were made at Thursday's meeting, but all in attendance seemed to agree that the prospects were promising. Wolf said that in addition to providing a needed service to coastal residents, he anticipates a great deal of interest in people flying to the coast from other areas, once a connection with PDX has been established. "I have no doubt that with this place being what it is, people are going to come to it." And he sees a lot of potential for the area. "I think a good way to do it...is build a credible, reliable service (and then) figure out later what opportunities there are to expand it." Read the rest of this Newport OR News-Times story here.  Photo and story courtesy of Steve Card, assistant editor for the News-Times.   Leave a comment
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Gore tells Congress of 'crisis', mentions that Cape Cod Manatee
He urges his former colleagues to act boldly on global warming
Former Vice President says "Nature is on the run"

WASHINGTON - The doors swung open and he made his entrance as cameras clicked. The man who was called a wooden politician, was denied the presidency and was derided as "Ozone Man" was coming home to the Capitol. But this time they called him a movie star and likened him to a prophet.

Al Gore left Washington seven years ago after the disputed 2000 election. He returned yesterday as the subject of an Academy Award-winning film, a nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize, a 58-year-old who can share a stage with Leonardo DiCaprio and manage to be the center of attention..."It seems that everything is blamed on global warming," Inhofe said. "Last summer, we had a heat wave and everyone said, 'Oh, that's proof it's global warming.' Then we had a mild December. 'Oh, that's proof that global warming is taking place.' ... How come you guys never seem to notice it when it gets cold?"

Gore held firm, noting that a manatee showed up near Memphis, Tenn., last summer. "First time ever," he said. "It got too hot in southern Florida. I'm not making this up. Another one showed up off of Cape Cod, first time ever. Nature is on the run."  Read the rest of this Baltimore Sun story here.  

• Read The Globe's story Gore takes his global warming battle to Congress here.  
• Revisit the Cape Cod Manatee visit here.  Leave a comment

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Cape Senator Murray to focus on healthcare, housing
Assumes leadership of the state Senate

Senator Therese Murray, a single mother who rose from a working-class upbringing in Dorchester to become the state's first female legislative leader, said her agenda as Senate president would be inspired by those who struggle to get by in a sometimes hostile world, with a focus on affordable housing, healthcare, and education.

In a sharp departure from traditional Beacon Hill priorities, Murray, the first legislative leader in decades who does not represent primarily urban interests, also pledged to focus on helping fishermen and farmers, who she said are "slowly being squeezed out of existence."

"Their plight, like the plight of so many others, is what first stirred me to public office and to this body," the Plymouth Democrat told a packed chamber yesterday shortly after her peers elected her president. "Whether it is a single mom working two jobs to make ends meet, a senior citizen having to choose between prescription drugs or food, veterans of all ages . . . these are the people we have pledged to serve. And they all have a voice through us, and they must be heard."   Read the rest of this Globe story here.  Leave a comment

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