EXTRA...

Dr. Gryboski reveals a secret; Dana Faria is a winner;

Fatal Cape shooting reveals a secret
In hindsight, doctor's family says it now sees abuse 

Last summer, after a fishing trip on Cape Cod, Ann Gryboski and her sister Ellie were in the kitchen talking with their husbands when Ann's husband, Patrick Lancaster, described how he'd gotten into a fight with a co-worker. He wanted to demonstrate what he'd done, so he grabbed Ann tightly around the neck and held her in a near-chokehold until she told him to stop.

"We were shocked that he did it, but to him it was a joke," says Ellie, who lives in Maryland.

Though Ann's family knew how verbally abusive Lancaster was -- they had all suffered his barbs over the years -- they never knew that he was physically abusive, too.

Few people apparently knew much about what was happening at 11 Coach Lane in Barnstable until Ann Gryboski shot and killed Lancaster on Easter Sunday. She told police she killed him as he came at her when she attempted to break up a fight between him and their 25-year-old son, Christopher.

Gryboski, a doctor in South Yarmouth, also told police that Lancaster had physically and mentally abused her and their two sons for years... Read the rest of this Globe story here.  Leave a comment
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Patrick's education advisor offers experienced voice
A Cape Verdian he has long connections with Cape Cod

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. - Dana Mohler-Faria had spent the day in Boston. Instead of going home to his wife and son on the Bridgewater State College campus, the college president stopped by the Student Government Association meeting.

It was 8:30 p.m. He stayed until 9:45 p.m.  "He hadn't eaten dinner yet. He was exhausted," recalled Abby Sherwood, a 22-year-old senior and student government member. "His dedication just really shows in all that he does."

That commitment is one reason why Gov. Deval Patrick, who is considering a massive reform of the state's education system, is relying on Mohler-Faria to help him shape a proposal that will reveal the governor's goals for toddlers, college students and everyone between.  Long before being the governor's top education adviser, the grandson of Cape Verdean immigrants was told by Wareham High guidance counselors that he wasn't college material. So he joined the Air Force. Four years later, he was ready to give college a shot, and worked odd jobs to pay for classes at Cape Cod Community College...  Read the rest of this Globe story here.  Leave a comment
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CCH Accountant Allegedly Stole Thousands From Hospital

BARNSTABLE Police on the Cape are still trying to figure out exactly how a woman diverted money from her hospital job into a cheerleading account. For nine years, Michelle Wiseman of Centerville was a junior accountant at Cape Cod Hospital. During that time, police say she embezzled thousands.

"The detective division has traced it back to 2005, with help of the hospital and the hospital accountants," said Barnstable Police Sgt. John Sweeney. "So far, more than $83,000."  Read the rest of this WBZ story here.

According to the Cape Cod Times, "Wiseman, 39, of 8 Lester Circle in Centerville, allegedly stole $83,065 from Cape Cod Hospital during a two year period, Murphy said. It's unclear whether she stole anything from the Silver Bullets, the Barnstable school system's cheerleading group..."   Leave a comment
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Cape Cod Times to cut 12 workers amid declining ad revenues
Circulation down to 41,000 from 50,000 peak in the past

HYANNIS - The Cape Cod Times announced it will cut 12 positions through layoffs and buyouts as it deals with declining advertising revenues. The newspaper will lay off the equivalent of 4.5 full time customer service workers. The paper said it expects about eight employees from various department to accept voluntary buyouts.  The Times is one of eight daily newspapers owned by the Ottaway newspaper chain, based in Campbell Hall, N.Y.  Ottaway, which employs about 2,000 people, is eliminating 67 positions through layoffs and buyouts, said spokesman Ken Hall. Ottaway’s first quarter results showed a 3.5 percent drop in revenues from the year before. The Cape Cod Times showed a similar drop in revenues for that quarter.

 The cuts come as the newspaper industry struggles to deal with competition from the Internet and build profitable online businesses. Times publisher Peter Meyer said he doesn’t see the cuts as a sign of long term weakness at his paper.   "It’s just an adjustment in our course," he said. "And I feel very positive about our future."   See the original Cape Cod Times story here. 

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New Bedford fights for casino; RI ready to compete; Why Cape rates are so high; NH wants wind

New Bedford not giving up despite tribe's deal in Middleborough
Tribe's backers only had to post $5,000 to bid on Friday

New Bedford officials said Saturday they will step up efforts to convince the Mashpee Wampanoag Indians to build a casino in their city, despite an agreement by the tribe's backers to purchase land in nearby Middleborough as a possible casino site.

"They'd be taking the second best option," said New Bedford City Councilor David Alves.   Alves said he'll continue to aggressively market a 95-acre waterfront location as a spot for a casino.  "We're a welcome host for gaming, unlike many communities that have been untested," Alves said. "Middleborough has not said wholeheartedly that they'll take it."

The Mashpee Wampanoags received federal recognition as a tribe on Feb. 15, and tribal leaders want Gov. Deval Patrick and Beacon Hill lawmakers to pass legislation allowing them to build a casino...  Read the rest of this Telegram story here.  Leave a comment
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With makeover, Twin River tries to be more than the convenient casino

LINCOLN, R.I. — The gaming floor at Twin River casino is a mass of colors, lights and sound.  Thousands of video slot machines demand the attention of passers-by with flashing screens and digitized dinging. Sails cling to pillars surrounding a lighthouse that towers over the room, and a video of the rapper 50 Cent plays on a giant projection screen. It's cold, it's rainy and it's a Thursday, but the place seems about half full, and there's a long line for valet parking.

The recently opened expansion is a far cry from the casino's origins as the old Lincoln Park, the name it gave up this past March. With its chandeliers, balconies and stylized clouds and seagulls hanging from a high ceiling, it more closely resembles a room at Foxwoods or Mohegan Sun...  Read the rest og this Standard-Times story here.  Leave a comment
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Why Cape Cod insurance rates are so high:
Insurer says rates reflect real storm threat

John "Jack" Golembeski, 63, is the chief executive of the Massachusetts Fair Plan, the state's home insurer of last resort. The Fair Plan insures 41 percent of the homes on the Cape and islands, up from 3 percent in 2000. State regulators last August approved a 25 percent increase in the Fair Plan's base annual premium and another 25 percent increase is in the works. Golembeski spoke to Globe reporter Bruce Mohl.

Q Insurers say premiums are going up because of the threat of a hurricane hitting the Cape. Is the threat real?

A New England is due. It's not a matter of if; it's when.

Q Why are rates on the Cape going up so much faster than other coastal areas in the state?

A When modelers look at the Cape and the way the Cape is situated out in the ocean, it's almost like Florida. A storm coming into the Cape, even a moderate to a strong Category 3 storm, is going to do catastrophic damage. Insurers are unwilling to bet the survival of their companies on writing business in that coastal area.

Q As insurers withdraw from the Cape, what role does the Fair Plan play?

A We are a creature of government in partnership with the insurance industry to provide a safety valve for property insurance. Our operation does everything that a normal insurance company does, with one exception. We do not have a marketing department. We do not go out and solicit business. The business comes to us through independent insurance agents when they have no market with which to place the business.

Q What specifically is driving rates up on the Cape?   Read the rest of this Globe story here.   Leave a comment
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Some NH lawmakers support offshore wind turbines

Several New Hampshire state lawmakers say they support the possibility of locating windmill turbines off New Hampshire's coast to generate electricity, though with some reservations.  "I think it's a very important alternative and we clearly should explore it," said Sen. Martha Fuller-Clark, D-Portsmouth.

The lawmakers spoke with the Sunday Citizen recently, after HB 873 passed this month. The bill requires electricity providers to get a minimum percentage of their power from renewable resources. Fuller-Clark was among the bill's sponsors.
...New Hampshire has wind resources consistent with utility-scale production, with the best sites on land on ridge crests in the White Mountain region, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.

There's more wind offshore, but the challenges a proposed wind project off Cape Cod is facing likely would apply to proposals off New Hampshire's coast, said Joseph Broyles, energy program manager with the New Hampshire Office of Energy and Planning...  Read the rest of this Foster's Daily story here.  

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Rogue wave hits boat 80 miles off Cape Cod

Rogue wave broadsides Gloucester dragger
Stuck boat 80 miles off Cape Cod

Kirk Wonson and the crew of the Gloucester-based dragger Grace Marie nearly found out the hard way how life can often imitate art.

“I had just watched the (Discovery Channel’s) ‘Deadliest Catch’ series that showed a rogue wave hit a crab boat at night and nearly roll it over. Twenty minutes later, (a rogue wave) slammed us broadsides,” said Wonson, who was on watch in the Grace Marie’s pilothouse at midnight April 5 while owner and operator Sebastian “Busty” Noto and crewmen Dan Sullivan and Matteo Ferrara slept below in the fo’c’sle.

The olive-green-and-white stern trawler was towing its fishing gear at about three knots on the bottom 80 miles off of Cape Cod side-to a southwest wind, howling up to 40 knots with 12-foot waves that night.

Big wall of water

The wave’s impact and loud bang immediately woke Noto and sent him running to the pilothouse. “From the noise, I knew it was a wave,” he said. Wonson barely had time to get off of the pedestaled chair that he had been sitting on near the steering wheel and controls before Noto arrived...  Read the rest of this Gloucester Times story here.

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Tribe wants Middleborough; GOP wants Cape Cod; Coast Guard in two rescues

Tribe's Middleborough land bid may lead to casino
Other possible locations are New Bedford, Revere, & Brockton

The Mashpee Wampanoag Indian tribe has made its first move to open a casino in Massachusetts by agreeing to purchase a 125-acre tract in Middleborough.  Glenn Marshall , chairman of the tribe, said the land acquisition by Detroit casino developer Herb Strather on behalf of the tribe may mean a casino will one day rise out of the woods in that rural corner of Southeastern Massachusetts, but not necessarily.

"We haven't decided 100 percent on Middleborough," Marshall said by phone last night. "There are several parcels in several cities and towns that we are still considering. But we saw this parcel was coming up for auction and decided to move on it."  Marshall said that tribal leaders have already begun discussions with town officials, but that there's no commitment yet from the town.  "We've had a couple of good meetings," he said. "We're still negotiating."

It's possible that the land, near busy Route 44, could be used for tribal housing instead of a casino, he said.  Strather, a longtime financial backer of the tribe, yesterday bid $1.7 million on the parcel on Precinct Street at an auction at Town Hall. He wrote a check for $5,000 to qualify to bid and has 45 days to pay the balance...  Read the rest of this story here. 

Great disappointment in New Bedford

New Bedford officials took the news with varying degrees of disappointment. New Bedford has been mentioned as a possible location for a Wampanoag casino, and tribal officials have attempted to schedule a meeting with a gaming committee of the City Council. The tribe also opened a satellite office in downtown New Bedford.

"It's disappointing to me. New Bedford still offers the best potential, the best infrastructure, the best location," said Councilor David Alves, who chairs the council's gaming committee. "I still think the door is open and the potential is there in New Bedford, despite the Mashpee's investment. Everything is still on the table."  Read thew rest of this Standard-Times story here.
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Bay State GOP's new chief seeks to grow party from the bottom up
And he thinks Cape Cod is the bottom

I had lunch with Peter Torkildsen a bit over a week ago to find out what he was doing to regenerate the state's Republican Party. I hadn't seen him since he lost the 6th Congressional District seat to John Tierney back in 1996, and it was catch-up time.   Torkildsen has his hands full with what he's trying to do as his party's new state chairman, and I suggested we might talk about that.

It's a mountain to climb that most would think extremely daunting. He doesn't... "We're establishing candidate schools in our cities and towns," he said, adding that the greater Interstate 495 belt where Republicans have done better than the statewide average has plenty of potential. Other areas where he hopes to expand GOP fortunes are on Cape Cod and around Worcester...  Read the rest of this Daily News of Newburyport story here.  
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County OKs Elk Mountain compound for Osterville's Bill Koch
Popular lodge near Ashcroft to become single- family home
   
PITKIN COUNTY CO — Elk Mountain Lodge, a popular spot for parties, weddings and other events, won approval from Pitkin County commissioners Wednesday to become a single-family home.  With the approval, the 28,000-square-foot Castle Creek Shangri-La, which is located near the ghost town of Ashcroft, is poised to become a 27,500-square-foot, 17-bedroom luxury compound with a swimming pool and tennis court for the pending buyer, energy magnate Bill Koch.

The 52-acre property was sold for $3.5 million in 1992 and listed for $24.5 million before it went under contract in September 2006, according to county records and published reports. It was listed as one of the most expensive ski homes in the U.S. by Forbes in 2005...  The buyer, Bill Koch, is majority owner of the energy firm Oxbow Corp. He lost a protracted, public legal battle with two brothers over stake in the family oil business, Koch Industries, in 1998. An avid collector and yachtsman, his boat won the 1992 America's Cup against Italy...

In 2005, Koch was in the news for bankrolling the fight against a 130 turbine wind farm proposed for Nantucket Sound, Mass.  According to Cape Cod Today, Koch donated more than $1.1 million to help stop the project.  Koch married Bridget Rooney, granddaughter of Pittsburgh Steelers founder Art Rooney, in 2005...  Read the rest of this Aspen Times story here.  
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A worker fell off a cliff and a boat in Plymouth Harbor 

The Coast Guard rescued a man who fell off a cliff and saved a fishing vessel from sinking in Plymouth, Wednesday.

An HH-60 Jayhawk helicopter from Air Station Cape Cod, a 47-foot motor lifeboat from Station Point Allerton, and a 25-foot response boat from Station Cape Cod Canal sped to assist a 40-foot Plymouth-based fishing boat taking on water and in danger of sinking with three people aboard just outside of Plymouth harbor. The Station Point Allerton 47-footer arrive on scene about 10:15 p.m. and provide assistance escorting the vessel to Green Harbor.  The HH-60 helicopter and the 25-foot response boat were both launched but were returned to base before arriving on scene.

One of the crewmembers aboard Sea Princess, called Coast Guard Sector Boston on channel 16, VHF-FM radio about 8:50 p.m. to report that the vessel was taking on water at an uncontrollable rate. He stated that the captain and crewmen were donning survival suits and had already deployed the life raft.

Sector Boston issued a radio broadcast urging mariners in the area to assist. The tug Catherine Foss responded and arrived on scene with the Sea Princess about 9:10 p.m. Additionally, the Plymouth harbor master responded and arrived about 9:45 p.m. Catherine Foss crewmembers provided dewatering pumps and took the three Sea Princess crewmen aboard.

Douglas Randall, Joseph Dorsi and another Sea Princess crewmember re-boarded their vessel when it was almost completely dewatered, and they realized that the engine had come off its mount, exposing the sea chest. The crew plugged the sea chest and the Sea Princess began making way under its own power toward Green Harbor, Mass., about 10:15 p.m. The motor lifeboat put the Sea Princess on a 15-minute communications schedule while escorting it to the state fish pier. Sea Princess was safely moored about midnight.

Earlier, an HH-60 Jayhawk helicopter from Air Station Cape Cod responded to a request from the Plymouth police department to airlift a man who had fallen from a cliff in Plymouth and landed on the rocks below.

The helicopter arrived on scene about 3:50 p.m., airlifted the patient and transported him to Jordan Hospital in Plymouth. He was in stable condition upon arrival at the hospital.

 

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Patrick meets with educators; Fair Plan 25% jump; D'Amour murder case redux; Guc want foreclosure oversight

State higher-education chiefs meet in historic first

BRIDGEWATER — His master plan for public higher education is still six weeks from being unveiled, but Gov. Deval Patrick yesterday gathered all the heads of colleges and universities to let them know that if they work together, he will go to bat for them in the Legislature because they represent the state's future. It was a predictable promise, perhaps, but the meeting itself was extraordinary: No one in the room in Bridgewater State College's Maxwell Library could recall a previous governor convening a summit meeting of this kind.... 

Adm. Richard Gurnon, president of Massachusetts Maritime Academy (Bourne), said "for decades the colleges have been fighting over scraps" when they ought to have a unified voice speaking through a point person in the administration, "a roomwide advocate for public education." 

(UMass Dartmouth Chancellor Jean F.) Dr. MacCormack said that not only was it the first time a governor has convened a meeting of the whole higher education system in this way, it also was unusual for presidents and chancellors from the entire state to get together, with or without the governor. "I think we'll be doing more of this," she said later, observing that in Southeastern Massachusetts and Cape Cod, regional meetings have been held regularly.

Sen. Robert O'Leary, who represents the Cape and Islands, attended the session and observed that "public higher education has not been a high priority in the Legislature," but that Gov. Patrick can change that. "What we need is leadership from the governor's office."  Read the rest of this Standard-Times story here.  Leave a comment

Rochcester man cited in accident which killed UC Tech coach

WAREHAM — An 18-year-old Rochester man was cited for vehicular homicide after an accident that left a motorcyclist dead, police said Wednesday.  Bradford Arone of Duhamel Avenue was also cited for failure to yield to oncoming traffic, police Lt. Irving Wallace said.

Joshua D. Garcia, 24, of Marvel Street, Marion, was riding his motorcycle north on County Road at about 4:20 p.m. Monday, police said. At the same time, Mr. Arone was turning left from Wishbone Way onto County Road...  Read the rest of this Standard-Times story here.  Leave a comment
See accident story here.  

Suzanne D'Amour's ex-lawyer jailed
The Republican - The Suzanne D'Amour saga, already replete with lawyers, guns and money, has expanded in all three areas.   One of her former lawyers, Richard R. Birchall, has been jailed on Cape Cod in lieu of the $3.3 million she says he owes her. Birchall was originally arrested last week after his mother said he was threatening to shoot people.

Birchall, 62, has been in the Barnstable County Correctional Facility in Bourne since last Wednesday, when a small army of police arrested him outside his Orleans home following what the Cape Cod Times called a standoff.  Police said they received word from Birchall's elderly mother, Marilyn, who also lives at the house, that she heard him say he had bought a gun and would "shoot anybody who tries to stop me if they come here," according to an account in the newspaper.

On Monday in Orleans District Court, Judge H. Gregory Williams dismissed charges of threatening to commit murder and disorderly conduct against Birchall.   But the judge has kept Birchall in jail while deciding whether to hold him in contempt for not paying D'Amour, who lives in Brewster, nearly $3 million that belongs to her....   Leave a comment

FAIR Plan Bids for 13% Statewide, 25% Cape Rate Hike
The FAIR Plan, which writes property insurance for those who can't obtain it in the private market, has taken on a leading role in providing coverage on Cape Cod and coastal areas as insurers have sought to limit their exposure in these storm-prone areas. It currently insures more than 130,000 homes statewide, including a third of all homeowners on Cape Cod.

The FAIR Plan has proposed overall average rate increase of 13.2 percent for Homeowners Multi-Peril Insurance and 8 percent for Dwelling Fire and Extended Coverage.  Included in the FAIR Plan's proposal is a 25 percent rate increase for homeowners on Cape Cod and in Plymouth and New Bedford and 8.3 percent increase for those in another coastal community, Fall River...  Leave a comment

Patrick seeks crackdown on foreclosure fraud, enhanced oversight
Deval Patrick, reacting to record numbers of people losing their homes, called Wednesday for the criminalization of foreclosure fraud...  Leave a comment

Legislators ask Patrick to reinstate DMR chief
The dismissal of the popular official has sparked a backlash in the Legislature and added to rising tensions between lawmakers and the Democratic governor.  In an unusually tough public rebuttal, the governor's senior staff accused the legislators of trying to "micromanage" Patrick's attempts to build his own executive team and gain control of a state bureaucracy that has been in Republican hands for 16 years.  Leave a comment  

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Young UC coach dies in crash; New Bedford won't oppose rail extention to Bourne; Foreclosures continue historic climb; Many navigation buoys lst

New Bedford commuter proponents won't oppose Wareham rail extention
Buzzards Bay spur could cost as much as $104 million

BOSTON — Proponents of a long-awaited plan to bring commuter rail to New Bedford and Fall River say they won't oppose a lobbying effort for a separate rail extension to Wareham and Bourne.

Gov. Deval Patrick has pledged to bring a Boston commuter rail link to New Bedford and Fall River by 2016. Funding for the $1.4 billion extension of the MBTA's Stoughton line is uncertain, but Gov. Patrick has said innovative ideas would be considered, such as tapping new tax revenue along the rail line.

Gov. Patrick said he would spend $17 million on preliminary work on New Bedford-Fall River rail in the next few years.

At the same time, public officials in another part of the SouthCoast want the state to extend the MBTA's Middleboro-Lakeville line to Wareham and Buzzards Bay. Some put the cost as low as $40 million, since the state owns tracks that are already used for freight.

Sen. Mark C.W. Montigny, D-New Bedford, who chairs the Senate Committee on Bonding, Capital Expenditures and State Assets, said the Wareham-Bourne extension could face its own funding problems, even at a lower cost...  Read the rest of this Standard-Times story here.  Leave a comment
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Home sales see slight increase, small increase for Cape condo sales

Sales of single-family homes in Massachusetts rose 2.8 percent in the first quarter of 2007 compared to the same period last year, with condominium sales rising 2.1 percent, according to the Massachusetts Association of Realtors.  Prices, meanwhile, dropped 1.1 percent for single-family homes, and rose just 0.7 percent for condos, the association reported. Greater Boston saw the biggest gains among the state's seven regions in both categories of homes, with a 13.8 percent jump in single-family sales and a 15.4 percent increase in condo sales. Single-family prices in Greater Boston dropped 2 percent, while condo prices rose 1.6 percent. Cape Cod was the only other region to see an increase in condo prices in the first quarter.  Much of the sales activity was booked in January and February. March figures show a 2.8 percent drop in sales of single-family homes over the same month last year, and a 1.4 percent drop in condo sales...   Read the rest of this Boston Business Journal story here.  Leave a comment
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Marion motorcyle dies after Wareham crash
Was a coach at Upper Cape Technical HS

WAREHAM — A motorcyclist was fatally injured in a collision with a car in the western part of town Monday afternoon, police said.

Joshua D. Garcia, 24, of Marvel Street, Marion, was riding his motorcycle north on County Road at about 4:20 p.m., police said. At the same time, Bradford Arone, 18, of Duhamel Avenue in Rochester was turning left from Wishbone Way onto County Road.

"It appears that he probably didn't see the motorcycle," police Lt. Irving Wallace said.

Mr. Garcia was a 2000 graduate of Upper Cape Cod Regional Technical School in Bourne and played multiple sports for the school, Superintendent Kevin C. Farr said. He was hired by the district to coach freshman boys basketball and was in his first year in that position, Mr. Farr said...  Read the rest of this Standard-Times report here.  Leave a comment
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Patrick's site not yet a big hit with residents
State needs to convince reluctant residents to accept the Cape Wind

Although Gov. Deval Patrick launched a personal website on which residents can post their concerns -- as a way to extend his grassroots appeal that helped him win the Corner Office -- activists and bloggers have said not enough people have "checked back in" on the site to call it a success yet.

Massachusetts residents can post about issues they find important and vote on others -- gay marriage, gun control, renewable energy and state parks funding all have their own sections -- on DevalPatrick.com, which was re-launched last month so people can "check in" with state politics, as Patrick describes on the website.

Avi Green, executive director of non-partisan voting rights organization MassVOTE, said the blogs are a free forum for concerned citizens.

"If a politician has an email list or blog, it's another way to send their info out to the people," he said. "But the trick is, what I think Patrick is trying to do: How often do politicians use the Internet to listen? I hope it encourages other people to get involved with politicians, with reality."

Users are competing to get the most votes for their pet projects and, consequently, the governor's attention, Green added, but cautioned that Patrick should not rely too heavily on the website because it is still unavailable to many low-income residents less likely to use the Internet.

"This is an add-on," he said, "not a substitute."

Eastham resident Joe Bayne said his strong belief that the commonwealth has a pressing need to convince reluctant residents to accept the Cape Wind offshore wind farm proposed for Nantucket Sound, which is currently under federal review, motivated him to post the issue "making renewable energy work in the commonwealth."  Read the rest of this Daily Free Press story here.  Leave a comment
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Forecloseures continue historic climb
Barnstable County experienced a 93% increase

ot;> Barnstable, Worcester and Suffolk Counties experienced the largest increases. Barnstable County experienced a 93% increase (1,084 v. 562), Worcester County had an 87% increase (3,461 v. 1,850) and Suffolk County jumped by 87% (2,434 v. 1,302).

Read the rest of this ForeclosureMassachusetts story here.  Leave a comment
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Coast Guard now recovering buoys all over New England

BOSTON - Following the severe spring Nor'Easter, the Coast Guard is recovering and fixing lost and damaged aids to navigation.

Since the wind and seas calmed down, the 225-foot Coast Guard Cutter Juniper, the 175-foot Coast Guard Cutters Abbie Burgess and Marcus Hanna and nine aids-to-navigation teams from Maine to New York have been working to repair the damaged aids.

So far, the Coast Guard found 45 aids either not working, missing or adrift. Some washed up on shore. As repair and recovery efforts continue, units are finding additional problems. The Coast Guard expects to have a complete count of storm-damaged aids by Friday.

"Some of the solar panels were completely wiped off because of the wind and high seas," said Kevin Blount, Coast Guard First District deputy chief of waterways management.

The Boston approach "BA" buoy was was blown 87 miles off station where it was recovered by the Juniper. 

New York, Boston and Portland, Maine shipping channels have been affected. Repair efforts are ongoing. In the meantime, units from Maine to New Jersey are broadcasting warnings of affected areas to mariners. 

The Coast Guard is urging mariners to use extreme caution while underway as numerous aids to navigation throughout New England waters have been damaged by the storm. Anyone with knowledge of damaged or displaced aids to navigation, or other hazards to navigation, is urged to contact the First District Command Center at 617-223-8555.

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Falmouth loses SLAPP suit; Are Cape lobsters sweeter; Controversy cancells Wareham TM

Wareham Town Meeting postponed amid controversy 

WAREHAM — Town Meeting adjourned last night until next week without taking any actions after officials told voters there was a procedural problem.

Town Moderator John Donahue and the town's attorney, Richard Bowen, said the Finance Committee report was not available for review seven days before the meeting, as required by the charter. If the meeting went ahead, its actions could be subject to legal challenges, Mr. Bowen said.

"We can adjourn to a time certain," Mr. Donahue said. "I do recommend this course of action as it would effectively cure the existing defect."

Town Meeting voted to reconvene at 7 p.m. Monday and start with the special session items. The regular Town Meeting agenda is scheduled for a half hour later. More than 350 people turned out for the first evening of the annual meeting last night and soon filed out again...  Read the rest of this Standard-Times story here.
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Falmouth loses in SLAPP by residents
Citizens' challenge to construction project 'petitioning activity' allowed, plantiffs granted legal fees

A malicious-prosecution claim brought by the Town of Falmouth against a group of residents who filed a series of unsuccessful actions to block construction of a sewage-treatment facility violated the anti-SLAPP law (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation), a Superior Court judge has ruled.

The town argued that the plaintiff residents' numerous appeals of adverse decisions from the Department of Environmental Protection and the town's Conservation Commission demonstrated ulterior motives and delay tactics rather than petitioning activity.  But Judge Geraldine S. Hines disagreed, granting the plaintiffs' special motion to dismiss.

"The plaintiff's appeals of the administrative decisions qualify as protected petitioning activities according to ... statutorily-defined categories and case law," wrote Hines, quoting the Appeals Court's 2005 decision in Plante v. Wylie. "In fact, the legislature aimed 'to protect "citizen protest in the area of land development,"' which is precisely the situation in which [the plaintiffs] find themselves."

Following Hines' decision, Superior Court Judge Christopher J. Muse awarded approximately $30,000 in counsel fees to the plaintiffs to cover costs incurred defending against the town's counterclaim.  The 11-page decision is Healer, et al. v. Department of Environmental Protection, et al., Lawyers Weekly No. 12-496-06.

'Unprecedented'

Bourne attorney Alexander M. Joyce, who along with Jonathan D. Fitch of Sandwich represented the plaintiffs, said he was "flabbergasted" that the town pursued its counterclaim against his clients.

"Some of these people have been in the area for over 50 years, and it's unprecedented to have a town sue its own citizens merely for exercising their right to petition the government to complain about land use regulation," he said. "It's unheard of."

Joyce said the decision will "send a message to towns, municipalities and states to let their citizens vent and use the judicial system to complain about what they perceive as wrongs regarding regulatory control."

Richard J. Yurko of Boston, who has handled a number of cases involving the anti-SLAPP law and assisted Joyce in Healer, said this is the first time, to his knowledge, that a town has brought a SLAPP suit against residents for protesting development. Typically, such claims are brought by developers... 

But Edward J. DeWitt, Falmouth's associate town counsel, said the decision does not offer a fair picture of the entire story.

DeWitt pointed out that the sewer project is in response to a public-health emergency in a small, coastal neighborhood with serious septic problems. Residents of that neighborhood are paying for the project and, as a result of delays caused by the plaintiffs' multiple appeals, their individual shares have risen from $22,000 per homeowner to approximately $60,000...  Read the rest of this Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly story here.
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And how about the problems they have with whales?
The effects of lobster buoys on these gentle giants

The American Lobster, Americanus homarus, can be found from Cape Hatteras, NC to Newfoundland but is most abundant in the Gulf of Maine, from Cape Cod to Nova Scotia. It is in this area where it is most heavily targeted by commercial fisheries. And no wonder, according to a recent New York Times article, the retail price has doubled since last spring, now about $15 for a one lb lobster.

For the millions of tourists that visit New England each year, the sweet taste of a New England lobster is worth the price. However, few of those shelling out their hard earned dollars to crack into the shell of this delicacy realize the conflict between lobsters and whales.

The colorful buoys that dot the surface of the waters up and down the coast of the Gulf of Maine, marking the locations of the traps beneath are the snapshots we see on a postcard; the muse for local artists; or an iconic symbol of New England. Yet it is what we don’t see beneath the surface that is the source of conflict between managers, conservationists and fishermen, and, sometimes, the source of death to endangered whales.

Fishermen are not trying to catch whales, it happens incidentally. The lines that connect the traps below the surface can float as much as 25-30 feet above the sea bed. The line to which the colorful buoy is attached can run hundreds of feet down to the bottom. 

It is these lines in which whales will sometimes get ensnared. No one knows why whales don’t seem able to detect the lines- maybe there are just too many in one area, or maybe whales are just too busy feeding and become oblivious. But what is known is that when whales and line interact, it can be lethal to the whale. As the whale becomes entangled it appears to roll further into the gear, causing a tight wrap. While some whales do shed the gear on their own, others carry it with them for years. The line can become imbedded in the skin or worse, cut through bone. This can result in a painful and slow death as they may be unable to feed or swim properly, or their wounds become hopelessly infected...   Read the rest of this Whales.org release here.

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American Primitive begins filming on Cape Cod

   ^{From left Josh, Danelle, Corey, Skye and Johanna}

Cape Cod, Firebrand get 'Primitive'
Wynne to direct ensemple period piece

Cape Cod Films and Firebrand Entertainment have launched production of ensemble drama "American Primitive."

Pic stars Tate Donovan, Adam Pascal, Josh Peck, Danielle Savre, Skye McCole Bartusiak, Stacey Dash, James Sikking, Susan Anspach, Corey Sevier, Johanna Braddy, Jordan-Claire Green and Blythe Auffarth.

Gwen Wynne (on right) is directing "American Primitive" from a screenplay she co-wrote with Mary Beth Fielder. Producers are Cape Cod's Wynne, Firebrand Entertainment's Adam W. Rosen and Wild at Heart Films' James Egan.

Story centers on two teenage girls who move to Cape Cod with their eccentric British father in 1973 following the death of their mother and discover their father has started a gay love affair.  See Variety here. 

The filmmakers report that "the shoot is all going brilliantly - wonderful sunshine  and beautiful Dennis, Cape Cod - Jerry Neal Innkeeper at Isaiah Hall Inn B&B, his brother in law Charles Furlong and Robert Munroe Jnr were the first locals to appear as background artists in the film."  See the "American Primitive" blog with local news and updates here.

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Quiting jobs to save homes; RI to lead nation in wind power; Water warning

Worried homeowners share their high-interest stories
National effort to battle lenders hits Jamaica Plain

Tyrone Lobo, 34, quit his job last month as a deputy in the Barnstable Sheriff's Department so he could cash in his pension and use the roughly $30,000 to save his house. He and his fiancée hoped that the drastic decision would buy time and keep them afloat, anything to prevent their four-bedroom Cape-style home in Falmouth from being auctioned off.

Yesterday, the couple and more than 50 other Massachusetts homeowners at risk of losing their properties shared their stories at a meeting at the state headquarters of the Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America in Jamaica Plain. The gathering was part of a national effort by the nonprofit community advocacy and homeownership organization to form a grassroots campaign against subprime lenders. Similar meetings occurred in 32 other NACA offices around the country.

Lobo and his fiancee, Melissa Hergt, 39, had seen their monthly mortgage payment jump from just under $800 in 2002 to $2,700 last fall because of previous refinancing to stave off a previous foreclosure, they said... Read th rest oif this Globe story here.  Leave a comment
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Rhode Island set to lead the nation in wind energy

Gasoline prices in Rhode Island have climbed to $2.80 a gallon, and they’re forecast to go higher.  The cost of electricity, whether generated by oil, natural gas or coal plants, spikes and slips with the volatility of the energy markets.  And burning fossil fuels has more people than ever worried about greenhouse gases, global warming and damage to the environment.

All that makes the timing right to enact a serious plan to create sources of alternate energy.  One serious study commissioned by Governor Carcieri came out last week and found that 15 percent of Rhode Island’s electricity needs could be met by developing wind farms off the state’s south coast.

It makes sense.

Now, however, I’m waiting for the objections and the excuses about why capturing the wind to create energy is a bad idea. There will be people who will argue that wind turbines spoil the view of Narragansett Bay, or the turbines will affect boat navigation or hurt the tourism industry.

We’ve heard it all before, when the Cape Wind project was proposed for Nantucket Sound off Cape Cod. Protesters howled that the windmills would be built in the wrong place at the wrong time. The opponents have delayed that project for years.

It’s time to get serious in Rhode Island. Our dependence on foreign fuels weakens our country and its security, damages the state’s business climate and economy, and saps the buying power of consumers.

Doing nothing is no longer an option...  Read the rest of this Providence Journal story here.   Leave a comment
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Offshore wind turbines are under study by state

body> ody> Aquidneck Island's shores are prime spots for wind farms, according to a wind-power siting study commissioned by the state and released this week.
s in 45 square miles off the Aquidneck Island and Little Compton coastlines, in waters predominately under state control, the study said. An onshore wind farm could be built on 3,000 acres in Little Compton.

Wind power could provide a predictable source of electricity, plus environmental benefits and an economic boost through construction jobs, the study found.  But just how Ocean State residents would perceive wind-farm proposals is yet to be seen.

The study, ordered by Gov. Donald L. Carcieri as part of the state's RIWINDS initiative, found that the state has viable wind resources to meet the goal of generating 15 percent of the state's energy from wind power in the next five years.

The study added that the nine offshore sites - including ones off South Kingstown, Westerly and Block Island - and the Little Compton site would be economically feasible over the 20-year turbine life spans.

Applied Technology & Management, the study's author, ruled out turbine sites that were deemed potentially too expensive or too close to residential or environmentally-sensitive properties.  Carcieri created the Office of Energy Resources more than a year ago.

"My goal was simple," Carcieri said in a prepared statement. "I wanted to encourage Rhode Island's energy independence through the use of a renewable resource. This study shows that we can make that goal a reality. In fact, it makes clear for the first time that Rhode Island enjoys enough wind to achieve five times that amount of electricity generation."

He added, "We are not looking to load up all these areas with wind turbines, but rather to select the best areas where we can proceed. This will take a lot of community, expert and stakeholder input."

There are some challenges though, to proceeding with the study's recommendations. If built, the offshore wind farms would be the first in the country.  Public acceptance is crucial, but "hard to predict," the study said.

The Cape Wind project in Nantucket Sound, for example, has been met with considerable public resistance.  Carcieri said he plans to create a community stakeholder group to determine where wind turbines could be built.

Eight Rhode Island communities, including Portsmouth and Tiverton, have expressed interest in wind power in their areas.  The Portsmouth Town Council this month awarded a contract to Applied Technology & Management to conduct a study on the community's wind resources and the feasibility of siting turbines on school property.

Portsmouth is considering building turbines at the high school, middle school or both, and is inspired by the success of the 164-foot-tall wind turbine installed last summer at Portsmouth Abbey School, where it is exceeding energy-saving expectations.

That turbine is the state's first.   Leave a comment
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BOSTON – With spring-like weather finally forecasted for the weekend, Coast Guard recreational boating specialists advise boaters, paddlers and fishermen to use extreme caution if they plan to boat or paddle on any of the rivers, streams, creeks and coastal waters of the Northeast.

Heavy rains during the last few days, combined with runoff from snow melt from higher elevations, have caused many waterways to flood and pushed tides to near-record levels. This has created stronger-than-usual currents and unexpected water turbulence that could last through the weekend. Gale-force winds have also stirred up branches and debris that create hazards above and below the water that have serious consequences for unsuspecting paddlers and small boaters.

Al Johnson, the First Coast Guard District Recreational Boating Safety Specialist warns boaters and paddlers to be “high-water wary.”

“When a heavy deluge pushes water levels to the flood stage, it drastically alters the characteristics of the flow,” Johnson said, “and moving water at this time of year is fast, frigid and unforgiving.”

High water hides hazards and, along with storm-gererated debris beneath the surface, creates "strainers" or funnel effects that can easily capsize a small boat, canoe or kayak and trap a person if they're thrown into the water. Such conditions contributed to the loss of a 15-year old girl near Albany, NY Monday . She was not wearing a life jacket when her canoe capsized on a rain-swollen creek.

Johnson advises all early-season boaters and paddlers to be aware of the danger and be prepared for sudden cold-water immersion. He said inland and coastal water temperatures are in the 39, 40-degree range and a sudden spill into frigid waters will incapacitate most people within minutes.

Johnson stresses the need for boaters and paddlers to always wear life jackets and reminds paddlers that wearing life jackets is mandatory in Massachusetts until May 15.

Boaters, paddlers and fishermen venturing out on the water should check water conditions at the U.S. Geological Survey Real-Time Water Data website here and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Hydrologic Information Center – River Stages website here.  

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New battle looming over offshore fish farms? Nantucket Sound?

Fish farms in federal waters
Another environmental vs. fiscal battle
Will the MMS have another task if this bill passes congress?

Local fishing advocates are split over whether a federal push to encourage fish farming in American waters would help recovering stocks or would be an environmental and navigational danger.

A bill in Congress would make it easier to start fish farms by creating a streamlined permitting process in federal waters, which stretch from 3 to 200 miles offshore, though it would allow the adjoining coastal state veto power over any proposal 12 miles or closer to its shores.

Fish farms, or aquaculture, are large areas of ocean, usually measured in square miles, fenced in with barges and containing underwater tubular or conical nets that keep fish in one location...  There is a salmon farm off the coast of Maine, and Massachusetts has many shellfish farms around Cape Cod and the islands that produce quahogs and cherrystone clams. In the U.S., much of the domestic farm-raised fish are freshwater species, such as catfish and tilapia....  Read the rest of this Gloucester Times story here.   Leave a comment
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Bush Administration to roll out offshore Fish Farm bill today 

The Bush administration is expected to unveil a new proposal today to create the United States' first permitting system for fish farms in deep ocean waters.

According to sources, the bill would include more environmental requirements than a previous version the administration put forward in 2005, according to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration officials. Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez is expected to unveil the new legislation at the Boston Seafood Show this afternoon.  The bill would create a permitting system to allow operators to sink fish cages in federal waters between three miles and 200 miles offshore. There are currently four small-scale offshore fish farms in the United States, and all are in state waters...

According to Bill Hogarth, "the Secretary and I will be in Boston Monday where the Secretary will announce the Administrations Offshore Aquaculture Bill. The Secretary is very supportive of having the United States increase its aquaculture production as a means of increasing jobs and helping to reduce the trade deficit. I will report next week on details from the Seafood Show.  We are also looking into the possibility of introducing some aquaculture pilots as a means for getting support for the aquaculture bill...  Read the rest of this Coastal Conservation Association story here.   Leave a comment
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Sushi grade fish farming in Hawaii
Will fishermen approve of these towers in The Sound?

There is already one very successful offshore fish farm in the Pacific, Kona Blue.   The process of farming Kona Kampachi™ begins with broodstock in their land-based hatchery. Eggs are collected from land-based broodstock tanks and are placed into separate tanks where they hatch within 24 hours.

Within a few days from hatching, the extremely small, newly hatched fish need very specific types of live feed to grow.  Within six weeks of hatching in the land-based hatchery, the Kona Kampachi are transferred to offshore cages ½ mile off the Kona Coast. The fish are nurtured in these deep water fish farms for another 8 to 10 months, being regularly fed and bathed in this pristine water with brisk open ocean currents.  The result is sushi grade fish farmed anywhere offshore.

What happens to the fish farm platform afterwards? 

Currently, the leases that allow oil drilling in federal waters require that oil companies remove their platforms within one year of the platform’s retirement. The “rigs-to-reef” program was born at the state level after oil companies began promoting legislation that would allow them to avoid the costly procedure of rig removal by leaving the submerged component in the ocean to serve as an artificial reef.

According to Chevron representative Ayana McIntosh-Lee, it can cost up to $5 million to remove platforms in the EEZ, while, according to Granvil Treece, an aquaculture specialist at Texas Sea Grant, it costs only $800,000 to convert the platform into an “artificial reef.” Additionally, when oil companies convert their platforms into artificial reefs, the company absolves itself of responsibility for future damage or liability. To date, rigs-to-reef programs have become active in Texas, Florida, Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana. The issue is currently being debated at the federal level.  Leave a comment

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