EXTRA...

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

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

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.