EXTRA...

Candidate Richardson says worst job was here; Double deaths had Cape connection; Newspaper picks McCain; M-boro wants a seat

Manchester Union-Leader endorses McCain - 1st GOP candidate to endorse Cape Wind
John McCain is the man to lead America
By PUBLISHER JOSEPH W. MCQUAID
Sunday, Dec. 2, 2007
On Jan. 8, New Hampshire Republicans will make one of the most important choices for their party and nation in the history of our presidential primary. Their choice ought to be John McCain.
   We don't agree with him on every issue. We disagree with him strongly on campaign finance reform. What is most compelling about McCain, however, is that his record, his character, and his courage show him to be the most trustworthy, competent, and conservative of all those seeking the nomination. Simply put, McCain can be trusted to make informed decisions based on the best interests of his country, come hell or high water...White House hopefuls name worst jobs
Bill Richardson's was on Cape Cod in 1967

The Associated Press asked major presidential candidates a series of questions about their personal tastes, traits and backgrounds. Today's question - first in a series - and their answers:

What was your worst job?
"Backbreaking work," Democrat Bill Richardson said of his summer of laying sod on Cape Cod. A banker's son and Tufts University sophomore, he worked for a meager wage to cover room and board while pitching in the Cape Cod Baseball League in 1967. "The pay was terrible," said Richardson, now New Mexico governor. "And I think the minimum wage at the time was under two dollars." (It was $1.40 or less, depending on the work.)..  The Guardian/UK.  
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Case closed in 2 deaths within days in apartment
Linked to tryst in P'town last summer

Authorities have found no evidence of criminal wrongdoing in the bizarre case of two men who died four days apart in a Northwest Washington apartment in September, D.C. police said yesterday.  The men, who were not acquainted, had traveled from New York to visit the apartment's occupant, and both died of "acute intoxication" from prescription drugs shortly after they arrived, according to autopsies. One of them, Jordan "Jeremy" Conklin, 26, who was hoping to find work in a D.C. restaurant or bar, arrived Sept. 14. The apartment's tenant, Steven Saleh, 47, had responded to a Craigslist ad that Conklin posted seeking temporary housing, one of Conklin's friends said. Two days later, answering a 911 call from Saleh, police found Conklin dead on Saleh's living room floor.

The other man, Dean Johnson, 46, was a celebrity drag queen in downtown Manhattan's gay club scene -- a flamboyant rock singer, coffeehouse poet and paid escort. Johnson, who had escort clients in the District, arrived at the apartment Sept. 19 to comfort Saleh over Conklin's death, several of Johnson's friends said. The next day, again answering a call from Saleh, police found Johnson dead on the living room floor...

Conklin, a business graduate of Arizona State University, worked as a nightclub bouncer last summer in Provincetown, Mass., a resort community on Cape Cod. John Allen, who became romantically involved with Conklin in Provincetown and shared an apartment with him there, said in an interview that he never saw his friend use drugs...  Washington Post.
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Middleborough wants a seat at the table

Middleborough Selectman Patrick Rogers intends to attend the Dec. 19 meeting of the Regional Task Force on Casino Impacts with the hope of becoming a member of the group. Until now, the 18-town coalition has not allowed Middleborough to join its ranks, saying that the town's interests are contradictory to theirs. The committee was established to address the regional impact of the Wampanoag-run casino approved by Middleborough in July.

The panel initially voted not to let Middleborough join the group, and at its October meeting, members tabled Rogers's request for inclusion. "I'm hoping they get the impression I'm there to work, not to play politics," Rogers said. "Obviously they need some help with their charge, which I can do with my environmental background." Rogers works for the state Environmental Protection Agency.  Globe.