82.0°F Fair [Forecast]
ADVISORY!
:: Thursday, September 2nd, 2010Op-Ed
A page where people can oppose the publishersArchives for: July 2007
Not your average cleaning company! We listen to each and every client to understand their expectations and provide services with complete satisfaction guaranteed. Cleaning homes and businesses since 2004. Free estimates and fully insured. (Dennis)
Your online and print source for Cape-wide homes for sale and year-round rentals. Browse and search our listings online or order our free magazine. Distributed throughout the Cape. (Barnstable)
If they stopped attacking the messenger they might have have to discuss the "issue"
By Wendy Williams and Robert Whitcomb
Brent Harold's Cape Cod Times review of "Cape Wind: Money, Celebrity, Class, Politics and the Battle for Our Energy Future on Nantucket Sound," just published by Public Affairs Books, provides much food for thought.
While many have praised our book — The New York Times Book Review anointed it an "Editor's Choice" — some will feel differently.
We understand. We name names. That may be unpleasant for those who are named.
We hope to correct a few of Harold's misunderstandings. He believes our book to be about the wind farm per se. We disagree.
Our book is about democracy. Harper's Lewis Lapham nailed that, writing that Cape Wind "joins first-rate investigative reporting with trenchant social commentary; the result is as entertaining as it is instructive."
We respect Harold's claim that Cape Wind may "shed darkness." But others disagree. The publishing industry's Booklist reviewer Donna Seaman calls our book "half-farce, half-political thriller and altogether compelling."
Harold complains that the book is "marketable." Guilty as charged. Let's face it. Electricity is geeky. We love reading geeky stuff, but we wanted our book to be readable. It is.
Boston Magazine calls the book a "page-turner." The Boston Globe has mentioned the book three times, each time emphasizing its joyous aspects. "A laugh riot," writes Globe reviewer Nan Goldberg. "Yes, this book is lots of fun," agrees Globe columnist Alex Beam.
Apparently, fun — like beauty — is in the eye of the beholder.
We leave the task of writing a "serious" book to Chuck Vinick of the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound. By now, as head of that august group, he must be one of the field's premier experts.
Harold thinks we are sourpusses with no "stake" in Cape Cod's future. Not so. We own property and have extensive family networks here on our little island-sandbar.
Indeed, Whitcomb comes from the Hatch family, who were Quakers and who originally founded Hatchville in Falmouth. Save for a few fortunate sons, his family members are not "well-heeled," as Harold writes. Neither are they poor. They're just folks, trying to survive in this overdeveloped, traffic-congested seashore Shangri-La so many of us call home.
One last note: When our book was first released in early May, a lot of people were frightened. Our bookstore-manager friends tell us that people buy the book on the q.t., as though it were "Lady Chatterley's Lover" (a book we both confess to reading in our salad days). We were charmed that some thought we had written a pornographic book about Cape Cod.
Recently, though, our manager-friends tell us, people are bolder. They walk in right off the street, buy the book in broad daylight, and carry it off to read on the beach, where all the public can read the title.
And this is exactly what we intended to do: Entertain Cape Codders for the summer season.
A Green Cleaning Company featuring a 1 hour dry time! We offer 100% safe and non toxic cleaning. Proudly cleaning carpets, area rugs, upholstery, tile & grout on the South Shore, Cape Cod, S.E. Mass & Rhode Island.
Landscaping, construction, irrigation and maintenance. A reliable and dependable company that takes pride in its work and reputation. Over 20 years on Cape Cod! (Yarmouth)
10 degrees of difference - in the ocean
And 10 more degrees say "goodbye lobsters"
Some food for thought about your dining future
By Richrd Barlett, Cotuit
When we read that parts of China's breadbasket provinces are already being turned into deserts, one of the early effects of climate change, we have to wonder how long our own midwest will be a reliable source of food for American tables.
If we can't have maple syrup on our pancakes and lobsters become only a memory, and water and vegetable resources disappear, will we still see Hummers on the roads? Will we still elect politicians who try to prevent wind farms? If we put our corn production into ethanol because of a national addiction to gas-guzzling, over-horsed, highly polluting vehicles, where will Orville Redenbacher get his wonderful popcorn, and what will Kellogg make cornflakes out of?
With the earth's glaciers disappearing and traditionally snow-capped mountains rapidly losing their white headgear, huge areas on all the continents will lose their sources of water for irrigating croplands, as well as for people's personal use. Climate change won't seem to be an abstract phenomenon when one has to live without water.
In fact, obviously, life without water is impossible.
Botanists tell us Vermont's sugar maples will be early victims of rising temperatures. Better stock up on maple syrup if you like that gorgeous fluid on your pancakes!
Scientists warn us that the oceans are warming toward the point of extinction for lobsters and those species of fish that only flourish in cold water. Maine's Dr. Diane Cowan has been studying lobster populations for 15 years. She has acquired a reputation as the preeminent authority. Her figures for the ocean's temperatures say there has been a 10 degree rise since 1993. "If it does that again, they're gone. They're cooked." She doesn't mean baked stuffed. "Dr. Lobster," as she is known to lobstermen, says, "I think global warming is real, and I think it's had a detrimental effect on lobsters south of Cape Cod, and it could do the same for Maine."
If we can't have maple syrup on our pancakes and lobsters become only a memory, and water and vegetable resources disappear, will we still see Hummers on the roads? Will we still elect politicians who try to prevent wind farms? Will obstructionists still quote fossil fuel moguls in opposing renewable energy opportunities?
No measure against climate change should be off the table. Bon appetite!
Below are Richard C. Bartlett's previous Op Ed pieces;
- An incredible confluence of news stories
- SOS or SOP
- The sky is falling, the sky is falling, windmills in the briny !
- Why Kyoto is not enough
- Invisible Structures
- Bill Delahunt; modern mugwump
Woods Hole wonderment
In right place at right time for good time
Talk about karma!
By Leanne M. Robicheau, VillageSoup/Knox County Times News Editor
During my recent vacation to Cape Cod mysterious forces drew together an old crew sheerly by coincidence for a memorable moment in nearby Plymouth.
What are the chances during Fourth of July week on Cape Cod of being in the same place at the same time as someone you haven't seen in a year? For the past few years my annual trek to the Cape to visit my family has been brief and busy. Too short and sweet to even take time to visit old friends.
This trip was different.
First, I took my friend Vickie along to show her Cape Cod. I usually go alone.
When I first moved to the Rockland, Maine area in 1982, I had a vision that it someday would be much like Cape Cod.
Today, Rockland has many similarities to the Cape, but you know the old saying ... there's no place like home.
Midcoast Maine has been my physical home for 25 years now and I'm settled here with children and grandchildren living nearby. Still, when it comes to Cape Cod, it's hard to get the sand out of one's shoes when you've lived there.
It's missing other family members and old friends that keeps Cape Cod close to my heart.
My main reason for leaving Maine that particular week was my stepmother Anne's 70th birthday. My sister and I planned to take "Grannie Annie" out for a special celebration. We told her to pick any restaurant.
I figured we'd wind up at Coonamessett Inn or The Flying Bridge -- two five-star restaurants in my book -- and my stepmother's favorites.
But knowing my stepmother it was no surprise that we ended up at my favorite spot -- The Captain Kidd restaurant in Woods Hole.
The difference is like comparing The Whitehall Inn in Camden to the old Black Pearl restaurant in Rockland.
Captain Kidd's ain't elegant, but the food is quite good and the atmosphere is first class with its century old bar with marble rail, old barrel seats and tables, and its nautical decor.
It's a place where I have spent many memorable moments with friends and family.
As usual, a good time was had by all.
Those positive forces just kept flowing that weekend.
Every so often when I make my yearly visit, I bump into one of those Kidd friends. Like last year, I spotted him in a crowded street in Woods Hole. A slew of passengers had just gotten off a ferry. My friend Al was riding by on a bicycle.
It sure looked like him but I hadn't seen him with a pony tail since 1970. I hollered out. Sure enough, it was Al.
The same fate happened this year.
The first day I got to Falmouth, Al and his companion Pam just happened to walk into the Portuguese bakery where Vickie and I were having coffee.
What are the chances during Fourth of July week on Cape Cod of being in the same place at the same time as someone you haven't seen in a year?
When I told Al that we were planning a trip to Plymouth Light, where I used to live, and were going to stay with mutual friends in Plymouth on our way back to Maine, he promised to join us.
It's a complicated story, but my friendship with my Plymouth friends Dorrie and Frank and Al goes back to high school (although they're all older).
Al hadn't seen our Plymouth pals in five years and he swore me to secrecy about him showing up.
In the meantime in Plymouth, an old friend Morry, who had moved to Florida, tracked down Frank and when he heard I was coming, he wanted to be there, too.
Morry was my boss 35 years ago -- my first real job out of college. Oddly enough, both Frank and Al worked for Morry too after I got married and left the company.
So, when we arrived in Plymouth it was like old home week and I do mean "old." I hadn't seen my old boss in more than three decades.
When we worked together, I was 20, he was 30. My how the years pass.
Again, a good time was had by all.
And, it's great to be back in Maine in my humble surroundings.
Like I said, there's no place like home.
VillageSoup/Knox County Times News Editor Leanne M. Robicheau can be reached at 207-594-5351 or by e-mail. This column first appeared here. Robicheau began her career in 1985 as a typesetter for Memorial Press Group in Plymouth, Mass. Soon she was recognized for her photography skills and writing ability and was offered a reporting position with the newspaper publishing company’s Reporter Newspapers division, writing for the Halifax and Plympton Reporter. In 1987, MPG shifted Robicheau to its Cape Cod Newspapers division, where she reported for the Bourne Courier and Mashpee Messenger. Six months later, her husband’s U.S. Coast Guard career brought her back to Maine, where she joined The Courier-Gazette as a staff reporter, covering the Waldoboro area.
Cape Light Compact’s Un-Cooperative Approach
- AS THE BARNSTABLE TOWN COUNCIL GETS READY TO VOTE ON THURSDAY NIGHT -
Cape Light Compact’s Un-Cooperative Approach Disenfranchises Many,
...and Poses Risks to All
By Chris Powicki
A recent article in the Barnstable Patriot suggested I was the grit in the Cape Light Compact’s oyster for bemoaning its lack of transparency, questioning its favorable treatment of municipal consumers, challenging its attempts to form an electric cooperative that could have adverse impacts on taxpayer and consumer interests, and complaining when Barnstable County and Cape Light Compact officials sought retribution via petty political attacks.
Barnstable County and Compact officials sought retribution via petty political attacksWith the knowledge that nature works in mysterious ways, I offer the following as possible pearls of wisdom in advance of July 19, when the Barnstable Town Council will convene to once again consider whether to join the Cape & Vineyard Electric Cooperative. Any action taken by the Town Council will have implications for communities, residents, and businesses throughout the region, as enumerated below.
The idea behind and the goals for the proposed cooperative may well be worthy of support: A cooperative could overcome some of the Compact’s institutional weaknesses because it would be capable of investing in, financing, owning, and operating renewable or other energy facilities and of buying energy commodities in wholesale markets and on a long-term basis. In pursuing these goals, staff, attorneys, and representatives of the town of Barnstable, the county, and the Compact have been doing some pioneering work. Unfortunately, the cooperative development process to date has been conducted without public input or scrutiny, and the proposed structure’s implications are poorly understood.
Decision-makers and consumers in the 20 other Cape and Vineyard towns have already been disenfranchised under the approach taken by County and Compact officials Decision-makers and consumers in the 20 other Cape and Vineyard towns have already been disenfranchised under the approach taken by County and Compact officials in advancing the cooperative: Its articles of incorporation and bylaws were developed behind closed doors and distributed to Compact Governing Board members representing each community just a couple days in advance of the board’s meeting on June 13. Board members were told by the Compact’s attorneys that the documents contained confidential information to be reviewed and shared with town officials only if requested, and that they would not be allowed to revise the documents. Despite the compressed timeframe, the questionable legal advice, and some significant misgivings raised at the meeting, board members voted to adopt the documents as written and to support the Compact’s membership in the cooperative.
That likely occurred because those involved in developing the proposed cooperative repeatedly averred that the sole near-term objective is to secure tax rulings and pledged that there will be ample opportunity for institutional adjustment going forward. The former might be true, but the cooperative’s bylaws set a very high bar for future change. By allowing the Compact to join the cooperative last month, Governing Board members essentially forfeited the ability of elected and appointed officials, residents, and businesses in 20 communities to determine how the cooperative makes decisions and who makes those decisions.
The following analogy illustrates what’s on the line for the town of Barnstable on July 19: The town is being asked to sign a prenuptial agreement (the bylaws) as a condition of engagement. During the engagement period, the town would represent the third wheel on an executive committee that currently includes Compact Administrator & Assistant County Administrator Maggie Downey and her boss, County Administrator Mark Zielinski. If consummated, the marriage would become polygamous, potentially involving all other Cape and Vineyard towns and many other municipal consumers. Despite having the biggest dowry, Barnstable would remain subordinate, and its decision-making authority would be further diluted as the marriage expands. If the town signs on to this prenuptial agreement in its current state, there is little assurance that it would be able to adjust the terms to its liking going forward, as bylaw changes require support from 80% of the cooperative’s overall membership. This means that an affirmative vote by the Town Council could have long-term and significant yet potentially irreversible and possibly adverse consequences.
At minimum, the following issues should be addressed before the town moves forward:
Would the cooperative “put some upward pressure on the prices” that residential and business consumers receive through the Compact, as indicated on p. 87 of the Compact’s own Phase I cooperative study?
- To what extent would the cooperative’s membership structure and bylaws delegate decision-making authority to others?
- What sorts of resource commitments and risk exposure would the cooperative entail?
- Would the officials who imposed the highest electric rates in the continental United States on Cape and Vineyard consumers in 2006 and who continue to leave them in the dark about power supply issues and options be charged with making inherently riskier and more significant decisions?
- Would the cooperative result in the town’s resources and credit rating being put on the line to help other towns realize benefits?
- What sorts of modifications to the membership structure, articles of incorporation, and bylaws might better protect the interests of the town, taxpayers, and consumers?
- Is forming a regional cooperative with membership limited to municipalities the best approach for addressing energy-related challenges and opportunities facing the town, its residents and businesses, and the region?
Decision-makers and consumers in other communities might be asking analogous questions if they had been given the opportunity. It is in everyone’s interest for the Barnstable Town Council to delay a vote on joining the Cape & Vineyard Electric Cooperative until after
- the proposed structure is presented and evaluated in public forums designed to solicit input from taxpayer, consumer, and business groups;
- the potential long-term costs, benefits, and risks of the proposed structure and other possible options are better understood; and
- the course changes necessary to adequately protect the interests of all towns, residents, and businesses are implemented.
- The accompanying documents – bylaws and articles of incorporation - are the ones that reference as confidential in my piece. I believe they are public domain now. Click here to see them. You may email the County Commissioners with your opinion here, and the Cape Light Compact officials here.
The Powicki Op Ed references
The controversial bylaws and articles of incorporation referenced ain the 07-18-07 Op Ed by Chris Powicki are available below:
- The accompanying documents – bylaws and articles of incorporation - are the ones that reference as confidential in this piece. I believe they are public domain now
ARTICLE II. The purpose of the corporation is to engage in the following business activities:
to develop and/or own renewable and non-renewable electric generation facilities, and to procure and/or sell long term electric supply or other energy-related goods or services (including renewable energy certificate contracts) at competitive prices to Members and, in furtherance of the foregoing purposes, to carry on any lawful business permitted for a corporation organized under Chapter 164, Section 136, and Chapter 156B of the General Laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as now in force or as hereafter amended.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
ARTICLE VI. Other lawful provisions for the conduct and regulation of the business and affairs of the Corporation, for its voluntary dissolution, or for limiting, defining or regulating the powers of the Corporation, or of its stockholders or directors, or of any class of stockholders:
a. Application of Chapter 164, Section 136. The Cooperative is organized under, and the conduct and regulation of its business shall be subject to such provisions as are set forth in G.L. c. 164, Section 136. The Cooperative shall be organized and shall conduct its business primarily for the mutual benefit of its members as patrons of the Cooperative.
b. Membership. Any municipality or county or political subdivision thereof, or body politic that meets the requirements of Internal Revenue Code Section 115, shall be eligible to apply for membership in the Cooperative, provided that the governing board of each member has authorized its membership.
c. Cooperative Property. Members shall have no individual or separate interest in the property or assets of the Cooperative except as provided herein.
d. No Private Inurement. No part of the net earnings of the Cooperative may inure to the benefit of any director, officer or other individual.
e. Tax-exempt Status. The Cooperative shall operate as an instrumentality of its government members and shall at all times serve the needs and interests of such members.
f. Acceptance of Funds. The Cooperative shall accept funds only from its members or other sources that will not jeopardize its tax-exempt status.
g. Rights and Liability of Members. Unless otherwise required by law, members shall only be entitled to vote on the election of Directors as set forth in the Cooperative’s bylaws.
The members of the Cooperative are exempt from liability for any debts of the Cooperative to the full extent authorized by law.
h. Liability of Directors. No current or former director of the Cooperative shall be personally liable to the Cooperative or its members for monetary damages for or arising out of a breach of fiduciary duty as a director notwithstanding any provision of law imposing such liability; provided, however, that the foregoing shall not eliminate or limit the liability of a current or former director (i) for a breach of the director's duty of loyalty to the Cooperative or its members, (ii) for acts or omissions not in good faith or which involve intentional misconduct or a knowing violation of law, (iii) under Sections 61 or 62 of Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 156B, or (iv) for any transaction from which the director derived an improper personal benefit. The foregoing provision shall not eliminate or limit the liability of a director for any act or omission occurring prior to the date upon which the foregoing provision became effective. To the extent permitted by law, no amendment or deletion of the foregoing provisions of this paragraph (i) which restricts or limits the protections provided thereunder to current or former directors shall be effective with respect to actions and omissions of the directors occurring prior to the date said amendment or deletion became effective.
i. Dissolution. In the event of dissolution, any remaining assets after satisfaction of liabilities shall be distributed only to members. Title to all debt-financed property shall revert to the member(s) on a pro rata basis in proportion to their financial or in-kind contributions to, and/or pledges or guaranties on behalf of the Cooperative. If it is in the best interest of the Cooperative or there are equitable interests to be taken into account, the Board may vary the post-dissolution allocation of debt-financed property among the members.
j. Amendment of Bylaws. The power to make, amend or repeal bylaws shall be vested solely in the Board of Directors.
k. Vacancies on the Board of Directors. Any vacancy on the Board of Directors shall be filled in the same manner as the position was originally filled.
l. Indemnification of Directors and Officers. Except as may be limited in the bylaws, directors and officers may be indemnified to the fullest extent permitted by law.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++
BCK DRAFT 06/4/07
CAPE & VINEYARD ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE, INC.
SECTION 1 - GENERAL PROVISIONS
1.1 Scope of Bylaws
These bylaws, the powers of the Cooperative and of its Directors and Officers, and all matters concerning the conduct and regulation of its business shall be subject to such provisions as are set forth in the Cooperative’s Articles of Organization, G.L. c. 164, Section 136 as now in force or as hereafter amended (the “Electric Co-op Law”) and c. 156B of the General Laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as now in force or as hereafter amended (the “Mass. Corporation Law”).
1.2 Name of the Cooperative
The name of the Cooperative shall be Cape & Vineyard Electric Cooperative, Inc., or such name as shall be set forth in the Cooperative’s Articles of Organization which may be amended from time to time.
1.3 Place of Business
The principal office of the Cooperative shall be located in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, or at such place as the Board of Directors of the Cooperative may from time to time determine. The Board of Directors may from time to time establish and maintain additional offices at such other locations as it may determine.
1.4 Purposes
The purposes of the Cooperative are to develop and/or own renewable and non-renewable electric generation facilities, and to procure and/or sell long term electric supply or other energy-related goods or services including renewable energy certificate contracts at competitive prices to Members and, in furtherance of the foregoing purposes, to carry on any lawful business permitted for a corporation organized under the Electric Co-op Law and c. Mass. Corporation Law. The Cooperative shall be organized and shall conduct its business primarily for the mutual benefit of its Members as patrons of the Cooperative.
1.5 Powers
The Cooperative may transact any lawful business associated with the purchase, acquisition, distribution, sale, resale, supply, and disposition of energy or energy-related services to wholesale or retail customers, subject to applicable federal and state laws and regulations. The Cooperative shall have all of the powers of a natural person, including the power to participate with others in any partnership, joint venture, or other association, transaction, or arrangement of any kind, and all powers set forth in the Electric Co-op Law.
1.6 Functions, Policies and Goals
The Cooperative’s functions, policies and goals shall include, without limitation,: exploring appropriate options for acquiring the best market rate for electricity supply; promoting and supporting the development of renewable energy resources; providing and enhancing consumer protection by improving quality of service and reliability; and utilizing and encouraging conservation and other forms of energy efficiency.
SECTION 2 - MEMBERSHIP
2.1 Eligibility
Any municipality or county or political subdivision thereof, or body politic that meets the requirements of Internal Revenue Code Section 115, shall be eligible to apply for membership in the Cooperative, provided that the governing board of each Member has authorized its membership. All Members must agree to be bound by and to comply with all of the other provisions of the Cooperative's Articles of Organization and these bylaws, and all rules, regulations, program requirements and membership agreements as may be established by the Co-op, as all the same then exist or may thereafter be adopted, repealed or amended (the obligations embodied in such instruments being hereinafter called “Membership Obligations”).
2.2 Transfer
No membership shall be transferable.
2.3 Application for Membership
Application for membership shall be made in writing on such form as is provided therefor by the Cooperative. The membership application shall be accompanied by the membership fee provided for in Section 2.4 which fee shall be refunded in the event the application is denied by the Board of Directors in accordance with Section 2.5.
2.4 Membership Fee; Capitalization Obligations
The membership fee shall be as fixed from time to time by the Board of Directors. In accordance with Section 9 of these bylaws, from time to time, the Board of Directors may establish capitalization obligations for Members in its terms and conditions of membership. In addition, the Board of Directors may provide with respect to particular projects (as opposed to funds intended to cover basic general operating expenses) that such terms and conditions take into account the nature, size, location and benefits and detriments of each project.
2.5 Initial Members; New Members; Acceptance into Membership
The Town of Barnstable, Barnstable County, and the Cape Light Compact shall comprise the initial members of the Cooperative (the “Initial Members”). The Board of Directors may by majority vote deny a potential membership applicant based upon its determination that the applicant is not willing or is not able to satisfy and abide by the Cooperative's terms and conditions of membership or that such application should be denied for other good cause as determined by the Board of Directors in its sole discretion, including, without limitation, the potential for loss of the tax-exempt status of the Cooperative. Upon complying with the requirements set forth in Section 2.1, new applicants shall become a Member as of the effective date in the Board of Directors’ vote accepting such Member’s application. ; .
2.6 Member Suspension; Reinstatement
Upon the failure of a Member, after the expiration of the initial time limit prescribed either in a specific notice to the Member or in the Cooperative's generally publicized applicable rules and regulations, to pay any amounts due the Cooperative or to comply with the Member’s Membership Obligations, membership shall automatically be suspended; and the Member shall not during such suspension be entitled to cast a vote at any meeting of the Members. In addition, the Board of Directors may deny suspended Members any other membership rights, benefits or privileges that it deems appropriate in its sole discretion. Payment of all amounts due the Cooperative, including any additional charges required for such reinstatement, and/or compliance with the Member’s Membership Obligations within the final time limit provided in such notice or rules and regulations shall automatically reinstate the membership, in which the event the Member shall thereafter be entitled to vote at the meetings of its Members.
2.7 Termination by Withdrawal or Resignation
A Member may withdraw from membership at any time for any reason by sending a written notice of withdrawal to the Clerk of the Cooperative. The Board of Directors may adopt other rules and regulations pertaining to withdrawal, provided such rules and regulations are not inconsistent with these bylaws.
2.8 Effect of Termination
Upon the termination of a membership for any reason, the Member shall be entitled to such refund of the Member’s membership fee as the board of Directors may determine in its sole discretion, less any amounts due the Cooperative. Termination shall not release the Member from any debts or other obligations then remaining due to the Cooperative or to other parties.
2.9 Member Powers
Unless otherwise required by the Electric Co-op Law or other applicable law, Members shall only be entitled to vote on the election of Directors as set forth in Section 4.2 and Section 5.6.
2.10 Liability of Members
Except for debts lawfully contracted between a Member and the Cooperative, no Member shall be liable for the debts of the Cooperative to an amount exceeding the sum remaining unpaid on its membership fee.
2.11 No Stock
The Cooperative may not issue shares of stock to its Members.
2.12 Sponsors, Benefactors, Contributors, Advisors, Friends of the Cooperative
Persons or groups of persons designated by the Board as sponsor, benefactor, contributor, advisor or friend of the Cooperative or such other title as the Board deems appropriate shall, except as the Board shall otherwise determine, serve in an honorary capacity. In such capacity they shall not be treated as Members and they shall have no right to notice of or to vote at any meeting, shall not be considered for purposes of establishing a quorum and shall have no other rights or responsibilities.
SECTION 3 - MEETINGS OF MEMBERS
3.1 Place
All meetings of the Members shall be held at the principal office of the Cooperative or some other location within Barnstable County or Dukes County as shall be specified in the notice of meeting.
3.2 Annual Meeting
The annual meeting of the Members shall take place in September of each year, or at such other times as established by the Board of Directors
3.3 Special Meetings
The President and/or two or more Directors, when such person(s) deems it expedient and appropriate, may call a special meeting of the Members. At such special meeting, no business shall be considered or transacted other than as specified in the notice prescribed by Section 3.4.
3.4 Notice to Members of Regular and Special Meetings
Notice of each meeting of the Members shall be given at least ten (10) days prior to each regular meeting and at least forty-eight (48) hours, not including Sundays and legal holidays, prior to a special meeting, by the Clerk of the Cooperative. Notice shall be in written or printed form and may be given by mail, facsimile, email or other delivery to each Member in person or addressed to the last known address or facsimile number of such Member. Whenever any notice is required to be given by law or by these bylaws, a waiver thereof in writing, signed by the person or persons entitled to said notice, whether before or after the time stated therein, shall be deemed equivalent thereto and retained with the records of the meeting. Except as otherwise provided herein, a notice or waiver of notice of a regular or annual Members meeting need not specify the purposes of the meeting. Notice shall be deemed to be given at the time when the notice is mailed, transmitted or otherwise issued. Public notice of any regular or special meeting shall also be made in compliance with G.L. c. 39, § 23B and other applicable law.
3.5 Conduct of Meetings
At each meeting of the Members, the President, or in the absence of the President, the Vice President, or in the absence of the Vice President, the Clerk, shall act as presiding officer. The Clerk, or in his absence, the President, shall prepare or cause to be prepared minutes of all business transacted by the Members at each meeting.
3.6 Quorum
A majority of the Members shall constitute a quorum. If there is no quorum, the meeting shall be automatically adjourned without further notice. The affirmative vote of a majority of a quorum present at a meeting shall be necessary for any action taken by the Members.
SECTION 4 - DIRECTORS
4.1 Powers of the Directors
The Cooperative shall have a Board of Directors who shall have the powers and duties of a Board of Directors of a corporation incorporated under the Electric Co-op Law and the Mass. Corporation Law. The Board of Directors shall be responsible for the general management and supervision of the business and affairs of the Cooperative. The Board of Directors may exercise all the powers of the Cooperative.
4.2 Number, Qualifications and Term of Office
The Board of Directors shall consist of not fewer than three Directors. The Directors shall be elected by and from the Members of the Cooperative at the annual meeting of the Members or at a special meeting in lieu of an annual meeting. Each Member shall be entitled to representation on the Board of Directors by having the right to elect one Director. No Director shall hold more than one seat on the Board of Directors. Each Director shall hold office until his successor shall be elected and shall qualify.
4.3 Manner of Acting
Provided there is a quorum present at the meeting, and except as specified elsewhere herein, the Board of Directors shall act by vote of a majority of the Directors present at the time of the vote.
4.4 Resignation
Any Director may resign at any time upon written notice to the remaining Directors, the President, any Vice President, Treasurer or Clerk. The resignation of any Director shall take effect upon receipt of notice thereof or at such later time as shall be specified in such notice, and unless otherwise specified therein, the acceptance of such resignation shall not be necessary to make it effective.
4.5 Removal
Any Director may be removed at any time with or without cause by the Member who elected him. Any Director may also be removed at any time with cause by a two-thirds vote of the Directors then in office. A director may be removed for cause only after a reasonable notice and opportunity to be heard before the body proposing to remove him
4.6 Vacancies on the Board of Directors
Directors may act despite a vacancy in the Board of Directors and shall for this purpose be deemed to constitute the full Board. Any vacancy in the Board of Directors shall be filled in the same manner as the position was originally filled. Each Director chosen to fill a vacancy on the Board of Directors shall hold office until the next annual election of the Board of Directors and until his successor shall be elected and qualify.
4.7 No Right to Compensation
Unless the Board of Directors in its discretion provides for compensation, Directors shall serve without compensation. No Director resigning, and (except where a right to receive compensation shall be expressly provided in a duly authorized written agreement with the Cooperative) no Director removed, shall have any right to any compensation as such Director for any period following his resignation or removal, or any right to damages on account of such removal, whether his compensation be by the month or by the year or otherwise.
SECTION 5 - COMMITTEES
5.1 Executive Committee
Subject to the limitations set forth in Section 55 of the Mass. Corporation Law and Section 5.6 below, the powers of the Board of Directors shall be delegated to the Executive Committee.
5.2 Executive Committee Membership
The Executive Committee shall have at least three but no more than five members. The
initial membership shall consist of the Directors elected by the Initial Members. When the membership of the Cooperative consists of four or five Members, additional members shall be added to the Executive Committee and shall consist of the Directors elected by the fourth and fifth members of the Cooperative. When the membership of the Cooperative consists of six or more Members, the membership on the Executive Committee shall consist of the three Directors elected by the Initial Members and two committee members who shall be elected at large by the Members of the Cooperative. The two at large members of the Executive Committee shall be elected from the Board of Directors. If any of the Initial Members ceases to be a Member of the Cooperative, its representation on the Executive Committee shall become an at-large seat. No person may hold more than one seat on the Executive Committee.
5.3 Conduct of Business of Executive Committee.
The Executive Committee shall conduct its business so far as possible in the same manner as is provided by these bylaws for the Board of Directors. A majority of the Executive Committee shall constitute a quorum. The Executive Committee by majority vote shall determine the time and place of meetings and the notice required therefor. The Executive Committee shall keep records of its meetings in form and substance as may be directed by the Board of Directors.
5.4 Matters Requiring Review by Executive Committee
The Executive Committee may set its own agenda, but it shall be required to consider any matter or action as may be directed by the full Board of Directors from time to time.
5.5 Reports to Full Board
From time to time upon request and at each meeting of the Board of Directors, the Executive Committee shall make a full report of its actions and activities since the last meeting of the Board.
5.6 Right of Appeal to Full Board
If two members of the Executive Committee object to the affirmative action taken by the Executive Committee, they may appeal such decision within forty-eight hours of such action or vote by requesting a special meeting of the full Board of Directors in accordance with Section 6.4. At such special meeting, the Board of Directors may overturn the action or vote of the Executive Committee by a two-thirds vote. A vote by the Executive Committee to take no action (including, without limitation, a vote to take no action in connection with financial matters under Section 10 of these bylaws) cannot be appealed.
5.7 Commissions and Advisory Board
The Board of Directors may create and appoint persons to a commission, advisory board or other such body which may or may not have Directors as members, which body may not act on behalf of the Cooperative or bind it to any action but may make recommendations to the Board of Directors or to the Officers of the Cooperative.
SECTION 6 - MEETINGS OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
6.1 Place
All meetings of the Board of Directors shall be held at the principal office of the Cooperative or some other location within Barnstable County or Dukes County as shall be specified in the notice of meeting.
6.2 Annual and Regular Meetings
The Board of Directors shall meet at least quarterly for the transaction of any lawful business of the Cooperative, or such other day, time and place as shall be designated in the notice of meeting prescribed by Section 6.4 hereof. The Board may determine to meet more or less frequently in its discretion. Any regular meeting of the Board may be dispensed with or rescheduled by the Directors at any prior meeting of the Board. The September meeting of the Board shall be considered the annual meeting of the Board of Directors for the purposes of these bylaws.
6.3 Special Meetings
The President and/or two or more Directors, when such person(s) deems it expedient and appropriate, may call a special meeting of the Board of Directors. At such special meeting, no business shall be considered or transacted other than as specified in the notice prescribed by Section 6.4.
6.4 Notice to Directors of Regular and Special Meetings
Notice of each meeting of the Board of Directors shall be given at least ten (10) days prior to each regular meeting and at least forty-eight (48) hours, not including Sundays and legal holidays, prior to a special meeting, by the Clerk of the Cooperative. Notice shall be in written or printed form and may be given by mail, facsimile, email or other delivery to each Director in person or addressed to the last known business, residential or email address, or facsimile number of such Director. Whenever any notice is required to be given by law or by these bylaws, a waiver thereof in writing, signed by the person or persons entitled to said notice, whether before or after the time stated therein, shall be deemed equivalent thereto and retained with the records of the meeting. Except as otherwise provided herein, a notice or waiver of notice of a regular or annual Board of Directors’ meeting need not specify the purposes of the meeting. Notice shall be deemed to be given at the time when the notice is mailed, transmitted or otherwise issued. Public notice of any regular or special meeting shall also be made in compliance with G.L. c. 39, § 23B and other applicable law.
6.5 Conduct of Meetings; Executive Session
At each meeting of the Board of Directors, the President, or in the absence of the President, the Vice President, or in the absence of the Vice President, the Clerk, shall act as presiding officer. The Clerk, or in his absence, the President, shall prepare or cause to be prepared minutes of all business transacted by the Board of Directors at each meeting. The meetings of the Board are subject to the Massachusetts law governing open meetings of governmental bodies and governmental boards and commissions, G.L. c. 39, § 23B and G.L. c. 66, § 5A. The Board of Directors may adopt rules regarding the conduct of executive session meetings in accordance with applicable Massachusetts law.
6.6 Quorum
A majority of the Directors shall constitute a quorum. The presence of less than a quorum may adjourn any meeting from time to time without further notice. The affirmative vote of a majority of a quorum present at a meeting shall be necessary for any action taken by the Board of Directors.
6.7 Conflict of Interest Law; Vote of Interested Director
The Board, as it consists of county and municipal representatives is subject to the provisions of the Massachusetts Conflict of Interest Law, G.L. c. 268A, and shall act at all times in conformity therewith. Compliance with this Section 6.7 does not ensure compliance with such law.
In addition, a Director who himself or has an immediate family member or partner who is a member, stockholder, trustee, director, officer, partner or employee of any firm, corporation or association with which the Cooperative contemplates contracting or transacting business shall disclose his relationship or interest to the other Directors acting upon or in reference to such contract or transaction. No Director so interested shall vote on such contract or transaction, but he may be counted for the purpose of determining a quorum. The affirmative vote of a majority of the disinterested Directors hereof shall be required before the Cooperative may enter into such contract or transaction.
In case the Cooperative enters into a contract or transacts business with any firm, corporation or association of which a Director is himself or has an immediate family member or partner is a member, stockholder, trustee, director, officer, or employee, such contract or transaction shall not be invalidated or in any way affected by the fact that such Director may have interests therein which are or might be adverse to the interests of the Cooperative. No Director having disclosed such adverse interest shall be liable to the Cooperative or to any creditor of the Cooperative or to any other person for any loss incurred by it under or by reason of any such contract or transaction, nor shall any such Director be accountable for any gains or profits to be realized thereon.
SECTION 7 - OFFICERS
7.1 Election
At its first meeting and at its annual meeting thereafter, the Board of Directors shall elect a President, Vice President, Treasurer and Clerk and such other officers as the Board of Directors shall determine. The term of office for those so elected shall be one year and until their respective successors are elected and qualified.
7.2 Qualifications
Two or more offices may be held by the same person. The Clerk shall be a resident of Massachusetts unless a resident agent shall have been appointed pursuant to Massachusetts law.
7.3 Vacancies
Any vacancy occurring among the Officers, however caused, may be filled by the Board of Directors, for the unexpired portion of the term.
7.4 Removal
Any Officer of the Cooperative may be removed from office with or without cause by a majority vote of the Directors then in office at any annual or special meeting of the Board of Directors . An officer may be removed for cause only after a reasonable notice and opportunity to be heard before the Board of Directors. An Officer who is removed from his office will at the same time be removed from his all of his other positions in the Cooperative.
7.5 Resignation
Any Officer may resign at any time by giving his resignation in writing to the President, Treasurer, any Vice President, Clerk or any other Officer or Director of the Cooperative. An Officer may resign as officer without resigning from other positions in the Cooperative, including the position of Director.
7.6 President and Vice Presidents
The President shall be the chief executive officer of the Cooperative and shall, subject to the direction of the Board of Directors, have general supervision and control of its business. The President shall not be a member of the Board of Directors unless he is independently elected to the Board of Directors in accordance with Section 4.2. Unless otherwise provided by the Board of Directors it shall preside, when present, at all meetings of the Board of Directors. In the absence or disability of the President, his powers or duties shall be performed by the Vice President, if any and, and if more than one, by the one designated for the purpose by the Board of Directors. Any Vice President shall have such other powers and shall perform such other duties as the Board of Directors may from time to time designate. If there is no Vice President, and the President is absent or disabled, his powers or duties shall be performed by the Treasurer.
7.7 Treasurer and Assistant Treasurer
The Treasurer shall, subject to the direction of the Board of Directors, have general charge of the financial affairs of the Cooperative and shall cause to be kept full and accurate books of account. He shall have custody of all funds, securities, and valuable documents of the Cooperative, except as the Board of Directors may otherwise provide. He shall render a statement of the financial affairs of the Cooperative at each annual meeting of the Board of Directors and to the President upon request. In the absence or disability of the Treasurer, his powers and duties shall be performed by the Assistant Treasurer, if only one, or, if more than one, the one designated for the purpose by the Board of Directors. Any Assistant Treasurer shall have such other powers and perform such other duties as the Board of Directors may from time to time designate.
7.8 Clerk and Assistant Clerks
The Clerk shall keep a record of the meetings of Directors and shall give such notices of meetings as are required by these bylaws. In the absence of the Clerk from any meeting of the Board of Directors, an assistant clerk if one be elected, otherwise a temporary clerk designated by the person presiding at the meeting, shall perform the duties of the Clerk. An assistant clerk shall have such other powers and perform such other duties as the Board of Directors may from time to time designate.
7.9 Chief Procurement Officer
The Cooperative shall designate a Chief Procurement Officer who may be the same person as the President or other officer of the Cooperative. The role of the Chief Procurement Officer, in accordance with applicable public procurement laws, shall be to select proposals for and facilitate the award of contracts on behalf of the Cooperative, with input from members of the Board, Cooperative staff, counsel and others, as such Chief Procurement Officer sees fit. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Board may determine that the Cooperative, as long as consistent with applicable law, will select proposals and award contracts in another manner.
7.10 No Right to Compensation
Unless the Board of Directors in its discretion provides for compensation, Officers shall serve without compensation. No Officer resigning, and (except where a right to receive compensation shall be expressly provided in a duly authorized written agreement with the Cooperative) no Officer removed, shall have any right to any compensation as such Officer for any period following his resignation or removal, or any right to damages on account of such removal, whether his compensation be by the month or by the year or otherwise.
SECTION 8 - INDEMNIFICATION OF DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS; NO WAIVER OF IMMUNITY
The Cooperative shall, subject to the limitations set forth in Section 9 of G.L. c. 258 and to the extent legally permissible, indemnify any person serving or who has served as a director or officer of the Cooperative against all liabilities and expenses, including amounts paid in satisfaction of judgments, in compromise or as fines and penalties, and counsel fees, reasonably incurred by him in connection with the defense or disposition of any action suit or other proceeding, whether civil or criminal, in which he may be involved or with which he may be threatened, while serving or thereafter, by reason of his being or having been such a director, officer, trustee, employee or agent, except with respect to any matter as to which he shall have been adjudicated in any proceeding not to have acted in good faith in the reasonable belief that his action was in the best interests of the Cooperative; provided, however that as to any matter disposed of by a compromise payment by such director, officer, trustee, employee or agent, pursuant to a consent decree or otherwise, no indemnification either for said payment or for any other expenses shall be provided unless:
(a) Such compromise shall be approved as in the best interests of the Cooperative, after notice that it involves such indemnification by a disinterested majority of the directors then in office; or
(b) in the absence of action by disinterested directors, there has been obtained at the request of a majority of the directors then in office an opinion in writing of independent legal counsel to the effect that such director or officer appears to have acted in good faith in the reasonable belief that his action was in the best interest of the Cooperative.
Expenses including counsel fees, reasonably incurred by any such director, officer, trustee, employee or agent in connection with the defense or disposition of any such action, suit or other proceeding may be paid from time to time by the Cooperative in advance of the final disposition thereof upon receipt of an undertaking by such individual to repay the amounts so paid to the Cooperative if it is ultimately determined that indemnification for such expenses is not authorized under this Section. The right of indemnification hereby provided shall not be exclusive of or affect any other rights to which any such director, officer, trustee, employee or agent may be entitled. Nothing contained in this Article shall affect any rights to indemnification to which corporate personnel other than such directors, officers, trustees, employees or agents may be entitled by contract or otherwise under law. As used in this Article the terms "director," "officer," and "trustee," "employee" and "agent" include their respective heirs, executors and administrators, and an "interested" director, officer, trustee, employee or agent is one against whom in such capacity the proceedings in question or other proceedings on the same or similar grounds is then pending.
In addition, the Cooperative shall seek to obtain and maintain in full force and effect a policy of director’s and officer’s liability insurance (the “D&O Insurance”) in commercially reasonable amounts from an established and reputable insurer. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Cooperative shall have no obligation to obtain or maintain D&O Insurance if the Board of Directors determines in good faith that such insurance is not reasonably available, the premium costs for such insurance are disproportionate to the amount of coverage provided or the coverage provided by such insurance is so limited by exclusions that there is insufficient benefit from such insurance.
No portion of these bylaws shall be deemed to constitute a waiver of any common law or statutory immunities of the Cooperative, the Members or their directors, officers and employees. No portion of these bylaws shall be deemed to have created a greater duty of care which did not previously exist as a matter of common or statutory law with respect to any public employee.
SECTION 9 - NATURE OF COOPERATIVE
The Cooperative shall operate as an instrumentality of its government Members and shall at all times serve the needs and interests of such Members.
The Cooperative shall accept funds only from its Members or other sources that will not jeopardize its tax-exempt status.
The Cooperative shall be organized and shall conduct its business primarily for the mutual benefit of its Members as patrons of the Cooperative. .Members shall have no individual or separate interest in the property or assets of the Cooperative except as provided herein.
The Cooperative must comply with all public procurement laws applicable to its Members.
SECTION 10 – FINANCIAL MATTERS
The Cooperative shall only levy a financial assessment upon its members, issue bonds, incur other borrowings or incur financial commitments upon obtaining the affirmative vote of a majority of the members of the Executive Committee followed by a two-thirds vote of the Board of Directors (or a higher threshold, if a higher threshold is required by applicable law).. Issuance of bonds and other borrowings must made in furtherance of the Cooperatives purposes, policies and goals as set forth in Section 1 of these bylaws.
SECTION 11 - DISSOLUTION
In the event of dissolution, any remaining assets after satisfaction of liabilities shall be distributed only to Members. Title to all debt-financed property shall revert to the Member(s) on a pro rata basis in proportion to their financial or in-kind contributions to, and/or pledges or guaranties on behalf of the Cooperative. If it is in the best interest of the Cooperative or there are equitable interests to be taken into account, the Board may vary the post-dissolution allocation of debt-financed property among the Members.
SECTION 12 - MISCELLANEOUS
12.1 Corporate Records
The original, or attested copies, of the Articles of Organization, bylaws and records of all meetings of the incorporators and Directors shall be kept in Massachusetts at the principal office of the Cooperative, at an office of its Assistant Clerk, at an office of its attorney, or at such other location as the Board of Directors may designate. Said copies and records need not all be kept in the same office. They shall be available at all reasonable times for the inspection of any Member or Director for any proper purpose and as required by law. The records of the Cooperative shall be subject to the Massachusetts Public Records Act, G.L. c. 66, and shall be deemed public records, unless such records fall within the exemptions set forth in G.L. c. 4, § 7, including exemptions for development of inter-agency policy and trade secrets or commercial or financial information.
12.2 Fiscal Year
The fiscal year of the Cooperative shall begin on July 1 and end on June 30th, the same fiscal year as established by the General Laws for cities and towns in the Commonwealth.
12.3 Execution of Papers
All deeds, leases, transfers, contracts, bonds, notes, releases, checks, drafts and other obligations authorized to be executed on behalf of the Cooperative shall be signed by at least two persons. Such persons shall either be an officer of the Cooperative or persons as the Board of Directors may generally or in particular cases otherwise determine.
12.4 Evidence of Authority
A certificate by the Clerk or Assistant or Temporary Clerk as to any matter relative to the Articles of Organization, bylaws, records of the proceedings of the incorporators, Board of Directors, or any committee of the Board of Directors, or as to any action taken by any person or persons as an officer or agent of the Cooperative, shall as to all persons who rely thereon in good faith be conclusive evidence of the matters so certified.
12.5 Limitations on Compensation
Reasonable compensation may be paid to individuals for services rendered. No part of the net earnings of the Cooperative may inure to the benefit of any director, officer or other individual.
12.6 Services Furnished by Members
Members may provide services to the Cooperative and may receive reasonable compensation for such services.
12.7 Reports
The Cooperative shall prepare an annual report which shall be provided, without charge, to each of its Members no later than sixty days after the close of its fiscal year.
12.8 Amendments
These bylaws may be altered, amended or repealed, in whole or in part, by the affirmative vote of a eighty percent (80%) of the Directors present and voting at any meeting, the notice of which contains a statement of the proposed alteration or amendment.
RFK Junior flails in the water
Robert Kennedy and the Pilgrims
And his "economic engine" of New England
By Wendy Williams, MASHPEE, Mass
Long ago in the Cape Wind saga, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told Time that he didn’t want an offshore wind farm in Nantucket Sound because he wanted the region to remain as it had been when the Pilgrims ran the show.
RKF Jr. said on a radio show that he didn’t want it because Nantucket Sound was the “economic engine” of New England. Those who live in Boston or the Route 128 high-tech semi-circle, or in Hartford, or Providence, found that claim intriguing. Perhaps there was a lot more to be made by sport-fishing guides than city-folk realized!More than a few people shook their heads in wonder. Did the Pilgrim Fathers really have 10,000-square-foot homes, with air conditioners? Are the tiny huts shown to tourists over in Plimoth Plantation just shams? Were these hallowed ancestors more comfortable than they let on in their diaries and log books? How many diesel-powered yachts did the Pilgrims have?
Then, RKF Jr. said on a radio show that he didn’t want it because Nantucket Sound was the “economic engine” of New England. Those who live in Boston or the Route 128 high-tech semi-circle, or in Hartford, or Providence, found that claim intriguing. Perhaps there was a lot more to be made by sport-fishing guides than city-folk realized!
Next Bobby wrote in The New York Times that he didn’t want it because, among other things, the project would harm the whales. Cetacean biologists scrambled for data. They hadn’t known there were any whales in Nantucket Sound, but if RFK said it, well, the biologists must have missed something.
Now comes The Palm Beach Post’s Kristie Swartz, a business reporter. It seems that Swartz was at a climate conference in Florida recently when Bobby delivered yet another one of his “See you at the barricades!” speeches, filled with his favorite sweeping generalizations and other hogwash and mishegas.
Here’s a typical quote: “The only reason that we are still addicted to this carbon economy is because of government intervention, because they have rigged the market.”
Gee, solving the energy problem is so much easier than the experts had believed.
Swartz then asked him about Cape Wind. Was the market was rigged against the project because of “government intervention” — i.e., the attempt of Uncle Ted to use his senatorial advantages last spring to try to kill the project in the backrooms of Congress.
“I am a fan of wind. I just want them moved two miles away because they are going to harm business,” Kennedy said. Theater of the absurd.
Both party's debates are boring us to death
By Bob Whitcomb in the Province Journal
My, but our presidential candidates are boring! I had further experience of this on June 28 while trapped in my (American-made but high gas-mileage) car for several hours listening to the radio.
Antis run out of wind. Protest against Cape Wind co-author here Saturday a No-Show, like the Alliance
Robert Whitcomb, op-ed editor of the Providence Journal and co-author of Cape Wind, came to sign his new book at Booksmith/Musicsmith in Orleans. Store owner Matt Reid said that several customers planned to protest the event.
He said he would let the local Fuzz know. The only group that showed up was a dozen members of Clean Poer Now who live in the area and who wanted to support the author, as well as Rebirth Productions of Santa Monica CA here to film a documentary about the strange, monied efforts to stop America's first offshore wind farm. The Booksmith is in Skaket Corners Mall on Rt 6-A in Orleans.On the radio was a television debate at Howard University among the Democratic candidates. They were just as bad as the Republicans. With the occasional eccentric exception of former (and elderly) Alaska Sen. Mike Gravel and Congressman (and former mayor of a bankrupt Cleveland) Dennis Kucinich, just about all the answers were blather -- conventional wisdom wrapped in cliché and tightly stage-managed by advisers. And, of course, there was plenty of pandering to real or perceived interest groups.There were virtually no details to any of their "plans." The main effort was to put across their purportedly pleasant "personalities." Their success in this quest was variable. Delaware Sen. Joseph Biden, for example, still came across as a narcissistic windbag. But the general mission was to achieve a telegenic robotdom.
One way was to appeal with maximum effect to the African-American audience, given Howard's history as a college created to educate same in the days of segregation. The candidates took great pains to avoid saying anything that might clash with what they thought was the consensus of the "black community." It will be fun to see how well they maintain this with the simultaneous pressures to appeal to both that group (usually defined as monolithic) and the Hispanic "community," especially regarding the immigration issue.
In any event, we mostly got custard.
Is this because we're boring too -- that we don't want to hear anything interesting from our candidates? It might scare us? Or is it because the speed, vengefulness or just ratings-driven amorality of many media people, especially on talk radio, cable TV and the blogs -- make the candidates all fearful of saying something new and interesting?
In all of this, the increasingly politically lazy, short-attention-spanned public is more to blame than anybody else.
I might have hope if the Internet, cell phones, iPods and iPhones had not come along to doom what's left of developed thought.
Meanwhile, most politicians these days are very bad writers, and thus troops of speechwriters are brought in to cook up their dreck for public delivery. So it is just as difficult to get a sense of the candidates through "their" (generally ghost-written) writing as it is via the debates.
An exception is Barack Obama, who has written graceful and emotionally honest things, apparently all by his lonesome, though I don't expect much more now that he's openly running for president and might worry about offending some major voting group or fund-raiser. (However, intriguingly, he has said that he might raise defense spending.)
Obama's major mission now will be to keep such signs of real personhood under wraps. In any event, the rumor is true: The Illinois senator is clearly a much better poet than Jimmy Carter.
After listening to the increasingly tedious debate on a very dark road, and after much dangerous dial-turning in a high-speed traffic jam in New Haven, I found myself listening to the right-wing talk-show hostess Laura Ingraham. Her views were predictable, too, but at least she had the good sense to intersperse her remarks with some nice old songs that made me feel for a while I was cruising up the Connecticut Turnpike in the mid-'50s. The presidential debates, especially with the crowded pre-primaries flock, would be much easier to take with such musical interludes.
* * *
Watching John McCain's campaign implosion has been made sadder by how he has felt compelled to grovel to those in the Republican Party he didn't agree with, and whom he felt played dirty tricks on him in the 2000 primary races. And now, after a brief flirtation, they have abandoned him for younger, more malleable flesh.
Big Oil makes Big Bucks - and you pay for it
Every day is Christmas for big energy
And every day is Tax day for you
By Solon Economou SOUTH DENNIS, Mass. -- AND YOU, DEAR TAXPAYER, are paying for the presents, the wrappings and the ribbons. “America must have an energy policy that plans for the future but meets the needs of today. I believe we can develop our resources and protect our environment.” Who can argue with such high-mindedness? But Jerry Taylor of the Cato Institute and Dan Becker of the Sierra Club called the bill: “a 1,700-page legislative abomination . . . designed to further rig the market to favor well-connected energy producers almost all of which already enjoy plenty of federal handouts at the expense of others.” Could they be talking about the same thing? You bet. The much ballyhooed energy bill gives about $6 billion in subsidies to the oil and gas industries, $9 billion to the coal industry, and $12 billion to the nuclear-power industry. And another round of mish-mash amendments is currently in the works. Many of the provisions of the bill, like subsidies to expense costs of refinery-capacity increases, are scandalous for an industry that already has record prices for oil and gasoline — and record profits by refiners. Their profits, not taxpayer handouts, should be paying to increase refinery capacity. There are multitudinous similar tax breaks for the coal and nuclear-energy industries, such as handouts for research in sequestering carbon-dioxide emissions from coal plants and for nuclear-energy research and development. This sounds well and good, but why are we paying for it? Research and development are typically funded from corporate profits. How did all this government largess come about? The millions and millions in campaign contributions from big energy to both political parties — $115 million alone in the four years preceding the energy bill — may have had something to do with it. Many of the handouts are direct payments to pet projects of various politicians and their cohorts, specifically written to benefit a particular corporation. And this is nothing new. These massive taxpayer subsidies to the fossil-fuel industry have been going on for nearly a century, some as far back as 1916. Think about your hard-earned dollars being forked over to perennial fat cats next time you make out your Form 1040. There is a 1.9-cent production tax credit for each kilowatt-hour of wind-generated electricity. That is wind-power’s primary federally based incentive, not the billions of taxpayer dollars that are being poured into oil, gas, coal, and nuclear energy for as many reasons as there are politicians or pages in the 1,700-page bill. Wind power even eliminates the excuse for most of these financial “incentives,” because wind is basically free. So why the cries against it by the rich and infamous and the demonizing of those who support it? Because wind power has the potential to replace all other forms of energy in the Middle-Atlantic states, including fossil fuels and nuclear energy, and it will even provide the electricity required to “fill up” your electric car. Wind power coming to America is anathema to big energy. Is it surprising that the well-heeled Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound, created specifically to oppose the Cape Wind farm, boasts among its directors a coal, oil and gas magnate and a Marathon Oil board member? This brings to mind Marcellus’s famous line from Hamlet, “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.” But I’ve been to Denmark, specifically to inspect their offshore wind farms. Denmark is now generating almost 40 percent of its electricity from wind; the United States less than 2 percent. Nothing is rotten in Denmark. But plenty is rotten in the United States. And the smell comes from the fat cats and lackeys of big energy. When I worked for a huge corporation, we used to say, “There’s enough business to go around for everyone.” The big energy boys apparently don’t agree. They want it all — and your taxpayer dollars as well. The irony is that they will eventually lose it all. They would do well to start investing in wind energy instead of fighting it. 
The much ballyhooed energy bill gives about $6 billion in subsidies to the oil and gas industries, $9 billion to the coal industry, and $12 billion to the nuclear-power industry. Of the highly touted 2005 federal energy bill, for which we are being billed — or bilked — over $20 billion in tax breaks for the windfall-profit-making big energy industry, President Bush said: 
There is a 1.9¢ production tax credit for each kilowatt-hour of wind-generated electricity. That is wind-power’s primary federally based incentive, not the billions of taxpayer dollars that are being poured into oil, gas, coal, and nuclear energy.Where does clean, renewable wind energy come into this grandiose scheme? You’d have to look long and hard into the bill to spot something. This is especially astounding since wind energy will eventually rescue us from our obsequiousness to the duplicitous purveyors of foreign oil and will displace millions of tons of carbon dioxide that our fossil-fuel-burning plants are discharging daily into the atmosphere.
11 women killed; Does anyone care?
How to get away with murder
Indifference to the horrors of the Highway Killings
By Jeff Blanchard, Brewster
For depraved indifference to human life, there can't be many stories that compare to the so-called Highway Killings.
Maybe we have reached some new point in human evolution where we can just sweep up 11 murders into the dustbin of history and move on as if it never happenedWhen 11 women over a three-month period of 1988 were abducted, assaulted, slaughtered and then dumped one at a time alongside the roadways around New Bedford, depraved indifference to human life was seen as a necessary trait of some unknown killer.
Now, though, after nearly 20 years, it seems only reasonable to ask: How far does this indifference go? Who among us ever cared a bit about these women? Anyone? Anyone besides their immediate families? Or maybe we have reached some new point in human evolution where we can just sweep up 11 murders into the dustbin of history and move on as if it never happened. Print another paper full of faraway wars. Broadcast another news hour full of celebrity fluff. Elect another politician full of blather about our children's welfare.
At what point is it no longer acceptable to simply gloss over the police and prosecutors as incompetentAfter nearly 20 years, we might all be asking ourselves: At what point does averting our eyes to the horrors of the Highway Killings become an abdication of our responsibilities as fellow citizens? At what point is it no longer acceptable to simply gloss over the police and prosecutors as incompetent, inferior, corrupt, no matter how much they may be stymied by the complexity of the case, or ill-equipped to handle the rigors of such a massive undertaking?
Can we at least acknowledge that by now, their failings have become our failings - and their indifference ours?
Ask the police today, and they point to the district attorney's office as the place to go for answers on any investigation that may be under way.
Ask the district attorney, and he will tell you he is working on it.
Sheila Martines Pina is the wife of New Bedford lawyer Ronald Pina, who was district attorney at the time of the killings... is currently in jail for drunk driving.He held a press conference to announce a new phone number and to introduce a new employee who has been assigned to this and some 70 other so-called cold cases that have piled up. He had police rip up a concrete patio for the cameras. He sent an assistant to prosecute the wife of a former district attorney.
(Sheila Martines Pina is the wife of New Bedford lawyer Ronald Pina, who was district attorney at the time of the killings. She is currently in jail for drunk driving, and is notable as well as one of the keys to unearthing the truths of the Highway Killings because of her own abduction in April 1988; as Matt Lauer's former co-star on PM Magazine, on Channel 10 in Providence; and as the region's top tourism official for the past 18 years, until she was fired last winter.)
"There's not much I can say at this juncture for obvious reasons," Bristol County Dist. Atty. Sam Sutter said. "We're working on it, and beyond that, for self-evident reasons, I can't say anything."
Maybe it is self-evident to him, or to you, but after 19 years with no viable suspects, the only truly self-evident facts are that nine women were found murdered, two bodies were never found, and there has yet to be a public examination of the investigation itself, which, at this point, would seem like the self-evident place to start.
Why is it that police did not include on their initial list of suspects any of the inmates of the Treatment Center for the Sexually DangerousFor example, why is it that police did not include on their initial list of suspects any of the inmates of the Treatment Center for the Sexually Dangerous at the state correctional complex in Bridgewater, just up the road from New Bedford? Several of them were known to participate in the center's so-called Authorized Absence program that allowed them to live outside the facility for six days a week, and three had their privileges revoked just as the investigation was taking shape.
In the world of criminal justice, it is said that the best way to predict a man's dangerousness is to look at his record. All three had records of depraved indifference. All were in New Bedford at the time of the killings. And all were known to police.
But here's what happened when a woman complained that she was nearly abducted by one of them in the middle of the Highway Killings.
"On July 28, 1988, the New Bedford police called the Treatment Center to inform the Administrator that Ronald Leftwich's license plate no. had been reported by a New Bedford prostitute. She stated that he was trying to pick up her friend and that the man in the car had threatened her on a previous occasion."
But Leftwich was in the clear two weeks later.
"Mr. Leftwich admitted to picking up ‘one' prostitute," the case manager wrote. "Later it was learned that he had at least gone with 2 and he had intended to pick up another prostitute the night the New Bedford police were notified"On August 10 in a telephone conversation with New Bedford police Sgt. [John F.] Dextradeur [who died in 1994] stated that apparently the information on Mr. Leftwich was a case of mistaken identity."
These verbatim quotes were plucked from a two-page memo written by Leftwich's case manager at Bridgewater, a man who remains in the state's employ.
"Mr. Leftwich admitted to picking up ‘one' prostitute," the case manager wrote. "Later it was learned that he had at least gone with 2 and he had intended to pick up another prostitute the night the New Bedford police were notified. Several similar discrepancy's [sic] occured, to [sic] numerous to mention."
However lacking the case manager may be as a speller, his indifference seems . . . well, self-evident.
The question now is, does anyone care?
Sea Sea Breeze at Cape Wind site during times of highest electric demand
Wind (and thus power) when we need it
By Mark Rodgers
Cape Wind’s Scientific Data Tower has recorded strong winds on Horseshoe Shoal in Nantucket Sound during each of the past ten record electric demand days in New England. These results are available in a new report published by Cape Wind today entitled “Comparison of Cape Wind Scientific Data Tower Wind Speed Data with ISO New England List of Top Ten Electric Demand Days”.
“These reports taken together demonstrate that Cape Wind would be providing substantial power when New England needs it the most, during the hottest and coldest days.”
- Jim GordonThe report finds that Cape Wind would have produced an average of 321 megawatts when electric demand was at its peak during each of the past ten record-setting electric demand days as recorded by the Independent System Operator of New England (ISO-NE), the region’s electric grid manager. Nine of these record demand days have occurred on very hot afternoons of the summers of 2006 and 2005 and one occurred last week on June 27, 2007. Cape Wind’s production of 321 megawatts during these times of record electric demand represents 76% of Cape Wind’s maximum potential.
Cape Wind President Jim Gordon said, “By producing an average of 321 megawatts during these times of peak electricity demand, Cape Wind would have a meaningful impact on enhancing electric reliability, improving air quality, providing greater energy independence and lowering energy costs.”
Cape Wind’s Vice President of Engineering Len Fagan explained why Cape Wind’s production would be higher during these hot summer afternoons that set electricity demand records, “These tend to be the hottest summer days when the air over the land heats up faster than the air over the ocean, this creates a difference in air density and denser air over the ocean expands toward the land, this is called the sea breeze effect and you get it most during the afternoon when electric demand is highest.”
Days that experience record electric demand tend also to be days when air quality alerts are issued by environmental agencies and when wholesale spot market electricity prices are at their height because older, less-efficient, highly polluting and expensive backup power generators are operating. Taking advantage of the sea breeze cleanly provides electricity that would otherwise need to be provided by these high polluting and expensive sources during times of high demand.
Previously, the US Department of Energy reported that Cape Wind would have been at full production during almost the entire 3-day sub-zero cold snap in January, 2004 when electric grid managers were considering the need for a rolling blackout due to a shortage of natural gas available for electrical generation because of elevated demand for gas heat.
“These reports taken together demonstrate that Cape Wind would be providing substantial power when New England needs it the most, during the hottest and coldest days,” said Gordon.
Links:
- July 2, 2007 Cape Wind Report, “Comparison of Cape Wind Scientific Data Tower Wind Speed Data with ISO New England List of Top Ten Electric Demand Days”
- June 2004 U.S. Department of Energy White Paper, “Natural Gas in the New England Implications for Offshore Wind Generation and Fuel Diversity”: Region:
About This Blog
An op-ed is a piece of writing, expressing an opinion. The name originated from the tradition of newspapers placing each columns on the page opposite to the editorial page. Thus the term "op-ed" is simply a combination of "opposite" and "editorial." The difference with this one, however, is that you can reply immediately by commenting below.
►Walter Brooks, Editor & Publisher
►Maggie Kulbokas, Managing Editor
Recent Comments
- (cont)...you will be anonymous just like Peter P (Cynthia Stead)
6 mins ago - TRB...I have one name, Capt. Jack. It has been that
16 mins ago - I'm on a hill, off a bay. I should be
24 mins ago - From my past experience with two Cape hurricanes I would
27 mins ago - Dear Dumb Guy With Many Names - You and coyrat
35 mins ago
CCT Blog List
- Newest Blog Posts
- Newest Comments
- EXTRA...
- In My Footsteps
- Cape & Islands News
- TRB
- Politicalendar
- The Belly Check
- CapeCodToday Featured Event
- Citizen Kane
- Cape Cod Rock Hopper
- Cape Cod History
- Cape Cod Pets
- Cape Native
- Cape Politics
- On the Campaign Trail with Bill
- Fox Robbins Business Blog
- Police and Fire News
- Long Bridge Runner
- Latimer on Law
- Entering Bourne
- My day
- Op-Ed
- The Blogfather
- Mercy Otis
- The Ballyard
- Travel Tales
- Soaring with David Gessner
- Letters to the Editor
- Dan Wolf's Blog
- The Poet's Perspective
- Entering Falmouth
- Off-the-Shelf
- Through a Washashore's Eyes
- Cape Cod Performing Arts
- Speaking Turtle's Cafe
- Trail Hound
- Town Notes
- Business on Cape Cod
- Cape Cod Barrister
- Wellfleet Bay Sanctuary
- CapeCodToday Arts
- Reflections on a Quarter-life Crisis
- Bismore Park
- Conservative's Conscience
- Cape Eyes
- Seufert's Scenes
- Rob O'Leary's Blog
- Cape Cod Kidz
- Editorial
- Energy Media
- Media Watch
- Sea Street
- Footnotes
- At the Movies
- Ned Sonntag
- Joe's Blog
- Cape Cod Crusader
- College Chat with Christine Chapman
- Washington Window
- Cape Yoga
- Resolute
- Literary Pop
- One Day at a Time
- Cape Cod Tracker
- Buckley's Blog
- State of Cape Cod
- Three plus lives
- Boston Cod
- Cape Wind Conversation
- Cape Cod Book Reviews
Archives
- August 2010 (4)
- June 2010 (2)
- May 2010 (3)
- April 2010 (6)
- March 2010 (3)
- February 2010 (5)
- January 2010 (3)
- November 2009 (3)
- October 2009 (3)
- September 2009 (5)
- August 2009 (3)
- July 2009 (4)
- June 2009 (4)
- May 2009 (1)
- April 2009 (3)
- March 2009 (9)
- February 2009 (6)
- January 2009 (4)
- December 2008 (3)
- November 2008 (4)
- October 2008 (4)
- September 2008 (3)
- August 2008 (5)
- July 2008 (2)
- June 2008 (5)
- May 2008 (4)
- April 2008 (1)
- March 2008 (5)
- February 2008 (2)
- January 2008 (3)
- December 2007 (5)
- November 2007 (3)
- October 2007 (8)
- September 2007 (6)
- August 2007 (4)
- July 2007 (10)
- June 2007 (7)
- May 2007 (6)
- April 2007 (7)
- March 2007 (7)
- February 2007 (4)
- January 2007 (2)
- December 2006 (4)
- November 2006 (2)
- October 2006 (4)
- September 2006 (3)
- August 2006 (1)
Become a CapeCodToday Blogger!
Are you passionate about your community? Do you blog or at least harbor thoughts of doing so?
If so, CapeCodToday.com would like to host your blog on our CapeCodToday weblog publishing platform.
Blog Newsfeed
CapeCodToday uses standard web "newsfeeds" (RSS) to automatically update the latest blog entries in your browser or newsreader.
Use any of the links below in your newsreader or web browser to get "Op-Ed" postings delivered to you, or use the RSS icon in your browser's address bar.
