68°F Rain [Cape & Islands News
What do YOU think about these stories? You can add your thoughts on this story by leaving a comment below.Archives for: November 2006
One of New England's largest displays of new, as well as museum quality clocks by famous manufacturers: Hentschel, Howard Miller, Sligh, Seth Thomas, Ansonia, Movado, and Chelsea. Choose from tall case, wall, shelf or ships clocks. Monthly Specials! (Sandwich)
Website of Jeff Perry. Jeff Perry in the 5th District of Barnstable is running for State Representative. (Sandwich)
Quaker Village Cookie Stroll, Packet Landing gateway, Park debate turns nasty, WY Fire Station loses ambulance
Sandy Neck is walkable today, but wait until next week
Mid Cape NEWS, November 30, 2006
| Cookie Stroll honors Bainbridge Crist By Nicole Muller/ nmuller@cnc.com Imagine strolling the streets of a Currier & Ives Christmas card. You pass beautiful old sea captains' homes, tendrils of smoke wafting from chimneys, the crisp, fresh scent of winter in the nippy air. Secretly, you wonder what lies beyond the bedecked doors, what stories the lovingly preserved walls have tucked away in hidden passages. Those who dream of a simpler time are invited to live that fantasy Saturday, Dec. 9. Owners of a dozen vintage homes in the old Quaker Village of South Yarmouth will welcome the public into holiday-decorated rooms 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. during South Yarmouth Library's first-ever Holiday Cookie Stroll... [more] |
| Yarmouth works to create a 'gateway' at Packet Landing By Craig Salters/ csalters@cnc.com If you're an optimist, improvements to Packet Landing in South Yarmouth are taking place slowly but surely. If you're a pessimist, of course, those same improvements are taking place surely ... but slowly. Either way, plans are moving forward and Yarmouth residents could be strolling the landing's new walkways and enjoying the beautiful river view as early as Labor Day of next year. "It's been kicking around for about a decade," said DPW Director George Allaire of the $400,000 revitalization project, which received federal funds in 1996 through the efforts of U.S. Rep. William Delahunt, D-Quincy... [more] |
| BHS Gospel Choir taps into tradition By Joe Burns/ jburns@cnc.com It's Tuesday morning, but at Barnstable High it sounds like Sunday as 30 hand-clapping, body-swaying students set the music room rocking with a rousing... [more] |
| Methodist church expands, physically and spiritually By Matthew Belson/ mbelson@cnc.com There's a lot of noise coming from Northside United Methodist Church these days. But the sounds of front-end loaders ripping up old asphalt, buzzing... [more] |
| Talk of the town By Joe Burns/ jburns@cnc.com To streamline town council meetings and to cut back on what he and others see as disrespectful and self-serving public comments by a small group of... [more] |
| WY Fire Station will lose ambulance, not fire engine By Craig Salters/ Csalters@cnc.com A fire engine can serve as an ambulance, but an ambulance can't serve as a fire engine. That was the rationale given to Yarmouth selectmen Tuesday night by Yarmouth Fire Chief C. Randall Sherman as he explained the reasoning behind Town Administrator Bob Lawton's decision to temporarily remove an ambulance from the West Yarmouth Fire Station. The move - an attempt to curb overtime costs - is a reversal of an earlier decision to remove a fire engine from the station while retaining the ambulance... [more] |
| Review process begins for Parkers River Marine Park By Craig Salters/ csalters@cnc.com Ambitious plans for a self-sufficient marine park at the mouth of Parkers River in West Yarmouth drew a large number of residents to a Monday night hearing and left town officials with hope for the project's future. "It went well," said Karl von Hone, director of Yarmouth's Department of Natural Resources and the point man for project. .. [more] |
| Park debate turns nasty By Nicole Muller/ nmuller@cnc.com A dispute is emerging in Dennis over how much commercial use should be allowed at Bass River Park. Article 1 of the Oct. 18, 2005 Dennis Town Meeting hearing and left town officials with hope for the project's future. "It went well," said Karl von Hone, director of Yarmouth's Department of Natural Resources and the point man for project. .. [more] |
| Many still priced out of housing By Joe Burns/ jburns@cnc.com Declining home prices on Cape Cod don't translate into an increase in affordable housing - at least not yet, say experts on the subject. Paul Ruchinskas,... [more] |
| Around Dennis Three vie for selectman's seat Sean Higgins of South Dennis and former selectmen Wayne Bergeron of Dennis and Heidi Schadt of South Dennis have taken... [more] |
| Food pantry is a lifeline for many By Nicole Muller/ nmuller@cnc.com This holiday season, The Register has selected the Hands of Hope Food Pantry in Dennisport and the Salvation Army Food Pantry in Hyannis to receive... [more] |
| D-Y district reviews special education responsibilities By Nicole Muller/ nmuller@cnc.com As director of special services for the Dennis-Yarmouth Regional School District, Gloria Lemerise has a daunting job. In addition to being responsible... [more] |
| Ezra H. Baker School Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF The final total collected for this year's campaign was $720.68, reported chairwoman Alice Boyle. A big thank you to... [more] |
| Around Yarmouth Chamber is Toys for Tots drop-off site The Yarmouth Area Chamber of Commerce will serve as a collection point for Toys for Tots donations this holiday... [more] |
| Airport finances explored in FAA audit By Craig Salters/ Csalters@cnc.com The Federal Aviation Administration's audit of the Barnstable Municipal Airport began Tuesday and should be completed by week's end. "We'll wrap... [more] |
| A sign of the times That new information board at the corner of Route 28 and Higgins Crowell Road in West Yarmouth is a gift to Yarmouth from the Rotary Club. The message... [more] |
| Dennis selectmen move ahead By Nicole Muller/ nmuller@cnc.com Dennis selectmen agreed unanimously Nov. 20 that Jane Otis should serve as chairwoman, replacing Don Trepte, who died Nov. 12. Vice chairman Charlie... [more] |
| Dennis considers alternate energy options By Nicole Muller/ nmuller@cnc.com Dennis selectmen will appoint an alternative energy advisory committee to find ways in which the town might encourage the development of solar and... [more] |
| Yarmouth roads scheduled for sealing The Yarmouth Department of Public Works recently compiled its preliminary list of roads scheduled for "chip sealing" in 2007. DPW Director... [more] |
| New Dennis Police HQ is on schedule By Nicole Muller/ nmuller@cnc.com Anyone who drives routinely down Bob Crowell Road in South Dennis knows that construction carries on at the new police station site. What the casual... [more] |
| School Notes BC High School students earn honors Matthew Anness Davis and Eric J Risley of West Barnstable achieved High Honors for the first quarter at Boston... [more] |
| Gospel roots and branches With roots in African and African-American traditions, gospel music grew out of the Pentacostal and Sanctified churches to become a prime influence... [more] |
| Buying and selling The following statistics are for the sales of single-family homes as provided by The Warren Group, publishers of the trade publication Banker & Tradesman. Median... [more] |
Rectrix case has Dec. 18 court date
A federal lawsuit brought against the Barnstable Municipal Airport Commission by one of its tenants is due in court next month. The lawsuit, filed... [more]
Read the rest of The Register here, and comment below.
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In like a lamb... out like a kitten
2006 hurricane season bows out quietly
Cape Cod and Florida spared any hits in 2006
Cape Cod and even Florida got away scot-free this year defying the predictions. The 2006 Atlantic hurricane season ends today with a whimper rather than a bang without a single hurricane hitting the United States.
Only three tropical storms made landfall, which was a welcomed relief from the previous two years when nearly a dozen hurricanes battered the country.
The mild 2006 Atlantic hurricane season is a stark contrast to the record-breaking hurricane season in 2005 which killed more than 1,500 people and left thousands homeless in New Orleans and along the Gulf of Mexico coast.
Such a sense of quiet was relative, however, because although 2006 might have seemed tame compared with the devastation of 2004 and 2005, the 2006 season's total of nine named storms, five hurricanes, two of them major was actually right at the historical average for the past 150 years, according to data from the National Hurricane Center.
The closest for us was Beryl off Cape Cod in July
This year was also unusual because no tropical systems formed at all in October. This is the first time that has happened since 1994, according to the hurricane center.
Only three tropical systems affected the United States at all this year. They were Tropical Storm (not hurricane) Alberto which came ashore in Florida's Big Bend region in June, then moved north through Georgia and South Carolina.
It was followed by Tropical Storm Beryl which brushed Cape Cod in July and finally Tropical Storm Ernesto (click here to see a hi-res satellite photo) made landfalls in southern Florida on August 30 and along the North Carolina coast two days later.
Click here to see how close Beryl came to Cape Cod.
Only Alberto hit the Gulf of Mexico this year, which was welcomed news for residents of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast still trying to recover from 2005's one-two punch from hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
We will have to change the Cape Cod Hurricane doggerel to read:
June, too soon.
July, stand by.
August, if you must.
September, REMEMBER.
October, 'twas sober.
Relevant Web Sites
- NOAA Atlantic Hurricane Outlook & Seasonal Climate Summary Archive
- NOAA 2006 Atlantic Hurricane Season Reports
- NOAA El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) Diagnostic Discussion
- NOAA's Role in El Niño Research, Monitoring and Prediction
- NOAA Climate Prediction Center
- NOAA: El Niño Makes a Comeback
- NOAA Hurricanes Portal
- NOAA 2006 Storm Event Imagery
Buzzards Bay man fired for smoking on his own time
Great Scott! Fired for smoking on his own time
by Jaclyn Fitzgerald & O'Ryan Johnson for the Boston Herald
A Buzzards Bay man peed into a cup and lost his job when the Scott Co. discovered he'd been inhaling more than the chemicals he sprayed on lawns - he was allegedly smoking cigarettes - according to a lawsuit he filed.
The employee, Scott Rodrigues, sued the national lawncare company yesterday for wrongful termination, claiming the company violated his civil rights. But company spokesman Jim King said the policy is meant to keep employees healthy and protect their wallets.
Read the rest of the Herald story here and comment below.
More from the Boston Globe here.
Bournes votes no on $13M school overrun, Won't renew SeMass, Sandwich Library rocks
Its a quiet time of year along the canal in Sandwich
Upper Cape NEWS, November 30, 2006
| Agreement should end litigation By Paul Gately/ pgately@cnc.com Bourne Town Counsel Robert Troy will soon file a stipulation of dismissal with the Massachusetts Land Court, bringing to an end litigation between Bourne and Cape Cod Aggregates, the owner of the controversial sand-and gravel pit off Scenic Highway. Selectmen Tuesday night approved the execution of an agreement between CCA and the zoning board of appeals, the final result of hearings dating to 2002 when neighbors first objected to CCA operations. The agreement places controls on CCA mining and rock crushing related to noise, dust and hours of operation... [more] |
| One for the books By Silene Gordon/ sgordon@cnc.com Stuart Parsons recalls his first year on the job at Sandwich Public Library as exciting but a bit intimidating. "I was a nervous wreck," says the nine-year veteran, acknowledging that, as a children's librarian, his audience is made up of savvy young customers who could tell a Newbery Award Winner from a mile away... [more] |
| Bourne won't renew its SEMASS contract By Paul Gately/ pgately@cnc.com The Upper Cape Cod trash train will continue to rumble through Bourne and across the canal twice a day, bound for the giant incinerator in Rochester, but come January it will no longer carry Bourne's trash and garbage. Town Administrator Thomas Guerino said Bourne's $750,000 contract with SEMASS expires in January and will not be renewed. At that point, Bourne municipal solid waste will be collected and buried in the town landfill off MacArthur Boulevard... [more] |
| Bourne wants answers on rotary project By Paul Gately/ pgately@cnc.com Bourne selectmen are taking issue with state plans to eliminate Connery Circle at the MacArthur Boulevard entrance to the Massachusetts Military Reservation, saying transportation planning should focus instead on fixing - or getting rid of - the Bourne rotary. Selectmen will write to state transportation and highway officials - as well as the town's Beacon Hill delegation - the message that Bourne's major priority is to undertake an overhaul or redesign of the traffic-choked circle at the foot of the Bourne Bridge... [more] |
| 'Holly Days' are here again By Silene Gordon/ sgordon@cnc.com After a successful first run last year with its Holly Days in Sandwich campaign, the Sandwich Chamber of Commerce is bringing back its lineup of holiday... [more] |
| House plan presents challenge By Paul Gately/ pgately@cnc.com The Bourne appeals board has opted to follow the spirit of a new bylaw rather than the exact wording for a house upgrade at 91 Sandwich Road, Bourne... [more] |
| Bourne may reverse field and hold 2008 Town Meeting before the annual election By Paul Gately/ Upper Cape Codder Bourne voters in 2008 may conduct Annual Town Meeting business before they go to the polls in the annual election if a recommendation by the Bylaw... [more] |
| Bourne rejects $13.2 million school cost overrun funding second time By Paul Gately/ Upper Cape Codder Bourne voters for the second time in less than two months overwhelmingly rejected a $13.2 million request Wednesday to fund a cost overrun on a proposed Buzzards Bay elementary school construction proposal for which they approved $26.8 million three years ago. “This whole project was snake bit from the very start,” said an elderly voter from Precinct 3 outside the Bourne Middle School on Wednesday afternoon. “And I didn’t appreciate having to vote on this issue twice.” The debt exclusion request to override Proposition 2½ and salvage a project years in the design, and for which the town expended much political capital, failed on a 2,336-1,423 vote. .. [more] |
| Housing prices still out of line By Joe Burns/ jburns@cnc.com Declining home prices on Cape Cod don't translate into an increase in affordable housing - at least not yet, say experts on the subject. Paul Ruchinskas,... [more] |
| Around Bourne Special election results online The results of the Bourne special election to fund the cost overrun for the new elementary school held Wednesday,... [more] |
| School notes Texas Hold-em Poker event Tickets are available for the Texas Hold-em Poker Tournament, Casino & Dinner Buffet fund-raiser from 7 p.m. to midnight... [more] |
| Bourne school notes Savings Makes Sense at BMS Massachusetts Treasurer Timothy Cahill will visit Bourne Middle School Dec. 4 at 8:30 a.m., along with a marketing representative... [more] |
| Construction debris dumped in bog By Paul Gately/ pgately@cnc.com A major environmental infraction was discovered at Little Buttermilk Bay earlier this month just as the Bourne Conservation Department and Buzzards... [more] |
| Bourne looks at combining public works, landfill offices Planning is under way to combine the Bourne public works headquarters and landfill division offices in a single building at a location still to be... [more] |
| Schoolhouse may go on historic register The Cataumet Schoolhouse Preservation Group is pressing the town to have the one-room school off County Road placed on the U.S. Register for Historic... [more] |
| CPA may help preserve old Bourne records Some vital Bourne history going back to the late 18th century needs attention and refurbishing. The historical commission plans to request Community... [more] |
| Bourne seeks help on CanalSide issues Bourne selectmen continue to press for professional help in determining how they should deal with CanalSide Commons developer Len Cubellis and perhaps... [more] |
| State money for Bourne schools delayed The Bourne School Department will have to wait until January to learn if it will receive $500,000 the Legislature set aside to help the town educate... [more] |
| Bourne landfill could be key in Cape's future waste disposal The Cape Cod Commission thinks Bourne - with its landfill - could be a big player when the region considers its future solid waste disposal needs. Commission... [more] |
| Bourne may have new food pantry site by 2008 The Bourne Friends Food Pantry may be operating out of a new location by the end of 2008. Bourne selectmen have set a new food-dispensing site as... [more] |
| Thieves strike in broad daylight Bourne police are investigating a Nov. 21 housebreak at a home on Sanford Lane, Monument Beach. The break and robbery occurred between 1:30 and 2:45... [more] |
| Turkey Trot tradition continues The 1.3-mile annual Thanksgiving Turkey Trot at Bourne Middle School was successful again this year. "In every race, everyone finished the course,... [more] |
Buying and selling
The following statistics are for the sales of single-family homes as provided by The Warren Group, publishers of the trade publication Banker & Tradesman. Median... [more]
Read the rest of the Upper Cape Codder here, and comment below.
"Lo and behold, Cape Cod is safe," US Supreme Court Jutice Stephen C. Breyer
High court hears global warming casePonders whether states' case vs. EPA is legally justified
The highly charged debate on global warming reached the US Supreme Court yesterday, prompting the justices to question the impact of auto and truck emissions on the environment, what must happen to rescue the world's coastlines, and whether the Environmental Protection Agency has to help stop the damage.
In the first case of its nature to reach the high court, the justices grilled both James R. Milkey, the top environmental lawyer in the Massachusetts attorney general's office, and Gregory G. Garre , the deputy solicitor general representing the Bush administration, on their views on global warming. The justices also probed the unsettled science of climate change and even weighed foreign policy considerations of the EPA setting limits on carbon dioxide pollution by new motor vehicles.
Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia set the tone for the sharp-edged debate when he interrupted Milkey barely two minutes into the hearing. "When is the predicted cataclysm?" Scalia asked. Global warming hasn't reached a cataclysmic phase, Milkey answered, but is in a stage of "ongoing harm," referring to warming temperatures leading to rising sea levels and erosion along Massachusetts' 200 miles of coastline and shores worldwide. Failure to limit greenhouse gases, he said, was like lighting "a fuse to a bomb," Garre, however, argued that ordering the EPA to regulate carbon dioxide emissions would send the agency into an "extraordinarily complex area of science," with no established or predictable results. He said Massachusetts can't argue that the EPA's regulation of emissions would save specific areas of coastlines, adding that the president and Congress are responsible for setting a policy that has such huge political and economic ramifications...
At the hearing yesterday, Justice Stephen G. Breyer challenged Garre's assertion that any possible action by the EPA would not make a significant difference in slowing down global warming. If others did their part, Breyer asked, and "lo and behold, Cape Cod is safe," should it be unreasonable to ask EPA to do what it can to help?
Justice David H. Souter seemed to agree. "Why is it reasonable to assume there will be no effect" on Massachusetts' shorelines if the EPA enforced the regulations, Souter asked Garre. "Why do [the states] have to show a precise correlation? . . . It is reasonable to suppose that some greenhouse gas reduction will result in some saving of coastline..." Read the rest of this Globe story here, and comment below.
MESA reviews, mini houses and piers, piers, piers
The end of the Earth in Ptown as seen from the Pilgrim Monument. Photo by Jane Booth.
Outer Cape NEWS; November 29, 2006
Builders urged to learn MESA review process
By Derek Burritt, Banner Correspondent
TRURO - What is a lawn? This is one of many questions surrounding the recent resurveying of Truro by the Mass. Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program, which places nearly the entire town in a rare species habitat for 34 plants and animals. FULL STORY
Retail & rental uses explored for town pier
By Pru Sowers, Banner Staff
PROVINCETOWN - As managers of MacMillan Pier struggle with higher than expected maintenance bills and a shrinking client base of commercial fishing boats, new ideas are beginning to be explored to turn what is arguably one of the prime pieces of waterfront real estate in town into a moneymaking venture. FULL STORY
Officer cleared in Hill shooting
Family seeks follow-up with independent medical examiner
By Emily Sussman, Banner Staff
EASTHAM - The district attorney's report that cleared a local police officer from wrongdoing after he shot and killed an Eastham man last month concludes that the officer had "eminently reasonable" cause to believe his life was in danger, and acted according to standard police training. FULL STORY
Arts
Small & tender visions of home
Brown's mini-homes evoke holiday spirit
Gail Brown has been making art on the Outer Cape since the mid-'60s and that work includes oils, watercolors, linoleum prints and ceramics. If that's not enough, she takes a two-month break from those and focuses her attention on crafting miniature houses complete with landscaped yards and dustings of snow. FULL STORY
Also in the Banner
The storm that damaged some of the floating docks at MacMillan Pier weeks ago also uncovered a potentially serious problem with the outside pilings, which could cost up to $500,000 to solve. One of two fender pilings that broke when a floating dock at the Whydah Museum crashed into them shows significant bore worm damage at the mud line. It is possible that all the other fender pilings, numbering between 150-200, may also be at risk. For the story, see this week's Banner.
In Provincetown: selectmen irked by planning board letter to attorney general; historic district commission to meet with builders to talk about possible changes in requirements; town to require house and unit numbers or owners will be fined; selectmen send letter of disagreement about Seashore dune shack position; Good Templar abutters won't pay drainage correction costs; sewer signup deadline extended to Dec. 8; PBG may seek firehouse #2 for visitor center, restrooms; Land's End hardware for sale; PHS senior play this weekend; Selectman Sarah Peake to resign in March; Cape grant may lead to new wireless network.
In Truro: Warren Falkenburg turns school lunch (and breakfast) into a not-to-be-missed daily taste treat.
In Wellfleet: snow plowing questions answered, for now; town gets grant for seawall repairs by pier.
In Eastham: Schoolhouse Museum begins expansion; liens on old gas station slow affordable housing plans.
In other news: next joint meeting with seashore to discuss over sand route beach closures due to plover nesting coming up.
Read these and other stories in the Provincetown Banner here and comment below.
Developers, church adoptions, flu clinics and football
The reflecting sun on Chatham Harbor. Photo by John Fitts.
Harwich and Chatham news; November 29, 2006
Chatham
Sou'Wester Developer Sent Back To Drawing Board
CHATHAM --- Planning board members sent the proponents of a condominium development at the site of the former Sou'Wester Restaurant back to the drawing board Tuesday, saying the plan as proposed was too dense and too sketchy. FULL STORY
Monomoy Plan's Draft Goals And Objectives Released
by Tim Wood
CHATHAM --- A draft of the goals and objectives for the Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge comprehensive conservation plan, setting broad management parameters for the 7,600-acre National Wildlife Refuge at the town's southern tip, was release last week. FULL STORY
Chatham Church Adopts African AIDS Orphans
by Tim Wood
CHATHAM --- According to the United Nations, there are currently nearly 40 million people living with HIV. Almost all of them --- 95 percent --- are in developing nations. FULL STORY
Marina Owner Recruits Support For Keeping Channel Clear
by Alan Pollock
CHATHAM - At the urging of Frank Facchetti of Outermost Harbor Marine, the waterways advisory committee Monday voted to ask selectmen to investigate the steps needed to keep the Morris Island channel navigable. FULL STORY
Downtown Road Closures Over, For Now
CHATHAM --- A sigh of relief is in order. Most of the projects that have bedeviled drivers with road closures and detours in the downtown area during the past several weeks are done --- for now. FULL STORY
No Single Profile Fits Family Pantry Clients
Anyone who doubts there is a problem with hunger on Cape Cod should think about this number: 300. That's the number of turkeys the Family Pantry gave out last Monday to local families as part of its annual Thanksgiving basket program. Nearly 100 more were distributed as part of the Pantry's outreach, via home delivery and sharing with other programs.
FULL STORY
Harwich
Health Officials Seek Safe Environment For December Flu Clinic
HARWICH --- The health department is putting a plan in place to provide a safer environment at the community center as flu shots are provided this year. Last year the rush of residents for a limited number of doses of the vaccine caused a chaotic scene. FULL STORY
Harwich Town Dock Pilings Giving Way To Age
HARWICH --- The steel pilings that secure boats in municipal slips in the town's harbor are showing their age. Several of them gave way in recent weeks, doing damage to a couple of commercial fishing vessels. FULL STORY
Parties Reach Accord On Summerwood Housing Appeal
by William F. Galvin
HARWICH --- The board of appeals and Harwich One, LLC have reached an agreement that could forego an appeal hearing before the state Housing Appeal Committee over a challenge to a comprehensive permit for the 32-unit East Harwich affordable housing development known as Summerwoods. FULL STORY
Parade May Roll Into Brooks Park To Honor Centennial Dedication
by William F. Galvin
HARWICH --- Training wheels were attached to a hometown parade for 2007 on Monday night. A dozen residents marched headlong into a commitment to put a parade on the week preceding the Harwich Cranberry Festival. FULL STORY
Two East Harwich Village Center Planning Sessions Set
by William F. Galvin
HARWICH --- Residents are being asked to participate in at least one of two planning forums scheduled to seek input into designing the future of the East Harwich Village Center.
FULL STORY
Ring In The Season In The Harwiches
by Alan Pollock
HARWICH - It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas in the Harwiches. The holiday celebration, sponsored by the Harwich Chamber of Commerce, kicks off Friday with a Christmas Tree Lighting ceremony at Doane Park at 5:30. For Jeannie Wheeler, who organized this year's event with her husband, John, and Bill Lean, the tree lighting ceremony is her favorite part of the celebration. FULL STORY
Editorial
Give Sou'Wester Plan A Chance
Route 28 and Barn Hill Road is a critical intersection for many reasons. It marks the beginning of the West Chatham business district --- and the village center district, according to the long range comprehensive plan --- and, especially in the summer, it's one of the town's busiest corners thanks to the popularity of Harding's Beach. For a number of years, however, the appearance of the southeast corner of the intersection has been somewhat less than stellar. Overgrown and run down, the former Sou'Wester Restaurant makes a rather poor impression, and West Chatham deserves better. FULL STORY
Sports
Super Bowl Bound
NEW BEDFORD - Cape Tech/Harwich head coach Dave Currid made a preseason vow to his team that if they got to the Super Bowl this year, he'd shave his head into a Mohawk. Time to bust out the buzzers. FULL STORY
Mashpee Hands Cape Tech/Harwich First Loss Of The Year
PLEASANT LAKE - The locker room, silent and sober, was full of long faces. The players were sprawled out across the cold concrete floor, some holding their heads in their hands, some hanging them. FULL STORY
Read these and the rest of the Cape Cod Chronicle's stories here and comment below.
Chatham picks up some prime, though non-taxable, real estate
Thanksgiving Storm Fills Southway Channel
Barrier Beach Now Unbroken From Lighthouse To Monomoy Point which is only 9 miles from Nantucket
For the first time in more than 40 years, it’s possible to walk from mainland Chatham to Monomoy Point. Over the weekend, sand choked off the remnants of the small channel between South Beach and South Monomoy Island, creating a long, uninterrupted barrier beach.
While a small stream of water trickles over at peak tide, the beach is otherwise dry, and the sand is firm enough to allow dozens of walkers and even a Coast Guard pickup truck to pass over. For beach regulators, wildlife managers and others, the shifting sands have raised a number of pressing questions.
Not a surprise
The Southway channel has been gradually filling in for about two years, making it increasingly difficult for boaters to use the shortcut between Nantucket Sound and the Atlantic Ocean. This summer, Chatham Harbormaster Stuart Smith said the channel was still navigable at half tide or higher...
Read the rest of this Chronicle story here, and comment below.
8th OUI, but where did he get the licence and dealer plate?
No license, but Cape Cod man racks up his 8th OUI charge
His driver’s license was revoked for life two years ago, but cops say Robert Marapoti, 46, of Sandwich was behind the wheel and drunk when he was arrested Saturday for the eighth time. Plymouth police say Marapoti rammed the back of his daughter’s car while following her home in a 1990 Mercedes with a dealer’s license plate.
The daughter, 21, whose name is being withheld by police, arranged to meet her father at a convenience store, but found him drunk and passed out at the wheel, police said, and decided to leave him there. Marapoti woke up, drove after his daughter and rear-ended her car as she made a turn, police said. .. Read the rest of this Herald story here, and comment below.
Flu shots short, Parade plans, KI pills here, Gomes tells all
It's that time of year again at Linc Thacher's bogs on Great Western Road
Harwich NEWS, November 29, 2006
| Town aims for orderly flu shot clinic By Douglas Karlson/ dkarlson@cnc.com Last year it was mayhem at the town's flu shot clinic, when twice the people expected showed up, and hundreds were turned away. This year, health director Paula Champagne wants to prevent that. She's enlisted the help of the town's incident command system and hopes to prevent the crowd-control problems that overwhelmed clinic workers last year. Those preparations may be needed. Champagne told selectmen Monday that the town has received about 500 doses of flu vaccine, and that may not be enough. Last year, 800 people showed up, and 600 doses were dispensed... [more] |
| Gifts of Hope: Helping those who need it most By Debi Boucher Stetson As The Harwich Oracle, The Cape Codder and the Lower Cape Outreach Council launch the annual Gifts of Hope campaign, the nonprofit organization that provides help to struggling local residents is entering its busiest season... [more] |
Parade plans marching on By Douglas Karlson/ dkarlson@cnc.comAccording to Confucius, all great journeys begin with one small step. It appears to be the case for parades, too. About a dozen proponents took the the first step when they met Monday at the community center to talk about resurrecting the popular Harwich hometown parade. They want it scheduled for Sept. 9, the Sunday before the cranberry festival. Organizers agreed they will start small, and keep it simple. "I would like it to go back to grassroots," said Jennifer Rioux, who wants the parade smaller and shorterThe popular parade was canceled two years ago due to volunteer fatigue. But earlier this month, former parade organizer Leo Cakounes and Harwich resident Nancy Moran called for a brainstorming session, saying many community members want to bring the parade back. In addition, according to Cakounes, the hometown parade committee still has several thousand dollars left over from previous parade fund-raising... [more] Photo is Shirley Gomes in the 1996 parade. |
| 'Christmas In the Harwiches' starts Friday By Douglas Karlson/ dkarlson@cnc.com If December is dawning, it must be time for Christmas In the Harwiches. The event kicks off this Friday at 5:30 p.m. with a tree-lighting ceremony... [more] |
| KI pills are delivered to Cape towns By Douglas Karlson/ dkarlson@cnc.com Hundreds of thousands of potassium iodide pills that would be taken in the event of a nuclear mishap at the Pilgrim nuclear power plant have been distributed up and down the Cape. For years, local health activists have been frustrated in their efforts to get the pills. In 2002, a Massachusetts law was passed requiring the state to supply potassium iodide, or KI, pills to all towns that requested them. In subsequent town meetings, most Cape towns voted overwhelmingly for resolutions to request the pills, which help prevent thyroid cancer in the event of a radioactive leak from a nuclear power plant... [more] |
| Beacon Hill Roll Call By Bob Katzen THE HOUSE AND SENATE.Beacon Hill Roll Call records local senators and representatives' votes on two roll calls from recent sessions. All roll calls... [more] |
| News notes Transport planners to meet Friday Cape Cod Joint Transportation Committee, a transportation advisory group for the Cape Cod Metropolitan Planning... [more] |
| Silbert tapped for economic committee By Oracle staff Governor-elect Deval Patrick tapped Andrea Silbert, the Harwich Democrat who ran an unsuccessful primary election campaign for lieutenant governor... [more] |
| News briefs County forum to address health, human services needs The Barnstable County Health and Human Services Advisory Council will hold a community forum... [more] |
| Drug forum Dec. 6 Drugs in schools will be the topic of a community forum Wednesday, Dec. 6. The event, starting at 6:30 p.m. in Harwich Community Center, will feature... [more] |
| Donations to date Phil and Rose Marie McLoughlin: $2,500 Stanley and Bonnie Snow: 1,200 Maria Ewald: 500 OldCape.com: 250 Betty Glidden: 103 E. Lee Drinane: 100 Jeanne... [more] |
| A post-election view from Gomes By Steve Desroches/ sdesroch@cnc.com It appears that the old Cape Cod Yankee Republican is in need of more protection that the piping plover. The peninsula once was a stronghold for for Republicans, but after this month’s election, Sandwich’s Jeff Perry is to be the lone GOP representative in the Cape Cod delegation to Beacon Hill starting next year. Republicans have represented the 4th Barnstable District, which covers seven towns from Provincetown to Harwich, since the Civil War, with one brief exception. Now, with Democrat Sarah Peake, of Provincetown, as the representative-elect, many are writing the obituary for the area’s Republican Party, especially on the Outer Cape. But outgoing Republican state Rep. Shirley Gomes has words of caution, and clarification... [more] |
| Around Town Hall Happy birthday Not a rosy picture The town of Harwich will not foot the bill for work done by landscaper Don Milbier at the community center. That's... [more] |
| Environmental leaders say Dems' victory bodes well By Matthew Belson/ mbelson@cnc.com For environmentalists, the Democratic gain of the mid-term election is viewed as a sea change from how Congress has been approaching environmental... [more] |
By Douglas Karlson/ dkarlson@cnc.com
Like a vintner sampling an aging barrel of Bordeaux, former selectman and wine shop owner Bruce Gibson says it's time. He's putting Harwich Spirits... [more]
Read the rest of The Oracle here, and comment below.
Falmouth teacher admits to kid porn
Mashpee Man Pleads Guilty to Receipt of Child Pornography
David Berglund faces 10 years in prison, hundreds of child porn images found
A Mashpee resident pleaded guilty today in federal court to possession of child pornography. United States Attorney Michael J. Sullivan and Sharon E. Ormsby, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigations in New England, announced that David Berglund, age 42, of 18 Holly Farm Drive, Mashpee, Massachusetts, pleaded guilty to a one-count information charging him with possession of visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
Berglund has spent the last 17 years working as a physics teacher at Falmouth High School. He also was a volunteer with the Boys & Girls Club of Cape Cod where he was banned after video taping children on a beach last year.
According to documents previously filed with the court and statements made by the prosecutor at today's plea hearing, FBI agents discovered between 150 and 300 child pornography images on Berglund's computer after he consented to their searching it. The images were primarily of naked prepubescent boys engaged in sexually explicit conduct. The agents were led to Berglund's computer as a result of an investigation by the Innocent Images International Task Force (ITF) located in Calverton, Maryland.
In October 2004, the ITF began an investigation of several child pornography web sites which were utilizing certain payment services, including "E-Gold". By June 2005, due to the ongoing international investigation, E-Gold became the only available means of purchasing membership into web sites identified as supplying child pornography.
FBI spoke to Berglund on phone & he consented to a PC search
Based on information that was seized from the E-Gold server, the FBI was able to obtain transaction history records. Among the records were those indicating that Berglund had purchased a $125 membership in August 2005. Agents then went and spoke to Berglund at his home at which time he consented to their search of his home computer.
Berglund has been in federal custody since his arrest on September 1, 2006. Judge Stearns scheduled sentencing for February 27, 2007, at 2:30 p.m. Berglund faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Dana Gershengorn in Sullivan's Major Crimes Unit.
Kids build a new ballfield in Bourne
Students Band Together, Construct Field In BourneBest field in the Cape Cod League, see video
It is the newest, and arguably, the highest quality baseball field in the entire Cape Cod league. And who do you think built it? -- A professional landscaping company? No. Kids did."I think we did a hell of a job -- came together real good," said one student who helped with the project. "Our students have done probably 80 percent of the work," said Superintendent Kevin Farr.
The students at Upper Cape Tech took on the challenge of building a new filed for the Bourne Braves -- from the electronic scoreboard, to the blue grass sod to the press box.
"You have to realize that students did this," said Mike Carrier, an instructor at the school. "I don’t think it’s ever been done in any part of the country." The league in the town raised the money and the students put their muscle and knowledge to work... Read the rest of this CBS4 story and video here, and comment below.
Carr, Fenn, Nickerson, Norcross, Silbert, Wolf named by Patrick
Cape Air president, wind farm foe among six named to Patrick's work groups
Governor-elect Deval Patrick has named six Cape notables to working groups to develop state policies in areas like economic development, transportation and innovative industries. The working groups will hold public meetings soon and lay the groundwork for the new administration’s agenda.
Andrea Silbert of Harwich, who lost the Democratic primary for lieutenant governor in September, was named co-chair of the Economic Development working group. She is the co-founder and former CEO of the Center for Women and Enterprise. Elliot Carr of the Cape Cod Business Roundtable was also appointed to the Economic Development working group.
Susan Nickerson, the executive director of the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound, will serve on the working group for the Energy and the Environment. Transportation working group members include Dan Wolf, the president and CEO of Cape Air, and Margo Fenn, the executive director of the Cape Cod Commission. Wendy Northcross, the CEO of the Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce, is on the Creative Economy working group... Read the rst of this Inquirer & Mirror story here, and comment below.
EDITOR'S NOTE: This story which appeared in several Ottaway Newspapers today failed to include the name of the Energy and the Environment group's most prominent member, Greg Watson of Falmouth, a long time Vice President, Sustainable Development & Renewable Energy, at the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative.
Defense seeks to exclude some evidence; Eerie echo of Christa
UPDATE: Defense seeks to exclude some evidence in Nantucket murder case
No Trial date set for Beth Lochtefeld's accused killer 
The defense attorney for a one-time Manhattan bank executive accused of killing his former girlfriend on Nantucket two years ago is asking a judge to throw out some potential evidence.
Thomas Toolan III (on right), a former vice president at Citigroup, has pleaded not guilty to the Oct. 25, 2004, stabbing death of Elizabeth Lochtefeld. Her death, the first slaying on Nantucket in two decades, shocked the island community.
Toolan was in Barnstable Superior Court on Monday as his lawyer, Kevin Reddington, began making his case to throw out evidence gathered in searches of Toolan's car, and a package of Toolan's belongings that Lochtefeld had shipped back to him just before she died.
No date has been set for the trial... read the rest of the Telegram story here, and comment below.
______________________________
Murdered Nantucket woman's accused in Barnstable Court today
Similarities between the two women's lives and deaths are chilling
She was another pretty, charismatic New Yorker who fled to New England to escape the rat race - only to wind up brutally murdered there.
Beth Lochtefeld, like doomed fashion scribe Christa Worthington, had sought refuge from her successful yet harried, big-city lifestyle in the idyllic beach town in Nantucket where she'd summered as a child. And like Worthington, she was slain in a charming bungalow she called home.
Lochtefeld's accused killer, her ex-boyfriend, faces a hearing this morning in Barnstable Superior Court on Cape Cod to set a trial date in her gruesome 2004 slaying.
It's been only 10 days since Worthington's murderer, a local garbage man, was convicted in the same courthouse.
The similarities between the women's lives - and deaths - are chilling. Worthington, a writer who'd worked for Women's Wear Daily and Elle, had moved to the remote Cape Cod fishing town of Truro in 1997. Lochtefeld, a longtime Greenwich Village resident, sold the real-estate consulting firm that she founded in the 1990s to head to the quaint island of Nantucket, south of the cape.
Both women had settled into picturesque cedar-shingled cottages that seemed to be the very essence of a charmed New England existence - until violence struck. Worthington was raped and stabbed to death at her home by Christopher McCowen in 2002. Lochtefeld wasn't the victim of random violence, but she met just as grisly an end. Cops said she was done in by a man she'd once loved, and like Worthington, she was stabbed to death in her home...
Read the rest of this Post story here, and comment below.
See Beth's memorial site and her book here.
Brazilians get their taioba here
Professor’s work brings new ethnic crops to Massachusetts
The Cape's Brazilians travel miles for their native veggies
When Lucia Almeida moved here from Brazil about eight months ago, she assumed her tastes would have to change. How could she expect to find the bitter eggplant called “jilo” around here? And abobora, the squash that Brazilians hollow out and fill with beef or shrimp stew, surely didn’t exist in a Massachusetts grocery store. “I was very worried,” she said in Portuguese. “I didn’t think I’d get the vegetables I wanted here.” But her trips to a local grocery store keep surprising her.
Thanks to a program started by Frank Mangan, an associate professor at the University of Massachusetts, Almeida and other Latin American immigrants are able to find more of the vegetables they know from home in their new local marketplaces. “People were driving up from Cape Cod to buy it,” he said. “Nobody realized it could be grown around here.”
Although he’s sure taioba will be able to sell for as high as $6 a pound, Mangan isn’t quite ready to turn production of the crop over to local farmers. He still needs to complete some research before he can be confident it will grow well in Massachusetts.
“I’m very happy this is here,” Almeida said as she placed a pumpkin-like abobora in her shopping cart at the Market Basket...
Read the rest of this Herald story here, and comment below
Join the Rachael Ray Sucks Community
Hatred of Rachael Ray can be a powerful uniting force
Cape Cod native gets a bashing from her anti-fans
Consumer culture and indeed popular culture revolve in large part around shared admiration, shared likes: Fandom, in a word, is a thing that can bring us together.
But what about shared dislikes? Can a community form around that? What is the opposite of a fan club? The answer is the Rachael Ray Sucks Community.
Gathering by way of the blogging and social-networking site LiveJournal, this group has more than 1,000 members, who are quite active in posting their latest thoughts and observations about the various shortcomings, flaws, and disagreeable traits of Rachael Ray, the television food personality.
"This community," the official explanation reads, "was created for people that hate the untalented twit known as Rachael Ray." The most important rule for those who wish to join: "You must be anti-Rachael!"
As with any community, the key to attracting members is not just a clear core idea but one that can be fulfilled in a variety of ways. Members of the Rachael Ray Sucks Community certainly do this, criticizing her cooking skills, her over-reliance on chicken stock, her kitchen hygiene, her smile, her voice, her physical mannerisms, her clothes, her penchant for saying "Yum-o," and so on...
By then, Ray, a Cape Cod native, was on her way to becoming the pop culture juggernaut she is today, with a couple of Food Network shows, a syndicated talk show, a magazine started a year ago that is expected to top a million in circulation, plans for a restaurant, and even CDs of her favorite songs for kids and the holidays. Meanwhile, Ray-bashing has flourished, too...
Read the rest of this Globe story here, and comment below.
Read this previous story about Rachel Ray here.
See another RR Sux site here.
Real Estate Roulette
Who'll blink first?
Motivated buyers and stubborn sellers are stuck in a 'stare-down,' each waiting for the other to crack and meet the other's price
If home shoppers are frustrated by the lack of bargains in the real estate market, they might want to follow John Pesa's lead.
Pesa was a bulldog of a buyer. When sellers would laugh at his outrageously low offers, he would counter with a lower figure. He would dig up information on comparable, but less expensive, houses to buttress his point and learned as much about the pricing and movements in the market as the brokers showing homes knew.
An architect with a master's in business administration, Pesa developed a detailed spreadsheet of possible homes that charted costs and various financial scenarios. He and his wife researched communities, collecting test scores on the local schools and timing likely commuting routes.
The result, after almost three years of research and shopping, was a house in Halifax that they bought at the end of summer for $81,000 below the seller's original price... Meanwhile, Nicole Gargano is more inclined to buy now now that she sees home prices on Cape Cod finally within sight of her limit of $300,000. Even with recent reductions on some homes -- $50,000 in a few cases -- Gargano continues to be frustrated by the high cost of real estate on the Cape; one house she and her partner saw in their price range that they liked sold before they could act on it...
Read the rest of this Globe story here, and comment below.
Selectman's race a 2-vote win, Waste management dispute, Scallop season a bust, again
Great Point Light on a late November day
Nantucket news, November 24, 2006
Two votes decide selectman's race in Stover's favor
Patty Roggeveen will ask for recount
Town Clerk Catherine Flanagan Stover was elected to a five-month interim term on the Board of Selectmen last night, finishing just two votes ahead of Community School director Patty Roggeveen to fill the seat vacated in August by Michael Glowacki, who resigned due to health concerns. Flanagan Stover claimed victory with 803 votes to Roggeveen’s 801, and David Gray finished third with 373 votes. Former candidate Arch McColl, who died last month but whose name remained on the ballot, received 15 votes.
Arbitrator rules in Waste Options dispute
An independent arbitrator has released its non-binding recomendations in the town’s dispute with landfill operator Waste Options, and they represent something of a compromise, Town Counsel Paul DeRensis said yesterday without elaborating. “I didn’t personally handle it. It was another attorney in our firm, and I haven’t had a chance to digest this thing, but it’s my understanding that they split the baby in half. That’s the nature of arbitration proceedings. Because it was a compromise, I also understand there were some hits against the town.”
To view a selection of images captured by Inquirer and Mirror photographers over the past week, featuring photo galleries of the Island Cup battle with Martha's Vineyard and other signs of the season.
Study group recommends Selectmen appoint HDC, Planning Board members
The Board of Selectmen would gain broad new powers to appoint the members of two local regulatory boards, and full-time town employees would be barred from becoming Selectmen under proposed warrant articles submitted by the Town Government Study Committee last week.
Scallop season poised to be worse than last year's – and that was bad
Commercial scallopers could be headed for another down season, and may not even reach last year’s record-low 5,500 bushels, fishermen and marine officials said this week. Harbormaster Dave Fronzuto said many scallopers have already called it quits for the season less than a month in, including some of the fleet’s most experienced fishermen. Barely 30 boats have been scalloping in Nantucket and Madaket harbors during the last two weeks, he said, compared to more than 50 on opening day.
Citizens file 22 articles for Annual Town Meeting
A total of 22 citizen’s warrant articles – running the gamut from proposed revisions to the town’s noise bylaw to housing issues – were submitted to the Town Clerk’s office.
Toys for Tots campaign begins season of giving
About 150 island children will wake up on Christmas morning this year to find gifts under the tree thanks fo the efforts of many community volunteers and business owner.
Read the rest of the Inquirer & Mirror here, and comment below.
Guilty ! Green Christmas, Met tower on White Crest Beach, Look out for Sea Turtles
Provincetown at sunset from Beach Point in North Truro
Lower Cape news, November 24, 2006
| Guilty By Marilyn Miller/ mmiller@cnc.com BARNSTABLE - The trash man did it. So said a jury of five men and seven women, who, after deliberating 15 hours over two days, found last Thursday... [more] |
| Green Christmas |