Cape & Islands News

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

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

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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.

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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

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. 

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"Lo and behold, Cape Cod is safe," US Supreme Court Jutice Stephen C. Breyer

High court hears global warming case
Ponders whether states' case vs. EPA is legally justified

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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

Parade plans marching on By Douglas Karlson/ dkarlson@cnc.com According 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.

Read the rest of The Oracle here, and comment below. 

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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.

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Kids build a new ballfield in Bourne

Students Band Together, Construct Field In Bourne

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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.

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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.

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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

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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.

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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. 

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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.”

 The week in photos

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.

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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

Green Christmas By Steve Desroches/ sdesroch@cnc.com PROVINCETOWN - Others may hope for a white Christmas, but this year Provincetown's trying to do it green. Provincetown is decorating its town hall with 39 strands of White LED Holiday Light Strands that use 1/100th of the energy the old lights used in the past. The new lights last about 20 years, and, combined, the 39 strands use the equivalent amount of energy as a single 100-watt bulb      The use of these uber-energy efficient holiday lights comes just a week after voters at town meeting endorsed the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement and the Cape and Islands Renewable Fuels Partnership. With that action, the Provincetown community will continually examine its practices to seek ways to reduce the production of greenhouse gases and look for ways to reduce its environmental footprint.      (For more information on the Climate Protection Agreement and the Renewable Fuels Partnership, go to provincetown-ma.gov and click on the photo of planet Earth)... [more]

Crime lab to test other DNA
By Marilyn Miller/ mmiller@cnc.com
The Cape and Islands District Attorney's Office hopes to answer some unresolved questions about the police investigation of Christa Worthington's... [more]

Read the rest of The Cape Codder here, and comment below.

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Top cop retires, FAA selects airport for audit, Non-white students struggling, CC Commish task force reports its yeas and nays

     The seats on the Hy-Line boats are mostly empty now

Barnstable news, November 24, 2006

They reasoned together, argued together and in the end voted unanimously to send a document that incorporates a minority report to the county commissioners. On Tuesday, all 14 members attending the final meeting of the 21 st Century Task Force on the Cape Cod Commission agreed on the compromise that allowed even dissenters to join a positive vote for change at the land-use agency.

Police detectives, reporters, and just plain nosy neighbors find hidden clues to character and human behavior of people they meet by looking at the books that they buy and read. The numbers, genres and ages of books on a living room table or fine sets locked behind glass can tell much about the men and women who own them. If they have no books, that makes a statement, too. Last Saturday, a bibliophile who keeps 40,000 volumes in her house in Harwich talked about some of the early books that were acquired over the first half-dozen years in the life of the Sturgis Library in Barnstable Village, roughly the decade after the Civil War.

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Energy conservation lagging, Islanders question sale of hospital, Oak Bluffs ZBA official fined

      Waiting to leave the Vineyard Haven dock

Martha's Vineyard news, November 24, 2006

Energy Conservation Lagging on Vineyard
Climate change has been at the top of nearly every political agenda this fall. The incoming Massachusetts governor heralded energy reform throughout his campaign, and Democratic leaders on Capitol Hill have pledged that legislation to curb global warming will be a top priority in the coming year. Elsewhere in the world, the United Nations earlier this month assembled a climate change conference in Nairobi only days after a landmark British government report spelled out the global economic crisis that will occur if countries do not control their greenhouse gas emissions as soon as possible.

Sale of Hospital Draws Queries
Islanders Attend Sunday Forum with Wide-Ranging Questions on Deal Between Hospital and Giant Boston Group
The Martha's Vineyard Hospital will be fully covered for any decrease in Medicare funding that flows from a proposed affiliation with the giant Partners Health Care group, a gathering of Island residents were promised this week.

Growing Class Divide Cause for Worry
The greatest thing about the Vineyard for the Rev. Alden Besse is not the natural beauty - as much as he appreciates it - but the intimacy of the Island community.

Former Town Official Is Fined for Conflict of Interest Violation
A former member of the Oak Bluffs zoning board of appeals who is also an architect was fined $3,000 this week by the Massachusetts Ethics Commission for violating the state conflict of interest law. William (Chuck) Sullivan represented clients on six occasions in front of his own board, the ethics commission found.

Red Stocking Fund Begins Season of Helping Needy
The Red Stocking Fund is the Vineyard's holiday Santa. Red Stocking elves are already quietly working behind the scenes to make sure every Island child with needs has a warm and love-filled season. Last year 275 children in 173 families got a boost of holiday cheer, thanks to Red Stocking. This year the number is expected to be higher.

Landscape Master: Allen Whiting Publishes Book of Life's Work
It's raining outside, so artist Allen Whiting is doing a quick inventory of the leaks in his West Tisbury barn-turned-studio, making sure that stacks of finished oil paintings are out of the way of the runoff. Repairs can be put off to another day. He and two soaking wet sheep dogs would much rather go to South Beach the moment it clears up and a reporter clears out - both of which appear imminent, as sunlight starts breaking through mid-morning clouds.

Read the rest of the Gazette here, and comment below. 

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Changes in Bourne Fire Dept., Sandwich budget is a "work in progress".

     Main Street Sandwich takes on its Fall colors 

Upper Cape News, November 22, 2006

Bourne won’t renew its SEMASS contract in January; will bury its trash in its landfill By Paul Gately/ Upper Cape Codder The Upper Cape Cod trash train will continue to rumble through town 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 advised selectmen Tuesday night that Bourne’s $750,000 contract with SEMASS expires in January and will not be renewed.  At that point, he said, Bourne municipal solid waste will be collected and buried in the town landfill off MacArthur BoulevardThe disposal facility has been accepting the so-called MSW from other entities this year as a business practice to keep revenue flow intact. That practice has proved to be politically unsettling in some segments of the community... [more]

Which rotary needs state attention first? Bourne or Connery at entrance to Otis? By Paul Gately/ Upper Cape Codder Bourne selectmen Tuesday night took 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 voted 5-0 to relay in writing 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]

 Read the rest of the Upper Cape Codder here, and comment below.

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Thanksgiving Myths debunked

Nuthin' but the facts, Ma'am

Myth - The first such celebration was called Thanksgiving.
Fact - Thanksgiving celebrations were religious affairs and could be called at anytime of the year by our early settlers, both here and elsewhere in North America. If this had been a religious ceremony, the Indians would never have been invited.

Myth - The first Thanksgiving took place in 1621 on the Plimoth (yes, the correct spelling) Plantation.
Fact - Almost certainly not. San Elizaro, Texas claims the first feast was held in 1598 to celebrate the arrival of Spanish explorer, Juan de Onate. The Berkeley Plantation in Virginia reenacts the landing and celebration of the settlers on board the Margaret in 1619, a year before The Mayflower reached Massachusetts. It wasn't until 1963 that President John F. Kennedy officially recognized the Massachusetts claim, but of course, he may have been prejudiced.

Myth - The celebrations have always occurred in late November.
Fact - The first Plimoth celebration was called a Harvest Home Festival, and it lasted three days, most likely in late  September since history suggests they ate outdoors, and look outside right now to see if that's a good idea.

Myth - The Mayflower had originally set sail for Virginia but, due to bad weather and navigational errors, landed at what is now Massachusetts.
Fact - The tiny ship sighted huge breakers off of Chatham on Cape Cod, and alerted to this danger followed the coast north to the safety of what is today's Provincetown harbor before sailing across Cape Cod Bay a week later to Plymouth. At that time, most of the east coast of North America was considered Virginia and Massachusetts was merely the northern portion.

Myth - Pilgrims were Puritans.
Fact - The religious portion of the Pilgrims were Separatists or "Saints". Although both sects descended from John Calvin's teachings, Puritans believed the Church of England could be saved while Separatists believed it was too corrupted to fix and wanted to worship in their own way, thus their journey to Holland and then Massachusetts.

Myth - Everyone who sailed on the Mayflower was searching for religious freedom.
Fact - The travelers onboard the little ship were a contentious mix of adventurers, treasure hunters, and a religious group. The worshipers called themselves "Saints" and everyone else was known as "Strangers." Once they landed in Provincetown a truce called the Mayflower Compact called for everyone to work for the good of the community. John Carver (for whom that town south of Plymouth is named) was elected the first governor of the new group which now called themselves Pilgrims.

Myth - The Pilgrims stole the land they settled on from the Native Americans Wampanoags.
Fact - The ground had formerly been settled by the Patuxet tribe. They had been wiped out the previous year by an epidemic, probably small pox, and left behind cleared land and wild-planted fields of corn. The only known Patuxet survivor was a man named Squanto who had been in Europe at the time of the plague.

Myth - The Native Americans and the Pilgrims were friends.
Fact - The local tribes soon figured out that helping these white strangers may have been a big mistake. Within a few years they fought  the bloody King Phip's War against the  Wampanoag. It was one of the deadliest wars in American history. Local tribe members stage annual protests in today's Plymouth and in many other America cities around Columbus Day to prove their point.

Myth - The Pilgrims were mostly old men.
Fact - Only 5 of the 104 passengers were over 50 and 30 of them were under the age of 17. 73 of the Pilgrims were men and 31 were women.

Myth - The Thanksgiving meal consisted of the Pilgrims and Chief Massasoit and his Wampanoag tribe sitting down at tables and feasting on roast turkey, dressing, potatoes, corn on the cob, and pumpkin pie.
Fact - The food was most likely served on any flat surface - tables, boxes, tree stumps - and eaten whenever someone was hungry. There were no plates or silverware although they would use cloths to hold the food when it was hot. Records show the Wampanoags brought 11 deer to the feast to supplement the duck, geese, and fish served.

Corn was available but the type grown was usually dried and ground into meal. Also, the Pilgrims would not have eaten potatoes because Europeans still believed the tubers were poisonous. Most tragic of all, they would have had fruit to eat but not in the form of pies - they did not have sugar!

What we think of as the traditional Thanksgiving menu is a product of the rise in popularity of the celebration during the Victorian Period. But the Thanksgiving holiday has undergone many changes since its first appearance. Intermittent harvest festivals and later a Forefather's Day were celebrated throughout the colonies as the population grew. The first time all thirteen colonies celebrated a Thanksgiving holiday on the same day was in October of 1777.
____________________________

If you'd like to read a spoof about the first Thanksgiving, read
"Now it can be told: The True Turkey Tale", here. 

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Boat seized south of Chatham

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The real Alice behind the restaurant

Icon of Arlo Guthrie's song has made peace, at last, with her fame

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The real Alice behind the restaurant

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Condo plan for Sou'Wester; CVS restoration; Preserving open space; more

   ^{Motoring a Marshall Cat into Round Cove to pull it out for the winter}

Chatham and Harwich news; November 22, 2006

Condos Proposed For Sou'Wester
CHATHAM --- The former Sou'Wester restaurant and the adjacent Master Mariner motel could be bulldozed and replaced with 22 townhouse condominiums under a proposal slated to go before the zoning board of appeals next month.   FULL STORY

Chamber: CVS Seeking To Restore Chatham Pharmacy
CHATHAM - Spurred in part by the closure of the town's only pharmacy last month, CVS is reportedly looking for ways to expand its downtown store to include a pharmacy, Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Danielle Jeanloz said Tuesday.   FULL STORY

Capital Outlay Wants More Study Of High School Options
HARWICH --- The capital outlay committee has reduced the projected cost of a new high school facility by $5 million in the annual plan presented to selectmen Monday night. Committee chairman Arthur "Pete" Watson said they have "major reservations" about school needs.   FULL STORY

New Capital Plan Takes Conservative Spending Approach
HARWICH --- The newly minted seven-year capital plan was unveiled Monday night before selectmen and contains three major projects: A new police station, high school facility needs and wastewater management.   FULL STORY

Historical Designation First Step In Preserving Old Coast Guard Boathouse
by Tim Wood
CHATHAM --- Efforts are underway to save the former Coast Guard boathouse on Stage Island, which was slated for demolition after the rejection earlier this year of a plan to replace the marine railway connected to the structure with a private pier.   FULL STORY

Neighborhood Effort Culminates In Preservation Of Open Space
by Tim Wood
CHATHAM --- Sandwiched between Cedar Street and Independence Lane, the 3.2 acres of open space is thick with brambles and cut with paths that wind through the rectangular-shaped parcel.  Dew glistens on berries that attract a bevy of wildlife, including deer, and red-tail hawks can sometimes be seen circling above or perched on branches.   FULL STORY

Study: Fight Strip Development With Roadway Improvements
by Alan Pollock
WEST CHATHAM - According to a just-completed study, the town can fix what some say is the ugliest stretch of road in town-Route 28 in West Chatham-by  narrowing roadways, fixing intersections and improving landscaping.  The end product, consultant Jon Seward said, will be a more attractive road with room for pedestrians and cyclists, and a revitalized business district.   FULL STORY

Expanded, Renovated Town Offices Open For Business
by Tim Wood
CHATHAM --- In 1931, the town purchased, for $11,000, an unassuming house on the corner of Cross and Main streets to serve as new town offices.  The building met the town's needs for nearly half a century before expansion became necessary.  The usefulness of that 1978 addition, which dwarfed the original building, was much shorter.  Within 20 years, several major departments had moved up to the annex on George Ryder Road.   FULL STORY

Helping   Neighbors Fund Drive
There's No Holiday At The Family Pantry
Granted, many folks are still coming out of the spin-cycle that is summer on Cape Cod.  And we've had a mild autumn with some unseasonably warm days.  So it may come as a shock to some that Thanksgiving is here and the holiday season has officially begun.   FULL STORY

Town Will Not Pay For Community Center Landscaping
by William F. Galvin
HARWICH  --- The town has taken a firm position that landscaping changes made outside the community center this fall were not authorized, it does not accept responsibility for the work, nor will it pay for the project.   FULL STORY

Christmas Celebration Marks Final Chapter For ‘Angel's Hope'
by Alan Pollock
PLEASANT LAKE - When Martha Knapp created "Angel's Hope," a charity helping the families of seriously ill children dedicated to the memory of her own son, she assumed the organization would go on forever.  But after this year's annual Christmas Weekend for client families, the charity will cease operation.   FULL STORY

Assessors Take Hard Line On Boat Excise Tax Billing
by William F. Galvin
HARWICH --- The board of assessors has taken a strong stand with a new policy on boat owners paying excise tax. Anyone owning a vessel and issued a slip or mooring in town will be responsible for paying excise tax in Harwich.   FULL STORY

Hometown Festival Brainstorming Session Set For Monday
by William F. Galvin
HARWICH --- With the vines being nipped on Harwich Cranberry Festival in recent years, and the wheels having fallen off the Harwich Hometown Parade two years ago, activists are planning a brainstorming session on Monday night to gauge interest and entertain ideas for a new event.   FULL STORY

Editorial
Side-Stepping Sidewalks 
For more than two years, pedestrians in Harwich Port have been stumbling along the rugged pathways that serve as the village's sidewalks. Residents have complained loudly about the potholes, root bulges and cracks along stretches of the sidewalks. Most recently, a petition was filed with the board of selectmen by MaryEllen Bowley, a resident of a senior assisted living facility in the village. She has identified conditions there as "very treacherous," and expressed concern for the way the sidewalks slope toward traffic.    FULL STORY

SPORTS 
Awesome Autumn For Local College Standouts
At the conclusion of Saturday's 123rd meeting between storied rivals Yale and Harvard, Matt Polhemus found himself right where he wanted to be: cheering and chanting amid a maelstrom of his helmet-pumping teammates.   FULL STORY

Read these stories and more in the Cape Cod Chronicle here and comment below.

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Steady grown in Cape's economy, Dennis Marine home for the holidays

   
     The Grey's beach boardwalk

Mid-Cape NEWS, November 22, 2006

Community college hosts Russian leaders
Five Russian leaders will spend Dec. 1-9 examining environmental technology at Cape Cod Community College. Sponsored by the Open World Leadership... [more]

Read the rest of the Register here. 

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Happy as a Clam at High PRICE

Weather, tides keep clam prices high
Prices are up over 20%

SouthCoast seafood lovers may be at a loss if they have a craving for soft-shelled clams or steamers. The popular clams, which are traditionally used for clam bakes and lobster feasts, have been missing from the menu at Me & Ed's Restaurant in New Bedford since the summer, co-owner Jack Stellato said.

"It's not worth it," he said. "We would have had to sell them for more than people were willing to pay." In Dartmouth, Cape Quality Seafood Market sold steamers last week for $3.79 per pound. Usually prices range from $2.99 to $3.29 per pound, said general manager Josh Benevides, who imports the steamers from Stonington, Maine.

Why the jump in price? Blame it on the rain and the shorter, darker days... The flats in Ipswich Bay are scheduled to open today after being shut down for 13 days due to heavy rainfall on Nov. 8 and Nov. 17. Ipswich clam diggers such as John Grunstrom rely on part-time jobs mowing lawns and plowing snow to get them through rainy periods when the flats are closed.

Despite the hardship, rain closures are not the end of the world, said Mr. Grunstrom, a fourth generation digger. "I look at it not as a bad thing," he said. "All the clams we have are still in the ground and at some point they will be harvested. The longer they sit ... the bigger they are getting. We are going to get the money one way or another. You have to have patience to sit and wait."  Read the rest of this Standard-Times story here, and comment below.
Tell us  YOUR favorite Fried Clam Bistro here.

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State edict stymies talk, Controversial housing amendment

     Highland Light in the late November light

Outer Cape NEWS, November 21, 2006

In the News
In Truro: An affordable duplex, a playground and a historic barn renovation for art workshops were the three proposals brought to the community preservation committee in  in Truro on Friday for funding through Community Preservation Act money in FY ’08.
In Provincetown: taking a look at Earle Chaddick, the town’s veteran’s agent for 27 years; payphone at airport comes with unexpected fees if callers use a credit card; flu season warnings; Adopt-a-family program seeks donors; art in windows project well underway; Town Hall to use energy efficient LED holiday lights; VMES kids celebrate First Thanksgiving with traditional meal...

State edict stymies health care talks
By Pru Sowers. PROVINCETOWN — As contract negotiations with employee unions continue, the critical issue the town had been hoping  to put on the table has been taken off because of a separate agreement between the school district and its teachers. Some items in that agreement fell under a state order that allowed no further negotiation in certain benefits for three years. Rising health care costs were designated as one of the priority negotiating points the town wanted take up with its two unions this fall for the fiscal 2007 municipal employee contract talks...

Local Color
By Ann Wood. Looking at Pharr Schulenburg’s paintings it’s hard to believe that she didn’t use color in her work until about five years ago Instead she drew — big charcoal drawings — all the way through college at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, where she graduated valedictorian and received the Beitzel Award for Excellence (Oil; Jen seated on right)...

Controversial housing amendment kicks in
By Pru Sowers. PROVINCETOWN — The affordable housing growth management bylaw amendment that passed at Special Town Meeting last week is already having an impact on local development. Victor DePoalo, who previously converted the Dunes Motel into condominiums, is currently considering changing his proposed conversion plans for the Beach Grill, located at 175 Bradford Street Extension. DePoalo had originally applied for a special permit to raze the restaurant and build four new buildings, three of which would contain seven condominium units. The fourth building would house a restaurant, catering company, ice cream shop and possibly a bakery. Because the project would involve converting part of the use of the property from commercial to residential, and because DePoalo applied to build seven apartments, the Beach Grill would come under the new restrictions in place from the growth management bylaw amendment, which states that any commercial-to-residential conversion involving five or more dwelling units must set aside 33 percent of the units for affordable housing. The measure passed at Special Town Meeting on Nov. 13 and is awaiting approval from the state attorney general’s office...

 In the Arts
Composer, pianist and performer John Thomas will give a concert, “Composing Myself: of original music 1993-2006,” at 7 pm Saturday at the UU Meeting House ...

Advocate Archives
A praise and Thanksgiving Peace Service was held in Town Hall last Sunday evening, the Rev. James Biram presiding. The balconies ...

Read the rest of The Banner here, and comment below. 

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D.A. clears cops in Eastham shooting death, Returns Worthington DNA samples

O'Keefe: Deadly force justified in police shooting of Eastham man
O'Keefe orders DNA samples taken in Worthington investigation returned

Police were justified in using deadly force against a suicidal Eastham man who fired four shots at the Cape Cod town's police station and then confronted officers while wearing white body armor and holding a .40 caliber handgun, Cape and Islands District Attorney Michael O'Keefe ruled today.

During the fatal nighttime confrontation near First Encounter Beach, O'Keefe said David G. Hill was shot at least four times and that the 23-year-old was killed by a one shot that struck him in the back of the head. Hill was likely hit in the back of the head when he tried to dodge gunfire or was spun around when struck in his left side by other bullets, O'Keefe said.

O'Keefe, in a 79 page report posted on his website, identified the officer who shot Hill as Orleans Police Officer Anthony F. Manfredi, who was assisting Eastham police on the night of Oct. 17 as they tried to track Hill down.

"Officer Manfredi's actions during the confrontation with the deceased were well within the scope of the law in Massachusetts," O'Keefe wrote...  Read the rest of The Globe story here, and comment below.
____________________________

DNA samples in Cape slaying to be returned

Last year, 120 people in Truro voluntarily gave local authorities swabs of their saliva. Now, the district attorney says they can have them back.

From January to March 2005, authorities set up stations throughout Truro to collect DNA samples, in an effort to find a suspect in the 2002 rape and murder of 46-year-old fashion writer Christa Worthington . But the envelopes containing the cotton swabs were never opened. That April, authorities found a match in a previous collection of 45 DNA samples. Last week, a jury convicted trash collector Christopher M. McCowen in the killing, after his DNA matched samples at the crime scene... Read the rest o this Globe story here, and comment below.

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D.A. clears cops in Eastham shooting death

 O'Keefe: Deadly force justified in police shooting of Eastham man

Police were justified in using deadly force against a suicidal Eastham man who fired four shots at the Cape Cod town's police station and then confronted officers while wearing white body armor and holding a .40 caliber handgun, Cape and Islands District Attorney Michael O'Keefe ruled today.

During the fatal nighttime confrontation near First Encounter Beach, O'Keefe said David G. Hill was shot at least four times and that the 23-year-old was killed by a one shot that struck him in the back of the head. Hill was likely hit in the back of the head when he tried to dodge gunfire or was spun around when struck in his left side by other bullets, O'Keefe said.

O'Keefe, in a 79 page report posted on his website, identified the officer who shot Hill as Orleans Police Officer Anthony F. Manfredi, who was assisting Eastham police on the night of Oct. 17 as they tried to track Hill down.

"Officer Manfredi's actions during the confrontation with the deceased were well within the scope of the law in Massachusetts," O'Keefe wrote...  Read the rest of The Globe story here, and comment below.

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Barnstable Police Chief retires, Grill 16 owners gets lightly grilled by board

   ^{The sunset of the season at Baxter's in Hyannis Harbor. cctoday photo.} 

Barnstable NEWS: November 21, 2006

Police Chief Finnegan to retire Jan. 4
Klimm investigates removing chief’s position from Civil Service
The man who was supposed to stay three to five years as Barnstable’s top law enforcement officer is retiring after eight and a half years in the post. Barnstable Police Chief John Finnegan, who was appointed in a surprise move in 1998 to replace retiring chief Neil Nightingale, announced his retirement Monday. That Finnegan could stay on longer was understood even before he took office...

Light grilling for Grille 16 owners
Licensing board closes show-cause hearing without findings or penalties
The owners of Grille 16 on Main Street in Hyannis promised the licensing authority Monday that they would get their act together quickly. The restaurant in the building that once housed the fondly remembered Asa Bearse House had an abortive re-opening last month as 415 Main St., a step taken without the proper paperwork being filed. Also, a change in ownership was reported to the Massachusetts Secretary of State’s office earlier this year but not to the town licensing authority. That’s why Mark Ventre and Derek Sanderson were before the board Monday, along with Sanderson’s former partner Rick Angelini, to explain their actions...

NEIGHBORS: ‘Supple couple’ sustain WB landmark, ‘Nutcracker’
Forget who framed Roger Rabbit and concentrate on the supple couple who saved one of the village’s landmarks, the town’s yuletide favorite “Nutcracker” and hundreds of kids from potential childhood obesity. It was Coby and Tanya Vincent, a young professional dancing duo from southern California who gave birth to a second son, Brighten, on June 6 and simultaneously choreographed the rebirth of a West Barnstable landmark and local ballet. “We were in the hospital waiting for Brighten to arrive when the bankers came to see us with papers to sign,” Coby said. The papers were for purchase of the dance school building that was formerly owned by the non-profit and largely volunteer Cape Cod Ballet Society Inc., on John Maki Road.

OPINION:
Gauvin: Singing the Verizon Blues: ‘Baby please don’t go’
It remains unknown whether anybody – from bureaucrats to economic and job agency spokesmen on Cape Cod - will entreat Verizon to reconsider relocating its calling center from Hyannis to Taunton, more than 50 miles away. Nobody likes to plead, but somebody’s got to do it, so here goes.

Dear Verizon:
No kidding. I feel like an ant in front of an elephant. You are so crushingly huge – 250,000 employees and 9.3 million miles of fiber-optic systems - that I fear this message wafting out from a pinhole in the ground will never reach the anvils inside your well endowed ears, which may as well be flapping on another planet...

ARTS:
Pirates will claim your heart and funny bone
One might think that after 25 years of diligence in drama, BHS Drama Club coach John Sullivan would be tempted to rest on his laurels a bit. Not a chance, as made evident by the stellar opening night performance of the Club’s latest offering, The Pirates of Penzance. Continuing with the club’s pirate theme, Penzance is a Gilbert and Sullivan (that’s Sir Arthur Sullivan) tale about a hapless young once-and-again pirate, Frederic, and his quest to woo the beautiful Mabel, daughter of a dotty Major General.

Read the rest of The Patriot here, and comment below. 

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NOAA recommends new East Coast shipping route

NOAA recommends new East Coast ship traffic routes to reduce collisions with endangered whales
New routes are expected to reduce ship strikes with endangered right whales

from the NOAA website

Nov. 21, 2006 - NOAA has urged ship captains to use new recommended routes when entering or leaving the Florida ports of Jacksonville and Fernandina, and Brunswick, Ga., as well as in Cape Cod Bay off Massachusetts. These new routes are expected to reduce the chances of ship strikes with endangered right whales.

The recommended routes take into account safety and economic impact to the mariner. Although the routes are voluntary, they will appear on both electronic and paper NOAA nautical charts no later than November 30. The new designations will help mariners decrease whale strikes by reducing vessel activity in areas frequented by ships and whales.

"This is an important part of our ship strike reduction strategy for critically endangered right whales," said Bill Hogarth, director of the NOAA Fisheries Service. "Mariners need to be aware of these voluntary routes before the winter calving season when pregnant females and females with calves migrate to waters off of Florida and Georgia. With a population so low, even one whale death can set back recovery efforts dramatically."

North Atlantic right whales are among the most endangered marine mammal populations in the world and are highly vulnerable to ship collisions. Pregnant females and females with calves are known to have been struck by ships along the East Coast in recent years. The right whale population is small—around 300—and many scientists believe recovery has stalled, making the few reproductively active females even more important to population recovery.

Right whales typically travel south from waters off Canada and New England to calving and nursery areas off Florida and Georgia in winter, traversing areas frequented by large ships. Females and their calves then return to more northerly feeding grounds, aggregating in Cape Cod Bay during the spring, also an area with substantial ship traffic.

NOAA scientists have been working to better understand the year-round distribution of right whales along the East Coast. The agency also has studied ship traffic, particularly around large East Coast ports. Combining these results, and working with the U.S. Coast Guard, NOAA scientists placed the recommended routes where vessels would be less likely to encounter right whales, in addition to minimizing economic impacts and insuring safety of navigation.

"One of NOAA's primary missions is to support the nation's commerce with information for safe, efficient and environmentally sound transportation," said John H. Dunnigan, assistant administrator for the NOAA Ocean Service, "The integration of these recommended routes to our suite of chart products is part of our effort to provide up-to-date navigation information vital to our economy as well as to help protect the nation's living marine resources."

In this latest effort to provide recommended ship traffic routes, mariners will be alerted to the routes in a U.S. Coast Guard Local Notice to Mariners. The routes can be found on updated electronic versions of the Massachusetts Bay nautical charts that can be downloaded at http://www.noaa.gov/charts.html.

Read the rest of the story on the NOAA site here and comment below.

The above photograph of right whales taken February 13, 2005, courtesy of NOAA.

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USCG saves fishing boat, Freighter closes New Bedford highways

MV Susan Marie was flooding south of Nantucket, escorted to Chatham
Freighter whacks New Bedford bridge, stops traffic

A Coast Guard crew aided in the dewatering of a 50-foot fishing vessel about 32 miles off the coast of Nantucket Tuesday around 5 p.m.

Coast Guard sector Southeastern New England received a call reporting fishing vessel Susan Marie, New Bedford, Conn., taking on water and listing 32 nautical miles east, southeast of Nantucket around 2:55 p.m.  It was the second time this month the same vessel needed assistence.

An HH-60 Jayhawk helicopter, with a dewatering pump on-board, launched from Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod. The helicopter arrived on-scene around 4:52 p.m. and lowered the pump to the vessel in distress.

Coast Guard Cutter Campbell (on right), of Portsmouth N.H., arrived on-scene and sent a rescue-and-assistance team aboard the Susan Marie to investigate the source of the flooding around 6 p.m.

The flooding source was found in a storage compartment, known as a lazarette. The flooding was controlled with the de-watering pump. 

Campbell escorted the fishing vessel to Great Round Shoal where a 47-foot utility boat from Coast Guard Station Brandt Pt. took over the escort. Near Hankerchief Shoal a 25-foot fast-response boat from Coast Guard Station Chatham is scheduled to continue the escort back to Stage Harbor, Chatham.
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Little Bump, Big Headache
Freighter accident shuts bridge briefly, raises fear in Popes Island shops

A 330-foot freighter struck the New Bedford-Fairhaven swing bridge yesterday afternoon, forcing it to close for about two hours, tying up rush-hour traffic and throwing a scare into area businesses.

The accident occurred around 3 p.m. when the NYK Lauritzencool (on right) struck the fender pier supporting the easternmost span of the bridge, according to MassHighway.

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Home sales plummet again

Another rocky quarter for real estate brokers
Home sales down in 38 states, South Shore, Cape drop 25%

After years of strong sales at high prices, developers are facing their first housing slump in more than 15 years, and as sales have slowed, so has the pace of development.

Builders are waiting until a sales agreement is in place before breaking ground, and developers are biding their time until the market rebounds before submitting new plans to local boards.

Builders and developers are also lowering prices and offering incentives to lure buyers for the homes they have already built and those they hope to build.

The feeble U.S. housing market showed more frailty in October when home sales plummeted in 38 states, hitting Nevada, Arizona, Florida and California particularly hard, government data showed on Monday.

The once-booming real estate market's persistent weakness over the past year has reined in expectations for economic growth but hasn't been severe enough to offset a rising stock market, lower gas prices and improved consumer expectations.

Slump is nationwide 

Sales of existing homes fell about 13% in the third quarter from a year earlier, yet another sign that the U.S. housing market is cooling off, a national real-estate group said Monday. Total state existing-home sales including single-family houses and condominiums fell to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.27 million units in the latest quarter, down 12.7% from the previous year's quarter, which was the second-highest ever.

"With the market in full transition, buyers now have choices and sellers are more willing to negotiate -- under these circumstances it's no surprise that overall home prices are slightly below a year ago," said David Lereah, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors, in a statement.

Boston area fared better than cape and rest of state

Greater Boston fared slightly better in the third quarter than many other parts of the state as a "healthy correction" softened housing sales and ushered in one of the strongest buyers' markets in years, according to a report issued today by the Massachusetts Association of Realtors.

Statewide, the number of third-quarter sales for detached single-family homes fell 23%, compared to a year ago, and Greater Boston sales decreased just under 20%.

The statewide median selling price dropped 5% to $352,000, compared with 2% dip to $505,000 for Greater Boston.

Statewide, the number of third-quarter condo sales fell 22% while the Greater Boston drop was 20% and the statewide median selling price for a condo was $275,000, down 2.5%.

The NAR report cited data from mortgage lender Freddie Mac showing that the national average commitment rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 6.56% for the third quarter, down slightly from 6.6% in the third quarter and up from 5.76% in the year-ago quarter.

Last week, Freddie Mac said that the rate on the 30-year loan fell to 6.24% from 6.33% the previous week

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John Waters remembers Tennessee Williams and Provincetown

John Waters Loves Tennessee Williams
Declares Said Love in Essay Form

In celebration of the re-release of Memoirs by Tennessee Williams, the deliciously depraved John Waters has penned a very special introduction. Using their powers of persuasion (and international clout, those bastards!), The New York Times adapted said introduction for their prized pages. In it, Waters meditates on his first encounters with Williams and how the famed writer of A Street Car Named Desire and The Night of the Iguana changed his life. Waters writes:

Yes, Tennessee Williams was my childhood friend. I yearned for a bad influence and boy, was Tennessee one in the best sense of the word: joyous, alarming, sexually confusing and dangerously funny. I didn’t quite “get” “Desire and the Black Masseur” when I read it in “One Arm,” but I hoped I would one day. The thing I did know after finishing this book was that I didn’t have to listen to the lies the teachers told us about society’s rules.

He goes on to discuss the more controversial bits of the book, including Williams' advice on avoiding penetration with hookers: “as they are most probably all infected with clap'". Seems a bit innocent these days, no?

Also, can we just say that while reading this piece, we couldn't stop imagining Waters and Williams in bed together: a disturbing, yet unexpectedly intriguing fantasy, to say the least.
____________________________
November 19, 2006
The Kindness of a Stranger
By JOHN WATERS

Tennessee Williams saved my life. As a 12-year-old boy in suburban Baltimore, I would look up his name in the card catalog at the library and it would read “see Librarian.” I wanted these “see Librarian” books — and I wanted them now — but in the late 1950s (and sadly even today), there was no way a warped adolescent like myself could get his hands on one. But I soon figured out that the “see Librarian” books were on a special shelf behind the counter. So when the kindly librarian was helping the “normal” kids with their book reports, I sneaked behind the checkout desk and stole the first book I ever wanted to possess on my own. “One Arm” read the forbidden cover on a short-story collection by Tennessee Williams that I later found out had once been available only in an expensive limited edition, sold under the counter in “special” bookshops before New Directions released the hardback version. And now it was mine.

Of course, I knew who Tennessee Williams was. He was a bad man because the nuns in Catholic Sunday School had told us we’d go to hell if we saw that movie he wrote, “Baby Doll” — the one with the great ad campaign, with Carroll Baker in the crib sucking her thumb, that made Cardinal Spellman have a nation-wide hissy fit. The same ad I clipped out of The Baltimore Sun countless times and pasted in my secret scrapbook. The movie I planned to show over and over in the fantasy dirty-movie theater in my mind that I was going to open later in life, causing a scandal in my parents’ neighborhood..

Tennessee falls in love a lot too. “I have a funny heart,” he admits. “Sometimes it seems to thrive on punishment.” What other memoir has “loneliness” listed in the index? Provincetown, Mass., that beautiful beach town on the very tip of Cape Cod, seemed to bring out the best in him romantically. Not only did he meet two of his best boyfriends there (and Tallulah Bankhead), he wrote the line “I have always depended on the kindness of strangers” while holed up in a cabin before the summer season began. I felt the same way about Provincetown. I hitchhiked there in 1964 just because somebody told me, “It’s a weird place,” and boy, were they right. A very gay place too, but a different kind of gay. “I may be queer, but I AM this,” I remember thinking. I’ve gone to Provincetown for 43 summers and every time I pass by Capt’n Jack’s or the Little Bar at the A House, two places Tennessee got lucky in love, I mentally genuflect in respect...

I never met Tennessee Williams, but I saw him once at the Boat House restaurant in Key West, surrounded by admirers, looking a little woozy, and decided maybe this wasn’t the time for us to be introduced. But reading “Memoirs” is the next-best thing — it’s like having a few stiff drinks with Tennessee on one of his good nights as he tells you juicy stories that were once off the record. Listening could save your life too... Read the rest of this Queerty.com arcticle here, and comment below.

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WHOI receives $1M gift, will honor Osterville man

WHOI Receives $1 Million Gift to Encourage Innovation in Technology
Longtime friend and supporter Townsend Hornor of Osterville to be Honored

A longtime Osterville resident who loved the oceans and supported the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution for more than four decades before he died in 2005 has left a $1 million gift to the Institution.

The funds will be used for years to come as a named commitment honoring Townsend Hornor in the Institution’s Access to the Sea Fund, which encourages innovation through partnerships in science and engineering and the integration of new technologies into WHOI’s global seagoing capabilities.

Townsend “Townie” Hornor died at his home in Osterville of cancer in September 2005 at age 78. Born in New York City in 1927, he moved to Cape Cod with his family in the early 1930s when his father helped establish the Chester Crosby & Sons boatyard in Osterville, and lived in the family home much of his life. He served in the U.S. Naval Reserves during World War II and graduated from Harvard College with a bachelor's degree in colonial and maritime history in 1954.

Townie worked in corporate finance for many years in Boston and New York, living in Chestnut Hill, MA, or Greenwich, CT, and spending as much time as possible at his home in Osterville until residing there full-time in the 1970s.  After his retirement from corporate finance, he worked as a private business consultant and president of West Bay Marine Corporation, a small boat service business in Osterville devoted to maintaining wooden sailboats and small craft.

“As a Trustee and Member of the Corporation for many years, Townie Hornor provided his wisdom and guidance on numerous committees. He was also a member for more than forty years and former president of the WHOI Associates program,” Acting WHOI President and Director James Luyten said. “He loved meeting people and learning firsthand what the researchers were doing in the labs or out at sea.  He was passionate about the oceans, and clearly understood the commitment of our staff to understand how the oceans work and to remain at the forefront of new technologies for exploring the world’s oceans.”

An avid sailor, Hornor sailed his 21-foot catboat Frances for 35 years, eventually donating it to the Osterville Historical Society, where it is on display. He served as Commodore of the Wianno Yacht Club and was a member of several clubs, including the New York Yacht Club.
 
“This generous gift in Townsend Hornor’s name to the Access to the Sea Fund will help keep his passion for the oceans alive and honor his legacy,” said Robert Detrick, WHOI Vice President for Marine Facilities and Operations.  “It will enable us to take advantage of technological advances in such areas as miniaturized chemical and biological sensors, high definition digital imagery, autonomous vehicles, and continuous monitoring of the oceans through the establishment of ocean observatories.”

    ^{WHOI is a private, independent marine research and engineering, and higher education organization in Falmouth, Mass. Its primary mission is to understand the oceans and their interaction with the Earth as a whole, and to communicate a basic understanding of the ocean's role in the changing global environment. Established in 1930 on a recommendation from the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, the Institution is organized into five departments, interdisciplinary institutes and a marine policy center, and conducts a joint graduate education program with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology}

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Category 3 Hurricane Hit Pilgrims in 1635

Mammoth hurricane pounded colonial villages, swept Cape, coast

The winds whipped up to 130 mph, snapping pine trees like Pick-up- Stix and blowing houses into oblivion. A surge of water, 21 feet high at its crest, engulfed victims as they desperately scurried for higher ground.

The merciless storm, pounding the coast for hours with torrential sheets of rain, was like nothing ever seen before. One observer predicted the damage would linger for decades.

This wasn’t New Orleans in August 2005. This was New England in August 1635, battered by what was later dubbed “The Great Colonial Hurricane” — the first major storm suffered by the first North American settlers, just 14 years after the initial Thanksgiving celebration in Plymouth Colony.

Once the weather cleared and the sun rose again, the few thousand residents of Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay colonies were left to rebuild and recover from a hurricane as powerful as 1938’s killer Long Island Express. The 20th century hurricane killed 700 people, including 600 in New England, and left 63,000 homeless.

“The settlers easily could have packed up and gone home,” said Nicholas K. Coch, a professor of geology at Queens College and one of the nation’s foremost hurricane experts. “It was an extraordinary event, a major hurricane, and nearly knocked out British culture in America.”  Coch said the pioneers from across the Atlantic likely endured a Category 3 hurricane, moving faster than 30 mph, with maximum winds of 130 mph and a very high storm surge — 21 feet at Buzzards Bay and 14 feet at Providence. Reports at the time said 17 American Indians were drowned, while others scaled trees to find refuge... Read the rest of this Telegram & Gazette story here, and comment below.
____________________________

Two storms: a comparison 

1635; The Great Colonial Hurricane sweeps across southern New England on a path west of Providence, Rhode Island, and Plymouth, Massachusetts. Narragansett Bay floods, drowning 17 Native Americans; tree damage is severe throughout southeastern Massachusetts. Governor William Bradford described the storm: "such a mighty storm of wind and rain as none living in these parts, either English or Indian ever saw. ...It blew down sundry houses and uncovered others. ...It blew down many hundred thousands of trees turning up the stronger by the roots and breaking the higher pine trees off in the middle." The local crops, along with the forests and many local structures like the Aptucxet trading post in Bourne on the southwest corner of Cape Cod, suffered major damage. Bradford, in his account, predicted signs of the damage would endure into the next century.
1938: September 21: A devastating hurricane drives through the northeastern United States. Residents are unprepared for the storm and the flooding it brings. Over 600 people are killed, most by drowning. Another hundred are never found. Property damage is estimated at $4.7 billion in today's dollars with over 8,000 homes are destroyed, and 6,000 boats wrecked or damaged. Yet the hurricane does not receive much media attention; Neville Chamberlain's appeasement of Adolf Hitler in Europe dominated headlines before and after the storm as Germany marched into Czechoslovakia beginning World War 2. 

Read these other cctoday stories about the 1938 hurricane here. 

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Groups seek to create huge Atlantic marine reserves

Plan would curb New England fishing areas
Area will remove  20% of waters up to 200 miles offshore 

An influential environmental group in New England has teamed up with a group in Canada in a campaign to declare large chunks of the northwest Atlantic Ocean off-limits to fishing and other human activities to protect a wide diversity of marine life and habitat .

Today, the Conservation Law Foundation and World Wildlife Fund-Canada will release a report recommending that marine reserves be created in about 20 percent of the ocean from Cape Cod to Eastern Canada's Scotian Shelf, and extending 10 to 200 miles from shore. The protected areas would probably include some of New England's most productive fishing areas.

The groups have spent six years mapping the region -- 2 1/2 times the size of New England -- to highlight unique ocean habitats and a broad range of marine life, from microscopic phytoplankton to right whales, that are the most important to preserve.

If history is any indication, CLF's announcement is the start of a long and guaranteed controversial process. Protesters hanged the manager of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary in effigy when he began drawing lines telling them where they could and couldn't go in the 1990s. In California, the new restrictions on fishing in state waters took seven years to complete. In New England, with its large fishing fleet and vast fishing grounds, there may be even more to argue about... Read the rest of this Globe story here, a later Globe story here, and comment below.

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Town Building lockdown, 13 year-old alleged rape at High School

    Brant Point Lighthouse next to the Coast Guard Station

Nantucket NEWS, November 19, 2006

Lockdown of Town Building proposed
State trial court officials are pushing for a new security system at the Town and County Building on Broad Street in order to properly protect the court facilities on the second floor. According to Town Administrator Libby Gibson, the plan involves limiting access to the building to the Broad Street entrance, and installing a metal detector and X-ray machine to screen visitors... The state trial court’s regional assistant director of security, Howard Coleman, said Nantucket’s court facility is the only one in Massachusetts without such security devices and screening...

Sr. Chief Lucey retiring in May
After more than 20 years in the United States Coast Guard, Sheila Lucey is calling it a career.The senior chief of Station Brant Point for the past four years will turn over command to chief E.J. Malvesti, currently an instructor at the Northeast Regional Fisheries Training Center at Air Station Cape Cod, at a ceremony May 4, 2007. “It’s the hardest decision I have ever had to make,” said Lucey...

Dr. O'Neill to receive Marian Medal
John O’Neill is a man who has reinvented himself over the years, but the one thing which remains constant for this Korean War veteran, former Peace Corps volunteer...

Student arrested, charged with rape in high school
A Nantucket High School senior was arrested Monday for the alleged rape of a 13-year-old freshman girl inside the school. The suspect, Steven George Cranston, 18, of 6 Killdeer Lane, was arraigned Tuesday on charges of rape of a child with force, indecent assault and battery on a child under 14, and assault and battery. He has since been released from custody on $5,000 bail, and is currently suspended indefinitely from school pending the outcome of the court case. The alleged sexual assault has prompted school officials to reconsider security measures on the Surfside Road campus, and the family of the 13-year-old girl expressed anger about the way they were informed of the incident by the school....

Read the rest of the Inquirer & Mirror here, and comment below. 

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Town, Tribe pact nears decision, Hospital may join Boston Group, Tisbury Selectmen Reduce Commercial Tax Rate

     The roof of the Coast Guard Station in Menemsha

Martha's Vineyard NEWS, November 17, 2006

Town, Tribe Pact on Land Use Nears Decision; Attorneys Press for Accord
After a three-month stalemate, a proposed land use agreement between town and tribal officials in Aquinnah is approaching a tipping point, but leaders on both sides remain unsure which way it will fall.  Town selectmen last week voted to press the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) to secure town permits for its 6,500-square-foot community center on tribal lands, and tribal members are set to gather on Sunday for their first general membership meeting since the special town meeting in August when the land use proposal was put on hold. If the tribe does not endorse a version of the land use agreement within the next few weeks, the town is expected begin legal action on the community center building.

Hospital Hosts a Public Forum on Plan to Join Boston Group
Island residents who want to hear more and speak out about the Martha's Vineyard Hospital's plan to join Massachusetts General Hospital and its parent company Partners Health Care by the end of the year will have the chance at a public forum this weekend.

Paul Dulac Resigns to Seek New Job as Superintendent
Edgartown School principal G. Paul Dulac resigned his post on Wednesday night, after deciding to remain in the running for school superintendent in Marblehead, where he is a finalist.

Vineyard Hopes to Keep the Island Cup in Big Game on Nantucket Tomorrow
With all the hype surrounding tomorrow's Island Cup game between the Vineyard and Nantucket, it's easy to overlook that at its core, it's only a game.

Enthusiasm Builds for Farm Agency
Just over a decade ago, the Massachusetts state government cut funding for the Dukes County Cooperative Extension Service and forced closure of the popular Island program, which provided useful resources for Vineyard farmers.

Lobbied by Longtime Tisbury Merchants, Selectmen Reduce Commercial Tax Rate
The Tisbury selectmen lowered the tax rate for businesses, agreed to review a draft warrant article to introduce beer and wine in town and took steps to regulate taxi companies more efficiently in a three-and-a-half hour meeting on Tuesday night.

Read the rest of the Gazette here. 

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Charter Review, Tax Policy vote, Fire Chief fined, Wastewater confusion

      One of Cape Cod's constants is this beautiful farm near Exit 5 in Barnstable

Barnstable NEWS, November 17, 2006

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Wind farm players read political tea leaves, Hospital gets $5 Million, Dennis moans selectman's death, art gallery arson probe continues

Mid Cape NEWS, November 16, 2006

Filling a vacant selectmen's seat
Dennis Town Administrator Bob Canevazzi said this week that selectmen have not yet decided whether to conduct a special election to fill the selectmen's... [more]

Read the rest of The Register here, and comment below.

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BOURNE: Selection want rules on public speech, SANDWICH: Sports complex gets support. fires veteran policeman

   The Sandwich boardwalk to the bay has little traffic in late November

Upper Cape NEWS, November 16, 2006

Four buildings considered for special status
The plan to place four Bourne buildings on the National Register of Historic Places has gone to the Bourne Finance Committee for review. The historical... [more]

Read the rest of the Upper Cape Codder here. 

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Thanking Shirley; Food Pantries; Sidewalks and Gingerbread Houses

   Chatham as viewed from a North Beach nirvanna 

News of the week from the Cape Cod Chronicle

Main Street Work Postponed
CHATHAM --- Officials from St. Christopher's Church said Monday that sewer and drainage work which would have closed a section of Main Street to traffic will be postponed until March. [FULL STORY]

Campaigners Told To Leave Rotary
CHATHAM --- A week before the recent state election, a group of local Democrats gathered at the downtown rotary to carry signs and promote their candidates, as they've done in each state and national election campaign for the past decade. Only this time, their campaigning was cut short when a police officer asked them to leave the central island of the rotary.
[FULL STORY]

Family Pantry And Cape Cod Chronicle Launch ‘Helping Neighbors' Drive
There's still a week until Thanksgiving, and ‘tis already the season for holiday sales, catalog shopping and the stray Christmas carol.  But for the Family Pantry, 'tis the busy season-and one of the most financially challenging yet.  [FULL STORY] 

Low Key Campaign Pays Off For New Assemblyman Bergstrom
CHATHAM --- With a low-key campaign consisting mostly of word of mouth and a few newspaper articles, Selectman Ronald Bergstrom won election last week as a write-in candidate for the Barnstable County Assembly of Delegates. [FULL STORY]

Lake Street Development Filling Up, Mostly With Locals
CHATHAM - Ready more than a month ahead of schedule, the Lake Street affordable housing development already has 29 of its 47 units occupied, and 25 of those units are now home to people with some connection to Chatham, housing authority Executive Director Valerie Foster told selectmen Tuesday.  [FULL STORY]

Taxpayers Want Answers To Health Insurance, School Choice Costs
HARWICH --- The costs of insurance for school department employees and revenue lost to students selecting another school district through School Choice were the hot potato topics in the fall meeting of the Harwich Taxpayers' Association on Saturday.  [FULL STORY]

Community Gathers To Thank Longtime Lawmaker Shirley Gomes
HARWICH - Representing all ages, walks of life and political inclinations, constituents gathered Friday morning to thank retiring State Representative Shirley Gomes for her service to the Lower Cape.  Gomes was honored at an annual fundraising breakfast held by the Cape Cod and Islands Council of the Boy Scouts of America, at the community center.   [FULL STORY]

Condition Of Route 28 Sidewalks Under Fire Once Again
HARWICH - Pedestrian concerns for dangerous sidewalk conditions along Route 28 in Harwich Port continue to mount. Residents who live in the area have filed a petition with selectmen citing delays in making repairs and the threat to public safety.  [FULL STORY]

Gingerbread House Auction Benefits The Children's Center In Harwich
Perhaps one of the most creative aspects to constructing a gingerbread house lies in choosing what foodstuff to use for what. Flat almonds or Necco Wafers shingle a roof; pretzel sticks form a fence; shredded wheat makes a bale of hay. With an inverted ice cream cone you have an instant turret or tree.  [FULL STORY]

Read these and other Cape Cod Chronicle stories here and comment below.

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Joe K's pooches go on reign of terrier

Kennedys raising hackles in Hyannisport

by Gayle Fee and Laura Raposa for the Boston Herald

The Kennedys are in hot water with their neighbors again, but this time it's Joe Kennedy's Irish terrier Knockout who's raising hackles in Hyannisport.

The town of Barnstable's animal control peeps have ordered Knockout quarantined for 10 days after the big lug decided to rough up a neighbor's helpless little Bichon Frise on the beach on Squaw Island.

Word from our Cape spies is that Knockout and Joe's other terrier, Knuckles, were out for a jog with the missus, Beth, the other day when they encountered neighbor Denise Johnson and her two leashed Bichons. Knockout, we're told, pounced on one of the smaller dogs while Johnson looked on in horror.

Read the rest of the Herald story here and comment below. 

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Harwich hometown fest; Community Center refit; More

News of the week from the Harwich Oracle

Hometown fest, parade on horizon?
By Douglas Karlson
A group of interested residents is organizing a brainstorming session to develop ideas for a "Harwich hometown festival," which could include... [more]

'Low-key' Merriam to start administrator job next month
By Douglas Karlson
When James Merriam first saw an ad for the job of town administrator in Harwich, "my eyes just lit up," he said. For Merriam, who has visited... [more]

Refit on tap for Community Center basement
By Douglas Karlson
Increased fees, it would appear, aren't keeping organizations away from the Community Center. The Oak Street center is turning groups away because... [more]

No need to be alone on Thanksgiving
By Douglas Karlson
Community feasts across Cape Cod ensure that Thanksgiving remains a happy celebration, and not a sad or lonely holiday for those without family nearby. The... [more]

Doherty is returned to county
By Douglas Karlson
For Bill Doherty, the incumbent who serves on the Barnstable County Commissioners, last Tuesday's election was a ringing endorsement from voters as... [more]

O'Leary sweeps to fourth term
By Nicole Muller
Satisfied with his solid win Tuesday over Republican opponent Rick Barros, state Sen. Robert O'Leary, D-Barnstable, left his victory party by... [more]

Peake, ecstatic over win, plans constituent outreach
By Donna Tunney and Steve Desroches
The swearing-in won't be until Jan. 3, but Democrat Sarah Peake, the 4th Barnstable District state representative-elect, said she won't... [more]

Beacon Hill Roll Call
By Bob Katzen
THE HOUSE AND SENATE.Beacon Hill Roll Call records local senators and representatives' votes on four roll calls from the week of Nov. 6-10. All roll... [more]

News briefs
Quiet time Gingerbread house benefit to help Children's Center One-of-a-kind gingerbread houses and holiday greenery will be auctioned on Saturday,... [more]

How Harwich voted
Voter turnout on Nov. 7t: 66 percent Senator in Congress Edward M. Kennedy: 3,800 Kenneth G. Chase: 2,575 Governor/Lt. Governor Healey and Hillman:... [more]

Around Town
Pet park fund raiser The Harwiches dog park committee will host a "Santa Paws" fund raiser at the community center on Saturday, Nov. 18... [more]

Regional News
Santa's shop asking for donations The Lower Cape Outreach Council will sponsor "Santa's Stop" where needy local families may choose from... [more]

Read these and other stories in the Harwich Oracle here and comment below.

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Island senior charged with rape; Car arsonist: more charges

High school senior charged in rape of 13 year-old

from the Nantucket Inquirer & Mirror 

A Nantucket High School senior was arrested Monday for the alleged rape of a 13-year-old girl inside the school. Steven George Cranston, 18, of 6 Kildeer Lane, was arraigned Tuesday on charges of rape of a child with force, indecent assault and battery on a child under 14, and assault and battery.

Read the rest of the article in the I & M here and comment below.

Metcalfe charged with three more car arsons going back to 2004

Christopher Metcalfe, the island caretaker who was arrested for allegedly torching Harbormaster Dave Fronzuto's pick-up truck last month, has been charged with three more car arsons dating back to 2004.

Metcalfe, 53, was arraigned Monday in Nantucket District Court on charges related to the burning of three vehicles on the night of Nov. 15, 2004.

Read the rest of the article in the I & M here and comment below.

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Fishing foes cast aside differences

Results of a public workshop on fishing

by Becky W. Evans for the Standard Times

It's not the usual case with fisheries management: Environmentalists, fishermen and regulators appear to be on the same page.

Most agree the days-at-sea program, which aims to replenish depleted groundfish stocks while keeping fishermen in business, is not working. They want to try something new.

As regulators consider alternative ways to manage cod, flounder and other groundfish that swim in New England waters, they are seeking input from a variety of stakeholders, who have sparred in the past over the best method of rebuilding stocks to healthy levels.

Read the rest of the article at SouthCoastToday.com here and comment below. 

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Coast Guard pulls four sailors from the Atlantic

Sailboat ravaged by fierce winds 250 miles off of Cape Cod

from the CBS4-Boston site

The Coast Guard plucked four men from the Atlantic Ocean early Monday after their sailboat was ravaged by fierce winds about 250 miles southeast of Cape Cod.

The Coast Guard received a distress signal late Sunday night from the crew of the La Bella. High winds blew out the boat's sail and the rough seas were breaking apart the boat's keel.

A Falcon jet crew from Air Station Cape Cod dropped a radio and survival suits to the crew at 1:30 a.m. Monday

Read the rest of the story on the CBS-4 site here and comment below.

Coast Guard footage of the boat and rescue is available here and here.  Vist the  official Coast Guard site here.

Above photo courtesy of the USCG.  Coast Guard Lieutenant Sean Krueger shakes hands with the crew of  La Belle.  Krueger, a helicopter pilot from Air Station Cape Cod, flew the rescue mission.

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Untold story of the Mayflower

Connecticut College professor to be featured commentator in upcoming History Channel documentary

   ^{The Mayflower II, a replica docked in Plymouth, MA. cctoday photo.}

From the Connecticut College website: 

Lisa Wilson, the Charles J. MacCurdy Professor of American History and a specialist on colonial British North America, is a featured commentator in a History Channel original documentary to appear for the first time on Nov. 19 at 8 p.m. EST.

In "Desperate Crossing: The Untold Story of the Mayflower," Wilson comments on the domestic life of women and men in early New England. She also was interviewed about the mysterious death of the wife of the colony´s first governor, William Bradford. Mrs. Bradford´s death was left out of her husband´s history of the colony perhaps because she jumped off rather than fell off the Mayflower after eyeing the "terrifying wilderness" of Provincetown Harbor.

Wilson was interviewed for the documentary more than a year ago at the Bradford House in Kingston, Mass.

Read the rest of the article at the Connecticut College site here and comment below.

Visit the History Channel website here.  The documentary will air, Sunday, November 19th at 8pm.

The History Channel's description of "Desperate Crossing: the Untold Story of the Mayflower":

Most of the people whom we now know as "the Pilgrims" made their way from England to the city of Leiden, Holland, a place of religious tolerance. They found religious freedom, but faced extreme financial hardship. A bold decision is made to move to America. In the late summer of 1620 The Mayflower sets sails carrying 102 English settlers and 30 sailors. Over the next four months, about half of the settlers and sailors die of scurvy and weather-related illness. An English speaking Indian, Samoset, visits the settlers and his visit leads to the signing of a peace treaty. By the Fall of 1621, the English decide to celebrate their harvest with a feast which is attended by at least 90 Wampanoags. That peace will last 40 years. This show features elaborate dramatic reenactments from original source material written by eyewitnesses and participants in the actual events of the early 1600s.

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Pirate Ship Whydah in the news again

Museum Leader Hopes Pirate Ship Exhibit Won't Fail Again

Concerns over the Whydah's past as a slave ship ended a similar idea in 1992.

By Justin George, Bill Varian & Janet Zink for the St. Petersburg Times 

TAMPA - Fourteen years ago, a $70 million project to build a museum to exhibit artifacts from a pirate ship that once carried slaves exposed a deep racial fissure locally that has not been forgotten.

Members of Gasparilla Krewe in pirate regalia joined business and political leaders for a festive announcement of plans for the Whydah museum, but things quickly went awry.

Black leaders questioned the appropriateness of making a former slave ship a pirate attraction.

Read the full story at the Ledge Online here and comment below.

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Fish stock faces collapse in 50 years

Study predicts the oceans will be devoid of edible seafood in 50 years

by Matthew Benson for the Cape Codder

Ordering a tuna fish salad sandwich at the local deli or going out for sushi could be a thing of the past, according to a scientific study that predicts the world's oceans will be devoid of wild edible seafood in 50 years.

The study, published in the current issue of the journal Science, looked at marine ecosystem data from around the world and predicts that commercial seafood and fish species will crash by 2048. The growing depletion of fish stocks the study purports is reducing biodiversity. However, overfishing and consumption of seafood is only part of the worldwide fisheries decline and scientists looked at other factors such as global warming and loss of habitat as disrupting the marine ecosystems.

While the predictions are dire, the study concludes the declines in biodiversity can be reversed.

Read the rest of this story here and other Cape Codder stories here and comment below.

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Exit 6 1/2; CCCCs turbine; Water for W. Barnstable?

News of the week from the Barnstable Patriot

Water for West Barnstable?
West Barnstable remains the only village without any source of public water, but a plan presented by the fire chief could change that.    FULL STORY

MCAS motivates innovation
At recent school committee meetings, schools began presenting their Accountability Plans, a primary focus of which are the recently released MCAS scores.   FULL STORY

Prodding of police gains strategy on Fresh Holes
A permanent mobile task force has been formed in the police department to stabilize problem neighborhoods since Town Councilor Harold Tobey placed a firecracker of criticism on the seat of the department's leadership several weeks ago.   FULL STORY

Grandson of local veteran injured by sniper in Iraq
One of Barnstable's prominent war veterans received news this week that his grandson has been shot and wounded by a sniper in Iraq but will be treated there and return to duty.  
FULL STORY

Signatures coming easy for charter drive
Signatures came early and often for the charter commission drive on Election Day, with 12 percent of the turnout affixing their names to petitions.   FULL STORY

Hyannis Access Study thoughts
The task force preparing the Hyannis Access Study is not limiting its thinking to a possible Exit 6 1/2 off Route 6. The whole question of how to get in and out of the downtown is the focus.
FULL STORY

College responds to prevailing wind
Michael Gross, communications director for Cape Cod Community College, admits he was surprised when the Federal Aviation Administration had concerns about the original campus location of a proposed wind turbine.   FULL STORY

Main Street work for rest of month
Roadwork on Main Street between Sea and Stevens streets in Hyannis started this week and is expected to continued through the rest for the month.   FULL STORY

Read these stories and others in the Barnstable Patriot here and comment below.

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Edgartown hotels for sale; New hospital; Where to put the 60' yachts

News of the week from the Martha's Vineyard Times

   ^{Martha's Vineyar Harbor. cctoday photo.}

In big turnout, Islanders want county charter review
Island voters, 64 percent of 12,001 eligible, matched statewide decisions on federal and state offices. They created, by a 4795-1659 vote, a new Dukes County Charter Study Commission to reconsider the county charter or maybe abolish county government altogether. And they elected 15 Islanders to the new commission, which will have the next 18 months to do its work.   FULL STORY

Veterans Day, a reminder of a shared sacrifice
By Janet Hefler
Veterans Day is a day set aside to thank and honor those who served honorably in the military, living and dead, in wartime and peacetime. As observances are held around the nation on Saturday, thoughts and prayers will turn to military men and women wherever they are stationed, whether in the United States, in war torn Iraq and Afghanistan, or other countries around the world.   FULL STORY

Nantucket investor agrees to buy landmark Edgartown hotels
By Nelson Sigelman - November 9, 2006
A Nantucket-based real estate investment group headed by an island resident with interests in several luxury projects announced that it has signed an agreement to purchase the Harbor View Hotel and The Kelley House in Edgartown.   FULL STORY

Edgartown principal says he'll go, but stays
By Janet Hefler
The start of this week it appeared that Edgartown School principal Paul Dulac's journey through the Martha's Vineyard school system, begun with a six-month stint as interim superintendent, was about to come to an unexpectedly early end.   FULL STORY

Chilmark ponders where to put two 60-foot yachts
By Susan Vaughn
Chilmark selectmen are studying at least three options to accommodate docking two large pleasure boats on the West Dock in Menemsha Harbor, while still maintaining the harbor for commercial fishing boats.   FULL STORY

MVC hears testimony on need for new hospital building
By Janet Hefler
After almost four years of planning, the Martha's Vineyard Hospital's $42 million renovation and expansion proposal came before the Martha's Vineyard Commission (MVC) on Nov. 1 in the first edition of a multi-chapter formal public hearing process.   FULL STORY

Edgartown to use CPA funds for old school repairs
By Susan Vaughn
The Edgartown selectmen on Monday endorsed the Old Edgartown School Use Committee's request for $150,000 from Community Preservation Act funds for emergency repairs, after hearing a building plan update.   FULL STORY

VTA also responsible for missing funds
By Aubrey Gibavic
While the state Division of Local Services (DLS) admits there was a breakdown in communication between various state agencies, spokesman Lydia Hill said the Vineyard Transit Authority (VTA) shares part of the blame for not keeping tabs on the missing assessment funds.   FULL STORY

Read these stories and more at the Martha's Vineyard Times online here and comment below.

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Bourne FD probe; Scraggy Neck free speech; Guard units return

News of the week from the Upper Cape Codder

   ^{Strolling along the Sandwich Boardwalk.  cctoday photo.}

Sacrifice is not forgotten
By Silene Gordon
It was 88 years ago - in World War I - that two young soldiers from Sandwich gave their lives for their country. And though nearly nine decades have... [more]

Upper Cape, state say 'no' to Question 1
By Silene Gordon
Liquor store owners across the state breathed a collective sigh of relief Tuesday night when a ballot question that may have doubled the number of... [more]

Probe is under way into BFD chief's use of funds
By Paul Gately
As Bourne Fire Chief Charles Klueber plans to retire, he is being dogged by questions about his handling of department finances. Town Administrator... [more]

Adoption will be next lesson for BHS teacher
By Paul Gately
Forget Angelina and Brad. Forget Madonna too. Far from those headline-grabbing celebrities who adopt, a Bourne Middle School teacher is headed to... [more]

Bourne aims for 'cooperative' budget process
By Paul Gately
Bourne Town Administrator Thomas Guerino has instructed the police and fire chiefs to submit requests for four additional department members in their... [more]

Sandwich charter review effort goes public
By Silene Gordon
In an effort to get Sandwich residents involved in the charter review process, the newly appointed seven-member committee has scheduled a public hearing. "This... [more]

Scraggy Neck controversy becomes free speech issue
By Paul Gately
The increasingly tangled Scraggy Neck snowplowing debate is turning into a free speech issue. Bourne selectmen recently defeated a motion advanced... [more]

Bourne police notes
Officer Jeff Lanoie on Nov. 1 was dispatched to Adventure Island on MacArthur Boulevard where it was determined $600 was missing from the cash... [more]

Kingsbury will be interim Bourne fire chief
Bourne Fire Chief Charles Klueber took his first step into retirement Tuesday, starting to use his outstanding leave time prior to his official Jan.... [more]

Army National Guard units returns
One hundred and eighty soldiers from the Massachusetts Army National Guard's 3rd Battalion 126th Aviation Regiment, will return to Camp Edwards at... [more]

Sandwich seeks bids for ambulance billing
The town of Sandwich is seeking professional services to bill for ambulance service patient's accounts receivable generated by the Town. Sealed written... [more]

Read these stories and more in this week's Upper Cape Codder here and comment below.

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Something's growning in the dunes besides scrub pine

In Cape Cod's Dunes, Something's Growing Besides Scrub Pine

   ^{The dunes in the National Seashore in Provincetown. Photo by Jane Booth.}

by Tracie Rozen for the New York Times

WELLFLEET--Seen from the top of a sand-strewn bluff, the Atlantic, flecked with whitecaps, stretches out for miles along a deserted beach. Shrubs with tiny leaves, turning red in autumn, rustle in the wind.

On a dune not far away, two freshly built, very large houses interrupt this near-primeval landscape in the midst of the Cape Cod National Seashore, a federally protected area established in 1961 to limit exactly that kind of development.

Nearby, a Modernist beach house built around the time of the park's founding is almost hidden in the dunes. Small and brown, it sits lightly over the land, on stilts. But while new houses, some still covered in Tyvek insulation, sprout on privately owned land in the midst of the national seashore, this one, like dozens of others from the same era, has been taken over by the National Park Service, which administers the seashore, and it is now rapidly decaying.

Read the article in its entirety at the New York Times website here and comment below.

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Peake wins; Pampered Palate closes; Garden dispute still not rosey

News of the week from the Cape Cod Chronicle

  ^{Sunset at Cockle Cove in Chatham.  Photo by John Fitts.}

Peake Wins Fourth District Seat
Sarah Peake became only the second Democrat in recent history to capture the Cape and Islands Fourth District State Representative seat Tuesday, beating back a strong challenge from political newcomer Aaron Maloy.  FULL STORY

Financial Difficulties Force Closure Of Pampered Palate
CHATHAM --- On Monday afternoon, Gabe Parker, general manager of the Pampered Palate Market, used a calculator to figure out the discount on a basketful of items one of the day's few customers brought to the front counter.  He'd opened the shop, located in The Cornfield complex in West Chatham, in the hopes of liquidating the remaining stock to help meet the final payroll.    FULL STORY

Consultant: Make New School Driveway One-Way
CHATHAM --- A traffic consultant has recommended that the new access to the middle/high school complex from Crowell Road be restricted to entry only, to avoid conflicts with another school driveway just 50 feet away.   FULL STORY

Downtown Construction Projects Disrupt Business, Owners Say
CHATHAM --- This isn't the busiest time of year in the downtown business district.  So anything that disrupts the already slow flow of customers can have a significant impact on the bottom line.   FULL STORY

Selectmen Vent Frustration Over DEP Delays, Again
CHATHAM - Selectmen Tuesday voted to send a letter to lawmakers and state environmental officials decrying the state's continued delays in issuing a key water quality report.  Without the Cockle Cove Creek nitrogen study, the town's wastewater plan is backed up in the pipeline.
FULL STORY

Some Neighbors Unhappy With Landscaping At Habitat Houses
CHATHAM - Some abutters to the three new Habitat for Humanity houses off of Stony Hill Road are complaining that not enough has been done to screen the new development from view.
FULL STORY

A's Aces Currier And Duda Enshrined In Cape League Gold
CHATHAM - Chatham A's aces Rik Currier and Steve Duda were two of nine former players who were inducted into the Cape Cod Baseball League Hall of Fame during Saturday's ceremony at the Chatham Bars Inn.   FULL STORY

Merriam Gets Selectmen's Support As Next Town Administrator
HARWICH ---James Merriam, the assistant to the mayor of Attleboro and a former town administrator in Walpole, was selected on Monday to serve as the new town administrator. The decision is subject to contract negotiations.   FULL STORY

State Officials Entertain Dredging Master Plan, Including Allen Harbor Basin
HARWICH --- State and federal officials met here last Thursday to begin sifting through permitting options for dredging local harbors. The town has presented a master plan pre-application for dredge permits in local waters, but there are complications surrounding inner harbor projects and disposal of silt.   FULL STORY

Students' Exit Polls Offer Interesting Insights
HARWICH - As they have in years past, student pollsters from Harwich High School provided a story behind the vote counts in many of the races decided on Tuesday.  Students from John Dickson's senior government class stood outside the polls during the morning, and asked 370 Harwich residents how they cast their ballots.   FULL STORY

Selectmen Give Cultural Group Access
HARWICH --- The cultural council will be breathing new life into the recreation building over the next several months to draw attention to and interest in establishing a cultural center at the Sisson Road site. The council also hopes to develop such a center at the former West Harwich schoolhouse.   FULL STORY

Health Board Chairman Admits Food Inspections Lacking
HARWICH --- Selectmen were warned Monday night the health and safety of the citizens of the town have been compromised as a result of the failed override more than a year ago.
FULL STORY

Rose Garden Parties Still Working Toward Resolution
HARWICH ---   Acting Town Administrator Stephen Lombard said he is scheduled to meet once again with parties involved with landscaping issues at the town's community center on Oak Street.  FULL STORY

Read these stories and the rest of the Cape Cod Chronicle here and comment below.

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MCAS; Protecting herring; Smayda suspended; more

The news of the week from the Harwich Oracle

   ^{Pleasant Lake in Harwich.  Photo by John Fitts}

Trust honors Birdseys for conservation work
By Douglas Karlson
Barbara and Charles Birdsey were named conservationists of the year by the Harwich Conservation Trust, but perhaps a bigger honor was bestowed on... [more]

Doctor says public health at risk in town
By Douglas Karlson
The Harwich Board of Health on Monday delivered a sober diagnosis of the town's ability to adequately safeguard the public health. According to Dr.... [more]

MCAS results show disparate levels of proficiency
By Douglas Karlson
Results of the latest MCAS tests sit on the desk of Harwich Schools Superintendent Carolyn Cragin. She's been pouring over the numbers, many... [more]

Merriam accepts TA post
By Douglas KarlsonIn the end the choice was an easy one. By process of elimination, the board of selectmen Monday tapped Attleboro assistant mayor James Merriam to... [more]

The root of the problem
By Rich Eldred
Sturdy as an oak pretty much sums it up. The wood is strong, the trunks thick, the trees tall, well branched and as imposing as an austere senior... [more]

Protection sought for Atlantic herring
By Matthew Belson
With less than a week remaining in the public comment period, a coalition of environmental groups, commercial and recreational fishing organizations,... [more]

Veterans Day ceremony on Saturday
Veterans Day will be observed in Harwich with a ceremony at Island Pond Cemetery on Saturday, Nov. 11, at 11 a.m. Selectman Larry Cole will deliver... [more]

Beacon Hill Roll Call
By Bob Katzen
THE HOUSE AND SENATE.Beacon Hill Roll Call records local representatives' votes on two roll calls and local senators' votes on one roll call from... [more]

MCAS facts
The Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System, or MCAS, was implemented in response to the Education Reform Law of 1993, which required that MCAS... [more]

Check your MCAS IQ
Grade 8, science (sample question): Mercury, the planet nearest to the Sun, has extreme surface temperatures, ranging from 465°C in sunlight to... [more]

Board rules on Smayda
Harwich resident Richard Smayda, a doctor of osteopathy who practices in town with Dr. Peter McKay, received an indefinite suspension of his medical... [more]

Read the stories above and more in the Harwich Oracle here and comment below.

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Cape Cod helps the Democrats sweep the state

Republican areas fail to help stem the tide
It's Patrick in a romp, Bay State win makes history

Completing one of the most extraordinary political journeys the state has seen, Democrat Deval L. Patrick won a landslide victory yesterday over Republican Kerry Healey and two other candidates to become the first African-American elected governor of Massachusetts.

Patrick, 50, of Milton, ran up huge margins in urban centers that traditionally support Democrats, in the liberal communities around the state, and in small communities in Western Massachusetts. Healey, the state's lieutenant governor, drew her votes in traditionally Republican areas, but couldn't get traction in areas such as the Merrimack Valley, suburban towns, and Cape Cod, where Republicans have usually gained enough support to win statewide elections...

Read the rest of The Globe story here. 

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Cape Cod helps the Democrats sweep the state

Republican areas fail to help stem the tide
It's Patrick in a romp, Bay State win makes history

Completing one of the most extraordinary political journeys the state has seen, Democrat Deval L. Patrick won a landslide victory yesterday over Republican Kerry Healey and two other candidates to become the first African-American elected governor of Massachusetts...

Patrick, 50, of Milton, ran up huge margins in urban centers that traditionally support Democrats, in the liberal communities around the state, and in small communities in Western Massachusetts. Healey, the state's lieutenant governor, drew her votes in traditionally Republican areas, but couldn't get traction in areas such as the Merrimack Valley, suburban towns, and Cape Cod, where Republicans have usually gained enough support to win statewide elections...

Read tghe rest of The Globe story here. 

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November 2006 Election Results

For the most part, it was a Democratic sweep for most key Bay State and Cape Cod offices.  The results for elected Massachusetts state and local office are as follows:

State Offices 

• Governor: Deval Patrick (D)
  
• Lt. Governor - Tim Murray (D)
• US Senator: Edward Kennedy (D)
• US Representative: William Delahunt (D)
• Attorney General: Martha Coakley (D)
• Secretary of State: William Galvin (D)
• Treasurer: Timothy Cahill (D)
•  Auditor: A. Joseph DeNucci (D)
• Councilor: Carole Fiola (D)

Local Offices

• State Senator: Robert O'Leary (D)
• 1st Barnstable Representative: Cleon Turner (D)
• 2nd Barnstable Representative: Demetrius Atsalis (D)
• 4th Barnstable Representative: Sarah Peake (D)
• Barnstable, Dukes & Nantucket Representative : Eric Turkington (D)
• 2nd Plymouth: Susan Williams Gifford (R)
• County Commissioner: Bill Doherty (R)
  
• Barnstable Assembly of Delegates: Anderson (Bourne), Scalese (Brewster), Boardman (Orleans), Bryant (Provincetown), Lyons (Wellfleet)

Ballot Questions

• Question 1: NO
• Question 2: NO
• Question 3: NO
  

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Guard seeks to end ban on lead bullets

Steps proposed to protect Upper Cape water supply

by Beth Daley for the Boston Globe

The Massachusetts National Guard wants to resume firing lead bullets at Camp Edwards on Cape Cod, nine years after such ammunition was banned because of fears that the toxic metal could contaminate drinking water supplies.

The Guard is proposing a number of methods that officials say will contain the bullets and keep them from degrading and leaching into an underground reservoir that is a major source of the Upper Cape's water supply.

"We have a very high level of confidence . . . we will be able to train all of our soldiers in a compatible way with the environment," said Shawn Cody, director of environmental affairs for the Massachusetts National Guard.

Read the Globe store in its entirety here and comment below.

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'Shorts'-tempered judge locked up sloppy student

Sloppy Cape Cod Community College students locked up during Worthington trial

by David Wedge for the Boston Herald

A no-nonsense Cape Cod judge threw the book at a college kid for wearing shorts in his courtroom during the high-profile Worthington murder trial - locking the sloppy student up with the accused killer, according to sources and media reports.

The Cape Cod Community College student, whose name has not been released, was tossed into a cell with Christopher McCowen, a garbage collector on trial for the 2002 slaying of fashion writer Christa Worthington. Barnstable Superior Court Judge Gary Nickerson had court officers lock up the student after he was told to leave the courtroom for wearing shorts but did not.

Read the Herald story in it's entirety here and comment below.

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Rotary's gone, but the Cape's problems aren't

Not everyone loves the new flyover

by Russell Roberts, Op-Ed from the Boston Globe

THE SAGAMORE ROTARY is gone, and the rejoicing is near universal. Killing a bottleneck that delayed traffic to and from the beaches of Cape Cod certainly seems worthwhile, even if the execution required $33 million. The engineers have triumphed. Nothing could be more straightforward: When you see a bottleneck, open it up. Visions of convertibles dance through our heads -- top down, Truro here I come!
   
Alas, I cannot join the cheering chorus, even though I have spent hours sitting in traffic on Route 6 trying to get home.

Read the rest of Mr. Russell's op-ed in the Globe here and comment below.

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Election could have profound effect on Cape & Islands

Tuesday's election and the proposed wind farm, immigration and property taxes

by David Kibbe for the Nantucket Inquirer and Mirror

Tuesday's election for governor could have a profound effect on the Cape and Islands, from issues like Cape Wind to immigration to property taxes.

Democrat Deval Patrick and Republican Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey are the clear front-runners, but independent Christy Mihos and Green-Rainbow candidate Grace Ross have livened up the debate.

As the campaign winds down, here are some of the issues that resonated on the Cape and Islands this election season....

Read the I & M story in its entirety here and comment below.

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Harview View, Kelley House ready for sale, Theatre reopens, County charter vote Tuesday

     The view from the front porch of the Harbor View which is ready for sale

Martha's Vineyard NEWS, November 3, 2006

Harbor View and Kelley House Hotels Ready for Sale to Nantucket Investor
The Harbor View Hotel, a shingle-style turn-of-the-century hotel that graces the entrance to the Edgartown harbor at Starbuck's Neck, is set for sale to a Nantucket-based investment group, along with the Kelley House, an 18th century tavern that is now a pub and inn complex spanning Water and Dock streets.
» Full Story

Hospital's New Building Plan Begins Its Test Before MVC
The current Martha's Vineyard Hospital building no longer offers adequate capacity and is in its final stages of usefulness, hospital officials told members of the Martha's Vineyard Commission last night.
» Full Story

Capawock Theatre Opens at Long Last
It was a sight unseen for the last two years on Main street, Vineyard Haven: the easy conversation amongst friends standing outside the Capawock theatre after a movie, bathed in the yellow light of the old-fashioned building with green and red trim.
» Full Story

Voters Go to the Polls Tuesday; County Charter Decision Due
While widespread disapproval with the direction of the country threatens to unseat the Republican-controlled Congress in the nationwide election next week, growing unhappiness with Dukes County government on the Island has created an opportunity for Vineyard voters to bring about change on the regional level.
» Full Story

Author William C. Styron Dies at 81
William Styron, the acclaimed novelist and leading literary figure of his generation whose summer home on the Vineyard Haven harbor has long been the hub of the area known colloquially as writer's row, died Wednesday at the Martha's Vineyard Hospital. He was 81.
» Full Story

Growing Older, College Radical Deepens Values
Dr. Sheldon Hackney can't remember a time when he wasn't on the liberal side of America's culture wars. He still struggles to explain how it came to be that way.
» Full Story 

Read the rest of The Gazette here, and comment below. 

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Happy Birthday, Blogfather!

My, my, how time flies.  It's the Blogfather's birthday!  We aren't exactly sure when he was born--paper didn't exist then and birth certificates were scratched in the sand.

Do add you comments and well wishes below as Walter is shoving off tomorrow for a trip on the high seas.  Through the Bermuda Triangle, we think.

If you are interested in sending Walter a gift, a quick peek at his wish list included the following:

• more, juicy headlines (posted before the Cape Cod Times, of course)
• ice cream
• a personal wind turbine
• ice cream

Cheers, Walter! Have a great birthday!

2 comments »

Nantucket Home Sales Down 42%, Attorney general's loophole weakens chain-store ban

    The scallop season is open, but these two are still fishing

Nantucket NEWS, November 3, 2006

Governor's race tops Tuesday's election
Nantucket voters will cast ballots in local, regional and state- wide races Tuesday during the Massachusetts general election. . .More

Motions filed in Toolan case
Defense motions in the murder case against Thomas Toolan were released by Nantucket Superior Court this week, revealing attorney Kevin Reddington’s desire to move the trial off Nantucket and suppress key evidence obtained in the investigation. . .More

First day of scalloping better than expected
Commercial scallopers opened the season Wednesday under overcast skies, but with nearly perfect fishing conditions, as more than 50 boats took to Nantucket and Madaket harbors at the start of the annual harvest. . . More

Attorney general's loophole weakens chain-store ban

Although the Massachusetts attorney general’s office late last week approved the so-called chain store ban passed at Town Meeting in April, language included in a revised version of the bylaw sent to Town clerk Catherine Flanagan Stover includes a loophole that could allow chain stores to open in the downtown historic district. . .More

Rotary completion delayed

Weather delays have caused the completion of the Hooper Farm Road roundabout to be pushed by at least a week. . .More

Real estate sales drop sharply
No matter how you slice it, people are not buying Nantucket real estate with the same fervor they have over the past few years. Sales are down across the board, from multi-million-dollar waterfront vacation homes to more “modestly” priced year-round homes in the mid-island area priced between $500,000 and $1 million. The number of sales dropped 42 percent in the third quarter – from 173-102 – compared to the same three-month period last year, and third-quarter dollar volume was down 33 percent, from $330.4 million last year to $220.21 million this year.

 Read the rest of the Inquirer & Mirror here, and comment below.

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No jail for sex offender, ktten's death reaction, coyote corps, Paddock Farm gets $500k grant

     A Sesuit Harbor sunset

Mid Cape NEWS, November 2, 2006

Read the rest of The Register here, and comment below. 

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Bourne free speech issue, Sandwich hunters warned, Closed diner lives on film, School safety plans

     The Bourne RR Bridge with the Bourner Bridge in the distance

Upper Cape NEWS, November 2, 2006

Something to crow about
Each fall, the Sandwich Recreation Department and Sandwich Public Library get together to sponsor a scarecrow contest. And this year's entries were... [more]

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Harwich has First Residential Wind Turbine, Chatham Extending Room Tax To Private Home Rentals

    The British Naval Destroyer Chatham. Photo by John Fitts.

Chatham and Harwich NEWS,  November 1, 2006

Selectmen Support Extending Room Tax To Private Home Rentals
by Tim Wood. CHATHAM --- Extending the existing rooms tax to cover short-term vacation rentals in private homes and condominiums could provide “quite a significant revenue stream” for the town, Town Manager William Hinchey told selectmen last week. The additional tax could raise as much as $2 million, Hinchey said, revenue which could conceivably lower the town’s already low tax rate. “It’s a huge opportunity to displace what a whole lot of people feel is an unjust tax, and that’s the property tax,” he said...

First Residential Wind Turbine Approved Under New Bylaw
by William F. Galvin. HARWICH ---“I’ma sailor, I know the power of the wind,” Bill Maloney said Monday while looking out his kitchen window at the wind turbine that rotates above the sports fields at Cape Tech. The Maloneys were given approval by the Planning Board last week to place a residential wind turbine on their hillside property along Hard Way off Long Pond Drive in Pleasant Lake. This is the first wind turbine permit issued under a zoning bylaw approved in a special town meeting last spring.  Bill and Tina Maloney had been working with the town for nearly two years to get a bylaw in place to allow for the harnessing of wind for conversion into electricity. At this time there are two wind turbines functioning in Harwich...

Chatham Welcomes Chatham
by Tim Wood. CHATHAM --- Like a Halloween phantom, the big grey warship appeared out of the mist early Tuesday afternoon, sailing to within a mile of shore before dropping anchor. To the dozens of people gathered at the Lighthouse Beach overlook, the HMS Chatham seemed close enough to reach out and touch.  On its first stop in the United States in its17-year history, the 486-foot frigate was paying a visit to its American namesake...

Barros Challenges O’Leary For State Senate Seat
by Alan Pollock. Campaigning largely on the issue of homeowners’ insurance reform—something that wasn’t on many politicians ...

Business Community Optimistic At 87 th Annual Chamber Meeting
by Debra Lawless. CHATHAM --- Enthusiasm was the mood of the evening at the Chatham Chamber of Commerce’s 87 th annual meeting ...

Town Repays HECH For Loan To Retain Affordable Housing
by William F. Galvin. HARWICH --- Town officials were scheduled this week to present a check to Harwich Ecumenical Council for the ...

Two Independents Seek 10 th District Seat
by Tim Wood. Along with the major party candidates, Two independents are seeking the 10 th Congressional District seat. Peter White ...

School Volunteers Wanted
by Tim Wood. CHATHAM --- If you have expertise to share, an interesting career or hobby, or would just like to help youngsters improve ...

Pier Permit Could Open Up Sales On Town Land, Selectmen Warned
by Tim Wood. CHATHAM --- Jenny Bovey just wants to make sure selectmen know what sort of can of worms they may have opened up in ...

Delahunt, Beatty Locked In Race For 10th District Congressional ...
by Tim Wood. William Delahunt spent 20 years as Norfolk County district attorney before being elected to the 10 th Congressional District in 1997. ...

Chatham Girls Soccer Squad Makes MIAA State Tournament
by Eric Adler. CHATHAM — Snapping a three-year post-season drought, the Chatham girls soccer team qualified for the MIAA Division ...

Peake, Maloy Sprint For The Fourth Barnstable State Rep Vote
by Alan Pollock. The final push is on for Aaron Maloy and Sarah Peake, the two candidates seeking to replace retiring State Representative ...

Saturday School Underway At Harwich High School
by William F. Galvin. HARWICH --- The doors are open to Harwich High School students one Saturday each month under a new program ...

Groups Decry Changes At Community Center Rose Garden
by Alan Pollock. HARWICH — Something smells at the Millie and Tip O’Neill memorial rose garden outside the community center, and it’s not the roses. ...

Bernardo Challenges Doherty For County Commissioner Seat
Chatham resident Thomas Bernardo is running for Barnstable County Commissioner as a Democrat. He is a former selectman and for the ...

Selectmen Move Forward On Beach Plan,
by Alan Pollock. CHATHAM — An all-star team of town officials has produced a draft of a long-awaited North (Nauset) Beach Management ...

Lack Of Vaccine Forces Cancellation Of Chatham Flu Clinic
by Tim Wood. CHATHAM --- The slow arrival of flu vaccine from manufacturers has forced the town to cancel a public flu clinic scheduled for Friday, Nov. 3. ...

A pivotal Election
There’s likely to be a strong turnout in next Tuesday’s election. Town clerks in Chatham and Harwich report strong absentee ...

Read  the Chronicle here, and comment below.

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Students angry over sports waiver denial, McCowen trial in 10th day

     The Race Point Lifesaving Station on a cold, Fall day 

Outer Cape NEWS, November 1, 2006

Students & parents aggrieved over sports waiver denial
By Pru Sowers. PROVINCETOWN — The Provincetown school system has refused to give three students who transferred to Nauset Regional High School this fall permission to play their chosen varsity sports, potentially keeping the athletes out of play for one year. As a result, the students’ parents are furious, charging school administrators with penalizing their children for their decision to transfer out of the Provincetown school system at a time when enrollment is declining...

Wallace Nutting in P'town
Wallace Nutting was one of the most well-known and prolific photographers of the early 20th century. Nutting’s mission was topreserve in his photographs an image of rural America he felt was disappearing. Although largely forgotten today except by a few devoted followers, Nutting sold millions of hand-colored prints. The images Nutting marketed were attractive and affordable, providing poor and middle-class Americans the opportunity to decorate their homes with beautiful pictures of the New England landscapes and interiors of classic New England homes...

In the Arts
What if you were kidnapped before you were two? Sold into slavery in a traveling circus? Shipped off to a research lab to be subjected ...

Fishermen wrap thwarted season
By Joey White. The 2006 campaign will not include a return trip to the postseason for the Provincetown girls soccer team. The Lady ...

McCowen murder trial, day 10
By Michael Iacuessa. As the prosecution began wrapping up its case Tuesday, defense attorney Robert George dropped another bombshell...

Marge Piercy’s ‘Crooked Inheritance’
By Ann Wood. Sometimes Marge Piercy feels the need to write about a particular subject, but more often something simply happens that ... 

Read the Banner here, and comment below. 

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Charter on the move, House of healing opens,

   Osterville in October 

Barnstable NEWS, November 1, 2006

Charter movement on the move
Election day will see a concerted effort to collect enough signatures to get a formal charter commission before the voters at the 2007 town election.

Cape’s new house of healing opens in Hyannis
Space, sunlight and sculptures will take their place alongside sutures and stitches as healing elements of the new inpatient wing at Cape Cod Hospital.

Council’s tax policy debate put off until Nov. 16
The town council’s tax classification workshop planned for Thursday night has been rescheduled to Nov. 16, which is also the date of the council's formal tax classification hearing.

Second-quarter tax bills due Wednesday
There were no lines at the tax collector’s counter Tuesday morning, but a steady stream of taxpayers was making its way to the window.

IRS office closed temporarily
The Internal Revenue Service office located at 247 Stevens St., Hyannis, has been temporarily closed for construction work. The office is expected to reopen on Monday, Nov. 6.

SPORTS:
BHS FOOTBALL: Taming the Tigers
As the Taunton Tigers and the BHS Raiders made their departure from Leo M. Shields field on Friday night, one name remained in all minds: Ryan Tremblett.

OPINION:
Gauvin: Chief: Public shares blame for crime in Hyannis ‘hood
Resident Marie Clements stepped up to the podium at last week’s council session and suggested in vague terms that Town Councilor Harold Tobey come out of retirement from his former police job and take over a $171,000 post at the police department.

THOUGHTS AT TWILIGHT: Red’s still calling the shots
The e-mail invitation from my brother popped open on my computer last week. Would I join him and my nephew for a Celtics game in November?

 Read the rest of the Patriot here, and comment below.

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Busy winter for "safety net" agencies, Brouhaha in Rose Garden, Town Ferry in danger

Harwich news, November 1, 2006

Selectmen move to protect town's Nantucket ferry By Douglas Karlson/ dkarlson@cnc.com Selectmen Monday unanimously approved changes to the harbor management plan that are intended to promote and maintain continuity of the Harwich to Nantucket ferry service.   According to new wording in the plan, the Saquatucket Harbor slip used by the ferry would not automatically transfer to the new owner in the event the ferry company changed hands. The new owner would have to apply to the board of selectmen for the slip. But a "special note" was added to the plan: "The continuity of the ferry service between Harwich and Nantucket Island is well known to be of considerable/significant benefit to the town of Harwich, the public and many businesses in the town."... [more]

Read the rest of The Oracle here, and comment below. 

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Capewide jury watches trial

For Cape Cod retirees, it's Court TV . . . live

The retired couples show up early, seat cushions in hand, eager to snag the best spots in the packed courtroom to see the Cape murder mystery. Not content to watch Court TV at home, they want to puzzle out for themselves if trash collector Christopher M. McCowen really did rape and murder fashion writer Christa Worthington.

They are transfixed by a human tragedy that is unfolding like a gritty crime novel. "My wife says this is better than a TV drama," said Paul Badois, 75, a retiree from Centerville who has come to the small Barnstable Superior courtroom with Susan, his wife of 52 years, nearly every day since the trial began two weeks ago. "I still don't know who did it," said his wife, recalling the many characters who have taken the witness stand thus far. "I can't imagine being on the jury."

Eileen and Robert Higgins have also become courtroom regulars. They watch the proceedings with intense curiosity. During breaks, they exchange loving glances and hold hands. But they can't shake the heartbreaking image of Worthington's daughter Ava, then 2, trying to nurse from her dead mother's bloody body.

"I've always wanted to see a real court case," said Eileen Higgins, a retired nurse's aide from Yarmouth Port. "This really has affected me. I wake up every night thinking of [Christa] and her poor baby"...

Read the rest of this Globe story here and comment below. 

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