Cape & Islands News

Election - A minor setback in the campaign to keep Middleborough casino-free; Statewide Poll - "Yes" to gambling, "no" to casinos

"Yes" to gambling, "no" to casinos

By Dan Kennedy, Media Nation 

If nothing else, today's Boston Globe poll on casino gambling shows that though there may be support for the idea of casino gambling, it's going to be rough sledding for any particular casino proposal.

Overall, 53 percent of those surveyed say they favor Gov. Deval Patrick's plan to build three casinos in Massachusetts. Dig deeper, though, and you can see that they really don't.

The story, by Andrea Estes, gets at this dynamic here:

The poll raises the prospect of a "not in my backyard" backlash, one in which residents favor casinos but fear the traffic and crime problems associated with large-scale resort-casino developments. Fifty-four percent of those surveyed who live in metropolitan Boston said they think casinos should be located in rural areas, while 36 percent of those living in Western Massachusetts said they believe casinos should be in cities.

"I think if it's in your backyard, you're not going to want it," said Ron Hull of East Boston, a teacher. "I've read that crime does go up in areas with casinos, and there is the traffic I'm worried about, too."

When you look at the actual results (PDF), the numbers are even more striking. For instance, respondents were asked, "If Massachusetts were to permit casinos to open, would you want them to be in urban or rural areas?" Check this out:

• Those who live inside Route 128 favor rural areas over urban areas, 54 percent to 18 percent.
• Those who live between 128 and 495 favor rural areas over urban areas, 40 percent to 23 percent.
• Those who live in Central Massachusetts favor rural areas over urban areas, 45 percent to 26 percent.
• Those who live in Western Massachusetts favor urban areas over rural areas, 36 percent to 27 percent.
• Those who live in "Southern" (which I take to mean Southeastern) Massachusetts, Cape Cod and the Islands favor rural areas over urban areas, 44 percent to 24 percent.

So there you have it. In every part of the state, overwhelming majorities do not want a casino built near them.

My other favorite question: "If you had a child, would you want your son or daughter to work in a casino?" The answer: 46 percent "no," 33 percent "yes." This is, of course, another form of NIMBYism, and a particular pernicious one. Why is it all right for someone else's kid to work at a casino but not your own?

In other casino-related news, efforts to recall three of Middleborough's five selectmen fell short yesterday. (The New Bedford Standard-Times covers the story here; the Brockton Enterprise here.)

To the extent that casino opponents allowed the recall election to be portrayed as a referendum on the proposed casino in that town, this is an unfortunate development. But I suspect this will prove to be no more than a minor setback in the campaign to keep Middleborough casino-free.
Dan Kennedy, who grew up in Middleboro, is a visiting assistant professor of journalism at Northeastern University and a media critic at medianation.blogspot.com. He may be e-mailed at da.kennedy@neu.edu.

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Fishing boat rescues six fishermen off Nantucket

Urgent distress calls, signals prompt rescue of six fishermen
Fishing vessel Sancor picked up crewmen of  the Jacob Allen

The Coast Coat reported that an urgent mayday call and two Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB) distress signals prompted a swift response and the rescue of six Plymouth-based fishermen 40 miles southeast of Nantucket about 6 p.m., Friday.

Personnel at Coast Guard Sector Southeastern New England attempted to establish communications with the 70-foot fishing boat Jacob Allen after hearing the vessel's triple mayday call on the VHF marine radio.

The sector was not able to establish direct communications, but another vessel, Ms. Maria, relayed that the Jacob Allen was rapidly taking on water and in danger of sinking.

Simultaneously, the Coast Guard First District Command Center in Boston received an EPIRB signal from the Jacob Allen, as well as a personal EPIRB signal from a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) ship rider aboard the boat.

The sector immediately made a radio broadcast urging mariners in the area to assist the Jacob Allen. The Coast Guard command center diverted a nearby Falcon jet based at Air Station Cape Cod, the Kittery, Maine-based Coast Guard Cutter Campbell, which was patrolling the waters about 50 miles away, and launched a Jayhawk rescue helicopter from the air station.

The helicopter crew spotted a flare originating from the Jacob Allen's estimated position while they were en route. When the helicopter arrived on scene with the Jacob Allen, Good Samaritans aboard the fishing vessel Sancor were recovering all six fishermen from a life raft. 

The Sancor is taking the fishermen, none of whom were injured, to New Bedford, and is expected to arrive by 6 a.m., Saturday.

"This case is a perfect example of why all boaters should have registered EPIRBs," said Lt. Chris Cederholm, a search and rescue coordinator at Sector Southeastern New England. "Because of the EPIRBs, and the quick actions of the Good Samaritans, these men are heading home safe to their families, and we have a happy conclusion to this case." 

The sector is broadcasting safety messages on the radio to warn mariners of the unlit, partially submerged vessel.

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Retrix reply; Cape Rail gets exclusive; Kiwanis honor rescuer

Mid-Cape news, Sept. 28

Headlines from the Barnstable Patriot:
Airport answers Rectrix suit
- Most complete public response since complaint filed more than year ago
Cape Rail gets highball
- Cape Cod Central Railroad wins state contract to run 60 miles of rail lines in eastern Mass.
Procedural denial recommended for Cape Wind Energy project
- Subcommittee recommends thumbs down
Bless the beasts
- The 20th Annual Blessing of the Animals in West Yarmouth
Hyannis Kiwanis honor rescuer
- Local chapter's first-ever Medal of Valor awarded to Gary Richard
HyEast expanded day means more learning
- Longer school day proposed to meet the needs of students
MME reduces  $280K to cover deficit, balance budget
- More than $280,000 removed from Marstons Mill's East Horace Mann Charter Public School's '07-'08 budget
Arctic ice warms to local sailor
- Local sailor witnessed warming trends
Licensing agent blasted for remark
-  Remark by licensing agent Tom Geiler could land him in hot water
OPINION: Cape Wind won't lead to sound public policy
- Commentary by Rep. Demetrius Atsalis
OPINION: From the left - Deval's gamble
- Patrick less interested in getting re-elected, more interested in meeting state's needs

Read these and other stories in the Barnstable Patriot here.

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Headlines from the Register:
And for their next act...
- Barnstable girls volleyball still on a roll
Jamming for Jonah
- Sunday event benefits victim of diving accident
Airport fights for funds
- Council asked to endorse plans

Read these and other stories in the Register here. 

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WHOI: Climate change didn't do in the Neanderthals

Extinction of Neanderthals Was Not a Climate Disaster Scenario
New Research Reveals That Abrupt Climate Change Was Not the Primary Cause of Species Disappearance

For the past few decades, scientists have offered several competing theories for what led to the extinction of the Neanderthals, with much of the debate focusing on the relative roles of climate change versus conflict with modern humans. Now one theory can be ruled out.

New research by a multidisciplinary, international team—including paleoclimatologist Konrad Hughen of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution—shows that Neanderthals did not die out at a time of extreme and sudden climatic change, as some researchers have suggested.

Comparing the dates of the final Neanderthal occupation of Gorham’s Cave on Gibraltar with paleo-climatological records drawn from Greenland ice cores and from Atlantic seafloor sediments, Hughen and colleagues concluded that two proposed dates (roughly 28,000 and 32,000 years ago) both fall within climate intervals that were not particularly cold or otherwise severe.

Specifically, the proposed dates do not coincide with what scientists know as "Heinrich Events," when vast quantities of icebergs spilled into the North Atlantic, blanketed it with fresh water, and disturbed oceanic and atmospheric circulation to cause abrupt climate changes.

Another more controversial proposal suggests that the last Neanderthals may have died out as recently as 24,000 years ago. If that timeline is true, it did coincide with a period of major climate shifting, but the changes were much more gradual and incremental, possibly allowing them to adapt and migrate as they had done before.

The younger date “would imply a greater role of climate in Neanderthal extinction, not necessarily directly but perhaps in the form of climate-driven intensified competition as a result of increased southward human migration from higher latitudes," the scientists wrote.

The research analysis was led by Chronis Tzedakis of the University of Leeds; with contributions from Hughen, Isabel Cacho of the University of Barcelona, and Katerina Harvati of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. The results were published in the Sept. 13 issue of the journal Nature.

Although scientists have been expanding the records of past climate, correlating them with anthropological and archaeological findings has often been difficult. Tzedakis noted that “there are three main limitations to understanding the role of climate in the Neanderthal extinction: uncertainty over the exact timing of their disappearance; uncertainties in converting radiocarbon (14C) dates to actual calendar years; and the chronological imprecision of the ancient climate record.”

“Our method circumvents the last two problems,” said Hughen. Basically, the researchers did not attempt to relate the dates of the disappearance of Neanderthals to a calendar year, but directly to what the climate record tells us about the environment.

From ice cores and sedimentary records, Hughen and other paleoclimatologists can derive information about past temperatures and the amount of moisture in the atmosphere to paint a general picture of global climate. Radiocarbon-dated events may be difficult to calibrate exactly with calendar years, but geologic, climatological, and paleontological records can be mapped to each other.

“In this case, we were able to provide a much more accurate picture of the climatic background at the time of the Neanderthal disappearance,” Hughen added. “Our approach offers the potential to unravel the role of climate in critical events of the recent fossil record, as it can be applied to any radiocarbon date from any deposit.”

Funding for Konrad Hughen’s research was provided by the National Science Foundation.

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution is a private, independent organization in Falmouth dedicated to marine research, engineering, and higher education. Established in 1930 on a recommendation from the National Academy of Sciences, 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.

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Repaving in P'town; Truro considers biodiesel; Wellfleet okays tax rate hike; More

Lower Cape news, Sept. 27, 2007

Headlines from the Provincetown Banner:
Commercial Street repaving edges forward
- Voters to vote on street level face-lift
In conservation they trust
- Truro non-profit on front lines of battle to protect land
Hurricane victims struggle to make Provincetown home
- 2 years later, people who survived Katrina struggle to make it in P'town
Atlas shrugged - and stripped and danced and much more
- Performance artist Julie Atlas Muz says she'll take it all off during  weekend performance Orlowsky recalled and rejoiced in two major exhibits
- Honoring Orlowsky, a Provincetown original
Lady Warriors wow 'em in match against N. Quincy
- Nauset High's girls soccer team has already matched last year's wins

Read these and other stories in the Provincetown Banner here. 

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Headlines from the Cape Codder:
PROVINCETOWN
- Work on town hall bells to start
- New assistant town manager hired
TRURO
- Town to consider using biodiesel
- Library going strong despite construction
WELLFLEET
- New appointees in town
- Trail of tears: Wellfleet artist upset about Lieutenant Island path 38 feet from his house
- Selectmen okay benefit auction
- Commercial and residential property tax rate hike approved
- Bath house blues: Permanent bath houses and ponds & beaches not likely in near future
EASTHAM
- Oktoberfest this weekend
- Teens ages 13 to 18 encouraged to join BOLT
- Take a tour of Wiley Park
ORLEANS
- RTA updates selectmen on proposed regional transportation center
- Special fall town meeting scheduled for Monday Oct. 22

Read these and other stories in the Cape Codder here. 

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Democratic presidential candidate Bill Richardson endorses Cape Wind

Former Cape Cod Baseball League player jumps ahead of pack on renewables 

By Jack Coleman, capecodtoday 

N

ew Mexico governor Bill Richardson, a Democratic candidate for president, expressed his support for the Cape Wind project today during a campaign fundraiser in Boston's Back Bay, according to a person who attended.

Richardson, who served as Secretary of Energy in the Clinton administration, has made development of renewable energy a major theme in his campaign, as has US Senator Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y. Clinton has yet to take a position on Cape Wind, or at least publicly so, but as a presidential candidate has also frequently cited the importance of renewables.

Cape Wind Associates seeks to build a 130-turbine wind farm across a 24-square mile swath of Nantucket Sound. Proposed in 2001, the project has undergone intensive regulatory and public scrutiny.

Richardson is no stranger to the Cape, having played for the Cotuit Kettleers of the Cape Cod Baseball League in 1967, as shown in the photo at left.

"We must 'Act Boldly and Act Now' in order to make America a Clean Energy Nation like I made New Mexico a Clean Energy State," Richardson states on his campaign website (follow the "issues" link). "Consider this a call to action, for Congress, the energy industry, and the public. I am calling for a New American Revolution -- an energy and climate revolution."

Among those hosting the fund-raiser was Quincy developer Jay Cashman, who has proposed building three wind farms in Buzzards Bay.

Spyro Mitrokostas, a Clean Power Now board member and Richardson supporter who attended the fund-raiser, said Richardson stated that he knew his endorsement of Cape Wind would prompt the wrath of certain people, specifically citing US Sen. Edward Kennedy as an example. Cape Wind's turbines, if approved, would be situated five miles south of Hyannisport in view of the Kennedy compound (see Spyro's blog post on Richardson's support for Cape Wind).

Kennedy, arguably the best-known opponent of the wind farm, tried in vain to derail the project last year through backroom legislative machinations with a pair of unlikely allies, Alaskan Republican Senator Ted Stevens and House member Don Young, also of Alaska. Both lawmakers now face federal corruption probes that appear unrelated to their efforts to stop Cape Wind on Kennedy's behalf. 

Richardson's endorsement of Cape Wind, coming after Kennedy's thwarted attempt to kill the project in Congress, is likely to be interpreted as another example of Kennedy's dwindling influence in Washington and his own party.

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Harwich cemetery shortage; Cabbages & Kings to close; Clear-cutting controversy; More

Harwich & Chatham News, September 27, 2007

Headlines from the Cape Cod Chronicle:
CHATHAM
Owner seeks to 'reposition' Christian's
- Restaurant to remain closed until owner can determine if the eatery can be made more viable
Literary community mourns loss of Chatham bookstore
- Cabbages and Kings Bookstore to close its doors October 14
Controversial barge sold
- Town's unfinished mooring barge sold to Provincetown
Cameras now monitor schools
- High-tech security camera system installed thanks to Federal grant
School, park department discuss gym use
- 90s gym improvements meant gyms would be open to community, that hasn't exactly happened
CBI proposes 60 foot seasonal pier
- Inn wishes to restore pier, originally built in 1914 and removed in the 1960s
HARWICH
Cemetery commission takes step to address space shortage
- Burial plots are limited, securing future spots difficult
Hinckley's Pond clear-cutting gets former commissioner in hot water
- Clear-cut led to a heated exchanged at Tuesday's meeting
Working group must conform to meeting law
- DA's office rules that "working groups" must comply with the state's Open Meeting Law
Selectmen to hold hearing on Wychmere access
- Town's plans to amend public access conditions draws name "Wychmere Watergate"
Harwich, Brewster huddle over Long Pond's future
- Alum treatment of Long Pond has had no ill-effects on aquatic life
Harwich walkers sponsor benefit
- First Annual Miles of Memories Walk to benefit Alzheimer's Service of Cape Cod
SPORTS
Chatham girls soccer team has eyes set on Mayflower II prize
- 7-13 record was a step in the right direction
Heavy-hearted Crusaders pull of a whale of a win
- Team overcomes adversity

Read these and other stories in the Cape Cod Chronicle here. 

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Headlines from the Harwich Oracle:
DEP to amend public access to Wychmere
- DEP looks to nullify public access to the harbor through the club property
Water damage case may end up in court
- Lawyer of Harwich couple notified town that they will sue if not compensated for damages
Conscom rejects restoration plan
- Conservation Commission rejected a restoration plan put forward by a Birch Drive resident
Gaulin named advertising director
- Community Newspaper Company names Gaulin director for Cape division
Treasure Trove
- Historicial Society's 3rd Annual Hometown Treasures Sale starts Saturday
Girl Scout Troop 770 hits the conservation trail
-  Troop joins Harwich Conservation Trust in developing a project which includes landscaping, clearing and enhancing trails  and cleaning up trash
Beach nourishment plan is approved
- 10-year dredging permit draft approved

Read these and other stories in the Harwich Oracle here. 

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Orleans Selectmen will continue talks on Wind Turbine issue

 Early newspaper reports said the issue was dead, but it isn't

After a two-and-one-quarter-hours-long meeting between the Orleans Board of Water Commissioners and the Orleans Board of Selectmen on Tuesday morning at Orleans Town Hall, one thing became clear.

Supporters at the meeting said it is time for the voters of Orleans to come forward and reinforce their choice, directing that the Town move forward towards the realization of wind turbines in their watershed. The town's feelings for this effort has been defined twice by the majority vote made at Town meetings.

Last night's supporters said Orleans voters should direct that their Town Representatives make real moves forward by building on the valuable groundwork put in place over the four years that Orleans has progressed towards realizing their voted directive.

Issue moves to October 3

While the motion that was unanimously approved today makes the first item on the agenda at the next meeting of the Board of Selectmen (on October 3^rd)  that of considering the next step for wind energy in Orleans, it was clear from today’s meeting that the town still lacks definition of that next step. There appears to be no consensus at the Town representative level.

The weakly worded motion “to consider the next step for wind energy in Orleans” was formulated to keep every option alive.  

Town voted the issue twice 

Orleans voters made their decision four years ago to put turbines in the Orleans watershed  to offset the high cost of electricity from the Iron/ Magnesium treatment process. That need still exists, wind supporters point out, and has even grown with the increase in water treatment electricity costs over the four years.

However, the project seems in jeopardy today when a Board of Selectmen member asked if there wasn’t someplace else in Orleans for the turbines. Liz Argo said, "The danger to any Orleans wind project ever in our lifetimes is evident if our representatives are asking this question at this stage." She added, "The watershed was voted forward by the Town four years ago. The site has passed its state Environmental Notification hurdle. Article 97 has been modified to place the turbines in the watershed."

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Scientists, Policymakers, and Industry Leaders Gather to Discuss Ocean Iron Fertilization

Woods Hole symposium to consider using oceans as solution to Global Warming

On Sept. 26-27, scientists at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) will host an international, interdisciplinary conference on the proposed “iron fertilization” of the ocean as a means to combat rising concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

Researchers will consider whether iron fertilization can allow the ocean to absorb more carbon dioxide while remaining healthy (left), or if the addition of iron will give no net benefit while promoting other problems in the ocean (right). (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)Several times over the past century, scientists and environmental engineers have proposed spreading slurries of dissolved iron into the oceans in order to “fertilize” the waters and promote vast blooms of marine plants (phytoplankton). Phytoplankton consume carbon dioxide as they grow, and this growth can be stimulated in certain ocean basins by the addition of iron, a necessary micronutrient.

Though common on land, dissolved iron is often rare in the ocean. Some researchers and commercial interests have recently proposed to provide that missing nutrient on a large scale in order to create artificial blooms. Theory holds that if you make such blooms large enough, you could remove excess carbon dioxide from Earth’s atmosphere and carry it down into the deep ocean as organic matter (such as fecal pellets and dead plankton) sinks, thereby reducing the impact of greenhouse gases and global warming.

“There are many critical questions that require both better scientific understanding and an improved legal, economic, and political framework before iron fertilization can be considered either effective or appropriate,” said Ken Buesseler, a senior scientist in WHOI’s Marine Chemistry and Geochemistry Department and a participant in two iron fertilization experiments at sea. “The time is right to bring scientists, policymakers, and commercial interests together to inform each other and the public.”

Scientists took a serious interest in the idea in the late 1980s after oceanographer John Martin famously told colleagues: “Give me half a tanker of iron and I’ll give you the next ice age.” Iron fertilization has since been tested in at least a dozen experiments around the world. The results have varied, but in general, iron fertilizers have been shown to promote plant growth in surface waters. However, many researchers remain skeptical about whether the process removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere for the long term or just for a fleeting time. Ecological impacts from long-term, large-scale fertilization are also a concern.

The purpose of the Woods Hole conference is to bring researchers, policymakers, industrial interests, regulators, and environmentalists together to share their scientific observations and discuss the range of issues involved in altering the chemistry of the ocean. It is not intended as forum or referendum for specific projects and ventures.

In 20 hours of formal presentations and panel discussions over two days, participants will discuss:

• Efficacy: Can iron fertilization work?
• Research: What do we already know, and what could future studies, models, and experiments tell us?
• Consequence: What will be the intended and unintended impacts?
• Policy: What are the economic, social, and regulatory considerations?

The symposium—“Exploring Ocean Iron Fertilization: The Scientific, Economic, Legal, and Political Basis”-- is being hosted by Buesseler, Scott Doney, a senior scientist in the WHOI Marine Chemistry and Geochemistry Department, and Hauke Kite-Powell, a research specialist in the WHOI Marine Policy Center.

The conference is an invitation-only event, but reporters and editors may view an archived webcast (starting Sept. 27) here.

WHOI also will host an open public forum on iron fertilization at 2:30 p.m. on Oct. 19 in the Redfield Auditorium on Water Street in Woods Hole.

Support for the iron fertilization conference was provided by the Elisabeth and Henry Morss Jr. Colloquia Fund, the Cooperative Institute for Climate Research, the WHOI Marine Policy Center, the Ocean and Climate Change Institute, the Ocean Life Institute, and Woods Hole Sea Grant.

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution is a private, independent organization in Falmouth, Mass., dedicated to marine research, engineering, and higher education. Established in 1930 on a recommendation from the National Academy of Sciences, 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.

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Chief search; Conservation restrictions; Golf rate hike; Falmouth family vigils

Upper Cape Cod News, Sept. 26

Headlines from the Enterprise:
Falmouth fall town meeting warrant finalized
- Affordable housing, nitrogen pollution among topics
Search committee begins public interviews of finalists for town's next police chief
- Three finalists face the Falmouth police chief search committee
Three generations share hope for world peace
- Falmouth family meets weekly for vigil
Substance abuse commission to ask residents what services may be needed
- Commission is looking to hear from parents
North Falmouth man qualifies for the 4,000-footer club
- Mountain climbing record in NH
Peace activist makes point in DC
- Mr. Tork goes to Washington
Kelly Foundation grant will fund technology for renovated library
- $10,000 grant will aid the Falmouth Public Library
Residents can discover hidden parcels on 300 Committee open spaces tour
- Explore tucked away conservation areas

Read these and other stories in the Enterprise here. 

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Headlines from the Upper Cape Codder papers:
BOURNE COURIER
Enjoy!
- The 38th Bourne Scallop fest was a success
Conservation restrictions: can Bourne afford them?
- Selectmen send a revised policy on granting conservation restrictions to commission
Town debates who benefits from conservation restrictions
- Policy under review and headed to selectmen on Oct. 9

Read these and other stories in the Bourne Courier here. 

SANDWICH BROADSIDER
Stay tuned: SACAT must find new home
- Sandwich Area Community Access Television has been asked to vacate current location
Commission: Cape Wind plan needs more information
- Subcommittee vote to recommend Cape Cod Commission reject wind farm cable
Selectmen approve rate increases for Sandwich Hollows
- It'll cost members more to swing a club
Harwich may lend sonar for Sandwich cemetery
- Making sure new headstone won't be set on inhabited graves
Selectman support "no discharge"
- Support efforts to stop septic pollution

Read these and other stories in the Sandwich Broadsider here. 

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Monster 56-pound Bass leads Derby; Aquinnah Sisters Feed the Family Tribe; Two Sides Debate Cape Wind Plan

Martha's Vineyard Headlines, Sept. 25

High School Principal will Resign at close of School Year
Martha's Vineyard Regional High School principal Margaret (Peg) Regan quietly announced late last week that she will resign at the end of the school year.

Aquinnah Sisters Feed the Family Tribe
Bonded by Laughter, Love, Hard Work
The central figure in the legends of the Gay Head Wampanoags is a giant named Moshup. He and his wife Squant had 12 beautiful daughters and they lived together happily on the Gay Head cliffs. Today two daughters of Moshup still work and live on the Cliffs. Sisters Adriana Ignacio and Berta Welch run stores across the way from each other. This weekend they took a break to talk about growing up as members of the tribe, the meaning of sisterhood and what's cooking for dinner.

Emotions Pave Ancient Ways Debate
The Martha's Vineyard Commission on Thursday heard emotional testimony from a group of Edgartown neighbors who support a plan to protect several old pathways from development, and from a well-known Island family who argued the plan violates their property rights.

MVC Holds Veira Park on Deck After Bronx Cheer from Critics
It wasn't a rain delay that postponed Thursday's matchup between proponents of a plan to add a second baseball diamond at Veira Park in Oak Bluffs and a group of neighbors who oppose the expanded facility on grounds that it will create problems with noise, traffic and safety.

Two Sides Debate Cape Wind Plan
A forum bringing together those for and against the controversial Cape Wind electricity project drew more than 120 people to the Katharine Cornell Theatre on Thursday night and generated far more light than heat.

Monster 56-Pound Bass Stays in Lead
With well over 2,000 fishermen competing in the 62nd annual Martha's Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby, the contest is now on the home stretch.

Sengekontacket to Reopen for Shellfishing on Oct. 1
Sengekontacket Pond has been cleared of the bacterial contamination which saw it closed to shellfishing for most of the summer, and the pond will reopen on Oct. 1.

Read the rest of the Vineyard Gazette.

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"Killer Crib" recall inspires new Cape company

Gerald Milden of Chatham founds "Instructions Inc."

After a fifteen year long "protracted sabbatical" Chatham's Gerald Milden has started a new venture based on his number one pet peeve ... poor product design and poorly written user instructions.

Milden, who graduated as an industrial engineer, has founded Instructions Incorporated  which creates easily understood instructions for products in printed and electronic formats and also provides user-centric engineering assistance for companies wishing to improve a product’s customer friendliness and the user experience.

A stickler for information details, Milden decided to look into the recent recall of a popular line of children's cribs which came after three babies died. In so doing he uncovered the fact that the remedial instructions in the recall notice, which were designed to correct the original faulty assembly instructions, were themselves defective.   

Simplicity Crib Recall Information Also Faulty

A combination of poor product design and poorly written assembly instructions are the two reasons for the recent and long overdue recall of the so-called “killer cribs.” But making matters worse is the fact that when a parent goes to the offending manufacturer’s web sites, either Simplicity's or Graco's, as directed by the media, to retrieve information to correct the lethal product problem, the information they find on the site is itself defective itself because it is missing critical instructions!

The Simplicity website page (on right) shows the viewer, in two illustrated steps, how to identify a new track from the old track. But it doesn’t tell the viewer which is the problem track nor does it instruct the viewer on how to obtain replacement parts. It also doesn’t warn the viewer that even if their unit has the new track, if it was installed improperly it too must be replaced.

In other words, acording to Milden, the manufacturer is guilty of further complicating the problem by repeating their original error of not providing sufficient information with poorly worded instructions.

It's a common problem

Poorly designed products and poorly worded directions and assembly instructions he says are much too common. Milden adds, "The dilemma is pandemic and runs the entire gamut of products from children’s furniture assembly instructions to almost every other type of consumer and industrial product."

"The dilemma is pandemic and runs the entire gamut of products from children’s furniture assembly instructions to almost every other type of consumer and industrial product" - Gerald Milden of Chatham, founder of Instructions Inc. As a result virtually everyone has purchased a product and become annoyed -- if not infuriated -- trying to comprehend its instructions and that’s because user instructions are much too difficult to comprehend. In the case of Simplicity cribs the combination of the two deficiencies i.e., a poor design and poorly written assembly instructions proved lethal according to news reports this week.

The key to producing easy-to-understand instructions is to combine a minimum number of plain words, with illustrations if needed, which are each so clear-cut that the information is quickly and effortlessly understood and assimilated by the reader. The solution to overcoming the preponderance of poor visual aids [illustrations] is to use designers who have an intuitive knack, and a common sense approach for creating instructional graphics and illustrations.

Instructions Inc are specialists in information design. We compose easily understood content in printed and electronic formats for product user documents, assembly instructions, directions, user guides, service manuals, man-machine interfaces, web sites, signs, order forms, bills, and packaging. We also provide user-centric engineering assistance for companies wishing to improve a product’s customer friendliness.

For more information contact;

Gerald Milden,Instructions Inc
Tel 508 945 4600. milden@comcast.net

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Air Station Cape Cod gets new and better equipment, airlifts an ill woman off a fishingboat

Coast Guard airlifts ill woman from fishing vessel
CO poisoning aboard the 75-foot Timothy Michael

The Coast Guard reported Sunday that it had hoisted a 30-year-old woman from a lobster boat about 80 miles east of Nantucket after she experienced symptoms consistent with carbon monoxide poisoning.

The Coast Guard First District in Boston received the call via satellite phone from the 75-foot Timothy Michael at 5:30 a.m., that the woman needed medical care.

A helicopter crew from Air Station Cape Cod launched at 7:40 a.m., and arrived on scene and hoisted the woman aboard the helicopter at 8:45 a.m.

The helicopter landed at Hyannis Airport at 9:30 a.m., and transferred the patient to local paramedics.

A Falcon jet crew was diverted to the Timothy Michael's position at 10:45 a.m., and radioed the crew and ensured no one else aboard the boat was experiencing similar symptoms. Air Station Cape Cod counts this as their 9,603rd search and rescue case.

*** See video  HERE ***
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New technology helps Coast Guard pinpoint emergency signals
Recent case demonstrates new capability

According to the U.S. Coast Guard at Air Station Cape Cod, recent radio upgrades on a Falcon jet  enable crews to rapidly locate the exact source of emergency signals, as seen during a recent search.

"This new system saves us valuable response time, allowing us to receive more accurate guidance and acquire weaker signals"
   - Lt. j.g. Adam YoungThe HU-25 Falcon jet (on right) equipped with the new gear launched Sept. 7 after the air station was notified of an Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB) emitting a distress signal from a boat near Jonesport, Maine. Coast Guard aircraft respond to EPIRB distress signals by following instrument guidance towards the radio beacon provided by direction finding equipment.

During the air station's first operational test of the new 430 Direction Finding (DF) system, the aircraft locked onto the EPIRB's signal from 72 miles away and obtained its location.

A 25-foot response boat from Station Jonesport determined that the boat was safely moored and the EPIRB was sending a false alarm.

"This new system saves us valuable response time, allowing us to receive more accurate guidance and acquire weaker signals," said Lt. j.g. Adam Young, a pilot at Air Station Cape Cod.

The HU-25 Falcon jet is one of only three aircraft in the Coast Guard with the new 430 DF system.

There are two types of EPIRB's, the original model that supplies only azimuth guidance and a newer device, a 406 EPIRB, that is registered to a specific user and can provide coordinates for the activated device's position.

When a boater's 406 EPIRB emits a distress signal, the beacon's position is transmitted via satellite to the U.S. Mission Control Center in Maryland where it is then passed to the appropriate rescue coordination center. The rescue coordination center in turn passes the position to the aircraft.

"The notification process usually only takes a few minutes, but those few minutes can be vital when factors such as cold water or injuries come into play," said Lt. Michael Nalli, a search and rescue coordinator at the First Coast Guard District.

With the new system, the Falcon not only obtains real-time data for a quicker response, it also obtains a more exact location.

The position the EPIRB passes to the satellite may be off by as much as three miles. But when the Falcon picks up the EPIRB's signal, it can usually pin-point the location.

"Mariners' widespread use of the 406 EPIRB has significantly reduced search time and unnecessary asset use," said Young. "Now if all mariners use a 406 EPIRB with the capabilities of the 430 DF system, we have the potential to take the search out of search and rescue."

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Cape Cod Commission subcommittee urges full commission vote against Cape Wind

Claims insufficient information about cable work

 By Jack Coleman for capecodtoday  

BARNSTABLE VILLAGE - Members of a Cape Cod Commission subcommittee voted unanimously today to recommend that the full commission turn down Cape Wind's application to bring its transmission cables ashore in Yarmouth to connect with a substation in Barnstable.

Today's vote on "procedural grounds without prejudice" was based on insufficient information about the cabling aspect of the project, according to subcommittee members. 

Assuming the full commission follows the subcommittee's recommendation by an Oct. 21 deadline, a likely scenario, a legal challenge from Cape Wind appears virtually certain. A vote by the full commission could take place on Oct. 18, the date of their last scheduled meeting before the deadline.

 Subcommittee members taking part in today's vote were chairwoman Elizabeth Taylor, Frank Hogan, Alan Platt, Chuck Lockhart, Joy Brookshire and John Harris, following a motion for the vote by Platt.

The vote took place at the end of a two-hour meetings in a cramped and crowded hearing room at the commission's offices in Barnstable village, following two previous meetings between subcommittee members, commission planners and representatives with Cape Wind in the last two weeks and a public hearing earlier this month that lasted 10 hours across two separate days.

Cape Wind and the commission have been locked in a tug of war for weeks, the commission repeatedly requesting more information about the cable work, Cape Wind responding that it has already complied or the information is not available at this point in the permitting process.

The specific areas of contention to arise today before the subcommittee's vote concerned open space mitigation, effects to eelgrass beds, payment of $30,000 from Cape Wind to monitor their effects of cabling on local ponds and Cape Wind's plan to bring its cables ashore at New Hampshire Avenue in Yarmouth, an area vulnerable to damage from hurricanes.

Cape Wind maintains that the commission is largely overstepping its juridiction authority due to a favorable vote by the state Energy Facilities Siting Board in May 2005 for Cape Wind's plan to connect to the regional grid.

Commission planners released a 29-page report outlining their concerns on Sept. 4 in anticipation of the public hearing opening two days later. Cape Wind's plans for cabling fell short of all but six of 33 "minimum performance standards" required of projects deemed Developments of Regional Impact (DRI).

Craig Olmsted, Cape Wind's vice president for projects, described the company's rationale for turning down the subcommittee's request for an extension of their review, a request made after Cape Wind agreed to a two-week extension on Sept. 11.

 "The jurisdictional cable is undergoing an unprecedented level of scrutiny for what is otherwise a routine installation of a cable to provide electricity to the Cape and islands," Olmsted said. "There are multiple agencies at the federal, state and local levels reviewing every aspect of this project. It is imperative to the project and the future of clean energy that permitting continue to progress at all levels.

"Cape Wind believes that the record before the commission is complete and exhaustive and is adequate to base its decision on," Olmsted said. "The information the commission has reviewed has, for the most part, been available for several years and any additional information requested by the commission has been submitted in a timely manner. While we respect the jurisdiction of the Cape Cod Commission, we also understand the timeframes dictated by the Legislature for the commission's review to be important tools to ensure a project is evaluated in a timely and efficient manner."

Olmsted added that "to my knowledge, there is more known about the transmission line and more care taken in mitigation than any project that has preceded it. We don't see any point in prolonging the process when by all standards the record is complete and process can and should move forward. With all due respect, we do not feel that it is fair or necessary to extend the review for this DRI project."

Cape Wind agreed to provide $10.2 million in mitigation funding

Cape Wind agreed to provide $10.2 million in mitigation funding to offset impacts from the project back in March when Ian Bowles, the state's Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs, ruled that the project as proposed complied with the state's environmental laws.

But how that mitigation funding would be spent, and whether any would make its way to the commission or town of Yarmouth, were contentious issues at today's meeting.

Phil Dascombe, the commission's lead planner overseeing the review, said the mitigation funds would be controlled by the state office of Coastal Zone Management, with no specific money allocated to the commission or towns of Yarmouth and Barnstable. Cape Wind's underground cable would pass through both towns' waters and land before connecting to an NStar substation in Barnstable.

"It would seem that everyone will be dipping into that money," said subcommittee member Chuck Lockhart.

Yarmouth Selectmen Chairwoman Suzanne McAuliffee said Yarmouth officials were not receiving the information they needed from Cape Wind and had directed town counsel to review the town's agreement as host community where Cape Wind's cables would come ashore.

Charles McLaughlin, an attorney with the town of Barnstable, urged the subcommittee against a recommendation "without findings or prejudice" as leaving the commission vulnerable on appeal. McLaughlin urged members not to vote in the absence of an analysis of whether Cape Wind's benefits outweigh its drawbacks.

Such an analysis was already undertaken by Cape Wind and approved by the state Energy Facilities Siting Board, said Cape Wind attorney David Rosenzeig.

McLaughlin added that the town is preparing a legal challenge to the state decision announced by Bowles in March.

Cape Wind's plans to use jet plowing to lay its two cables under the seabed, and whether this in effect constitutes dredging, also remains a bone of contention between the company and commission.  Jet plowing would also be used to connect cables from all 130 turbines situated across 24 square miles of Nantucket Sound with a transformer platform. The transformer would be roughly 12 miles from projected landfall at New Hampshire Avenue in Yarmouth.

The absence of an emergency response plan from Cape Wind in catastrophic accidents involving Cape Wind's turbines or its transformer platform, where 40,000 gallons of coolant would be stored, did not sit well with subcommittee members.

Lockhard read from a recent Business Week magazine article describing "thousands" of "mishaps, breakdowns and accidents" involving wind turbines elsewhere in the US and Europe. In one case, according to the article, a turbine blade sheared off and was flung 200 meters away, presumably in Europe.

"You got propellers out there and they are going to come off and go through someone's boat," Lockhart warned.

Not only that, suggested subcommittee member Joy Brookshire, Cape Wind could also become a vulnerable target to terrorists. 

(See previous story, Another CC Commission meeting on Cape Wind's cables)

Jack Coleman is a reporter and editor at capecodtoday who blogs about the Cape Wind project at the Renewable Energy Revolution blog on this site. He worked as media advisor to the pro-wind farm Clean Power Now non-profit in 2006.

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30-year-old woman evacuated from lobster boat off Nantucket

Coast Guard airlifts ill woman from fishing vessel
CO poisoning aboard the 75-foot Timothy Michael

The Coast Guard reported Sunday that it had hoisted a 30-year-old woman from a lobster boat about 80 miles east of Nantucket after she experienced symptoms consistent with carbon monoxide poisoning.

The Coast Guard First District in Boston received the call via satellite phone from the 75-foot Timothy Michael at 5:30 a.m., that the woman needed medical care.

A helicopter crew from Air Station Cape Cod launched at 7:40 a.m., and arrived on scene and hoisted the woman aboard the helicopter at 8:45 a.m.

The helicopter landed at Hyannis Airport at 9:30 a.m., and transferred the patient to local paramedics.

A Falcon jet crew was diverted to the Timothy Michael's position at 10:45 a.m., and radioed the crew and ensured no one else aboard the boat was experiencing similar symptoms.

Air Station Cape Cod counts this as their 9,603rd search and rescue case.

*** See video  HERE ***

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Fuel Outlook Concerns SSA; Rise in teen suicide; Island Tribe Revives Casino Efforts; SSA may need rate increase due to fuel costs

Vineyard Headlines, Sept. 21

Island Tribe Revives Casino Efforts
"We have signed a long-term agreement with our partners for financing, partnership and development planning and for operation of a casino complex. Our partners are not only acceptable to the tribe but will be acceptable to the Massachusetts legislature as well. They are extremely well-respected [casino] operators." - Don Widdiss, chairman of Aquinnah Wampanoag tribal councilThe Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) has quietly developed a partnership with a successful Native American casino developer/operator, perhaps based in the northeastern United States, and is ready to re-enter the Massachusetts casino derby with a different approach ... The Island tribe now has lined up an experienced financial and operational backer and will announce both its partner and details of the plan, possibly within a week, according to Don Widdiss, chairman of the tribal council.
   While reports say the tribe's partner is based in the Northeast, Mr. Widdiss this week would not reveal the identity or the location of the tribe's partner.
"We will follow the timetable [with its partner] but I'll say they know what they are doing," Mr. Widdiss said. "They've done it very successfully over time."

Fuel Outlook Concerns SSA
Boatline Staff Considers Steps if Oil Prices Spike, Including Surcharges or Fare Increases
Faced with a potential million-dollar increase in fuel costs, the Steamship Authority will rework its budget for next year, examining cost cuts, fare rises or a fuel surcharge. 
   Doubt was cast on the estimates for fuel costs contained in a draft budget presented to the SSA board at its meeting on Tuesday by Robert S. Marshall, the Falmouth member of the Authority board of governors, who noted the document assumed oil prices of $70 per barrel in 2008, which is about $10 lower than current world prices. He said it would be "short-sighted" for the Authority to not to budget more conservatively for fuel, and urged the consideration of a fuel levy, such as is already imposed by many other transport operators, particularly airlines.

Data May Show Rise in Suicide Attempts by Vineyard Teens
In the last year and a half, about 16 youths (people 19 years old or younger) were admitted to Martha's Vineyard Hospital for attempted suicide, according to hospital data recently acquired by the Gazette. In the year-and-a-half prior to that, seven youths were admitted for attempted suicide.

Wind from the West, Catch Derby Culture Lessons From the Best
For the casual fisherman, fishing the Martha's Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby is like going from sandlot baseball to the major leagues.

Island to Honor Unlikely Ladies' Fight for Rights
On Sunday afternoon, a plaque will be unveiled in West Tisbury in celebration of a small group of town women who, nearly 50 years ago, took a little risk to play a part in a glorious, heroic and sweeping change in our national history. 

Read the rest of The Vineyard Gazette.  

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"Can you hear me now?" You can in Chatham.

Another CC Commission meeting on Cape Wind's cables

More questions about Cape Wind's transmission line
Decision from commission expected by Oct. 21

By Jack Coleman, capecodtoday reporter

BARNSTABLE VILLAGE - Once again, the Cape Cod Commission is seeking more information from Cape Wind Associates about the company's plans to build a 130-turbine wind farm in Nantucket Sound.

Commission subcommittee members who met Thursday for more than two hours with Cape Wind representatives requested more information on how two underground cables brought ashore from a Cape Wind transformer platform and connecting to a substation in Barnstable after passing through Yarmouth would affect local residents, water supplies and natural habitat.

Commission staff planners outlined their concerns about the cabling in a 29-page report released Sept. 4, two days before the commission opened its public hearing on the cabling aspect of the project.

10 hours over 5 days and countless questions 

The hearing that began on Sept. 6 was continued into the following day and ended on Sept. 10 after nearly 10 hours of public comment from local residents and officials on both sides of the Cape Wind divide.

A five-member subcommittee comprised of commission representatives from across the Cape is considering Cape Wind's proposal to connect its cables with the substation on the Cape. The subcommittee is expected to make a recommendation to the full commission for a vote expected by Oct. 21.

The extent of commission jurisdiction in the matter is disputed by Cape Wind, which contends that the state Energy Facilities Siting Board's approval in May 2005 of Cape Wind's application to connect to the regional grid, a decision made after a lengthy review process and which has withstood a legal challenge from the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound, is binding on the commission.

Will meet again next Monday 

The commission subcommittee looking at the matter will meet next on Monday at 10 a.m. in the Assembly of Delegates Chamber at Barnstable District Court in Barnstable village.  The subcommittee, chaired by Elizabeth Taylor of Brewster, also includes Frank Hogan of Orleans, Alan Platt of Wellfleet, minority representative John Harris and Chuck Lockhart of Yarmouth.

Cape Wind agreed last week to extend the commission's review by two weeks to allow for a full commission vote by late October.

The 29-page report from commission staffers outlined where Cape Wind's application was "inconsistent" or did not provide sufficient information for 25 of 33 minimum performance standards.

If and when the Cape Wind project is approved, the cabling work through Yarmouth and into Barnstable between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. and would not take place during the tourist season between Memorial Day and Labor Day weekends, as dictated by the Energy Facilities Siting Board approval of two years ago.

One of the areas of concern discussed Thursday was the extent to which Cape Wind will have to restore open space by the underground cable work.

"We have agreed that open space is required," said subcommittee chairwoman Elizabeth Taylor. "We're just talking about how much."

Yarmouth Selectmen Chairwoman Suzanne McAuliffee expressed displeasure with Cape Wind for Yarmouth officials learning from the Energy Facilities Siting Board and not Cape Wind of changes to construction work planned by the company. Charles McLaughlin, an attorney for the town of Barnstable, complained to the commission that Cape Wind had not contacted the town about road work needed in Barnstable for a half-dozen streets, including the busy Mary Dunn Road.

Cape Wind offers 24/7 "hotline" 

Cape Wind has vowed to maintain a 24-hour hotline to field complaints from local residents affected by construction work needed for the underground cable work.
Both Cape Wind and the Alliance, its chief nemesis, have declined to state whether they will legally challenge an unfavorable commission decision, but litigation appears inevitable based on maneuvering by both during the commission's review.

At the outset of the public hearing on Sept. 4, Cape Wind attorney David Rosenzweig contended that the legal timeframe for the hearing had expired, a procedural point serving little purpose except to provide at least a partial basis for a legal challenge.

At the continued public hearing to follow on Sept. 10, the Alliance retained a stenographer to record a legal transcript of the proceedings.Jack Coleman is a capecodtoday reporter and editor who blogs about Cape Wind at Renewable Energy Revolution and worked last year as media adviser to the pro-wind farm Clean Power Now non-profit.

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Nabbin' nudists & stoppin' sex in P'Town; Hopper hearing on hold; Oyster Fest imminent

Lower Cape news, Sept. 21

Headlines from the Cape Codder:
Commission postpones Hopper hearing
- Planning agency hearing on proposed 6,500-square-foot home in Truro put off until Oct. 4
New pier plans withdrawn
- Plans for a proposed-142 ft pier in Wellfleet Harbor withdrawn before conservation commission meeting
Big bash coming up
- Wellfleet prepares for the upcoming Oyster Fest, Oct. 13-14
Big Taboo Music Festival in Provincetown this weekend
- Bringing together gay musicians from around the country
PTV open house next Wednesday
- Meet Provincetown's cable station's new director, Beth O'Rourke
Candidates line up for open P'town post
- Town moderator position to be filled during November special election
Lady Lions form new club
-  Lower Cape Cod Lighthouse Lions Club in the works
Celebration set for skate park
- Behold the new and improved Finch Skateboard Park in Orleans
Brewster selectmen set four goals
- Board committed to reaching goals set for 2007/2008

Read these and other stories in the Cape Codder here. 

__________________________________________

Headlines from the Provincetown Banner:
Smoke canister blown up at landfill
- Device turned in by National Seashore ranger, detonated at dump
Undercover tactics
- Park criticized for using sneak approach to nab nudists, stop sex
Assault case may escalate into hate crime
- Victim responded to derogatory remark and attacked in front of Spiritus
Local inventor hopes new car-stopping device will take off
- Jim Costa in process of patenting his "Car Chase Stopper"
"Indian Blood" flows wildly at WHAT
- Wellfleet theater does Gurney again 

Read these and other stories in the Provincetown Banner here.  

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D.A. says cops justified in Barry Scott arrest

Described as routine police response during summer
Complainant gave wrong address and direction of noise

By Laura Kiritsy, Bay Windows

“We found no improprieties or unlawfulness with the police activity” -O’KeefeProvincetown police officers acted appropriately when arresting Barry Scott while he was deejaying a party they sought to break up back in July, said Cape and Islands District Attorney Michael O’Keefe Sept. 18, whose office recently concluded an investigation into the incident.

“We found no improprieties or unlawfulness with the police activity,” said O’Keefe, who added that he has forwarded a report of his investigation to Provincetown Town Manager Sharon Lynn. In August, Lynn asked O’Keefe’s office to investigate the incident after controversy arose when Scott and witnesses at the party accused the police officers of acting with unnecessary force when they arrested Scott, the openly gay host of the oldies radio show “The Lost 45s With Barry Scott.”

“It’s the kind of situation that is on its face volatile in nature. But when you really look at it, it’s a rather routine police response to a noise complaint type of a situation in Cape towns during the summer,” O’Keefe said in a brief interview. He referred Bay Windows to Lynn for further comment about the report’s findings; Lynn could not be reached for comment by press time.

O’Keefe refused to make the report available to Bay Windows. He also said should she ask him, he would advise Lynn not to release the report until Scott’s court case is adjudicated. Scott, who is facing charges of resisting arrest, disorderly conduct and disturbing the peace, appeared in Orleans District Court on Sept. 14, at which point he and his attorney, Christopher Snow, were presented with a “bill of particulars,” a statement detailing the prosecution’s legal claims behind the charges against Scott. Snow said that among the legal claims the prosecution plans to put forth is that Scott spoke negatively about the police. “They claim he made some statements that were clearly — if you believe the statements — that they said were critical of the police,” said Snow. “That’s the crime.”

Scott, who owns a home in Provincetown, is scheduled to return to court on Oct. 19.

A recording of the noise complaints made to the P'town PD reveal that four of them came from Yvonne Cabral, the owner of Provincetown Trolley who made news last year for having a public spat with Provincetown Magazine publisher Rick Hines over Cabral’s signing of a petition for an anti-gay marriage constitutional amendment.Scott suffered a gash on his nose and injuries to his leg and toes during the arrest, which came after Provincetown police officers responded to noise complaints for the third time July 14 to the Holway Avenue home of Ed Foley, who was celebrating his birthday. Organizers of the party have said that they complied with the officers’ orders to have Scott lower the volume of the music during their previous visits to the home. According to Scott and guests at the party, when the officers ordered them on their third visit to shut the party down, Scott used his microphone to inform the approximately 50 guests that the police had ordered an end to the festivities. Witnesses have said that Scott calmly complained that taxpaying town residents could not enjoy a birthday party in their own homes. Scott and the witnesses allege that police then aggressively descended on Scott to arrest him, claiming that he was inciting a riot. But Scott and witnesses say that he cooperated with police. Scott’s partner Bryan Richardson was also taken into protective custody that night after police officers accused him of being intoxicated, which Richardson has denied. Richardson, who said he takes medication for a chronic back condition, has said he was injured by police while being taken into custody and that officers later ignored his pleas for his prescription medication — which they had confiscated — and for assistance in getting up to use the bathroom, causing him to soil himself.

Acting Provincetown Police Chief Warren Tobias has also said that police officers acted appropriately during the incident (See “Popular DJ Arrested In P’town,” July 20). The town’s board of selectmen rebuffed calls by witnesses to Scott’s arrest to investigate the incident.

Meanwhile, a Bay Windows review of a recording of the noise complaints made to the Provincetown Police Department on the night of July 14 reveal that at least four of them came from Yvonne Cabral, the owner of Provincetown Trolley, Inc., who made news last year for having a public spat with Provincetown Magazine publisher Rick Hines over Cabral’s signing of a petition for an anti-gay marriage constitutional amendment. Cabral lives at 7 Court St., about a quarter of a mile away from 4 Holway Ave. Initially, Cabral suggested to police that the music might be coming from the East End of town — the opposite side of town — as the music sounded “really, really far away.” She later called back to say that the music was coming from a private party in the area of the Center for Coastal Studies, which is located at 5 Holway Ave.

Cabral made the same assertion in subsequent calls, though she was never specified an address. In between Cabral’s complaints, another caller complained about noise coming from a party at 7 Cudworth St., an address that is situated between Cabral’s home and 4 Holway Ave. Later in the recording, a dispatcher informed an officer readying to respond to the area that there were two separate parties and that “we’re trying to … unbundle them.”  Not long after that, a female officer who said she was in the area of Cudworth Street can be heard telling an officer who apparently is in the area of Holway Avenue that the noise was “definitely coming from your location.”

Richardson expressed frustration with the slow pace of the court proceedings and what he believes to be a “cover-up” of the Provincetown police officers’ behavior toward him and Scott at all levels of town government. “It’s a night that I’ll never forget. I have nightmares to this day about it,” said Richardson, who noted that he and Scott have sought counseling through Fenway Community Health’s Violence Recovery Program. “And it just doesn’t seem like any justice is being done” he added, noting that the officer that allegedly roughed up Scott was allowed to remain on the job. “He didn’t even get a slap on the wrist.”

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Orlean Selectmen reopen Wind Turbine issue

Supporters of renewable energy turn out in force

By Liz Argo for capecodtoday

W

ednesday night, September 19^th, at the Orleans SelectBoard meeting, members of the Orleans community and representatives from the Committee to Save Orleans Wind filled the room.

Eight testimonies were heard clearly demonstrating the Orleans residents’ desire to review the surprise vote made on Sept. 12.  The vote on Sept. 12 shocked Orleans when the Board of Water Commissioners rejected two 1.56-megawatt turbines proposed for the Orleans watershed.

 Board commended, but review process reopened

While commending water commissioners for the massive effort they have made to date on this project, selectmen responded to the requests of local residents by voting for water commissioners to reopen the review process. Selectmen will promote the development of a roundtable discovery process at which all parties will sit. At this roundtable opportunity, all current impasses to the Orleans Wind Turbine project will hope to be aired and, if possible, resolved.

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Fireworks go off with a bang; More turbine talk; PD/FD partnership

Chatham and Harwich News, September 20, 2007

Headlines from the Cape Cod Chronicle:
CHATHAM
Selectmen approve preliminary wind turbine study
- Board members look to cut hefty operating costs at expanded wastewater treatment plant
More downtown roadwork planned
- Work scheduled for mid-October won't be as expensive as the last time
Smoking regulations being revised
- Four shops cited during sting for selling tobacco to minors
Windmill needs TLC
- The Godfrey Grist Mill in Chase Park falls on bad times
Selectmen to name charter review group
- Apparently some difference in opinion among members
Library learning series begins
- From Dante to presidential politics, nearly a dozen courses offered
HARWICH
Damage payment demanded for Sea Street water main break
- Town receives a formal demand for compensation of more than $50,000 for damage by break
Major subdivision filed for Belmont Park in North Harwich
- Planning board due to deliberate on a 19-lot preliminary subdivision
Fennell proposes easement switch
- A little-known public rights secret is attached to the second floor deck of the Wychmere Harbor club
New cop trains with FD
- New officers are required to work an eight-hour shift with firefighters as part of on-the-job training
Festival fireworks a success
- "It was probably the best we ever had," says Police Chief William Mason
House to get hazardous survey
- Is 1055 Oak St. a hazard to neighbors and public safety?

Read these and other stories in the Cape Cod Chronicle here. 

________________________

Headlines from the Harwich Oracle:
Budget crunch forces  cutback in school officers
- Cuts leave substantially reduced police presence in elementary, middle and high schools
Police station cost jumps to $9.8 million
- Construction may begin in 2008
Balmer aims to strengthen town procedures
- Upgrading & centralizing town procedure is Assistant Town Administrator's main task
Cape lawmakers back federal bill to revamp insurance
- Lawmakers hope to stabilize the catastrophic  insurance market
Festival fireworks light up the sky
- First-time fireworks on Nantucket Sound off Harwich a success
Businesses, volunteers made Taste of Harwich a success
- 16th Annual Taste of Harwich a great success

Read these and other stories in the Harwich Oracle here. 

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Reine & Smuliac guilty; Bog bidding; Falmouth doc grows own pot; More

Upper Cape News, Sept. 19

Headlines from the Enterprise:
Jury hands down guilty verdict
- Reine & Smuliac found guilty on charges of B & E and larceny
Closing arguments made, jury deliberates role of Reine in theft of will
- Jury decides on charges of theft of wills and other important papers
Auditions of a different sort
- Dog tries for role of Sandy in "Annie"
Two growers bid to operate town bogs
- Submit bids to farm 43 acres of Falmouth bogs
Housing study recommends development of rental housing
- 53-page study focuses on ability of working residents to find year-round housing
Consultant presents final report on DPW study
- Study intended to help town reach specific goals and objectives while serving citizens
Tempers flare over accusations of ethics violations on ZBA
- Board member accuses fellow member of ethics violation during Zoning Board of Appeals meeting
Doctor charged with growing marijuana
- Falmouth resident says he grew his own because he was "sick and tired" of being ripped off by dealers
Ferry service resumes with new fall schedule
- Trial ferry service between Woods Hole and New Bedford resumes Monday
Unable to get about, long-time botanist writes book on backyard observations
- Discovery of interesting things in the backyard
Affirmative action committee issues statement on Armenian genocide
- Statement asks Anti-Defamation League to acknowledge genocide in the early 1900s

Read these and other stories in the Enterprise Newspapers here. 

_______________________

Headlines from the Upper Cape Cod Newspapers:
SANDWICH BROADSIDER
Forum on alternative energy  Sept.  26
- Town of Sandwich will hold forum at 7:30 p.m. next Wednesday
Sandwich cited as a model in health insurance efficiency
- Sandwich receives kudos for handling employee healthcare
New lease on life: Horse Council plan would revitalize Roberti Farm
- Council hopes to use abandoned farm as its home
NOAH shelter facing budget crisis: Hyannis facility helps the homeless
- Rising costs have negative financial impact on shelter

Read these and other stories in the Sandwich Broadsider here.

BOURNE COURIER
Ocean Pines special permit no longer valid
- Controversial special permit, now 20 years old, no longer valid
Landlord, tenant in dispute at movie theater
- Disappointing demise of Buzzards Bay Theater turns ugly

Read these and other stories in the Bourne Courier here. 

FALMOUTH BULLETIN
Finalist named for new Falmouth police chief
- From a pool of 80 candidates, only three remain
Town mulls hike in water rates
- Falmouth Water Department seeks to cover expenses
Just doing her job
- A day in the life of Vicki Young, traffic control officer
Nature versus nuture?
- Town-owned Webster Woods considered for affordable housing
Officer weighs appeal options after dismissal
- Paul Driscoll considers two appeal options
Cape Cod investigates its biodiesel options
- Local residents may breathe easier in not too distant future

Read these and other stories in the Falmouth Bulletin here. 

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Not guilty plea in child rape case; What if Milne wins them both?; Barnstable polls slow

Mid-Cape News, Sept. 18

Headlines from the Register:
Suspect pleads not guilty to child rape
- Waltham man pleads not guilty to 2006 rape at the Cape Codder Resort in Hyannis
New era starts with all-day kindergarten in D-Y schools
- 5-year-olds survive their first full day
Yarmouth selectmen welcome new commission director
- Yarmouth selectmen will be first to welcome Niedzwiecki

Read these and other stories in the Register here. 

____________________________ 

Headlines from the Barnstable Patriot:
Slow time at the polls:  candidates waving it off
- Low voter turnout at the Barnstable preliminary elections
The Milne Question: What happens if he wins both?
- One person, possibly two positions
Airport, council will meet on Thursday
- Workshop to be held at 7 p.m. on the 20th
Agencies say county human services director legitimizes their efforts
- Role vital to coordinating the work of several different organizations
Opinion: Seeking the ghost of 9/11 from JFK Boulevard
- Six years after day of infamy

Read these and other stories in the Barnstable Patriot here. 

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Dan Kennedy on casinos; As usual he's ahead of the curve

Spending the same money twice
MassInc examines the visions of casino riches

Gov. Deval Patrick may be conjuring up visions of casino riches for the state, but it's not necessarily so. Numbers are slippery, of course, and a skilled advocate can make them stand up and bark on command. But state Rep. Dan Bosley, D-North Adams, a casino opponent who's been studying the issue for more than a decade, makes a compelling case for why Patrick's fondest desires are unlikely to come true.

At a forum Tuesday morning sponsored by the Massachusetts Institute for a New Commonwealth (MassINC), Bosley said that Patrick is depending on money that is already being spent for other purposes. According to various studies, between 30 percent and 70 percent of money spent on casino gambling is nothing more than an "economic transfer." (David Kravitz live-blogged the event at Blue Mass. Group.)
(In photo, from left, Bosley, McGowan, Cahill and CommonWealth acting editor Michael Jonas, the moderator)

"Even though you've created a new revenue source ... it's not new revenue," Bosley said. "I think it is very disappointing that the governor has decided to do this." Later, he added: "It's not new money. It's just rearranging money." And money that is spent on casino gambling may be money that isn't spent at local restaurants and other small businesses.

More than 100 people crowded into a function room at the Omni Parker House for the nearly two-hour event, with television cameras lined up in the back of the room. With the governor making his unfortunate announcement yesterday, casino gambling has become the top issue on Beacon Hill.

Nothing particularly surprising was said. Joining Bosley on stage were state Treasurer Tim Cahill, who repeated his well-known support for casino gambling, which he explained most recently in an op-ed piece for the Boston Globe today. The third speaker, the Rev. Richard McGowan, a Boston College economist and casino expert, offered analysis.

It was an in-depth, civil discussion of an issue that has often become obscured by the vehemence with which many of the combatants express their views. (I am definitely not excluding myself.)

Another challenge was raised by state Sen. Susan Tucker, D-Andover. After offering some numbers on the state's already-high dependence on gambling revenues from the lottery (numbers that were disputed with surprising vehemence by Father McGowan), Tucker noted that there are two racetracks in New Hampshire just over the border from her district.

According to Tucker, New Hampshire legislators have told her that they currently have no interest in building casinos — but that they would seek to transform those racetracks into casinos if gambling venues in Massachusetts began eating into their business. Worse, she observed, New Hampshire might tax its casinos at a lower rate than Massachusetts, which could then force Massachusetts to do the same.

"The fact is that this is an industry that depends on addiction for its revenues," Tucker said, expressing puzzlement over the argument put forth by Patrick, Cahill and others that money from casino gambling would be set aside to help chronic gamblers with their addiction. "If a medication harms three people, we take it off the shelves," she said.

At one point, Cahill offered a familiar argument — that Native American tribes such as the Mashpee Wampanoags, who propose building an enormous casino in Middleborough — have a right under federal law to operate casinos, and that the state should get ahead of the issue in order to protect its own interests.

"Even if we're saying no, we've got two Indian tribes that are pushing very hard," he said.

But Bosley said he "disagree[d] strongly with that," explaining that federal decision-makers must, under the law, take into consideration where the state stands on casino gambling. Bosley added that the state's leverage to stop tribal casinos from coming to Massachusetts was undermined considerably by Patrick's announcement. "We've just blown that," he said.

Of course, in order to become law, Patrick's proposal must pass muster with the Legislature. And though it seems likely to win approval in the Senate, there's a good chance it will die in the House. Speaker Sal DiMasi is a longtime opponent of casino gambling, and Bosley is one of his lieutenants.

Bosley said the House would give Patrick's bill — not yet filed — serious consideration. But his remarks suggested that he can't wait to kill it, and that he's confident he's got the votes. "There's nothing new in the governor's proposal," Bosley said, noting that previous gambling plans have also come with promises of endless wealth for the state, and that the House has defeated every one of them — and by increasing margins over the years.

No doubt the pressure to approve gambling will be greater this time, especially with proposals for steep transportation taxes (Globe; Herald) looming. But there are plenty of people and institutions who've come out against gambling, too. At the moment, there's no reason to think that House members won't stick to their principles.

Still standing: The Herald's Dave Wedge reports that Mashpee Wampanoag tribal-council president Shawn Hendricks wants to discuss the troubled Middleborough proposal with Patrick. This past Saturday, I linked to an item by Cape Cod Today blogger/reporter Peter Kenney claiming that Hendricks and two other tribal leaders would resign later that day. Obviously that didn't happen.

That's the problem with predictions. In fact, on Saturday a newspaper reporter asked me to predict what Patrick would say. I declined the invitation; but if I had taken her up on it, I would have said that Patrick would probably say "no." I'm glad I kept my counsel.
Dan Kennedy, who grew up in Middleboro, is a visiting assistant professor of journalism at Northeastern University and a media critic at medianation.blogspot.com. He may be e-mailed at da.kennedy@neu.edu.

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Gov grants $763,831 to Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce this year

Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce received a grant of $763,831

Part of $8.4 million in travel and tourism granted by the Patrick administration this year

BOSTON - Gov. Patrick, along with the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism (MOTT), announced $8,462,500 in grants on Monday to be divided among 13 regional tourism councils (RTCs).  The state grants are intended to help promote destinations and attractions throughout Massachusetts, increasing tourism dollars in the state.

Tourism is the third largest industry in the Commonwealth and therefore, according to state Senate President Therese Murray, "critical to the health of our economy."  Tourism generates more than $833 million in state and local taxes as well as nearly $13.1 billion in travel-related spending and supports 125,200 industry-related, in state jobs.  Detailed breakdowns by room nights, revenue and tax dollars are available on the MOTT site. 

According to House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi, "The House of Representatives has made investing in regional tourism programs a priority and these grants will provide significant support for important programs throughout the Commonwealth."  According to Gov. Patrick, it is the regional tourism councils that help attract vistors and therefore spending dollars to the Cape and other key leisure destination areas.

The state is divided into 13 regional tourism councils:

• Greater Boston Convention and Visitors Bureau
• North of Boston Convention and Visitors Bureau
• Greater Merrimack Valley Convention and Visitors Bureau
• Bristol County Convention and Visitors Bureau
• Plymouth County Convention and Visitors Bureau
• Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce
• Martha's Vineyard Chamber of Commerce
• Nantucket Island Chamber of Commerce
• Central Massachusetts Tourist Council
• Greater Springfield Convention and Visitors Bureau
• Franklin County Chamber of Commerce
• Berkshire Hills Visitors Bureau
• Mohawk Trail Association

Each RTC is responsible for developing its own advertising, brochures and other marketing pieces.  The RTCs, including our own Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce, are all non-profit, member-based organizations charged with promoting their region as a leisure destination by marketing accommodations and cultural, natural and historical attractions. 

The Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce's FY-08 Tourism Marketing Plan is available on their website here.  The plan includes a "radical transformation" of the chamber's current website and the official Guide to Cape Cod.  The chamber notes area events and festivals are of growing interest to travelers to Cape Cod.  Also, citing over 1,100 Cape eateries and restaurants, the chamber sees "culinary tourism" as a "growing niche market".

Resources:

• Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism site here
• Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce here
• Governor's Office here 

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VINEYARD - Pond pollution fines proposed; Derby prizes NANTUCKET - All shock and no awe at project plans

Vineyard headlines, Sept. 15

Sengekontacket Fine Is Planned
In Edgartown, Board of Health Moves to Penalize Owners of Property Cited for Compliance Lapses
It has taken them 12 years to do it, but the Edgartown board of health is finally getting tough over a breach of health and planning regulations which threatens the health of Sengekontacket Pond. For the first time, the board is looking to impose a substantial fine on a homeowner who twice has breached undertakings relating to the size of a house and the treatment and disposal of waste water from it.  The owners of the home on the Boulevard, Francis M. Palma and Susan Shea, are likely to wind up paying between $4,000 and $6,000, an amount the town's health agent, Matt Poole, said yesterday showed the authorities now were serious about protecting the pond.

Landowners May Fund Dredge Edgartown Great Pond
Landowners around Edgartown Great Pond are looking at buying a half-million-dollar dredge to improve the water quality of their pond, and potentially that of other fresh and salt water ponds on the Island.   

Oak Bluffs Sends Garage Project to Commission
In the latest move in what has become a prolonged legal chess game, Oak Bluffs selectmen on Tuesday unanimously agreed to refer the much-maligned three-story garage built by Joseph G. Moujabber on the North Bluff to the Martha's Vineyard Commission for review as a development of regional impact.

Building Code Changes May Increase Construction Costs
Island town building inspectors are bracing for a run of new building permits over the next three months in advance of a new state building code regulation which could raise building costs on average by 5 per cent and as much as 10 per cent.

Kids Catch Derby Fever, Prizes at Annual Contest in Oak Bluffs
With the 62nd annual Martha's Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby now at full speed, two events are running along on the side.

Tivoli Day Sends Off Summer Season With Circuit Avenue Party and Parade
Tomorrow calls for an all-Island end of summer celebration and Oak Bluffs is the host. 

High School Moves Forward on Sewer Plan
The Martha's Vineyard Regional High School committee approved money this week to hire an engineer to take the next steps toward connecting the school to the town of Oak Bluffs' wastewater treatment plant - a project estimated to cost the school $1.5 to $1.8 million. 

Read The Gazette here. 
________________
Nantucket headlines, Sept. 15

Harbor vistas preserved with Land Bank buy
Peeling open yet another part of the semi-obstructed view of Nantucket Harbor along Washington Street, the Nantucket Islands Land Bank purchased 64 and 66 Washington St. last week from Richard C. Wolfe for $4,690,000.

Sankaty sprouts lifting beams
Preparations to move the hulking Sankaty Head Light continued during the past week with the insertion of steel beams that will help lift the 450-ton lighthouse off its foundation. 'Sconset Trust President Bob Felch reports that the move is still on schedule. (The cliff is in the lower right and the new location in the upper left.  (Photo by Rob Benchley, The Nantucket Independent.)

Special Election on Island Spirits purchase Tuesday
Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. at Nantucket High School on Tuesday Sept. 18 to see if voters will approve or deny a single ballot question asking for a tax override to help the town buy 10 and 12 Washington St. from the Reith family for use as a shuttle bus hub.

All shock and no awe colors neighbor reaction to Point Breeze phase II
Point Breeze Hotel owner Bob Matthews told the Planning Board Monday night about his intentions for phase two of his redevelopment plans, alarming those in attendance with its massive scale and plethora of amenities.

Nantucket Court Report
In one of the longest, single-day dockets in the history of Nantucket District Court, cases for 83 people were heard during the session on Monday. Many of the cases were old and most of the charges involved driving while intoxicated, assault and battery and drugs.

Read the Nantucket Independent  here.

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Fishing vessel Samantha and Serena in trouble off Vineyard

Coast Guard responds to sinking fishing vessel

The Coast Guard reports that Vineyard CG rescue crews responded to reports that a New Bedford-based fishing vessel was sinking south of Menemsha in Martha's Vineyard around 4 a.m., today.

The crew of the 40-foot wooden-hulled Samantha and Serena contacted Coast Guard Sector Southeastern New England at 3 a.m., via VHF channel 16 to report their vessel was taking on water and dewatering pumps had failed.

The Coast Guard launched a 47-foot rescue boat crew from Station Menemsha, which arrived on scene around 4 a.m., and transferred a new pump to the sinking vessel. The vessel was dewatered and is being escorted back to its home port.  A Jayhawk rescue helicopter from Air Station Cape Cod also responded to the call.

No injuries were reported aboard the Samantha and Serena.

"The crew of the sinking vessel knew how to respond in this emergency situation," said Petty Officer Second Class Lance Nelligan, the officer of the day at Station Menemsha. "They made a radio distress call to the Coast Guard and had their life raft and emergency position indicating radio beacon standing by in case the vessel sank." 

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Fallen Bay State soldiers honored in Chatham

 

The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) in cooperation with the Unitarian Universalist Meeting House in Chatham will honor fallen U.S. military personnel and Iraqi civilians with its traveling exhibition: Eyes Wide Open: The Cost of War to Massachussetts, which will be on display on the lawn of the Meeting House Friday, Saturday and Sunday, September 14 -16, from 10 AM to 5 PM.

Eyes Wide Open focuses on the specific costs of war to our state. The exhibit includes 140 pairs of boots representing fallen servicemen and women from Massachusetts, and a visual representation of the Iraqi civilian casualties.  The fallen from Cape Cod were remembered as well.  On the right are boots representing a Wampanoag daughter from Mashpee who died just last month, Sgt. Alicia Birchell.

AFSC, an international social justice organization, created Eyes Wide Open: The Human Cost of War to illustrate, and bring close to us, the many lives lost in this war. The national exhibit first opened in Chicago in January 2004 with just over 500 pairs of boots; it was last displayed on Memorial Day weekend 2007 with over 3,400 pairs of boots. This was the last time the entire death toll was represented in one location .Since then, the exhibition has been divided into state displays, traveling throughout the nation to smaller cities and towns. All the state exhibits combined now include almost 4000 pairs of combat boots memorializing U.S. military fatalities, along with a memorial to the tens of thousands of Iraqi civilians killed in the conflict.

WHO: American Friends Service Committee and Unitarian Universalist Meeting House.

WHAT: Eyes Wide Open - AFSC's widely acclaimed war casualties exhibition illustrating the human cost of the Iraqi war

WHERE: Front Lawn of the Unitarian Universalist Meeting House, Chatham. Main Street, Intersection 28, Queen Ann & Crowell Roads.

WHEN: Sept. 14, 15, 16, 10 AM to 5 PM.

 UUMH, 819 Main St., Chatham. 
Contacts: Melissa Clayton (508) 945-2075 or Laurie Noble (508) 945-1622.

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Phoenix does Peter - House Pest

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Orleans says no to Wind Turbines

For cost of a stamp, the $5M turbines were lost
Orleans wind supporters say reasons were fear and loathing

By Liz Argo 

The long-anticipated award of two 1.65- megawatt wind turbines worth $5 million was called into question Wednesday night in Orleans when the town's Water Commissioners voted 3-to-1 against the gift.

For four years Orleans has enjoyed the position of being first in line to benefit from the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative’s dissemination of wind energy into municipalities.

The effort began back in 2003. Orleans, reacting to the $450,000 annual cost of water treatment, moved to take advantage of the collaborative's offer to bring wind power to cities and towns. The MTC agreed that the project was well-suited and awarded Orleans the first of its municipal wind projects, offering substantial funding as well as a range of expertise.

Water Commissioners vote 3-to-1 to put stop to project

"The opportunity has truly passed. The door is closed and I believe this opportunity will never be presented to the town again" - Kevin GalliganOver a period of four years, the Orleans Wind Committee led by Kevin Galligan and the Orleans Water Commissioners worked with the MTC and its agents toward a contract that would provide for a contractor willing to erect and maintain the wind turbines under a rental agreement with the town.

In preparation for the release of a Request for Proposals (RFP) to the wind turbine builders on Sept. 27, the final recommendation from water commissioners to Orleans selectmen was due on Wednesday, Sept. 12.

Unanimous support at Town meetings;
41-cent stamp, cost of stationery given as reasons

While the project has met with unanimous support at town meetings and been supported in both committees over its four-year span, water commissioners voted Wednesday 3-1 against recommending the project to selectmen.

Water Commissioner Chairperson Ann Hodgkinson, a retired  accountant, referred to a list of 168 line items from the RFP and lease agreement which she feels could represent an administrative and financial burden to the Town, such as billing the contractor for his lease payment.

Ms. Hodgkinson illustrated her point by enumerating the associated costs from mailing a letter which might escape the initial accounting. While one might consider the 41-cent stamp the total cost of mailing a letter, Ms. Hodgkinson urged committee members to also consider the cost of stationery and trip to post office in their cost analysis.

Water Commissioner Robert Rich voted no based on his comparison of likely risks versus benefits. Mr. Rich cited the risks of transporting the turbines and towers onto the water shed, a change to the building code in 2008 and the possibility that the cost of monitoring production of the turbine could exceed its revenue. 

Mr. Rich also questioned the environmental benefits versus environmental costs, that of offsetting 4 megawatts of fossil fuel-produced electricity through wind power versus clearing of land in a conservation area where the turbines would be built.

The third no vote came from Water Commissioner Victor Noerdlinger Jr.,  who did not qualify his decision during the water commissioners' meeting or when he appeared before Orleans selectmen.

Galligan, Chairperson of the Wind Committee for two years before joining the Water Commissioners, was the only vote in favor of building the turbines. Mr. Galligan expressed his fear that a negative recommendation from commissioners could jeopardize the process before the true economic gains of this project could be determined.

“The Massachusetts Collaborative wants to see those two turbines spinning in Massachusetts. And we want the town where they’re spinning to be happy about it”
   - Dierdre MatthewsDierdre Matthews, director of the Clean Energy Program for the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, was in the audience at Wednesday night's meeting. Ms. Matthews has been the Orleans liaison on the project since its inception. When asked about her reaction to the negative recommendation, she said other towns are ready to pick up where Orleans may leave off.

She said that the MTC “can’t hold the turbines forever,” adding that the collaborative "wants to see those two turbines spinning in Massachusetts. And we want the town where they’re spinning to be happy about it.”

Orleans selectmen meet next on Wednesday, Sept. 19 at 6:30 p.m. at Town Hall and are expected to take public comment on the wind turbine initiative.

Liz Argo is a resident of Orleans and board member of the pro-wind farm Clean Power Now non-profit.

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HARWICH: Another clear-cut prompts conscom review; Oyster Creek Dredging Dispute, Long Pond Alum Treatment. CHATHAM: Bar Conditions Conflict. Commmunity Center To Begin Gradual Opening

Headlines, September 13, 2007

Another clear-cut prompts conscom review
Homeowners and landscapers who illegally clear-cut trees and other foliage within wetlands buffer zones could face substantially higher fines by early next year, the town’s conservation administrator said after learning that another violation of wetlands protection rules has occurred in Harwich.
Town delays cultural center decision
The future uses of the old recreation building and the former West Harwich School continue to hang in the balance, after selectmen last week again delayed a decision on whether one or both of the sites should be designated as cultural centers.
Alum treatment starts this week in Long Pond
Aquatic Control Technology will begin applying 82,000 pounds of alum to Long Pond in Harwich and Brewster this week.
Residents learn more about ‘smart growth’ for East Harwich
Based on current zoning rules, commercial and residential development around the intersection of routes 137 and 39 could grow by leaps and bounds, about 80 people who attended last week’s public meeting sponsored by the East Harwich Village Center Collaborative learned.
CRANBERRY FESTIVAL 2007
Organizers of Harwich Cranberry Festival are keeping their fingers crossed that good weather will grace the three-day event, which begins with a grand fireworks display at Red River Beach on Friday night.

Read the rest of the Harwich Oracle here. 
____________ 

The Harwich Cranberry Festival reaches its high point this weekend with a three-day carnival, a huge arts and crafts show, food, fun and fireworks. But even if you don’t plan on attending, you’ll probably want to know where the traffic jams are likely to be, see story below. 

Headlines, September 12, 2007
HARWICH
SJC Hears Oyster Creek Dredging Dispute
The decision to allow dredging in Oyster Creek rests with a state Supreme Judicial Court panel, which heard 32 minutes of arguments last Thursday morning from town counsel and an attorney for Oyster Creek Preservation, Inc.
Long Pond Alum Treatment Scheduled To Start On Thursday
A staging area is being set up at Fernandez Bog along Long Pond, and the first application of alum to be used to bind an abundance of phosphorus and restore the health of the 600-ace water body is scheduled for Thursday (today).
Skateboards Warned About Vandalism
It seems détente is emerging between the business community, town officials and skateboarders responsible for acts of vandalism, especially in Harwich Port in recent months.
Cranberry Fest Peaks This Weekend
The Harwich Cranberry Festival reaches its high point this weekend with a three-day carnival, a huge arts and crafts show, food, fun and fireworks.  But even if you don’t plan on attending, you’ll probably want to know where the traffic jams are likely to be.
Police Station Costs Grow Again
It’s sticker shock amplified. The latest figures on construction costs for a new 22,008-square-foot police station adjacent to the fire department headquarters have climbed to $9.8 million, including all the furnishings, architects fees and joint dispatch consoles.
Harwich Teen Remembered
More than 250 people gathered in the basketball court at the community center Saturday to remember 16-year-old Justin “J.T.” Ramshur.  It was a fitting tribute to the youngster, whose passions were his family, his friends, and basketball.

CHATHAM
Commmunity Center To Begin Gradual Opening
A temporary occupancy permit was expected to be issued for the new community center this week. However, that only means that the renovated Main Street School building meets building and fire codes and is safe for people to use.
Bar Conditions May Be Sign Of Inlet Conflict
The bar across the inlet opposite Lighthouse Beach is much shallower than it should be at this time of year, leading officials to worry that this might be the start of a pattern of shoaling that will cause navigational headaches for years to come.
CHS Gets Glowing NESC Report
If a recently released report from the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) is any predictor, Chatham High School is a shoe-in for re-accreditation this year.
CPA Funds May Be Tapped For Driving Range
Town officials plan to seek community preservation funds next May for designs and cost estimates for construction of a driving range atop the capped landfill off Sam Ryder Road.
Teachers, School Com Ratify Contract
The Chatham Teachers Association and the school committee finally ratified a new labor agreement Tuesday, less than a week after teachers began the new school year without a contract.
Progress Made In Reinventing Police Dept.
Police Chief Mark Pawlina has released his blueprint for the future of the Chatham Police Department, and one theme is woven throughout the plan: improving community relations.

Read the rest of The Chronicle here. 

Cape Wind agrees to extend Cape Cod Commission review by two weeks

This aerial and map of the New Hampshire Avenue area in Yarmouth show where the Cape Wind cables would come ashore. 

New deadline of Oct.  21 to decide

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Second Coast Guard medevac in week

Coast Guard medevacs cruise ship crew member
22-year-old woman was on Norwegian Majesty off Nantucket

A Coast Guard reported a helicopter crew from Air Station Cape Cod airlifted a 22-year-old woman who was experiencing trauma aboard a Bahamian cruise ship 150 miles southeast of Cape Cod at about 7:30 a.m. Monday.

Someone aboard the 679-foot Norwegian Majesty on its Boston-Bermuda run requested Coast Guard assistance for the crewmember at 5:22 a.m.  

After a Coast Guard flight surgeon recommended the medevac, an HH-60 Jayhawk helicopter launched from Air Station Cape Cod at about 5:50 a.m., along with an HU-25 Falcon jet to fly cover.

The helicopter crew hoisted the woman and transported her to Barnstable Municipal Airport in Hyannis were EMS were waiting to take her to Cape Cod Hospital.  Click here to see Coast Guard video of rescue.

The woman's condition is unknown. This was the Coast Guard's second rescue in four days. See the rescue of a fisherman 100 miles off Nantucket [here]

Air Station Cape Cod counts this as their 9,593rd search and rescue case.  Read previous stories about the Norwegian Majesty below:

• Bermuda; An Atlantic pearl 600 miles offshore
• You can take the boy out of the newsroom ...
• The Norwegian Majesty web site.
  

 

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Coast prepares for Tropical Storm Gabrielle

     By Tuesday morning Tropical Storm Gabrillee was 236 southest of Nantucket 

Coast Guard warns mariners to prepare

T

he Coast Guard is advising mariners along the Northeast coast to take precautions as Tropical Storm Gabrielle approaches.

The National Hurricane Center reports that Gabrielle is traveling north at 12 knots and packing sustained 50-knot winds. Tropical storm force winds are expected to roil the seas from Cape Cod to Nantucket Shoals and Georges Bank late Monday night.  Rough seas and rip currents are a primary concern.  Seas are expected to build to 14-plus feet with wind speeds up to 40 knots as Gabrielle passes.

The Coast Guard's First District Command Center in Boston initiated several pre-storm activities.  An Air Station Cape Cod HU-25 Falcon jet crew is flying along the coastline and broadcasting severe storm warnings via radio channels 16 and 21-A to commercial vessels, fishing vessels and boaters. 

Coast Guard units from New York to Massachusetts continue airing severe weather Safety Marine Information Broadcasts (SMIBs).  Coast Guard cutters Hammerhead, an 87-foot patrol boat based in Woods Hole, and Northland, a 270-foot medium endurance cutter based in Portsmouth, Va., are offshore for any needed search and rescue operations.  Sector Southeastern New England is monitoring Gabrielle and preparing to take additional steps as necessary.

The Coast Guard has also contacted commercial Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) companies to distribute these safety broadcasts to merchant vessels and fishing vessels.  A VMS machine in a vessel transmits the vessel's location via satellite to the Coast Guard and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and it is used as an email advisory system during severe weather.

"Our primary concern is to ensure those who must be on the water, like merchant mariners on commercial ships, and commercial fishermen, have the information they need to take evasive measures to avoid Tropical Storm Gabrielle," said Lt.j.g. Andrew Madjeska of the First District Command Center in Boston.  "We especially want to warn boaters who may be considering to take to the sea to not do so, and those thinking of swimming or surfing in the storm-related waves to think twice.  People need to be smart and make safe decisions."

The Coast Guard advises boaters to take necessary precautions to secure their vessel, reconsider any plans to get underway, and heed these important severe weather safety messages:

    * Stay off of the water.  The Coast Guard's search and rescue capabilities degrade as storm conditions strengthen.  This means help could be delayed.  That is why boaters are urged to heed to weather watches, warnings and small craft advisories.

    * Secure your boat and belongings.  Owners of larger boats are urged to move their boats to inland marinas where they will be less vulnerable to breaking free of their moorings or to damage.  Smaller boats should be pulled from the water and stored in a place that is not prone to flooding.  Those who leave their boat in the water are reminded to secure life rings, life jackets and small boats.  These items, if not secured properly, can break free and require valuable search and rescue resources be diverted to ensure they are not actually people in distress.

    * Stay clear of beaches and low-lying areas. Even the best swimmers can fall victim to the strong waves and rip currents caused by Gabrielle. Swimmers are urged to stay clear of beaches until local officials say the water is safe.  Residents are encouraged to heed to local evacuation warnings and orders because localized flooding can sometimes be associated with large amounts of rain. 

* Stay informed.  The public should monitor the progress and strength of Gabrielle through local television, radio and Internet.  Boaters can monitor its progress on VHF radio channel 16 and 22-A.  Information can also be obtained on small craft advisories and warnings on VHF radio channel 16 and 22-A.

For information on Gabrielle's progress, visit the National Hurricane Center's web page.

For more information on hurricane and severe storm preparedness, visit the Coast Guard Storm Center.

Ed Brooke reflects; Fishing Derby begins today; Sankaty moves; Nantucket Harbor one of Bay State's cleanest; $26M land preserve

Headlines, Sept. 7, from the Vineyard

Bass and Bluefish Derby Begins; First Weigh-in Sunday morning
Roy Langley, weigh master for the Martha's Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby, will ring a cowbell at 8 a.m. sharp Sunday morning. 

Former US Senator Edward Brooke Reflects on Long Political Career
You might expect the first black man ever popularly elected as a United States senator (shown at right) would be out there rooting for the election of the first black president.  

Mr. Moujabber Files an Appeal
Court Dispute Over Illegal Garage Promises to Grow Longer With Cross Appeals From Both Sides
In an unexpected twist, Joseph G. Moujabber, the Oak Bluffs resident who built a three-story garage along the North Bluff without a permit, has appealed the recent decision by a Dukes County superior court judge to annul a demolition order and send the garage back to a town architectural board for fresh review.

Report Mixed on Cape Wind
Cape Cod Commission Finds the Electric Cable Plan Lacking Information; Public hearing continues
A staff report released by the Cape Cod Commission last week gives a decidedly mixed review to the controversial plan by Cape Wind Associates to build 130 wind turbines on Horseshoe Shoal. The report finds that Cape Wind's plan to connect the turbines to land in West Yarmouth through underwater electricity transmission lines meets only eight of 32 performance standards set by the commission.

Edgartown School welcomes New Principal
Much has changed between the time 54-year-old John W. Stevens graduated from the Edgartown School and last week when he welcomed the students and parents on opening day.

Cited for Fuel Dock Violations, Ralph Packer Pledges Repairs
Imminent closure of the Edgartown Marine harbor fuel dock because of fire safety violations was averted yesterday, but only after some urgent and at times comic shuttle diplomacy involving state and town officials and the fuel supplier R.M. Packer Company.

Read the rest of The Gazette here.
__________________________

Headlines, Sept. 7, from Nantucket

Preparations underway for Historic move of Sankaty Head Lighthouse
First in a series - Almost more historic than its original construction is the moving of the 157-year-old, 450-ton Sankaty Head Lighthouse.

Merchants assess Summer of 2007
Customers wealthy and cordial, but season shrinks
One of the biggest topics among the island's business community is the continually changing face of downtown. Stores are closing or moving, buildings are on the market and merchants once taken for granted as lasting indefinitely are disappearing.

Nantucket Harbor among cleanest in state
Nantucket Harbor is nearly at the point of being the cleanest harbor in the state, if not for nitrogen-loading caused by development around its shores, rain and airborne particles. That assessment comes from Dr. Brian Howes, a professor at the University of Massachusetts School of Marine Science and Technology

"BLAZING STAR" - A beacon of navigational safety for 157 years
Bearing a distinctive, wide red stripe around its middle, Sankaty Head Light has stood sentinel for mariners for 157 years, protecting them from the many treacherous shoals off Nantucket's eastern shore.

$26 million purchase will preserve land and rural road at Eel Point
Preserving around .87 of a mile of Eel Point Road near 40th Pole beach cost $26.5 million last week. Nantucket Lot 51, LLC, the blind trust that purchased 9.5 acres at 135 and 137 Eel Point Road from Calm Waters Trust, reportedly wants to save the land from being carved up into five lots and eight potential dwellings.

Read the rest of the Nantucket Independent here.   

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Air Station Cape Cod's 9,588th search and rescue case.

Coast Guard airlifts ailing fisherman
Flown from south of Nantucket to Cape

A Coast Guard helicopter crew airlifted an ailing man from a fishing vessel approximately 100 miles southeast of Nantucket around 11:15 a.m. Friday.

The Boston Coast Guard office reported today that the master of the 89-foot Madison Kate requested Coast Guard assistance after a crewman complained of acute abdominal distress lasting more than 18 hours. The master calculated that the Madison Kate's transit to Nantucket would take about 20 hours.

An HH-60 Jayhawk helicopter from Air Station Cape Cod hoisted the 39-year-old fisherman from the boat and flew him to Barnstable Municipal Airport in Hyannis, where emergency medical workers were waiting to take him to Cape Cod Hospital.

"The Coast Guard encourages mariners to contact us as soon as any medical issue arises so that together we can evaluate the situation and decide how to move forward," said Petty Officer Second Class Justin Stedding, a communications watchstander at Sector Southeastern New England.  

The man's condition is unknown.

This marks the 9,588th search and rescue mission from Air Station Cape Cod this year, according to the Coast Guard.

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Police take pot shoot; Goodbye chapel; Oysters; Bees thrive; H-2B unease

Headlines, September 7, 2007

On the prowl: State, local police seek cultivated pot plants
The quiet Wednesday morning was pierced by the sound of a State Police helicopter landing on the soccer field at Nauset Regional Middle School. With the blades still rotating, Orleans Police Detective Kevin Higgins and a State Police photographer boarded the helicopter for an aerial inspection of the town.
Fond farewell to Truro chapel
There were lots of tears and memories Sunday when the Rev. Tom Weible closed the doors for the last time at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Chapel on Pond Road. “It’s a sad and bittersweet day for me,” said Weible, who has been conducting the weekend Masses at the Roman Catholic chapel for the past three years.
‘Hopper landscape’ controversy may draw wider review
It’s the 6,500-square-foot question. And the Truro Board of Selectmen hopes the Cape Cod Commission might be able to answer it.
In a 4-1 vote, selectmen agreed to send a letter to the commission asking it to “consider” a review of the proposal by Donald and Andrea Kline to build a 6,500-square-foot private home on the Hopper Landscape in South Truro.
Hostel considers appeal of zoning board decision
Supporters of the youth hostel at 75 Goody Hallett Drive turned out Tuesday to let selectmen know how they felt about the zoning board of appeals’ Aug. 9 decision to shut the hostel down Sept. 15.
Orleans oysters take hold, thrive
Could Orleans oysters someday rival those of other Cape towns such as Wellfleet?
Possibly. Meantime, locals who enjoy a good oyster should be encouraged that seeding efforts in Orleans waters are providing better than expected results.

Read the rest of The Cape Codder here.  
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Headlines, Septmber 8, 2007

Swim strokes into 20th year
PROVINCETOWN – The annual Provincetown Harbor Swim for Life takes place for the 20th time this Saturday, with a full schedule of events planned around what has become one of the town's most popular yearly activities.
H-2B unease
As deadline nears, business owners fret that Congress may see the word ‘immigrant’ as unpalatable  The failure of the sweeping federal immigration bill to pass in Congress this year has some local business owners worried that a much-needed clause in the H-2B seasonal worker legislation may also fail to be renewed.
Red dot delay restriction may be tweaked
PROVINCETOWN — The water and sewer board may overturn an unexpected hardship caused by restrictions put on “red dot delay” properties.
Cape hives still thrive
Last fall honeybees began dying mysteriously in large numbers across much of the country, putting a scare into an agricultural industry reliant on them for pollination of crops. As anyone who has gone outside recently for a picnic is well aware, the species is still doing quite fine here. While honeybees in New York and New Jersey have been affected, thus far those in Massachusetts have been spared.

    * Provincetown Sewer Construction Update
    * Outer Cape Worship Services
    * School lunch menus for this week
    * For Your Information

Read the rest of the Banner here. 

Acid Rain Has a Disproportionate Impact on Coastal Waters

Research Suggests Sulfur, Nitrogen Emissions Play a Role in Changing Chemistry Near the Coast

The release of sulfur and nitrogen into the atmosphere by power plants and agricultural activities plays a minor role in making the ocean more acidic on a global scale, but the impact is greatly amplified in the shallower waters of the coastal ocean, according to new research by atmospheric and marine chemists.


Maps depict the model-estimated atmospheric deposition rates of carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur; alkalinity; and potential alkalinity to the ocean caused by human activity relative to conditions before the Industrial Age began. (Scott Doney et al, from Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences) Click the image to see comparison maps.According to a press release today by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution ocean “acidification” occurs when chemical compounds such as carbon dioxide, sulfur, or nitrogen mix with seawater, a process which lowers the pH and reduces the storage of carbon.

Ocean acidification hampers the ability of marine organisms—such as sea urchins, corals, and certain types of plankton—to harness calcium carbonate for making hard outer shells or “exoskeletons.” These organisms provide essential food and habitat to other species, so their demise could affect entire ocean ecosystems.

The findings were published this week in the online “early edition” of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences; a printed version will be issued later this month.

“Acid rain isn’t just a problem of the land; it’s also affecting the ocean,” said Scott Doney, lead author of the study and a senior scientist in the Department of Marine Chemistry and Geochemistry at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI). “That effect is most pronounced near the coasts, which are already some of the most heavily affected and vulnerable parts of the ocean due to pollution, over-fishing, and climate change.”

In addition to acidification, excess nitrogen inputs from the atmosphere promote increased growth of phytoplankton and other marine plants which, in turn, may cause more frequent harmful algal blooms and eutrophication (the creation of oxygen-depleted “dead zones”) in some parts of the ocean.

Doney collaborated on the project with Natalie Mahowald, Jean-Francois Lamarque, and Phil Rasch of the National Center for Atmospheric Research, Richard Feely of the Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, Fred Mackenzie of the University of Hawaii, and Ivan Lima of the WHOI Marine Chemistry and Geochemistry Department.

“Most studies have traditionally focused only on fossil fuel emissions and the role of carbon dioxide in ocean acidification, which is certainly the dominant issue,” Doney said. “But no one has really addressed the role of acid rain and nitrogen.”

The research team compiled and analyzed many publicly available data sets on fossil fuel emissions, agricultural, and other atmospheric emissions. They built theoretical and computational models of the ocean and atmosphere to simulate where the nitrogen and sulfur emissions were likely to have the most impact. They also compared their model results with field observations made by other scientists in the coastal waters around the United States.

Farming, livestock husbandry, and the combustion of fossil fuels cause excess sulfur dioxide, ammonia, and nitrogen oxides to be released to the atmosphere, where they are transformed into nitric acid and sulfuric acid. Though much of that acid is deposited on land (since it does not remain in the air for long), some of it can be carried in the air all the way to the coastal ocean.

When nitrogen and sulfur compounds from the atmosphere are mixed into coastal waters, the researchers found, the change in water chemistry was as much as 10 to 50 percent of the total changes caused by acidification from carbon dioxide.

This rain of chemicals changes the chemistry of seawater, with the increase in acidic compounds lowering the pH of the water while reducing the capacity of the upper ocean to store carbon.

The most heavily affected areas tend to be downwind of power plants (particularly coal-fired plants) and predominantly on the eastern edges of North America, Europe, and south and east of Asia.

Seawater is slightly basic (pH usually between 7.5 and 8.4), but the ocean surface is already 0.1 pH units lower than it was before the Industrial Revolution. Previous research by Doney and others has suggested that the ocean will become another 0.3 to 0.4 pH units lower by the end of the century, which translates to a 100 to 150 percent increase in acidity.

Funding for this research was provided by the National Science Foundation, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution is a private, independent organization in Falmouth, Mass., dedicated to marine research, engineering, and higher education. Established in 1930 on a recommendation from the National Academy of Sciences, 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.

Related links;

» Impact of anthropogenic atmospheric nitrogen and sulfur deposition on ocean acidification and the inorganic carbon system
        from the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
» Who is Scott Doney?
» Marine Organisms Threatened By Increasingly Acidic Ocean
» WHOI Computational Biogeochemistry Group
» Earth Can't Soak Up Excess Fossil Fuel Emissions Indefinitely

» Earth's Ability to Absorb Increased Carbon Emissions May Be Limited

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The Bay State's Floating Classroom

Spirit returns to Provincetown 

MassSail and Provincetown Public Schools give local students a unique, hands-on learning experience aboard Spirit of Massachusetts, a 125-ft Schooner.

MassSail - a joint venture between the Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies (PCCS) and the Ocean Classroom Foundation (OCF) - is a series of marine education programs aboard Spirit of Massachusetts (on right) to promote public awareness and encourage interest and stewardship in Massachusetts’ rich marine environment through shipboard and dockside programs in Massachusetts coastal cities and towns, making its fourth visit to Provincetown for Community Days.

MassSail begins a week of day sail programs with Provincetown Schools on September 10 and will sail with middle and high school students from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.  According to Jessica Waugh, Provincetown School Superintendant, “The MassSail program engages our students with the marine environment, while intensifying the district collaboration with the Center for Coastal Studies.”   

Students, led by PCCS's award-winning Director of Marine Education Joanne M. Jarzobski, engage in hands-on activities in marine science, natural history and conservation biology relevant to local marine environment.  All curricula options are aligned with the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks for History and/or Social Sciences, or Science and Technology and Engineering. 

Aboard the ship, students work beside a professional crew to learn traditional seafaring skills.  Lessons learned, achievements made, insights gained are internalized and retained, because students are invested in the process. 

Provincetown Community Days Schedule:

• Monday                September 10      Grade 9
• Tuesday                September 11       Grades 7 and 8
• Wednesday          September 12      Grade 11
• Thursday              September 13      Grade 6
• Friday                    September 14      Grades 10 and 12

 Curricula Options

• Charts and the Art of Navigation
• Cetaceans – Whales, Dolphins and Porpoises: A Biological and Historical Perspective
• Fishing ­– Fisheries, Species, History and Management
• Weather for the Mariner
• Geology and Land-Sea Interactions
• Sea Birds – Species, Feeding, Distribution and Abundance
• Whaling – Modern and Historic
• Phytoplankton and Zooplankton
• Conservation Biology – Entanglements and Ship strikes
• Sea Turtles – Natural History, Population and Conservation Biology Seals, Sea Lions and Walruses – Natural History, Population and Conservation Biology
• Sharks, Rays and Skates – Natural History, Population and Conservation Biology

**

The Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies is a private non-profit founded in 1976, dedicated to researching and protecting marine mammals in the Gulf of Maine through applied research, conservation, environmental and education programs. To learn more about PCCS, visit us on the web at www.coastalstudies.org.  

**

The Ocean Classroom Foundation is a non-profit organization that provides programs of sea education and adventure for the youth of America aboard the schooners Westward, Harvey Gamage, and Spirit of Massachusetts.   OCF is a leader in experiential education, with award-winning programs sailing from the Canadian Maritimes to the Caribbean Sea.

**

PCCS Contacts:
Tanya Gabettie
Communications Coordinator
Office:  508.487.3622 Ext. 103
Email:  tgabettie@coastalstudies.org

Joanne M. Jarzobski
Marine Education Director
Office:  508.487.3623 Ext. 108
Email:  masssail@coastalstudies.org

OCF Contact:
Laura Hundt
Education Director
Office:  800.724.7245 Ext. 100
Email:  lhundt@oceanclassroom.org

Provincetown Public Schools Contact:
Jessica Waugh
Provincetown Superintendent

Office:  508.487.5000

Email:  jwaugh@provincetown.k12.ma.us

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Cape Wind Commission hearing extended to Monday

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Niedzwiecki starts, Town settles with union, '07 Season a hit, New airport terminal money closer

Headlines, Sept. 7

New airport terminal closer on money, access
A smaller terminal and new access road are among the pieces in a still-developing revision that airport and town officials say is close to completion.
Town settles with largest union
Barnstable’s largest municipal union is ready to accept a three-year, 9.8 percent contract with the town.
Niedzwiecki starts as CC Commission director Monday
It’s official: Barnstable’s former assistant town manager Paul Niedzwiecki is new executive director of the Cape Cod Commission.
Business PAC offers its endorsements
In an e-mail announcement Wednesday, the newly-formed Political Action Committee Citizens for Barnstable Business announced that its endorsements for the fall election were ready.
Twenty-two considering run for charter commission
There are 22 people considering a run for charter commission, but just nine, the minimum number needed, have returned their nomination papers to the town clerk’s office.
Precincts 3 and 4 change voting venues; voters in Precincts 3 and 4 will need to take different routes to cast their votes this year, as polling locations have changed.
Osterville Bay Elementary School declared surplus
After many months of discussion and debate among School Committee members, it was decided this week that Osterville Bay Elementary School will be declared surplus by the school department.
Arts center at council this week
The request to lease the former armory on South Street in Hyannis as a performing arts center was expected to get a full airing before the town council last night.
Homeowners’ Insurance Study Commission on Cape today
A special state commission to investigate the status of homeowners’ insurance in the commonwealth will hold a public hearing today at 1 p.m. at Cape Cod Community College.
School’s finally in session at PJPII
On Tuesday morning, for the first time since renovations began at Pope John Paul II High School, the first Catholic high school on Cape Cod, the sounds of construction work were replaced by the nervous yet excited chatter of young voices as the new school welcomed its first students.
Town advertising for new assistant manager
Applications are being accepted for Barnstable’s assistant town manager.
Septemberfest: Barnstable Historical Society to honor residents from each village.
The Barnstable Historical Society is making strides to chronicle the heritage of Barnstable and Cape Cod. To keep up the progress of the last seven years, the society will host its third annual Septemberfest fund-raiser Sept. 16.
A Catboat's second life
For the past three years, construction of the catboat Sarah was a living exhibit at the Cape Cod Maritime Museum. The catboat began its floating second life before a gathering of 300 well-wishers Sunday afternoon. The museum plans to used the boat as a floating classroom.

Read the rest of the Patriot here. 
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Headlines,  September 7, 2007

Summer 2007: ‘very good’ season for Dennis businesses
“The general consensus among the hospitalities and retail-shop owners is that it was a very good year. The bigger, established businesses did fantastic.”  - Spyro MitrokostasMore than 10,000 visitors passed through the Dennis Chamber of Commerce’s new digs between Memorial Day and Labor Day weekends. They took more brochures and many extended their stays for at least a day longer than last summer.
“We had far more [weekend] people staying over Sunday nights this summer,” said  chamber executive director Spyro Mitrokostas.

Going green: Community college campus leads the way
It isn’t always easy being green, but Cape Cod Community College is up for the challenge.
Over the past decade, the college has become a leader in sustainability practices.

Ready to go: D-Y’s new administrators are on the job
When school bells rang across Dennis and Yarmouth Wednesday morning, they heralded a fresh start for more than kindergartners.

Read the rest of The Register here. 

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Dan Kennedy sets the Wampanoag/Wilkerson scenario str aight

Wilkerson leaps in (II)

By Dan Kennedy, Media Nation 

Boston Globe columnist Joan Vennochi reports that Patrick aide Michael Morris didn't expect to run into Amelia and Steven Bingham when he dropped by state Sen. Dianne Wilkerson's office last week. She adds that it's time for Gov. Deval Patrick to walk away from the mess that is casino gambling:

The push for expanded gambling in Massachusetts comes from racetrack operators, out-of-state promoters, and other gambling interests. If they haven't made their case yet, that should tell Patrick something important. It's a shaky case for everyone but them.

Interesting that the most experienced analysts in town, like Vennochi, Jon Keller and Steve Bailey, understand this. Let's hope Patrick reaches the same conclusion.

Update: Peter Kenney has much more at Cape Cod Today. And, as I should have noted earlier, there's a discrepancy between his and Vennochi's accounts. According to Vennochi's reporting, Morris was surprised to see the Binghams in Wilkerson's office. According to what the Binghams told Kenney, Morris was surprised to see that the Binghams had brought advisers with them.

Kenney's take is that Glenn Marshall's downfall could lead to the re-opening of a lawsuit by the tribe against the town of Mashpee over Wampanoag land rights — and that Wilkerson, a member of the Senate Insurance Committee, has an obvious interest in a situation that could wreak havoc with property insurance.

Bingham, Kenney on "Greater Boston"

Steven Bingham and Peter Kenney appeared last night on "Greater Boston with Emily Rooney," on WGBH-TV (Channel 2).

It's preceded by a reported piece that offers a pretty good overview of what's going on.

(Click the video screen on right to see the interview.)

Dan Kennedy, who grew up in Middleboro, is a visiting assistant professor of journalism at Northeastern University and a media critic at medianation.blogspot.com. He may be e-mailed at da.kennedy@neu.edu .

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Skateboarders rally; Turbine on track; How green will Sandwich be?

News from the Upper Cape, Sept. 5

Headlines from the Enterprise Newspapers:
Skateboarders rally for park improvements
- Sunday was park's first ever skate jam
Ms. Wheelchair Massachusetts helps artists guild learn about accessibility
- Kristen D. McCosh energizes Falmouth Artists Guild about making center accessible to all
Study will assess town's affordable housing needs
- Falmouth will take its first close look at what it needs in affordable housing
Steps taken over summer will improve safety in the schools
- FHS takes strides to avoid chaos that occurred at the end of June
School board aims to improve dialogue with residents, Fin Com
- Sandwich school committee looks to improve flow of info from schools to residents
Protests in Bourne over high gas prices
- Residents question price in gas between Falmouth and Bourne, other Cape towns
Longtime Morse Pond School teacher dies
- Students and staff mourn the unexpected death of sixth-grade teacher Thomas S. Wilson
Historic district commission to hear plan for North Falmouth condominiums
- Commission denied plan, plan appealed, back before the commission
Time added to Mashpee school day
- What a difference 15 minutes makes

Read these and other stories in the Enterprise Newspapers here. 

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Headlines from the Bourne  Courier:
Tighter federal rules will guide Buzzards Bay shipping
-  Some say safeguards not enough

Parishioners accept possibility that St. Theresa's will close
- No apparent disenchantment with the Diocese of Fall River

Read these and other stories from the Bourne Courier here.

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Headlines from the Sandwich Broadsider:
How green will Sandwich be?
- Public forum on alternative energy planned for Sept. 16

From Cape Cod to Liverpool
- Cape musician's tribute song gets attention

Read these and other stories from the Sandwich Broadsider here. 

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Headlines from the Falmouth Bulletin:
Work delayed on Eel Pond Bridge in Woods Hole
- Work held up as parts are not available
A call from volunteers at Falmouth Senior Center
- It also takes a village to care for elders
MMR wind turbine plan on track for 2008
- Contract could be in place by end of September

Read these and other stories in the Falmouth Bulletin here. 

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Preview of Thursday's Cape Cod Commission hearing on Cape Wind

Cape Cod Commission releases critical report in anticipation of public hearing on Cape Wind project
Public meeting to be held today at 5 p.m. at Mattacheese Middle School in Yarmouth 

CAPE COD COMMISSION PLANS PUBLIC HEARING ON CAPE WIND
The Cape's regional planning agency will hold a public hearing on Thursday, Sept. 6 at 5 p.m. at the Mattacheese Middle School in West Yarmouth to allow public comment on the proposed offshore wind farm. 
   Those planning to speak during the public comment portion of the hearing may start signing up as of 4:30 p.m. A time limit for oral testimony will be determined by the chairperson of the commission subcommittee holding the hearing. The subcommittee has the option of deciding whether to continue the hearing next week to the evenings of Monday Sept. 10 and Tuesday Sept. 11 if all you sign up to speak at the Sept. 6 hearing do not get a chance to do so. Written comments may also be submitted to the commission at the hearing or by U.S. mail to P.O. Box 226, Barnstable MA 02630, attn: Phil Dascombe, planner.
   The hearing will be held in the auditorium of the Mattacheese School, 400 Higgins-Crowell Road, West Yarmouth. The agenda for the hearing, as described at the commission's website, calls for a brief presentation on the project by its proponent, Cape Wind Associates; a brief presentation about the project's "consistency with the regional development standards" by commission staff; testimony from federal, state and local officials; and public comment from members of the public.
   Groups or organizations "wishing to provide expanded testimony will be limited to one request per group or organization," according to the commission website
- Jack ColemanBy Jack Coleman, capecodtoday

The proposed Cape Wind project falls short of minimum performance standards set by the Cape Cod Commission regional planning agency, according to a 29-page report issued yesterday by the commission.

Only eight standards were met by the project as proposed, the report states, while Cape Wind fails to comply with six others. More information is needed for 19 other standards before the commission can make a determination, the report stated.

Under state law, the Cape's regional planning agency possesses the authority to request that developers of projects larger than 10,000 square feet comply with specific minimum standards during construction and use of a facility on Cape Cod.

Even though the Cape Wind project would be built in federal waters in Nantucket Sound beyond the state's three-mile limit, the project's transmission cable would come ashore in West Yarmouth and connect to a substation in Barnstable, thereby triggering the commission's review.

Tuesday's report was released  two days before a commission public hearing on the Cape Wind project to be held Thursday, Sept. 6 at 5 p.m. at the Mattacheese Middle School in West Yarmouth (see sidebar for further details).

Back in May, the commission voted  "to define the scope of the commission's DRI review," according to the agency's website. "This vote was to review and  regulate those elements of the project on land and within the three-mile  (state) limit, and to review the impacts, both positive and negative, of all aspects of the entire project as it affects and relates  to the resources protected under the Cape Cod Commission Act."

In its report released Tuesday, the commission outlined the specific performance standards met by Cape Wind, those finds lacking and those the commission is "unable to determine at this time" whether the project complies.

The 19 standards that fell under the category of "unable to determine at this time" include:
- hazardous materials and wastes.
- state and federal stormwater/groundwater regulations
- freshwater delineation, assessment and/or management.
- water withdrawals and wastewater discharges.
- alternatives to synthetic chemical fertilizers and pesticides.
- discharge of untreated stormwater, parking lot run-off and/or wastewater.
- stormwater management.
- stormwater best management practices.
- separation between leaching basins and groundwater.
- stormwater maintenance and operation plan.
- subsurface noise impacts to fish and to protected species habitat.
- invasive species.
- Mass. State Implementation Plan and DEP's Air Pollution Control Regulations.
- commercial/industrial DRI applicants provide economic data.
- net economic impacts to regional economy.
- information-based technologies that assist travelers.
- potential public water supply areas.
- preparation of an emergency response plan.
- exterior lighting.

The commission's report said the Cape Wind project is "consistent" with the commission's minimum performance standards in the following eight criteria:
- utility installation in wetlands and buffer areas.
- clearing of vegetation and alteration of natural topography.
- rare species habitat.
- cluster development to outside sensitive areas.
- significant natural and fragile areas.
- historic structures.
- historic and cultural landscapes.
- archeological sites.

Cape Wind as proposed is "inconsistent" with commission minimum performance standards in the following six areas:
- development in V-zones (coastal areas suspectible to storm damage)
- non-water dependent development within 100 feet of the top of a coastal bank, dune crest or beach.
- new dredging.
- impacts to eel beds.
- impacts to fish, shellfish and crustaceans.
- open space.
Jack Coleman is a reporter for CapeCodTODAY.com and former media adviser to the pro-Cape Wind advocacy group Clean Power Now based in Hyannis.

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Ptown Pup Park; Pier purchase talks may resume; Take a 'Taste' of Harwich

Lower Cape News, September 4, 2007

Headlines from the Harwich Oracle:
Study provides report card on ponds
- Report looks at the health of Harwich ponds
A "Taste" for every palate at Cape Tech
- 16th Annual Taste of Harwich to take place this Thursday
Commission schedules wind farm hearing Sept. 6
- A Cape Cod Commission subcommittee will hold a public hearing in Yarmouth
Chamber chat: hats off to visitor center volunteers
- Foot traffic, visitor numbers up from last year
Cultural council sets grant deadline
- Harwich Cultural Council has set an October 15 deadline for organizations to apply for funding

Read these and other stories in the Harwich Oracle here. 

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Headlines from the Provincetown Banner:
Mid-20th century houses to be saved
- Cape Cod Modern House Trust looks to save some of the more than 80 unique structures
Pier purchase talks with town may resume
- Town may be willing to reopen negotiations
Dogs get their day: park earns five high paws
- Board of selectmen approves plans for Ptown's first dog park
Red dot delays off the hook
- Selectmen decided not to force red dot delay properties to connect to the municipal sewer system
Time trippin' with Arnie
- 44 foot long art installation going up at Spiritus
Livin' large: Varla Jean Merman does the world
- Big hair, big screen, big costumes

Read these and other stories in the Provincetown Banner here. 

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Coast Guard medevacs a crewmember from Carnival Victory

Ailing cruise ship crew member prompts Coast Guard medevac 

The Coast Guard reported today that it medevaced a crewmember from cruise ship Carnival Victory around 1 p.m. about 60 miles southeast of Nantucket, Mass.

Coast Guard Sector Boston received a call via VHF FM radio channel 16 from the Carnival Victory, reporting a crew member experiencing acute abdominal distress.

A Jayhawk rescue helicopter crew from Airstation Cape Cod assisting in the search for the missing scuba diver near New Inlet, Massachusetts, was diverted to the scene.

The air crew arrived on scene around 12:30p.m., hoisted the crewmember and transported the patient to Hyannis Airport to awaiting EMS for further transport to Cape Cod Hospital.

"On scene conditions allowed for a smooth hoist. The patient was in some pain and greatly appreciated our assistance," said Lt. Mike Snyder a member of the helicopter rescue crew.      

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Behind the Wampanoag tribal scandal

The story will soon move beyond  Glenn Marshall
Media critic Dan Kennedy writes in the Providence Journal

The attention is now right where Middleboro casino supporters want it: on former Mashpee Wampanoag tribal leader Glenn Marshall, whose rape conviction and false claims of military heroism were exposed last week. After all, the tribal council has voted to oust Marshall as its chairman. So further revelations of Marshall’s personal shortcomings don’t really matter.

But the public’s attention will soon be moving beyond Marshall.

But that’s tame stuff compared with a post written recently in Cape Cod Today, Walter Brooks’s online newspaper, by the “Great Gadfly,” Peter KenneyI did enjoy The Cape Cod Times’s reference to Marshall’s protean ethnicity (“He always talked about being Portuguese,” a high-school classmate told reporter George Brennan). But that’s tame stuff compared with a post written recently in Cape Cod Today, Walter Brooks’s online newspaper, by the “Great Gadfly,” Peter Kenney, who spoke with Amelia Bingham, an 84-year-old elder in the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe.

Kenney, who says Marshall had an earlier incarnation as “a Cape Verdean activist,” wrote: “Bingham says she remembers Marshall when he was in school with her children, ‘He wasn’t an Indian then. He used to tease my kids and bully them because they were Wampanoags. He was a mean kid and he is a mean adult.’ ”

Given that Marshall is no longer the issue, what’s next?

In the Boston Herald, reporter Scott Van Voorhis got at a key point last weekend that needs to be explored in the days ahead: Marshall’s role as a mere tool of the monied interests that are calling the shots. Van Voorhis only scratched a bit at the surface, but he’s picked the right place to scratch.

In reading the coverage, up to last weekend I hadn’t found one reference in the mainstream media to Peter Kenney’s work on Cape Cod Today. Is it really that difficult to credit a blogger? He had a good chunk of the story out there on Aug. 20, well before others.Indeed, Boston Magazine devotes some space to the Marshall-Abramoff connection in its forthcoming issue. Even if the tie-in proves to be tenuous, it would behoove state officials to look very, very carefully at this. And here’s the best part: This is all tied up with Jack Abramoff, the super-lobbyist now in prison, who dealt with Indian tribes on gaming matters across the country. Kenney wrote about it in January 2006, but his article was pretty much ignored at the time. It won’t be now. 

A final observation: In reading the coverage, up to last weekend I hadn’t found one reference in the mainstream media to Peter Kenney’s work on Cape Cod Today. Is it really that difficult to credit a blogger? He had a good chunk of the story out there on Aug. 20, well before others.

Yes, the media had to do their own reporting and verify everything. But it seems to me that Kenney, who has been writing about Marshall’s dubious record for some time now, is a crucial part of this story, and he should at least have gotten a mention.

Right now, casino supporters are insisting that Marshall’s implosion doesn’t matter, and opponents are hoping they’re wrong.

I realize that predictions are cheap, but I think the casino plans are now going to crumble very quickly. We are going to learn more — much more — in the days and weeks to come.

Dan Kennedy, who grew up in Middleboro, is a visiting assistant professor of journalism at Northeastern University and a media critic at medianation.blogspot.com. He may be e-mailed at da.kennedy@neu.edu . This appeared in the Providence Journal here.

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