EXTRA...

Falmouth 'Church vs. Beach' debate escalates; Mom blogs Brown, gets his attention; Keating on redistricting

TODAY's quote: "That is a good question." - Mr. Putnam said, before suggesting that one- or two-time requests might be better received by the board than those such as the church's, which encompasses every Sunday throughout the summer.

Falmouth snarled in 'Church vs. Beach' debate

The Falmouth Enterprise reports that this week the selectmen were still ambivalent about allowing a local church to hold services on the town beach in Falmouth Heights.

For more on this issue read Free of religion vs.
freedom of the beach here.

The newspaper says that a group of at least 37 residents have asked selectmen to reconsider granting the church permission to hold worship services at Falmouth Heights Beach every Sunday from June 5 to September 11 between the hours of 5 and 6 PM.

Falmouth Baptist Church Pastor John Mr. Ely asked for some clarification, wondering if the selectmen's decisions would then apply to all groups seeking use of public property.

Read the Enterprise story here.

Don't mess with mothers, Sen. Brown

Maybe he'll send flowers to Moira on Mother's Day next week.

The Boston FOX channel reports about Plymouth mom Moira McCarthy who felt she was dissed by Bay State junior US Senator Scott Brown when a meeting about her daughter's Type I diabetes turned into a photo op for the senator.

So she blogged about it as 'An Open Letter to Sen. Brown' and people picked that up and Tweeted it, and someone added to Brown Facebook where it finally got his press secretary Colin Reed's attention.

Moira said she assumed the conversation would be pleasant because Sen. Brown gives off the appearance of a likable truck-driving, regular kind of guy. But she says the conversation was anything but, and all Sen. Brown had time for was a photo op and that's it.

In her blog post Moira writes, "And then you arrived. 'I hear you want a photo?' you said, and motioned for us to pose with you. We did, and then I - chosen by our team as the lead speaker for the meeting - brought up what we were there for. 'Senator Brown, we're here to talk to you about Type 1 Diabetes...'

"Before I could get my entire thought out, you held your hand up in front of my face to stop me (I thought: did he learn that when his daughter's were teenagers?) and said, 'I already know all about diabetes. My grandmother had it.' I don't believe you ever actually made eye contact with me. But then again, it was hard to see past your 'truck drivin' hard-working regular American guy' hand."

Read the Fox story here.

Keating: Not much change for 10th in redistricting, just 80,000 more people

Congressman Bill Keating doesn't believe his district will change much beyond adding about 80,000 more residents as Massachusetts shrinks from ten districts to nine according to a story in this week's Register.

To accommodate more people, it would seem obvious at this point that the 10th would have to expand west from Bourne; perhaps through Wareham to Fairhaven. Keating agrees the district will likely not expand north of Quincy into Boston. If his district adds the next town west, New Bedford, it will resemble the district make-up before the last redistricting when Gerry Studds held the seat.

Although the state's population grew slightly in the past decade, the west and southwest grew far more

Read the Register story here.

Scroll down to:
Six Cape towns, Park, request 'No Dump' status;
Gas price won't affect tourism here;
Ex-sports league treasurer accused of theft;
Audra is frightened, again;
4Cs President Schatzberg to retire;
Did you get up for 'the wedding'?

Six Cape towns, Park, request 'No Dump' status; Gas price won't affect tourism here; Ex-sports league treasurer accused of theft; Audra is frightened, again; 4Cs President Schatzberg to retire; Did you get up for 'the wedding'?

TODAY's quote: "Could anyone possibly vote for Cummings or Perry ever again? Even Randy Hunt for that matter? As a voter, I feel I've been p*ssed on and told it's raining."
- Velvetjones, commenter.

Did you get up for
'the wedding' today?

Our recent poll indicated that only 13% of our readers did.
You can still vote here.

Six Lower Cape towns, plus the National Seashore seek 'No Dump' status

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is considering a proposal to designate the coastal waters of Chatham, Orleans, Eastham, Wellfleet, Truro and Provincetown as well as the Cape Cod National Seashore Park as a "No Discharge Area."

If approved, discharges of treated and untreated boat sewage would be prohibited within the town boundaries of the area, as well as part of the Cape Cod National Seashore.

The Massachusetts Coastal Zone Management (MA CZM) has petitioned EPA to approve the No Discharge designation, with the town's and the Cape Cod National Seashore office's agreement.

The EPA will accept public comment on the proposal for 30 days, ending May 29, 2011.

Before EPA will endorse a No Discharge Area designation for any area, the applicant must demonstrate that there are enough "pumpout" facilities where boaters can get their sewage holding tanks emptied.

This particular area has an estimated 519 boats, of which 91 may have a head or toilet on board.

Read the EPA release here.

4Cs president will leave in 2012

The Register reports that after agreeing to stay in the position for the past two years, through extremely difficult financial times, President Schatzberg has given the board her formal notice of retirement, and the board has been making preparations to select her successor for some time.
      The Board of Trustee Chairman Oddleifson noted that during Schatzberg's tenure, the institution has been transformed into one with national stature in both the teaching and modeling of sustainability.
     "The incoming President will join an institution on which sits the first LEED certified building constructed with state funds, and an institution whose commitment to environmental responsibility truly changed public policy in Massachusetts."
      Read the Register story here.

Gas prices aren't affecting tourism to Cape Cod
Provincetown among country's favorite

Travel Daily News reports that despite high gas prices, a new survey from HomeAway, Inc. finds the majority of Americans still plan to take a summer vacation, but will adjust their plans in light of rising costs by choosing destinations nearer their homes. Luckily Cape Cod is within a day's drive for one-third of America's population.

According to the survey, 81 percent of respondents report they will take a vacation this summer regardless of the price of gasoline. Of those who typically take a summer vacation each year, 38 percent will not change their vacation plans, saying increased gasoline prices will not affect their travel.

Hawaii was picked as the top "dream" summer vacation spot, but Provincetown is the most popular vacation destination this summer on HomeAway.com. The rest of the top 10 most popular summer destinations are beach areas, with the exception of Las Vegas and New York City.

Read the Travel Daily News  story here.

Former league treasurer accused in cash theft
And he spent much of it on Cape Cod

The Daily News of Newburyport reports that the former treasurer of the Pentucket Youth Football League obtained an unauthorized ATM/debit card for the league's accounts and stole up to $80,000, a prosecutor said.

The board members told state police from the district attorney's office that there were numerous expenses on the league debit card incurred on Cape Cod. The board members told troopers that Potenza has a summer home in Harwich and they believed the gas and ATM charges from the Cape were connected to Potenza going to that home.

Read the News story here.

Audra Parker frightened - again

 "To the last I grapple with thee; from hell's heart I stab at thee; for hate's sake I spit my last breath at thee."
           - Capt. Ahab, nee Parker.

The disgraced Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound (APNS) group is running out of scare tactics to try to continue justifying its existence now that the wind farm in Nantucket Sound is a 'done deal'.

The latest cry of 'Wolf ! Wolf !" for APNS head, Audra "I stopped affordable housing in Osterville and I can stop Cape Wind" Parker is about the unconfirmed reports of right whales about three miles south of Dennis and reportedly swimming toward Horseshoe Shoal, where the turbines would be located.

"We are concerned about the impact of Cape Wind on right whales," she said Wednesday to the Cape Cod Times, while others were more concerned about the danger to the turbines from the whales. With the possible exception of Moby Dick, whales have always demonstrated more sense than Ms Parker.

The Alliance, which has a long history of latching onto any available topic to criticize the planned wind farm,  said that their major concern was the disturbance caused during construction, but Cape Wind's construction plan includes mitigation strategies if the whales are nearby during construction.

"Right whale sightings in Nantucket Sound are comparatively rare compared with neighboring water bodies," said Cape Wind spokesman Mark Rodgers. "There are protocols we'll have to follow during construction to make sure there aren't any marine mammals in close proximity, particularly for acoustics."

Cape Wind has indeed been blessed by the caliber of its opposition. - WB

Svroll down to:
DA O'Keefe denies he's a crook;
Yankee picks Cape Cod's best 11;
Dennis won't go up or round-about;
Google likes our beaches.

DA O'Keefe denies he's a crook; Yankee picks Cape Cod's best 11; Dennis won't go up or round-about; Google is impressed with the Cape's beaches

TODAY's quotes: "I have never been involved in any gambling ring, period."
-Michael O'Keefe, Cape & Island District Attorney, Apr. 27, 2011.
"I am not a crook." -Richard Nixon, President of the United States, Nov. 18, 1973.

Yankee's Best in New England

Yankee magazine has named 81 local places in Massachusetts as "Best of New England - Editors' Choice" winners for 2011.
      This designation is awarded by Yankee's editors and contributors, who name select restaurants, lodgings, and attractions in New England to the exclusive list.
     The Cape Cod and The Islands picks are:
Cape Cod -
Angel Foods-Best Take-Out, Provincetown
Blue Water Fish Rubbings-Best Wearable Catch, Chatham.
Bourne Scenic Park-Best Canalside Camping, Bourne
Dalla Cucina-Best Italian, Provincetown.
Harwich Shellfish Permit-Best DIY Clambake, Harwich Port
Mac's Shack-Best Casual Fish, Wellfleet
Province Lands Bike Path-Best Bike Path.
Puritan Cape Cod-Best Cape Cod Style.
Stellwagen Bank-Best Whale Watching.
Swan Pond River-Best Half-Day on Cape Cod, West Dennis/Dennis Port
The Lighthouse Inn-Best Classic Beachfront Stay, West Dennis.
Martha's Vineyard -
Smoke 'N' Bones BBQ-Best Island Barbecue.
Mansion House-Best Spa Mud, Vineyard.
Best Striper Fishing, Martha's Vineyard.
Net Result-Best Picnic Sushi, Vineyard.
Nantucket -
Summer House Restaurant-Best Romantic Spot, Siasconset
      See Yankee here.

Cape trio admit gambling, DA denies he's a suspect

The Boston Globe reports that an unidentified "elected law enforcement official" notified three defendants that they were the subject of a state investigation. This statement came from documents unsealed yesterday into an investigation into illegal gambling on Cape Cod that has triggered a wider federal probe of alleged public corruption involving Cape and Islands District Attorney Michael D. O'Keefe and has resulted in charges against three members of an alleged gambling ring. All three are now cooperating with authorities and have agreed to plead guilty, according to documents unsealed yesterday.

In a telephone interview with the Globe yesterday, DA Michael O'Keefe, a 60-year-old two-term Republican district attorney, denied that he is the public official mentioned in the documents as being linked to a gambling ring.

Adam Hart, 84, and William Neofotistos, 60, both of Dennisport, and Timothy Reardon, 32, of Barnstable were charged with operating an illegal gambling operation.

According to the Cape Cod Times, on July 9, 2008, Neofotistos made a $100 political contribution to O'Keefe. At about the same time, Hart, who is the owner of the Ocean House Restaurant in Dennisport, approached O'Keefe about a pending case against his grandson, O'Keefe said last year. Read the FBI release here.

Read the Globe story here.

Google folks enjoy Cape Cod beach without leaving the office

The Boston Herald reports that Google recently opened a new lounge on the second floor of its Kendall Square office featuring two locally themed areas so it's staff can now escape to a Cape Cod beach without ever leaving the office.

"We aim to encourage a culture of collaboration and creativity with our workplace design," said Brian Schmidt, director of online sales for Google Boston. White Adirondack chairs sit atop sand-colored carpet in the Cape Cod-themed area, with enclosed "cabana."

Read the Herald story here.

Dennis rejects things vertical and circular
Round-about and turbine rejected by voters

While less than 1 percent of the residents in Dennis showed up to vote against this improvement, anyone who must use it knows how dangerous it is at present.

The Register reports that 190 Dennis voters at the Dennis Water District's Annual Meeting Tuesday turned down the proposed roundabout at Route 134 and Airline Road in South Dennis by a 190-43 vote. The population of Dennis in the 2010 census was 14,207.

This intersection is one of the Cape's riskiest (see map on right), but it's across Route 134 from the cemetery which will prove convenient if someone dies trying to get on the highway here.

The mood to say 'no' continued as Article 7, which sought permission to file special legislation requesting permission to generate renewable energy on protected water-district land and Article 8, asking for authority to construct two wind turbines on the district's property in East Dennis, were defeated by 97 Dennis voters as well.

That number is less than 1 percent of the town's 14,207 residents.

Read the Register story here.

Scroll down to:
'Only 4,300,000' of those pesky disks;
Feds to step up gas price fraud investigation here;
You can't get there (Chatham) from here;
Cape Cod Community College helps Baby Boomers. 

Only 4,300,000 of those pesky disks; Feds to step up gas price fraud investigation; You can't get there from here; CCCC leads the way again

TODAY's quote: "Things are going very well." - Sid Baines, Hooksett NH Sewer Commission.

You can't get there from here

Above a borrowed Harwich policeman informs yet another motorist that Route 28 from Route 137 in West Chatham to the center of Chatham is closed weekdays until the end of May for the construction of the town's new sewer system. The only thing allowed yesterday in that deep 'Chatham Sunrise", A.K.A. fog, was the photographer's bike, and I rode the three miles down the center of Route 28. This is the corner of 28 and Barn Hill Road, the Cape Cod Commercial Fishermen's Association's new headquarters on the left and Larry's PX on the right which can use a little more business. Munchers can get there by coming down George Ryder Road off Old Queen Anne Road past the airport and turn left on 28 at the Ocean State Job Lot whose parking lot was empty yesterday too. Walter Brooks photo.

New Hampshire lowers estimate of sewage disk release number
3.3 million already picked up along New England beaches

The Manchester Union-Leader reports that there weren't eight million of those sewage disks released to end up of Cape Cod beaches, only a little over four million.

The newspaper reports today that recently-released testing results put the number of escaped disks at 4.3 million, with at least 3.3 million already picked up from beaches along the Merrimack River and Atlantic Ocean alone.

A million for the clean-up, disks still coming ashore here

Disks are still coming ashore on Cape Cod. File photo.

The Hooksett NH Town Council authorized the town's sewer commission to use up to $991,000 to pay for the cleanup. Tuesday, local officials reported the disks are no longer washing up on beaches, which means it's possible not all the reserve account funds will be needed.

Sewer Commission Chairman Baines warned, however, that most of the bills from Massachusetts communities and state agencies have not come in yet.

Insurance provider calls disks hazardous

In fact, CapeCodTODAY reported that as late as this past weekend disks were found on the Outer Cape Atlantic beaches in Wellfleet and Truro.

The Hooksett  sewer department has already paid about $250,000 toward the cleanup, plus $18,800 to an outside engineering firm to investigate how the discharge occurred.

A contracted engineering firm and a vendor involved with the sewer plant expansion project put up another $200,000 total. Hooksett's insurance provider said it would not pay more than $10,000 for the cleanup because it considered the disks hazardous.

Read the Union-Leader story here.

US to step up gas price fraud investigation
Cape is only of areas the FTC has studied

The U.S. Attorney General announced the formation of an Oil and Gas Price Fraud Working Group, a state and federal interagency organization that will address oil and gas market "collusion, fraud, or misrepresentation" and speculation and trading practices that may have increased fuel prices. This effort only duplicates existing efforts by multiple government agencies, none of which has found any significant evidence of anti-competitive conduct leading to higher prices, but may signal more aggressive enforcement of existing laws.

The Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice closely watch energy markets for possible antitrust violations. The FTC has a gasoline price monitoring program and has investigated price spikes nationally and in the West, Pacific Northwest, Midwest, Cape Cod, and elsewhere, but found that supply and demand generally explain the fluctuations. Refinery constraints and demand for boutique fuels required by government regulation sometimes have contributed, but not collusion among suppliers. Likewise, the DOJ has found few opportunities to prosecute gasoline retailers for price fixing.

Read the Lexology story here.

Baby Boomers complete their education at Cape Cod Community College
One of only nine community colleges nationwide to jump aboard plan

Cape Cod may have good beaches, and scenic roads, and beat the rest of America with the first renewable energy wind farm, but we're also the home to one great community college.

There was additional proof (as if any were needed) of that with the story in today's Inside Higher Ed which tells about the (only) nine community colleges turning to some decidedly nontraditional students to help advance President Obama's goal for the United States to have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world by 2020: baby boomers looking to return or remain in the workplace.

Mary Sue Vickers, Director of the American Association of Community Colleges's Plus 50 Initiative, made the case for the institutions' efforts earlier this month at AACC's annual meeting in New Orleans. With 78 million baby boomers entering their retirement years - and more of them living healthier, longer lives - there is great demand, she argued, for offerings designed to retrain the over-50 population for new careers.

The Lumina Foundation for Education has funded the Plus 50 Completion Strategy - a supplemental effort to the existing AACC initiative - at Cape Cod Community College and others.

Rosemary Dillon, Dean of Health Sciences at Cape Cod Community College, said there is a critical need to further educate the baby boomer population in her institution’s service area. A third of Cape Cod’s population is over 60. In addition, recent census data show that its under-18 population has declined significantly in the past decade.

To attract boomers to the college, Dillon said her institution recently staged a “career changers” conference to highlight the changing “employment forecast” for the future of the Cape. The event featured a number of workshops for attendees. Some of the topics included "generational differences in the workplace" and "what it's like to be an older student on a college campus."

Read the InsideHigherEd story here.

Scroll down to:
Solar power coming to a town dump near you;
WXTK wins major awards; Ptown dumps 'Dancing Cop';
Plant a Wampanoag "Three Sisters Garden";
Danish turbines for Cape Wind.

Solar power coming to a town dump near you; WXTK wins major awards; Ptown dumps 'Dancing Cop'; Plant a Wampanoag "Three Sisters Garden"; Danish turbines for Cape Wind

TODAY's quotes: "I am tremendously proud at the recognition." - Allison Makkay, WXTK.
"At a certain age he can't be a cop, which is fine. They took his gun - no problem with that. Then after 55 years they gave him a plaque." - Donna Thomas, Ptown 'Dancing Cop's' daughter.

Ptown dumps 'Dancing Cop'

Donald Thomas is only 84, but he fears that his traffic control days in Provincetown are over. The Provincetown Banner says that's a hard hit for someone who has been a summer employee and never accrued retirement benefits. It is also what his family considers to be abandonment by the town.
      So friends are circulating a petition asking the town manager and board of selectmen to consider rehiring her grandfather for traffic control.
      Read the Banner story here.

$85 million worth of solar power will top Cape Cod landfills
18.2 MW coming to Cape Cod and Martha's Vineyard

The Boston Business Journal reports that a North Chelmsford-based company said it received an $85 million contract from Cape & Vineyard Electric Cooperative. The projects will reuse capped landfills and will be financed by private investors, the company said.

Cape & Vineyard Electric said 10 sites in seven towns are proposed for the solar projects. The electricity produced through the projects would represent about 1.1 percent of the total load for the Cape and Vineyard, enough to power an estimated 3,132 homes, according to the cooperative.

Member towns will save an estimated $1.4 million in energy cost in the first year through the arrangement, American Capital Energy said. The company was chosen from among eight vendors in a competitive bidding process.

Read the Boston Business Journal here.

Cape Cod radio station honored with two prestigious awards

Qantum Communications' WXTK-FM has been recognized with two of the most prestigious awards in broadcasting. The Associated Press of Massachusetts/Rhode Island recently named The Ed Lambert Show, which airs Monday-Friday from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. on 95.1 FM, the Talk Show of the Year for 2010.

WXTK's Morning Team Jim Kane, Ed Lambert, Jennifer Brien and Matt Pitta.

The program received the high honor from a judging panel of broadcast professionals. The Ed Lambert Show was recognized as the best talk show among entries from across Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

Each morning, Ed Lambert discusses and debates the hot-topic issues of the day, fielding calls from across Cape Cod, the Island and southeastern Massachusetts.

"I am tremendously proud at the recognition bestowed upon WXTK and the entire Qantum news organization. Formal recognition by these two national industry associations further supports our position in our market and in New England as Cape Cod's local news and information leader", said Allison Makkay, Vice President and Market Manager.

WXTK also awarded one of ten Edward R. Murrow Awards given nationwide

WXTK-FM has also been recognized with the highly respected Edward R. Murrow Award from the Radio Television Digital News Association.

The organization recognized Cape Cod This Morning, which airs Monday-Friday from 6 a.m. to 7 a.m. with the Newscast of the Year award.

The program was judged to be the most comprehensive newscast in 2010 among entries submitted by radio stations across the New England region. RTDNA awards just ten (10) Murrow Awards across the country.

Hosted by Matt Pitta, with sports and traffic reports from Jim Kane, the program provides a comprehensive hour of news and information from around Cape Cod. Anchor/reporters Judith Goetz, Doug Verney and Amy Davies contribute the program daily.

Danish turbines for Cape Wind

According to a story in today's Copenhagen Post, the first offshore wind farm in the US will feature Danish-made turbines. Cape Wind's turbines will be manufactured in Denmark by German company Siemens, and will be transported to the US by American cargo vessels.
      The wind farm is expected to create around 1,000 new jobs, and Cape Wind hopes the new offshore wind farm will firmly place the US on the map when it comes to creating jobs related to renewable energy.
      Installation of the Danish-built windmills is expected to take nine months, depending on the weather. Coastal Massachusetts lies in the path of autumn hurricanes and winter storms. Read the Post story here.

Plant your own Wampanoag "Three Sisters Garden"

If you plant your own backyard garden each year, chances are you have already begun toiling away in the soil.  Sudbury Patch has an interesting piece by Mike Hunter on growing your own Wampanoag "Three Sisters Garden".

Hunter, who studied landscape architecture in Upstate New York, learned the story and the symbolism of the traditional Wampanoag garden from an Iriquois called Storm Cloud. 

According to Hunter, these "Three Sisters"--not to be confused with Eastham's "Three Sisters"--are corn, beans and squash. 

Read Hunter's article here for the lore behind the "Three Sisters" and how you can plant your own traditional Wampanoag garden this Spring.

Scroll down to: 8 flounders, $80; Drug store tobacco ban growing.

8 flounder, $80 and a 200 mile round trip; Drug store tobacco ban growing

TODAY's quote: "I'm confident that it will happen (in Wareham). They do understand the obvious hypocrisy of selling tobacco in a health care setting such as a pharmacy, and they have supported tobacco control efforts in the past." - Bob Collett.

Ban of selling of tobacco products in pharmacies is growing across state

Australia is proposing the most drastic attempt yet to reduce smoking, requiring cigarette companies to package their brands in an unappealing drab olive wrapper showing what a cancerous lung looks like.
Read the Christian Science Monitor story here.

The Boston Globe reports that the movement to ban the sale of tobacco in drug stores and pharmacies is growing in Massachusetts. Nine towns have imposed such bans since 2009, four began this year, and more are under consideration.

South of Boston, Sharon defeated a proposed ban April 11, but the Wareham Board of Health may opt for one, according to Bob Collett, director the Cape Cod Regional Tobacco Control Program.

According to The Cape Codder, last month Chatham's David Nixon, who is a member of the zoning board of appeals, noticed that CVS pharmacies in some Boston area towns no longer sold cigarette. He wondered why Chatham couldn't get the new CVS being built to do same.

But after running into the usual corporate bureaucratic run-around from CVS, he took matters in his own hands.

The Cape Codder reported that using regulations from other communities as a template, Nixon brought draft wording before the board of health last week which would ban the sale of cigarettes in pharmacies in town. When the board finishes fine-tuning the language that will be added to the town's smoking regulations, a public hearing will be held.

Read The Cape Codder story here.

Charlie Soares drives 200 miles, spends $80, to catch 8 flounder

How to catch a flounder.

Writer Charles Soares of the Fall River Herald-News woke up at 3:30 a.m. last Friday and drove 89 miles to Wellfleet for the opportunity to catch eight flounder.

He writes that Friday's nearly 200-mile round-trip at an expense of about $80 is a far cry from fishing from the Brightman Street Bridge in Fall River or one of the nearby piers to catch supper. With the possible exception of sea robins, dogfish and skates, our fisheries are in serious trouble.

Soares adds, "taking into consideration memory lapses and the pitfalls of selective recall, I look back on Good Fridays as those special days at the end of Lent and the unofficial opening of the winter flounder season."

Charlie's experience should make our readers appreciate living here on Cape Cod where the home furthest from salt water is about three miles.

Read the Herald-News story here.

Scroll down to:
Lobbyist Delahunt makes his move;
Sandwich 2nd-hand dealer bylaw faces fight;
Raccoon rabies program this week;
Dennis CCRTA wind turbine saving a bundle already.

Lobbyist Delahunt makes his move; Sandwich 2nd-hand dealer bylaw faces fight; Raccoon rabies progam this week; Dennis CCRTA wind turbine saving a bundle already

TODAY's quote: "I agree with the intent of the law,
but it is the language in the article that concerns me."
- Peter Smith, Sandwich Antique Center.

Former congressman, now lobbyist Delahunt makes his first move for Tribe

Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal head Cedric Cromwell, right, will join lobbyist Delahunt, left, at the event.

For 18 years Bill Delahunt was the US Representative in the 10th District of Massachusetts.  A few months ago he followed the well-worn path of many of his predecessors by becoming a paid lobbyist for one of the interests he previously oversaw as our elected rep.

So few if any political observers were surprised to hear he will make a pitch for gambling with special mention of how it will help the Wampanoag Tribe of Mashpee.

The only surprise is where he will start.

The Metro South Chamber of Commerce will hold its annual legislative luncheon this Friday and will feature former US Rep. William Delahunt as its keynote speaker. The event will be held at the Massasoit Conference Center, 770 Crescent St., Brockton on Friday, April 29, from noon to 1:30 p.m.

A month ago when he made his move to set up The Delahunt Group LLC, the Boston Globe excoriated our ex-US Rep. Bill Delahunt. Adrian Walker called the 40-year veteran politician's quick jump into the casino money bin yet another example of the revolving-door syndrome that plagues government at all levels as Delahunt announced that he would now be lobbying for the Wampanoag Tribe in their efforts to have a gambling casino in Massachusetts.

Sandwich 2nd-hand dealer bylaw makes it on the Town Warrant again

The Sandwich Enterprise reports that Sandwich Police Detective Albert Robichaud said the intent of the bylaw is to prevent establishments from purchasing items, especially jewelry or heirloom pieces, and selling those valuables before investigators have had the opportunity to check if they have been pawned at one of these businesses. "It's another tool for police to use in recovering stolen items," Det. Robichaud said.

The bylaw seeks to prevent secondhand dealers and collectors from buying stolen property and then quickly selling it might receive some debate at the upcoming Annual Town Meeting on Monday, May 2.

Read the Enterprise story here.

Cape Cod Transit's new Dennis turbine a big money-saver in just five months

The Register reports on the impressive success of the wind turbine erected only five months ago by the Cape Cod Regional Transit Authority.

CCRTA turbine as seen from the bike trail by Jon Mayo.

NStar provided a chart comparing the transit authority's usage during the 2011 monthly billing periods. In January, the transit authority was billed for 10,000 kW hours, down from 21,000 kW hours in December. In February, the bill was for12,000 kW hours; in March, 11,000 kW hours; and in April, 10,500 kW hours. Between April and December 2010, every bill exceeded 20,000 kW hours.

The $700,000 project was fully funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment act through a grant from the Federal Transit Administration. The turbine, designed and manufactured by Northern Power Systems of Barre, Vt., in concert with NASA, is constructed to survive wind speeds of 134 mph, equivalent to a Category 5 hurricane.

Read the Register story here.

USDA Distributes Oral Rabies Vaccine pellets to Cape Cod

The US Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service will soon begin distributing oral rabies vaccine (ORV) baits on Cape Cod and in the Cleveland metro area to reduce the incidence of raccoon rabies. APHIS' wildlife services program will begin the baiting work on or about April 25 on Cape Cod and in five Ohio counties the first week of May.

In cooperation with the Cape Cod Rabies Task Force, 24,000 oral rabies vaccination ORV baits will be distributed by hand and in strategically positioned bait stations where raccoons are likely to travel. Coated sachets baits will be distributed by hand in seven towns from Barnstable to Orleans.

Read the Garden News report here.  See CapeCodPets.com here.

Scroll down to: Falmouth consultant quits after confrontation;
New Yorker reporter to store his papers here;
Want shellfish? Go to local farmers' markets; Cape soloist helps Japan.

Cape justice: Throwing a PTSD Veteran in County jail

EDITOR's NOTE: The Bangert brothers are longtime Cape residents and active in many protest movements, mostly about war and poverty. They have become a thorn in the side of what remains of Cape Cod's tattered and Republican 'establishment', so it was especially unfortunate that veteran Joe Bangert, whose problems are best handled by 12-Step groups and compassion, was caught by 'the establishment', and today is languished in Barnstable Jail under the care of his nemesis Special Sheriff Jeff Perry.

Why are we throwing Traumatized Vets in Jail for calling 911?
Joe Bangert is being jailed for doing exactly what he was trained to do: calling for backup when he feels threatened.  

By Penny Coleman in AlterNet.com which gave permission to republish.

On March 4, 2011, the Honorable J. Thomas Kirkman, addressed the defendant in Barnstable Massachusetts' Second District Court:  "Mr. Bangert, I see that you served your country honorably. It's time to do that again. I'm asking you to serve your country honorably again by (spending) nine months in the house of correction."  And the gavel came down.  

John and Joe Bangert, Harwich vets. Joe gave his health to his country, but his county gave him nine months at the mercy of Jeff Perry in return.

Joe's crime? Calling 911.   

Joe Bangert is being punished for doing exactly what he was trained to do: calling for backup when he feels threatened. The problem is that, since September 11, it's not always clear to him whether the threat is coming from outside or inside. His PTSD keeps him constantly on full alert, trying to keep everything and everyone out beyond what vets call the "kiss me/kill me" range.  

No question about it: Joe can be a civic nightmare. When he's upset, things get messy, rules get broken. But that should come as no surprise. We have studies going back 100 years connecting wartime experiences with traumatic injuries that lead to criminal behaviors.

For 30 years we've been experimenting with specialty courts because we know that putting someone with a mental health issue or an addiction in prison instead of treatment is not only cruel, it's much more expensive. For three years, we've been tentatively opening that model to veterans, who often fit into both categories. Since the attack on the Twin Towers, tens of thousands of veterans of previous conflicts have flooded VA facilities across the country, with PTSD by far the most common diagnosis. Ten years later, those old soldiers are being joined by younger veterans, in equally daunting numbers, who are similarly haunted by their memories and overwhelmed by the symptoms of their psychic injuries.  

A decorated combat Marine with a 100% disability rating for PTSD and an FBI file to make any peace activist proud.

They use drugs or alcohol to manage their nightmares, red-line their Harleys to feed their addiction to adrenalin, keep guns under their pillows to feel safe, and when they have flashbacks, muscle-memory takes over and they default to combat survival skills. Rages at the terrible images that colonize their minds get misdirected at innocent bystanders, often the people who love them the most—all known symptoms of PTSD, all predictive of trouble.   

Joe Bangert could serve as a poster boy for any veterans' courts. He has all of the above symptoms—except for the firearms. Those, he doesn't touch. Thirty years of treatment reports have swollen Joe's VA file to something he compares to "two metropolitan phone books"-- twice as thick as his FBI file. But he left it out in the yard and it's now swollen with rain so size comparisons are approximate. Nonetheless, the history recorded in that soggy file is one of non-violent progressive activism when Joe was successfully managing his trauma. When not, his police record is an impressive accretion of nuisance arrests that signal not criminal intent, but the self-medication he uses to mask his pain and his panic. When the pain and panic win, he needs a voice on the other end of the phone.  

And Joe is only charged with a misdemeanor. Though some judges have gone so far as to accept violent felony offenders in special veterans' courts, the vast majority are more conservative, accepting only misdemeanor or non-violent felony offenders for diversion.  

The judges who have established veterans' courts are already outside the norm. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, their Honors, in the aggregate, are more punitive when it comes to veterans. Veterans are not only disproportionately represented in the nation's prisons, but they are more likely to get longer sentences than non-veterans-- on average, more than two years longer -- for the same crime. 

That might explain how a 62-year-old Buddhist bear of a man, a decorated combat Marine with a 100 percent disability rating for PTSD and an FBI file to make any peace activist proud, ended up in a maximum-security prison for calling 911.  

Okay…he didn't call 911 just once. Officer Heath Eldredge sent Joe's brother a list of his police reports, but only a partial list. A complete list, Eldredge wrote, "would be much too voluminous."  

And not all the complaints in his file are for 911 calls. Last fall, he "liberated" four flags from the local VFW ($300) because the bartender closed out the register early. A mailbox was uprooted, a garden reconfigured, and more than a few provocative smart-ass pranks earned him rides in squad cars.  

But nobody really believes this old warrior is gaming the system.   

More than a few of the local cops in his hometown of Brewster, Massachusetts, are veterans themselves. They know his history and his diagnosis, and they have tried to cut him some slack. Still, every call means a car sent out to make sure he is safe. Their reports record, without irony or comment, Joe's insistence that the repeat calls were made by his cat stepping on his phone's redial. 

Unfortunately, the last time he had a bad night, his call was routed to the State Police instead. They didn't buy the cat story. He was arrested and now he's sitting in prison, his life reduced to breakfast, meds, rec, lock-in, lunch, lock-out, lock-in, supper, lock-in, final rec, lock-in, lock-down.   

Joe enlisted in the Marines right out of high school. He wanted to fly planes. They made him a door-gunner and sent him to Vietnam. It was a terrible job: shooting people, often civilians, from the door of a helicopter. Two of his friends were killed, and he began to tune out orders. At one point, he simply refused to shoot any more.   

When the USS Bexar delivered its cargo of homecoming Marines to San Diego harbor in 1969, Joe had draped a huge peace sign over the side of the ship. In 1969, the U.S. military was fighting two wars, one against the Vietnamese and another against mutinous and murderously angry American soldiers, like Joe-- and losing both. He got an honorable discharge, and the Marines were glad to be rid of him.   

Vietnam War heros returned their medals.

Joe became a founding member of Vietnam Veterans Against the War, left his medals on the steps of the White House, and helped organize the first Winter Soldier Investigation in Detroit in 1971.

Life Magazine reprinted the most disturbing portions of his testimony:

The last day before I went to the ‘Nam…this staff sergeant came out in front of us with a rabbit, petting it. Suddenly he made a quick move and killed the rabbit.  He pulled out a knife and started skinning it, then disemboweled it, throwing the guts and bones in our faces. Later in Vietnam I saw an American civilian adviser to an ARVN group do the same thing with a dead VC woman, disembowel her. He peeled her skin off and left her there as a warning to the villagers. 

Since then, when his psychic balance permitted, Joe worked within the system. In the '80s, he researched the effects of Agent Orange and managed the Massachusetts Agent Orange Program from 1983-1987. He also worked on any number of Massachusetts political campaigns, including all of John Kerry's. When Kerry ran for president in 2004, his relationship with Joe was fodder for Swift Boat slander. 

Joe is down on Kerry right now; in fact, he's down on all the politicians who accepted his help in the past, but disappeared when he needed theirs. Ironically, it was Kerry who sponsored the SERV Act, which would have created a nationwide program of veterans' courts. The SERV Act has been languishing in Congress since 2008.  Also in 2008, Massachusetts was one of six states to receive federal grant money to establish a pilot program to divert veterans from prison into treatment. Three years later, there are veterans' courts in 60 communities in 21 states, including Louisiana and Alabama. Massachusetts isn't one of them.   

In 2008, Judge Robert Russell established the first veterans' treatment court in Buffalo, N.Y. with no support from the federal government. He currently has 183 veterans enrolled, 53 have "graduated," and there have been no re-arrests to date. The program requires regular appearances before the court, drug testing, mentoring from trained veteran peer counselors, and a range of social service agency support, including assistance with housing, employment, education, addictions and help accessing VA services. If veterans make it through the program, their record is expunged.  

None of the federally funded pilot programs (there are now 11) have made their data on local veteran arrests public. Only six have reported their diversion numbers, and those as an aggregate. ("Through January 2011, 160 persons have been enrolled.") That reticence may be characteristic of top-down policy initiatives, where implementation is largely in the hands of professionals, but it is deeply resented by advocates whose motivation comes from personal experience and concerns. They are desperate for evidence to convince their local criminal justice establishments that the need for alternatives is urgent.  

Dan Abreu, who oversees the jail diversion pilots for the National GAINS Center points to the long-term, albeit time consuming, advantage of statewide infrastructure building, but he concedes that, "Sometimes a bottom-up approach can work better because you have community people who are already committed to investing their time and their resources."  

"My brother is still in jail. TIC TOCK, TIC TOCK. What are you going to do for him?"
                     - John Bangert.

Like Joe's twin brother John. 

John is just as big and booming as his brother -- he's a man who doesn't take no for an answer, and he wants his brother out of prison NOW. Since Joe was sentenced, John has called every state and local representative, judge, lawyer, ex-lawyer, veteran service officer, VA official, anyone with any authority, four times a day, at work and at home. "John Bangert here," he announces. "My brother is still in jail. TIC TOCK, TIC TOCK. What are you going to do for him?"   

Then last Friday, John discovered two prize facts: Massachusetts' 2005 House Bill No. 863, and a law that allows individual Massachusetts citizens to petition for legislation. Had the Veterans Judicial Support Act passed when proposed, it would have made Massachusetts the first state in the country to establish a court dedicated specifically to channeling veterans into treatment programs rather than incarceration.  

So John, as a citizen of Massachusetts, started calling everyone on his "Free Joe" Rolodex, from the governor on down, to announce that he would be petitioning for enactment of House Bill #863, or some version of it, in the next election. That was Friday. Monday morning he received an email with House Docket 2300 attached, proposed legislation for a veterans' court. Within hours, John was hearing from legislators, lawyers and judges eager to sign on.   

The Bangert brothers may get their court. Perhaps too late for Joe, but they have started a process fueled by a passion that only life can teach. Its lesson is one that is being learned across the country: Joe is a symptom of a broken system, and not the other way round.

Penny Coleman is the author of Flashback: Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Suicide and the Lessons of War. Her Web site is Flashback

Falmouth consultant quits after confrontation; New Yorker investigative reporter to store his papers here; Want shellfish? Go to your local farmers' market; Cape violin soloist helps her homeland

TODAY's Quote: "Barnstable County FINALLY passes wind turbine siting and review regulations. Time to update my 'I SURVIVED PAVE PAWS CAPE WIND' T-shirt... another earth-shattering threat survived!" - Mike Bailey in Falmouth Enterprise.

Red sky at dawning, sailor take warning

   At 5 a.m. today the sky over our Outer Beach screamed a deep, dark red warning of a stormy weather heading our way. Our homepage weather forecast predicts a 100 percent chance of rain with 15-40 MPH winds today.

Falmouth Town Manager consultant walks off job after confrontation

The Falmouth Enterprise reports that so far at least, finding a new Town Manager has not been a smooth task for either the search committee or their researcher who abruptly quit without warning this week shortly after being confronted in the Morse Pond School parking lot by Falmouth constable George W. Morse.

Read our two Falmouth bloggers; Troy Clarkson
and our newbie 'Tory'.

The newspaper reports that after working with the Town Manager Screening Committee for just three meetings over a month and a half, consultant Thomas J. Groux resigned this week without warning or meeting with the committee.

Groux's decision followed a heated meeting on Tuesday evening at the Morse Pond School in which screening committee members complained about the entire search process and Mr. Groux's actions, which included personally interviewing 16 town employees without board approval.

Read the Enterprise story here.

NY Public Library ignores papers, author demands their return to store on Cape Cod

The New York Times reports that in a move that has turned scholarly heads, Paul Brodeur, a former investigative reporter for The New Yorker, who donated thousands of pages of his work to the library, is demanding that the papers be returned. He claims that an institution renowned for its careful stewardship of historical documents has badly mishandled his.

Mr. Brodeur says he now wishes he had donated his papers to an environmental organization, a journalism school or a small university - "any of which," he wrote in the Authors Guild Bulletin, "might have been more appreciative of them than the New York Public Library." The library has told Mr. Brodeur he has until August to retrieve the unwanted papers.

Finding a place to stockpile all those boxes has proved tricky. Mr. Brodeur considered renting a storage unit or making room in his house on Cape Cod. But he settled, in the end, on using his backyard. He has built a small shed that he says can fit his entire collection.

Read the Times story here.

Cape, Islands, to build solar farm

WBUR reports that even Cape Cod and the Islands communities are making plans to build solar energy farms that could produce more than a quarter of the energy needed there.

Phillip Guidice, of the state Department of Environmental Protection, says the project will turn capped landfills and other unused public land into solar space.

"There's hundreds of these solar farm-potential sites in these capped landfills, and they could provide hundreds, potentially, of megawatts of solar power, if and when they're all utilized this way," he said.

That power is expected to be enough for more than 3,000 homes.

Maggie Downey, of the Cape and Vineyard Electric Cooperative, says the project could save nearly $1.5 million in energy costs in the first year.

Read the WBUR story here.

Want shellfish? Go to your local farmer's market

The Boston Globe reports that state officials, market managers and shellfish farmers are considering the expansion of a pilot program that began last year in a handful of markets under a strict set of food safety guidelines.

Les Hemmila, owner of Barnstable Sea Farms, sold oysters last year at farmers' markets in Hyannis and Osterville on Cape Cod and is planning to do so again this year. Like other farmers who sell at markets, he sees it as a unique opportunity to reach consumers directly.

Read the Globe story here.

Cape violin soloist helps her homeland

The Boston Globe has a story today in the Hingham section about what Yoko Furihata Waynen did when she heard about the natural disaster in her native country of Japan.

Waynen knew she had to do something for her country, so she went to her peers at the Cape Cod Symphony Orchestra, where she has been a violinist for the past seven years, and asked for their help.

Read the Globe story here.

Scroll down to: Ptown woman stabs man in back, Jamaican charged with rape;
Shooting suspect's bail set at $100K;
Sewer relief gets Chatham a laundromat, bigger bistro;
Harwich saves a million on dredging;
Better Pleasant Bay fertilizer controls needed.

Ptown woman stabs man in back and Jamaican charged with rape; Shooting suspects bail set at $100K; Chatham gets a laundromat, better sewage; Harwich saves on dredging; Better Pleasant Bay fertilizer controls needed

TODAY's quote: "We found that there really aren't any regulations currently in effect specifically controlling fertilizer load in estuaries. The tool box is pretty empty at this point."  - Carole Ridley, Pleasant Bay Alliance.
"We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children."
- Native American Proverb.

Man arrested for rape, woman for stabbing in Provincetown

The Provincetown Banner reports that a local resident with a Jamaican passport was arrested last Thursday and charged with three counts of rape which allegedly occurred April 5th.

According to First Assistant District Attorney Michael Trudeau, Provincetown resident Asa O. Grant, 29, was arraigned in Orleans District Court on Tuesday and charged with three counts of rape, two counts of assault and battery on a person over 14 and two counts of intimidating a witness. Read story in The Banner here.

The Banner also reports today that Dawn Ramashka, 33, was arrested and charged with assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon (a knife) and assault and battery (domestic). An unidentified 40-year-old male is recovering from a stab wound to the shoulder after an apparent domestic dispute Wednesday night.

The Banner said that at 10:50 p.m. on Wednesday Provincetown police responded to a 911 call from the victim from an apartment above Ciro & Sal's Restaurant at 4 Kiley Court. The man reported that he had been stabbed in the back.

Read the Banner story here.

Suspected Mashpee shooters bail set at $100K each

The Mashpee Enterprise reports that the two male suspects in the April 7 shooting on Ninigret Avenue in Mashpee, Carlton H. Hendricks III of Mashpee, 20, and 35-year-old John B. Cardoza of East Falmouth, were ordered held in lieu of $100,000 cash bail today in Falmouth District Court yesterday.

Police and court documents allege one of the men shot a male victim during a drug deal gone bad. They are scheduled to return to court again in June.

Read the Enterprise here.

Better fertilizer controls needed for Pleasant Bay

According to another story in The Chronicle this week, better management of fertilizer use and smaller lawns could reduce the nitrogen loan in Pleasant Bay by as much as 5 percent and result in substantial savings in sewer infrastructure costs.
      Those was the findings in a recent study by the Cadmus Group commissioned by the Pleasant Bay Alliance. A report issued earlier this year recommended the municipalities, golf courses and residents could make an important impact on the bay's health by adopting better fertilizer management practices.

Sewer bank transfer allows new restaurant, laundromat, in Chatham center

The Cape Cod Chronicle reports that selectmen this week approved a sewer bank transfer that clears the way for a new coin-op laundry to be built in town. The transfer, made under a new rule designed to encourage economic development, will also allow the expansion of Celestino's Cafe.

The additional sewage flow was made available because of changes of use in three properties in town: the Chatham Village Market building, the former Christian's restaurant and the former Town House Inn.

Read the Chronicle story here.

Harwich may save a million on Allen Harbor dredging

Competition or the recession may have helped the town of Harwich save a bunch this week when they opened the bids for dredging Allen Harbor. They expected bids of a higher amount, but the average turned out to be $3.8 million instead.

The Chronicle reports that the five bids to remove an estimated 40,000 cubic yards of material, mostly silt, which has filled in the basin over the years, were almost $1 million less than expected. The bids ranged from more than $10 million to a low of just under $2.5 million.

The town is participating in the dredge project in conjunction with 10 private parties, including Allen Harbor Yacht Club, Allen Harbor Marine Service and several neighbors with docks on the harbor. The Town‘s share is estimated to be 60 percent of the cost with the private parties paying for the remaining 40 percent.

Read the Chronicle story here.

Scroll down to: Cape Cod Hospital and the changes in medicare payments;
Free speech OK'ed in Bourne; Assembly of Delegates new rules.