Cape & Islands News

Sagamore Bridge repairs scheduled for Thursday

Expect delays during daylight hours February 23

Officials from the US Army Corps of Engineers have announced a single day of repairs for the Sagamore Bridge on Thursday, February 23.  Weather-permitting, light fixture repairs will be made during daylight hours.

The work will require that traffic be confined to one lane in each direction. Motorists should expect delays during peak morning and afternoon travel times.

All four lanes of traffic on the Bourne Bridge will be open, according to the USACE.

Occupy Cape Cod protests Yarmouth foreclosure auction [Rifkin]

Large group from all over Cape annoys, but doesn't block foreclosure sale

"We were loud and boisterous and things couldn't have gone better."

By Paul Rifkin and staff

Check the short video of the action yesterday.
Auctioneer McLaughlin seemed to be thinking, WTF?About forty Occupy Cape Codders (from Falmouth to Provincetown) gathered in Yarmouth Tuesday morning to protest a foreclosure auction. 

The auction was being administered by the Daniel P. McLaughlin & Company of Boston.

The home is at 5 Alijo Drive in West Yarmouth.

The action was organized by occupier John Hopkins of Truro who said, "we were loud and boisterous and things couldn't have gone better."

A little pushing & shoving

The action got quite confrontational (see video to follow) and beefy occupiers Don Cox of West Barnstable (Left below) and Peter Waasdorp (Center  below) were ready to jump in after the old and weak photographer and videographer got jostled about by the auctioneer crew.

Arthur Dickinson of Harwich banged his "drum" to drown out the auctioneer's polemics.

The occupiers did "mic checks" and chanted "banks got bailed out, we got sold out" while the auctioneer mumbled his legalistic babble aimed towards removing a tenant-renter.

The property didn't fetch a high enough bid, and the bank took it back for $200,000.

Wellfleet OysterFest featured on "United Tastes of America" tonight

Cooking Channel series takes a trip to the Outer Cape 10 p.m. tonight

   William "Chopper" Young Jr. doing what he does best at the Wellfleet OysterFest. Photo by Jane Booth.

Foodies tuning into the Cooking Channel tomorrow night will be treated a taste of Wellfleet on the series "United Tastes of America". Host Jeffery Saad visited the Wellfleet OysterFest last October and an episode on one of the Cape's favorite fall festivals will air at 10 p.m. tonight (Tuesday, February 21).

According to Michele Insley, SPAT (Shellfish Promotion and Tasting) Manager, the episode will feature World Oyster Champ William "Chopper" Young Jr.  teaching Saad how to shuck Wellfleet-style.

Several other well-known locals will be featured in the show including Mac Hay, owner of Mac's Seafood and SPAT President, Chef Barton Seaver, author of "For Cod and Country", Shellfisherman Bob Wallace, Katy Kmiec of Hatch's Fish Market and Chef Philippe Rispoli of the very popular PB Boulangerie.

The very popular Wellfleet OysterFest, sponsored by SPAT is held each October and features a variety of events, incredible food and the not-to-be-missed shucking contest, or shuck off.

To read more about the Wellfleet OysterFest episode of "United Tastes of America", click here.  The Cooking Channel is available on Comcast. Check listings here.

Only in America [Paul Rifkin]

Crackpots come to celebrate Cape Cod's Presidents's Day

   The LaRouche movement says that it is based around an original economic philosophy and is praised by some commentators in Russia and China.

LaRoucheland Uber Allies in Falmouth

Special to Cape Cod TODAY by Paul Rifkin, Occupy Cape Cod

The LaRouche group was asked to move by Falmouth Police Officer Kent "K.C." Clarkson.
Some Falmouth folks even seemed interested or possibly amused in their conspiracies.

Joining the usual Saturday morning Occupy Falmouth and Falmouth Anti-War vigils were two "gentlemen" from the LaRouche movement.

They passed out "literature", sang songs in German (I kid you not) and sought contributions.

America's tolerance is tested regularly by fanatical fringe groups like these. In many countries they would be jailed or worse. Here we judge of level of democracy by how we treat our smallest minority, even crackpots and haters.

LaRouche ex-members have created a website to expose they groups agenda, and the movement is now generally seen as a right-wing, fascist or an unclassifiable group.

Admired in China and Russia

It is known for its unusual theories and its confrontational behavior.The LaRouche movement says that it is based around an original economic philosophy and is praised by some commentators in Russia and China.

Today they seem racist or silly or both.

In 1988, LaRouche and 25 associates were convicted on fraud charges related to fund-raising, prosecutions which the movement claimed were politically motivated and which were followed by a decline in the group's influence.

Falmouth Police Officer Kent "K.C." Clarkson arrived and told the LaRouche people to remove the table from the front of the Main Street Post Office. 

They did, but when the officer drove away they set it back up until the post master came out and made them disassemble it again.

Some passersby actually seemed interested in their "message." The only seemingly sane part of their pitch is that this silly season they insult both major political parties in the signs above.

That says quite a bit about our upcoming election cycle.

Only in America.

Seashore determined to tear down North Beach Island cottages before summer

All appeals exhausted, demolition will soon begin

The end is nearing for the five remaining cottages on Chatham's North Beach Island. In a letter to Caroline D. Hall, Assitant Director of the Office of Federal Agency Programs, Federal Land Management Section, Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, today George E. Price Jr., the Superintendent of the Cape Cod National Seashore Park (NPS), stated clearly and plainly that "we will be proceeding with the demolition process".

Since plans to demolition the remaining National Park Service-owned camps were announced, opponents, including the families who have rented them for decades, have tried every avenue to block the removal of the five structures.

Most recently, attempts have been made to have the camps officially recognized by the National Register of Historic Places. In November 2011, that attempt was denied for the cottages both individually and as a collective unit. The following month, the Massachusetts Historic Commission also ruled that the cottages were not eligible for historic status.

Tenants of the camps were ordered to vacate at the end of December.

According to Price, the Cape Cod National Seashore Park plans to begin demolition before April and the return of endangered shorebirds:

"The presence of state and federally-listed nesting and staging shorebirds on the island from April through September necessitates that we proceed with demolition of the cottages as soon as practicable. The demolition must be completed prior to the return of the birds in spring. If we delay, our next opportunity to resume removal will be in October, well into New England hurricane season, which begins in August, increasing the probability that the cottages will be destroyed in a non-controlled manner."

The plan to raze the cottages was developed in response to the likelihood of destruction and resulting debris in the waters of Pleasant Bay and Chatham Harbor following future storms.  There is a documented history of debris washing into the water following major storms in 1991 and 2007. At the end of January 2008, a sixth cottage was destroyed during a storm--sending debris into the water and long the beach.

Such debris, poses significant hazards to boaters, fishermen and area wildlife, Price said in the letter.

"Our objective is to remove the NPS-owned structures in anticipation of storm action or the imminent occurrence of erosion washing away the beach on which the cottages sit," said Price. To the opponents who have asked that the cottages simply be allowed to wash into the sea, Price said, "the NPS does not find this suggestion to be a responsible manner in which to manage the park's resources."

Panel discussion on Pilgrim Nuclear Plant at Cape Cod Community College February 22

Discussion is free and open to the public

Pilgrim Nuclear Power Plant on the shores of Cape Cod Bay a few miles north of the Cape Cod Canal. Photo courtesy of Entergy from NRC.gov.

A panel discussion on the relicensing of the Pilgrim Nuclear Plant in Plymouth will be held on Wednesday, February 22 from 6:30 p.m.  to 8:30 p.m. at Cape Cod Community College in West Barnstable. The presentation, which is free and open to the public, is sponsored by CIRenew, the Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences and the Environmental Technology Program at 4Cs.

The operating license for the Pilgrim plant expires on June 8, 2012. The plant's owner Entergy Nuclear is seeking to apply for relicensing with the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission for the next twenty-years. Pilgrim, which came online in 1972, is a 680-megawatt boiling water reactor, identical in design to Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

The panel will be made up of Carolyn O'Connor, director of external affairs for ISO New England, State Senator Dan Wolf and Mary Lampert, founder and director of Pilgrim Watch. According to CIRenew, one of the event's organizers, Entergy declined an invitation to participate in the panel.

Panelists will present introductory statements, then answer question from both the event's sponsors and the audience. The February 22nd discussion is a follow up to a similar discussion held in November 2011.

The event will be held at Cape Cod Community College on Route 132 in West Barnstable (Exit 6 off Route 6) in the Science Building, Lecture Hall C.

Rescuers free right whale from entanglement Wednesday

Provincetown Center for Coast Studies' MAER team spots young male during dedicated search

   Entangled North Atlantic right whale #3821. PCCS image taken under NOAA Fisheries Permit 932-1905 with authority of the ESA.

Another North American right whale was freed of entanglement Wednesday in Cape Cod Bay, thanks to the quick response of the Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies' (PCCS) Marine Animal Entanglement Response (MAER) team. The young male was sighted by the team during a dedicated search Wednesday, according to PCCS spokesperson Catherine Macort.

The whale had line looped over his head and through his mouth, according to Macort.  Members of the MAER team used a thirty-foot pole and a hook shaped knife to cut the line.  The remainder of the line in the whale's mouth will most likely be shed over time.

This isn't the first time PCCS has come to this particular young whale's rescue. In 2009, only a mile away from Wednesday's rescue, the same whale, dubbed #3821, was freed from different fishing gear.

Only 475 North Atlantic right whales are known to exist. Of that number, 320 were documented in Cape Cod Bay in 2011, according to Macort.

The MAER team has disentangled more than 180 whales and sea turtles since 1984. In 2011 alone, the team, under the leadership of Scott Landry, the program's director, successfully freed five leatherback turtles, four humpback whales and two North Atlantic right whales during thirty separate rescue attempts.

North Atlantic right whales are protected by the Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act. Federal law prohibits approaching within 500 yards of a right whale.  If you see an entangled whale in the waters off Southern New England, do not approach the animal. Instead, call 800-900-3622.

Cape Wind's Jim Gordon on NSTAR and DOER's settlement agreement: "We are excited to move forward"

Settlement filed with DPU Wednesday

Requires NSTAR and NU to purchase more clean energy if merger is to move forward

Governor Deval Patrick's office announced today, that the Department of Energy Resources (DOER) and NSTAR filed a proposed settlement agreement that stipulates a series of provisions as conditions of NSTAR's proposed merger with Connecticut-based Northeast Utilities with the Department of Public Utilities (DPU).  If the merger is approved, NSTAR will be required to freeze base distribution rates for four years, provide a one-time rate credit of $21 million to residential customers and purchase more clean energy.

"I am proud of this agreement, which was negotiated by our Administration in an effort to cap rates and hold utilities accountable to customers," said Governor Patrick. "Thanks to this work, DPU is now set to consider a plan that delivers benefits to customers in the form of lower costs and better service, upholds the utilities’ commitment to Massachusetts’ communities and devotes unprecedented resources to our clean energy future."

On the clean energy front, the proposal requires the merged entity to purchase an additional 129 megawatts (MW) of clean energy.  NSTAR has agreed to enter into a 15-year contract to purchase 27.5 percent of the electricity output from Cape Wind, the offshore wind energy project planned for Nantucket Sound. Cape Wind already has an agreeement with National Grid to purchase of 50 percent of its electricity output. With almost 80 percent of their energy purchased, Cape Wind is poised to move forward with financing and construction of the highly anticipated clean energy project.

Jim Gordon, President of Cape Wind, released the following statement today regarding the filing of the settlement agreement:

Jim Gordon is the President of Cape Wind. cctoday photo."Today's announcement by Governor Patrick represents a major step forward in making Massachusetts a leader in offshore wind power and attaining the jobs, clean air and energy independence benefits that Cape Wind will provide. By including Cape Wind in this utility merger Settlement Agreement, NSTAR and the Patrick Administration are helping ensure that Cape Wind will supply up to 500,000 homes with locally harvested renewable energy and create hundreds of new jobs. While Massachusetts may be at the end of the energy pipeline for oil, coal and natural gas, we do have an abundant and inexhaustible supply of offshore wind and we will harness it for a better energy future.   Today's announcement also affords NSTAR and its customers the unique opportunity to bring to fruition the critical objectives adopted by the Legislature when it unanimously enacted the landmark Green Communities Act in 2008, namely reductions in pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, increased electric reliability and sustainable economic development.   While future fuel prices are uncertain, the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities has determined that Cape Wind provides a unique set of benefits for Massachusetts and is cost-effective and will place downward pressure on wholesale energy prices while avoiding the external costs of burning fossil fuels. We are excited to move forward."

In addition to purchasing power from Cape Wind, the proposed settlement calls for NSTAR to launch a public outreach campaign to educate customers about "the importance of the Commonwealth's climate change goals in terms of furtherance of renewable power procurement, solar power development, energy efficiency program implementation and other policies encompassed within the Green Communities Act of 2008."

When the merger between the two utilities was announced, the Conservation Law Foundation (CLF) intervened during the proceedings. Today, Sue Reid, the Vice President and Director of CLF's Massachusetts' office, had this to say, "The settlement announced today in the NU NStar merger proceeding ensures that this powerful new utility will be in lockstep with Massachusetts’ nation-leading clean energy policies and propel the state forward instead of backwards in implementing them. The terms of the deal will allow the state to finally unleash the potential of Cape Wind, moving the United States ahead in its quest to prioritize clean energy alternatives."

Dolphin strandings reach record numbers Tuesday

Ten more dolphins successfully ushered out of Wellfleet Harbor

   On Monday, three male dolphins successfully rescued from Wellfleet, were checked, tagged and transpored to Scusset Beach in Sagamore where they were released. © IFAW/M. Baumgarten.

Tuesday, the International Fund for Animal Welfare's (IFAW) marine mammal rescue team responded once again to the Herring River on Wellfleet Harbor, where eleven more dolphins were stuck in deep mud at low tide.  According the Kerry Branon, IFAW media asset manager, eleven dolphins originally stranded, but one died shortly after becoming stuck in the mud.

The other ten, were examined, tagged and re-floated as a group when the tide came back in, said Branon. Using their Zodiac inflatable boat and the Wellfleet Harbormaster's boat, the team herded the ten dolphins out of the harbor and into deeper water.

Including Tuesday's numbers, this is now the largest stranding on record in the Northeast at 177 dolphins, according to Branon. The mass stranding began on January 12 and dolphins have been stranding along the bay from Dennis to Wellfleet sending IFAW rescuers, researchers and volunteers to Cape beaches and inlets almost every day.

The disturbingly high number of strandings breaks down as follows:

• 177 dolphins have stranded since January 12
• 106 have been found dead, 71 alive
• of the 71 found alive, 53 have been successfully released

Between Sunday and Monday, teams successfully rescued eight Common dolphins, three from the area near the Chequessett Yacht Club on Monday and five at Wellfleet Harbor. The three male dolphins rescued near the yacht club were transported and released at Scusset Beach in Sagamore.  The five from Wellfleet Harbor were herded back into deeper water. Three dead dolphins were also found over that two day period.

Rescue teams will be back along the shores today, surveying the areas most dangerous to dolphins. They will be joined by colleagues from the New England and Virginia Aquariums, according to Branon.

Read more about the recent strandings here:

• Three more dolphins herded to safety Wednesday
• Four more dolphins rescued in Wellfleet Sunday night
• More than ten dolphins strand in Wellfleet, seven rescued
• IFAW rescues nine more dolphins after Brewster stranding
• Dolphin stranding mystery continues; member of IFAW team to address Congress later this week
• IFAW reports the death of two more dolphins Monday
  
• Kerry, Keating ask for NOAA's help in finding cause of dolphin strandings
  
• Seven more dolphins strand in Wellfleet Thursday
  
• Six stranded dolphins rescued in Wellfleet

Coast Guard Cutter Webber named to honor Pendleton hero

Local hero Webber credited with helping make one of the "greatest rescues in Coast Guard history"

The Coast Guard Cutter Webber, the USCG's first Sentinel Class patrol boats, arrived at Coast Guard Sector Miami Thursday, ready for duty. The Webber is a 154-foot Fast Response Cutter capable of speeds of 28-plus knots. The vessel is armed with one stabilized, remotely operated 25mm chain gun and four crew-served .50 caliber machine guns.

The Webber holds 24 crew members and is capable of remaining at sea for a minimum of five days and be underway for 2,500 hours per year.

Boatswain's Mate First Class Bernard Webber in 1952. Official USCG photo from USCG.mil

All new Sentinel Class patrol boats are to be named after Coast Guard heroes, according to the USCG. The Webber is named after local Cape Cod hero Bernard C. Webber, a coxswain of the motor lifeboat CG-365000 out of Station Chatham. Webber and his crew are credited with saving the lives of 32 men aboard the SS Pendleton on February 18, 1952 during a raging nor'easter.

"I am very excited about the arrival of the Coast Guard Cutter Webber," said Rear Adm. Bill Baumgartner, commander of the 7th Coast Guard District. "It is the first of 18 Fast Response Cutters that are scheduled to be delivered to the 7th Coast Guard District over the next several years. This new cutter fleet will be a vital instrument in supporting illicit migrant and narcotic trafficking interdiction, but will only fill a portion of the critical gap we face in our operational capability. While the Fast Response Cutters are highly capable platforms, the Coast Guard is in need of an Offshore Patrol Cutter as well. These OPCs would be able to deploy greater distances, effectively extending our maritime border outward to prevent threats to our national security. The OPC would replace our aging Medium Endurance Cutter fleet, most of which are over 40 years old and in desperate need of recapitalization to meet the future security needs of America."

The Webber will be deployed independently to conduct missions including port, waterway and coastal security, fishery patrols, drug and illegal migrant law enforcement and search and rescue from the Gulf of Mexico to the Carribbean.

This month marks the 60th anniversary of the SS Pendleton rescue in which USCG crewmen saved the lives of 32 of the 33 men aboard the doomed tankard.