Cape & Islands News

Cape Lobster saved, now a pet instead of dinner

Lenny the Lobster finds safe new home at Mystic Aquarium
Finding a home for a 3 foot long, 100 year-old crustacean not easy

WARREN - If lobsters have feelings, Lenny, a 17 1/2-pounder who nearly became dinner last weekend, is undoubtedly breathing a huge sigh of relief today. The lobster, which was caught off Cape Cod and wound up as a dinner special at the Wharf Tavern restaurant, was saved Friday by a Bristol family who just couldn't stand to see him boiled with butter. Since Sunday, the giant crustacean has been acclimating himself to his new home at the Mystic Aquarium in Mystic, Conn., where the family brought him after buying him from the restaurant.

"He was on special, $150 for him and a bottle of wine," said Bristol resident Keith Maloney (on right with Jennifer Cullinan and Lenny), who rescued the crustacean with his wife Susan and two children after the family went to the Wharf to celebrate his daughter's 32nd birthday.

"They only charged us $130 because we didn't have the wine." The Maloneys were listening to their waitress recite the specials Friday when they learned of Lenny, who had been named by restaurant staff.

"We immediately all kind of went up and wanted to see what a lobster like that looked like," said Mr. Maloney. "I said, 'I'm not going to let that lobster get eaten.'"..."I said, 'I'll buy it but I want you to hold it for me until I can find a place for it,'" said Mr. Maloney...

Condo owners win, Democracy goes digital, Level 3 offender charged with rape

Mid Cape news, August 31, 2006

Level 3 offender charged with rape By Joe Burns/ jburns@cnc.com On Saturday, James Lee Pells, a 49-year-old registered Level 3 sex offender living in Hyannis, was arrested by Barnstable police on rape charges at his home at 36 General Patton Drive. The alleged victim in was a woman who had been one of several people who were drinking at Pells' home that evening. According to Barnstable police Sgt. Sean Sweeney, the woman told police that she had passed out from drinking and that Pells had sexual relations with her while she was passed out. Sweeney said that it was Pells who notified police... [more]

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

Lt. Governor holds news conference today on Sea Beach

Same-old, same-old or courageous Mitt-split?
The conference location adds an element of intrigue

The email alert from the Kerry Healey campaign was enigmatic and cryptic; 

Thursday, August 31, 2006
10:45 am - Lieutenant Governor Kerry Healey and running mate Reed Hillman will hold a press conference regarding Cape Wind.
Sea Street Beach
Sea Street
Hyannis 

The last time a governor came to a cape beach, it was in Craigville which is the closest point to the proposed Cape Wind project. At that time Mitt Romney talked about the need for ocean management legislation. He had long since voiced his opposition to the wind farm.

Location choice could be be significant

This time the news conference overlooks opponent Christy Mihos' home on Great Island across Lewis Bay from Sea Street. It is probably the closest the two of them have been to each other since he turned down her offer to be her running mate and declared his own candidacy for the office.

After last evening's symposium at the Cape Cod Community College the audience offered several suggested reasons for the news conference.

Since MS Healey has already said she is opposed to it, like her boss the Governor, many felt she would "stick it to Christy" by endorsing the wind farm literally in his face.

One GOP stalwart believes that her  running mate, Reed Hillman, has been reading her the polls statewide which show strong support for the project.

Others were equally sure she would simply restate her opposition. Another GOP operative reminded this reporter that since her war chest is overflowing, she can now afford to take a stand which might lure more votes in November since she has no primary opposition and Mihos will get all the anti-wing farm votes in Barnstable County anyway.

Stay turned - we'll bring you a report the minute the Lt. Governor speaks today.

Danes buying 1/3 of former electric price

Wind power symposium clears the air about Danish wind farms
Family cat turn out to be biggest problem for birds

A jam-packed lecture hall at Cape Cod Community College last night heard an enlightening and convincing presentation by a Danish expert on Denmark’s use of wind power.
 
The symposium and panel discussion, sponsored by Greenpeace America, featured as chief guest speaker Jens Larsen, Director of the Copenhagen Environment and Energy Office and project manager for Denmark’s Middelgrunden offshore wind project.  Panelists also included Richard Elrick, a Nantucket Sound ferryboat captain of 25 years and President of Clean Power Now, and Jack Clarke, Director of Public Policy and Government Relations for Mass Audubon.
 
Jens Larsen’s presentation showed how:

• As Denmark’s power infrastructure has become more decentralized and green over the years, CO2 emissions have been driven down even as the country’s GDP has risen.
• Power costs have decreased from 13 cents US per KWh in 1984 to 4.5 cents per KWh in 2006.
• The percentage of the country’s energy provided by wind power stood at 20.8% in 2004.
• Practically all Danes participate in wind power ownership, with 58% of the country’s 5000 turbines owned by individuals and 24% by collectives;  (in the case of the Middelgrunden wind farm outside Copenhagen harbor, the total number of owners is 8500) 
  

• Danish public opinion in 2006 is solidly behind wind power, with 91% in favor of more installations.
• The opinion of the Middelgrunden wind farm held by tourists is 71% positive.
• Wind farms have caused no problems with air traffic radar.
• There have been no permanent effects on ecology by wind farms.
• Operators of wind turbines are assured of a market for their power, since Danish law mandates that the power grid accept connections to all turbines.
  

Larsen explained that fishermen typically disliked offshore wind installations, considering that they were inconsistent with the natural state of the sea in which the fishermen worked.  However, they continued to work the sea in the area of such installations.

After the presentation, Richard Elrick of Clean Power Now briefly stated his reasons for supporting the Cape & Islands’ Wind Farm, reminding the audience that he had plied the waters of Nantucket Sound professionally for many years.  Jack Clarke of Mass Audubon summarized his organization’s position on this project as having found, after a preliminary assessment, no evidence of long-term adverse impact on avian life.  He also warned that this assessment was conditioned on the results of further studies.

During the subsequent Q&A session, Clarke was asked to clarify Audubon’s financial interest in the Nantucket Sound project, to which he replied that, as a non-profit organization, it had no such interest.

Turbine-caused bird deaths, boat accidents, "Zero"

As questioning on the subject of bird mortality continued, Mr. Larsen pointed out that the real threat to wildlife was habitat destruction—a result of fossil fuel pollution—not turbine collisions.  Clarke added that the birdkill caused by turbines was likely to be insignificant compared to the “trillions” killed by housecats, tall buildings and telecom towers.  When both speakers were asked how many birds were known to have been killed by Danish wind farms, the answer was “zero.”

In response to a question on why the proposed Cape & Islands’ wind farm needed to be so large, and sited offshore instead of on land, Elrick explained that in order to meet the President’s goal of 20% of our country’s energy from renewable sources, small installations of one or two turbines would not suffice.  Many utility-scale projects, typically at sea where the wind is strongest and most reliable, would be needed in the years to come.
 
The final question of the evening, addressed to Mr. Larsen, was about the number of boat collisions recorded in fifteen years of experience with offshore turbine structures in Danish waters.  Jens Larsen looked momentarily puzzled, then responded: “zero.”

Illegal wine taste? School starts, Walking the cape

Harwich news, August 30, 2006

Beacon Hill Roll Call
By Bob Katzen
THE HOUSE AND SENATE.Beacon Hill Roll Call records local representatives and senators' votes on three roll calls from recent legislative sessions.... [more]

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

Cape "teacher of the year" on tial for killing husband

Trial set for wife accused of plotting death of husband
Alledgedly offered State Trooper $15,000 to kill her husband

A Nov. 14 trial date has been set for a Cape Cod woman accused of soliciting an undercover police officer to murder her estranged husband.

Caroline M. Kotoski, 42 on right, formerly of Princeton, is under indictment on charges of attempted murder and common-law solicitation in connection with what prosecutors said was a Sept. 9, 2004, meeting she had with an undercover state trooper posing as a hit man. Ms. Kotoski, a one-time “teacher of the year,” allegedly paid the trooper $7,500 to kill William Kotoski and agreed to hand over another $7,500 once her estranged husband was dead.

Prosecutors said Ms. Kotoski’s conversation with Trooper Peter LeDuc, days before she was scheduled to be deposed in the couple’s pending divorce case, was captured on videotape and audiotape...

The story goes on to say that Assistant District Attorney Kathleen M. DelloStritto contends that the accused was motivated by her desire to gain custody of her two children and possibly inherit a “huge amount of money.”

Read the rest of the Telegram & Gazette story here, and comment below. 

AARP top Fair Plan, Commish meets on Stop & Shop

Barnstable news, August 29, 2006

Craigville store plays host to ‘The Boys of Summer’
This gang calls itself “The Boys of Summer” but an equally appropriate handle might be “The Codgers of Craigville.” They dawdle at the Craigville General Store on the beach road twice daily in the summertime. There’s usually about six or seven, sometimes 15 of them at most. They are not the kind of gang members that would force the police chief, as he has done in Hyannis, to close business during certain hours to prevent the duly assembled coterie from becoming unruly - as much as they might like to relive the hi-jinks of youth.

CC Commission meets on new Shop & Shop tonight
After a site visit this afternoon to survey the 12-acre site between Route 132 and Attucks Lane, the Cape Cod Commission subcommittee reviewing plans for a new 70,000-square-foot Stop & Shop meets at 6:30 p.m. to take testimony.

Flagging down a new sport
About eight months ago, Cape newcomer Jeff Burkey was at home, badly missing the excitement of a great game of football. Sure, he had plenty of games to watch on television, but Burkey is a player and was longing to get his hands on a ball the way he’d done in New York when he played in a local flag football league. Then his wife, Jackie, said, “Why don’t you start a league on the Cape?” With that, the Cape Flag Football League was born.

Water project will slow Route 6A travel through fall
A project to increase the flow of water in Barnstable village will do the opposite for Route 6A traffic this fall.

Youth center gets added $3M
Before last Thursday’s town council meeting, a Youth and Community Facility in Hyannis was already guaranteed. After a unanimous vote in support of an additional $3 million for the project, it’s now expected to be more comprehensive and profitable.

Council delays action on Yarmouth airport rep
The arguments for and against reducing the status of Yarmouth’s non-voting member of the Barnstable Airport Commission to a liaison role will have to wait, because the town council did not get to that item before calling it quits last Thursday.

Town says no to PWC launches, but will the state?
The town council voted to ban the launch of personal watercraft at the town-owned ramp at Lake Wequaquet last week, but the regulation cannot go into effect until the state’s boating access board signs off.

Thoughts at Twilight: Which Way?
A critic noticed that Superman’s motto – “Truth, justice and the American way” – was edited down to the first two words in the recent movie about the Man of Steel. Have we, literally, lost our way?

FROM THIS CORNER: AARP-Hartford trumps FAIR on house insurance premiums
Insurance companies that mercilessly redlined Cape Cod by dropping home coverage a few years ago in a pre-emptive strike against the possibility of a calamitous hurricane, are slowly easing back into the Cape market, but at more than double the premiums.

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

Worcester Sheriff pulls parking fee prank here

Worcester County Sheriff My Guy Glodis (on right)had the entire weekend to produce a semi-plausible excuse for his embarrassing attempt to park at a Cape Cod beach for nothing, which is probably how he came up with this cute answer when I asked why he didn’t just pony up the $15 fee like everyone else.

"I guess,” he said yesterday, “it’s because I’m as frugal with my own money as I am with the taxpayers’.”

Ha. Nice try, My Guy. But I fear that the cause of his behavior is symptomatic of a condition far more serious than frugality.

My Guy, alas, has been struck by the Sheriff of Nottingham Syndrome (SONS), a highly contagious and progressive disease that afflicts members of the Worcester County Sheriff’s Department and is characterized by an uncontrollable urge to be treated differently from everybody else...

The T&G story goes on to say that the sherrif's rude conduct was first reported by Boston Herald columnist Howie Carr. My Guy and his family had gone to Corporation Beach in Dennis Aug. 13 and was told by the young girl manning the booth that it cost $15 to park. At that point, according to a report later filed by Dennis police, My Guy flashed his badge and told her he worked for the state. The girl, apparently unfamiliar with the symptoms of SONS, repeated that the parking fee was $15.

According to the police report, My Guy then responded, “I don’t mean to be rude, but I’m not parking. I work for the state.” He then drove into the parking lot, parked, went to the beach and was slapped with a $50 ticket after police on routine patrol were informed that a driver had parked without paying. 

Danish wind power expert at Cape College Wednesday

Will address controversies surrounding offshore wind farm
Speaker is the Director of the Copenhagen Environment and Energy Office

his Wednesday, August 30 at 7pm the Cape Cod Community College will host a short presentation by Jens Larsen, Director of the Copenhagen Environment and Energy Office and project manager for Denmark’s Middelgrunden offshore wind project.

A panel discussion and question and answer session will follow the presentation. The panel discussion is a part of Greenpeace’s clean energy tour of the Cape and Islands this summer highlighting the impacts of global warming and discussing real world experience with offshore wind projects. Denmark has nearly the same population as the state of Massachusetts, about twice the land area, and more than 900 times the installed wind power capacity.

Speaking to legislators at the State House yesterday, Larsen said that the 20-turbine project off Copenhagen, Denmark's capital,  has not had radar, navigation, visual, environmental or fishing problems, as claimed by the opponents.

Larsen told them that the computer's software which interpret the radar signals were reprogrammed to account for the turbines. Reportedly radar problems in the UK led the Federal Aviation Administration to halt work on new wind turbines in the midwest earlier this summer until it was certain there were no problems.   

Who will speak:

Jens Larson, Director of the Copenhagen Environment and Energy Office and project manager for Denmark’s Middelgrunden offshore wind project. The author of several publications, Larson has served as the project manager on numerous wind energy projects and as a renewable energy advisor. He is also a member of the International Advisory Panel of Experts on Marine Ecology.

Jack Clarke, Director of Public Policy and Government Relations for Mass Audubon. Clarke previously served with the Governor’s Environmental Affairs Office; the U.S. National Park Service, and as an advisor to the first Bush Administration on off-shore oil and gas drilling.

Richard Elrick, Nantucket Sound ferryboat captain of 25 years; attorney and former 3-term Barnstable town councilor. He is the President of Clean Power Now and also serves as the Vice-President of the Cape & Islands Self-Reliance Corp., a non-profit that promotes environmentally sound technologies and sustainable practices.

Upper Cape State Representative Matthew Patrick had invited Larsen speak to his peers. "It's been done in other places, and it works," Patrick said. "They had their problems in permitting it, too. There was a lot of skepticism. Now, it's pretty much evaporated. The apprehensiveness has evaporated." 

This event is free and open to the public.

WHEN: August 30 (Wednesday) 7-8pm
WHERE: Cape Cod Community College, 2240 Iyannough Road, West Barnstable, MA, Science Building, Lecture Hall A. Park in Lot 6 or 7
CONTACT: Jane Kochersperger, 202-319-2493; 202-415-5477(cell)
Information: see our web site here.

Danish wind power expert at Cape College Wednesday

Will address controversies surrounding offshore wind farm

This Weednesday, Agust 30 at 7pm the Cape Cod Community College will host a short Presentation by Jens Larsen, Director of the Copenhagen Environment and Energy Office and project manager for Denmark’s Middelgrunden offshore wind project.

A panel discussion and question and answer session will follow the presentation. The panel discussion is a part of Greenpeace’s clean energy tour of the Cape and Islands this summer highlighting the impacts of global warming and discussing real world experience with offshore wind projects. Denmark has nearly the same population as the state of Massachusetts, about twice the land area, and more than 900 times the installed wind power capacity.

Who will speak:

Jens Larson, Director of the Copenhagen Environment and Energy Office and project manager for Denmark’s Middelgrunden offshore wind project. The author of several publications, Larson has served as the project manager on numerous wind energy projects and as a renewable energy advisor. He is also a member of the International Advisory Panel of Experts on Marine Ecology.

Jack Clarke, Director of Public Policy and Government Relations for Mass Audubon. Clarke previously served with the Governor’s Environmental Affairs Office; the U.S. National Park Service, and as an advisor to the first Bush Administration on off-shore oil and gas drilling.

Richard Elrick, Nantucket Sound ferryboat captain of 25 years; attorney and former 3-term Barnstable town councilor. He is the President of Clean Power Now and also serves as the Vice-President of the Cape & Islands Self-Reliance Corp., a non-profit that promotes environmentally sound technologies and sustainable practices.

This event is free and open to the public.

WHEN: August 30 (Wednesday) 7-8pm
WHERE: Cape Cod Community College, 2240 Iyannough Road, West Barnstable, MA, Science Building, Lecture Hall A. Park in Lot 6 or 7
CONTACT: Jane Kochersperger, 202-319-2493; 202-415-5477(cell)
Information: see our web site here.