Massachusetts Senate race even .. or is it?

David at Blue Mass Group reviews recent polls on the special election to replace Senator Kennedy in this post. Depending on how you break out the likely voters, the race is either tied or Ms. Coakley is way ahead. Special elections are hard to predict because you don't know what the turnout is likely to be.
Representative Brown is a George W. Bush Republican, pro-torture, in favor of lax regulation and tax cuts, and against health care reform. I don't think he represents ...

... the views of the majority of Massachusetts voters. The danger is that a motivated minority will show up at the polls and elect him. That would be an unfortunate memorial for the late Ted Kennedy. Get out and vote in this election on Tuesday, January 19th.
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Finance Committee recommends funding for wind turbines.

Last night, the Finance Committee gave a thumbs up to the wind turbine project bonding in their recommendation to the Special Town Meeting on January 26th. Finance Committee member, Mr. Walker , reports

"the finance committe voted unanimously to recommend the turbine article to town meeting based on favorable economics and overall environmental benefits."

In other news on the project, the town has received word that the FAA will not allow the 100 meter height ...

... at the north tower site. The maximum allowed height according to the FAA will have to be 86 meters at the hub or a high accuracy survey meeting 2C standards would be needed to permit an 89.5 meter height.
The ALternative Energy Committee has this report regarding the impact on the finances of the project. ·

The two turbines, if built on 328-foot towers, will conservatively produce 8,016,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, more than enough to cover the 5,429,000 kilowatt-hours used by the DPW. Moreover, they will supply about 49% of the entire electricity demand of all Town public buildings. Using 295-foot towers, they will produce 7,472,000 kilowatt-hours. Turbines will be built as tall as allowed by the Federal Aviation Administration and the Massachusetts Aeronautics Commission.

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Massachusetts showing signs of recovery

The economy of Massachusett is showing some signs that it is coming out of recession. David over at Blue Mass Group has this post about the improving job market and a recovery in state revenue. The Commonwealth is outpacing the rest of the country on the road to recovery. I know it doesn't feel like that to most people but this is the worst economic downturn in decades.
One reason for that recovery may be that Massachusetts has a skilled and educated work force and a good quality of life for citizens here in the Bay State. CNBC ranked our state as 8th in the nation a place to do business. One statistic that caught my attention ...

... was that our workforce produces a higher per capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP) than the other seven states ranked above us. CNBC didn't rank the states on that basis but only New York workers produced more value per capita.
Looking at the criteria for workforce, it seems to me that states who have a more unionized workforce were not given high marks. I think that is not correct and may have worked against Massachusetts' ranking.
The worst place to do business according to CNBC, Alaska, don't cha know!

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Standard Times website going subscriber only

I got a notice with my newspaper today that the Standard Times will restrict access to the content on their website, SouthCoast Today.com, to subscribers starting on January 12th. Actually they will eventually charge even their print subscribers a small fee, 39 cents a week, to view the content. It has been my practice to link to news stories on the Standard Times website. I will discontinue that practice once the site becomes subscriber only.
Print newspapers are having a tough time ...

... right now and papers, large and small, are going out of business. There are many reasons for that and I won't go into the whole discussion.
I have my doubts about the choice being made by the Standard Times but it is their content and they have every right to make it a subscriber only feature.
I will continue to have a link on my blog to the Standard Times site but you will need to have a login to access information.
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Bristol Sheriff in the news

There were a couple of news stories about the Bristol County Sheriff, Mr. Hodgson today.
The Herald News reports that Sheriff Hodgson has been ordered to repay the $5 daily fees that he collected from inmates during the 2002-2004 period. The Supreme Judicial Court ruled the sheriff was not authorized to assess the inmate fees.
The Chronicle reports that Representative Quinn has filed a Public Records Act complaint with the Secretary of State's Public Records Division charging that the Sheriff had failed to comply with his request for records. The act, MGL chapter 66, section 10, requires a response ...

... to a public records request within ten days. Mr. Quinn said in the story that other state and county agencies had responded with in the time frame of the statute and only the Bristol Sheriff had not. I was not able to locate the Chronicle article online, sorry, no link.
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Wind Turbine Special Permit

I have uploaded the wind turbine Special Permit findings here. This is NOT an official copy. Go to the Select Board office to get an official copy if you need one.

Nothing else here.
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Special Town Meeting warrant approved for Jan 26th

Last night, the Select Board approved the warrant for a Special Town Meeting to be held Tuesday, January 26, 2010 at 7:00 p.m. in the Dartmouth High School Auditorium (155 Bakerville Road). The warrant has three articles, a bond authorization to procure and construct two wind turbines, a Padanaram business district zoning bylaw, and the acceptance of a section of Massachusetts General Law which allows the town to have retirees apply for Medicare coverage. I will post the warrant to this blog ...

... when I have the final copy.
These three issues are imporatnat matters for the town and I urge Town Meeting members to make every effort to attend on the 26th.
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Select Board approves special permit for wind turbines

The Select Board voted unanimously last night to approve a special permit for the construction of two wind turbines on town land off Chase Road. Information on the project can be found here on the town website. I will post the entire findings and conditions to this blog ...

... when I receive the final wording from the Town Counsel.
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Town will hold H1N1 vaccine clinic on Dec. 7

The town will be holding a clinic to provide H1N1 flu vaccine to residents from 7PM to 8PM< on Thursday December 7th. No pre-registration is needed. Just come in and get the vaccination.
Some people have preregistered and will get the vaccine before 7PM Thursday. Any others can be vaccinated on a first come-first served basis after 7PM Thursday. There is no charge for the vaccination.
You can help keep things moving at the clinic by downloading the form for the nasal vaccine or the form for the injectable vaccine, print it and fill it out and bring it with you.
Additional information on the clinic is on the town website at this link. The Standard Times article about the clinic can be found here.

The H1N1 flu is still around and is still a serious health risk to many. I encourage residents to become vaccinated. Thank you to the Dartmouth Board of Health, Southcoast Emergency Medical Services, Southcoast Hospitals Group, Community Nurse & Hospice Care, and the Greater New Bedford Medical Reserve Corps volunteers for manning the clinic.
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New Bedford Woods Hole ferry service

The Fall River Herald News has a story about a new ferry service that is running from New Bedford to Woods Hole. Here are the details from the article,

Each weekday, a ferry will leave New Bedford’s State Pier at 6:30 a.m. and 3:35 p.m. Another ferry will run from Woods Hole’s Steamship Authority port at 7:35 a.m. and 4:40 p.m. One-way tickets are $9.

Travel time is about an hour. I've spent an hour ...

...trying to get into a rotary on the Cape. The travel times are quite limited as you can see, but perhaps more runs will be added in the future. I can see folks from the island using the link to get to New Bedford.
What do you think about prospects of the new service? Tell us in comments.
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