Ice Storm Photos

 

Pine tree boughs after landing on my neighbor's roof and fence

 

The pine covered with ice

 

The decimated pine after the sun came out

 

An icy tree

More Ice Storm Videos

From the Worcester Telegram

Princeton, Mass., from the Metrowest News

Driving through Holden


Acton

Gardner

Our Amazing Ice Storm

In Worcester, a mess

Boston Globe Photo Gallery: Ice storm slams region

I am one of the few people in my town today with power as 350,000 in Massachusetts lost power last night in a huge ice storm. My friend L has a tree limb on her car and the windshield is smashed; her boyfriend's car's rear windshield got taken out by a limb, too. They couldn't even get to the cars to remove the limbs because of downed power lines. My next door neighbor had a tree limb fall on his roof. It sounded like a shooting gallery this morning with all the limbs breaking off and crashing with all their ice to the ground. I drove in to the Craft Center in Worcester late this afternoon and had to take 4 detours to navigate the mile between my house and Route 190. Saw cars without windows sitting in driveways, trees in front yards, and tree lined roads that looked like they had been decorated with boughs of evergreen from all the cleaned-up branches stacked in the ditches. Plus limbs are still falling off the trees as you drive along the roads, and random tree branches stick out into roadways, so it's quite scary out there. Power will not be restored completely until next week. The grocery stores and gas stations are all closed.

Video of a branch snapping while filming a TV interview:

Out Here in the Wilderness

Chester H. Hall III of Royalston displays what he believes is a wild Russian boar that was hit by a vehicle Wednesday morning on Route 2 in Shirley.

Big local news:

Worcester Telegram: Wild boar struck and killed on Rt. 2

Chester H. Hall III of Royalston was contacted to take away the carcass. Mr. Hall is known locally as a coyote hunter. He said he was offered what he was told was a pig for coyote bait.

“I went to pick up a wild pig and there was a full-blown Russian boar,” he said.

The boar was about 200 pounds, dark brown and slightly reddish in color. Mr. Hall said it looked to him like the classic image of a werewolf with a hump on its back and a long snout. The animal had tusks but they were barely visible because they were broken.

Mr. Hall said he was surprised because wild boars are not supposed to be found in Massachusetts.

“I spoke to a biologist and he said it’s only the third time he has heard of one in Massachusetts,” he said.

Mr. Hall said it is unclear where the boar may have come from. He said it might have been living in the Oxbow Wildlife area not far from where it was killed.

There are wild boar populations in New Hampshire, Vermont and Pennsylvania, but the animals are rarely seen in other parts of the Northeast.

Russian wild boars were introduced to New Hampshire in the 1890s at the 20,000-acre Corbin wild game preserve. Mr. Hall said some escaped when a fence was blown down during a hurricane.

Factory Pig Farm in Suburban Massachusetts

I'd put a picture of a pig farm here but that would PUT THE NATION AT RISK!!!!!!!!!!!!

Boston Globe: Soo-wee! ...... Phooey!
Sick of pig farm stench, Tewksbury group seeks law

900 pigs is not a family farm. This factory farm has a 500,000 gallon manure pit.

The funniest part of the story is this:

Stranger still, the exact number of pigs at the farm is apparently a poorly-kept secret. Making that figure public jeopardizes national security, state and local officials have said.

National security? Yes, the farm and state officials refuse to release the exact number of pigs on the stinky farm because information about our food supply is a state secret! They let the farm expand illegally then approved it retroactively. The whole thing smells to high heaven:

[T]hree years ago, [pig farm opponent David Powers] said, the pig stench went from bad to unbearable when Krochmal Farm expanded its pig operation before they had legal permission to do so.

It became "horrific, like the bottom of a dumpster," Powers said. "I don't think a factory farm should be in a suburban Boston neighborhood."

Powers has pieced together information about the farm, using public records searches and satellite maps. If that seems like spying, it is. Local health officials refuse to give information about the number of pigs on Krochmal Farm, saying to release that information violates Homeland Security rules protecting the secrecy of the nation's food supply.

Clement did confirm that the farm underwent an unauthorized expansion, which was approved by local officials because the building was deemed sound.

"Basically they built a new pig barn . . . without the necessary approval or building permits," she said.

That angered neighbors, and the town ultimately fined the Cave family for building the barn without proper construction permits. Powers said was deeply disturbing to think that the town's pig farms could expand without public notice.

More than 300 people signed a petition in favor of the new pig regulations that would penalize pig farmers who threaten the environment and quality of life. Of particular concern is whether manure runoff from the farm will seep into wetlands.

"Everybody knew there was a pig farm" in the neighborhood when they moved in, Powers said. "Nobody knew they would turn it into a factory farm."

Some moronic state official calls the factory farm "state of the art". State of the corporate farm, maybe, not so great for the neighbors, or the pigs (a 500,000 manure pit must be worse when you live next to it.)

It's a view state officials have little sympathy for. Scott Soares, assistant commissioner of agricultural resources, said the Krochmal pig barn is "state of the art." Neighbors should have questioned whether the pig population would rise before moving there, he said.

Yes, a state official says that neighbors should have assumed that the farm would expand illegally and the state would retroactively approve the lawbreaking. Lawlessness must be expected in modern corporate America.

More at TewksburyOdor.com

It's Official

wikipedia: Historian John Boswell claims the 4th century Christian martyrs Saint Sergius and Saint Bacchus were united in the rite of adelphopoesis, or brother-making, which he calls an early form of religious same-sex marriage
[Who knew? -truth]


I live in the most progressive state in the nation! Today the Massachusetts State Senate repealed a 1913 law that prevented gay and lesbian couples from other states from getting married here.

And yes, despite (or perhaps because of) our embrace of gay marriage, Massachusetts still has the lowest divorce rate in the nation (2.4 per 1000 population).

Boston Globe: Senate passes repeal of 1913 marriage law

Cool

Cape Cod Times
Sue Hayden holds an arrowhead that she found on Menauhant Beach, and which an archaeologist at the Robbins Museum in Middleboro dates to before the birth of Jesus.Cape Cod Times/Paul Blackmore

Boston Globe: Beachcomber finds ancient arrowhead

FALMOUTH, Mass.—A Falmouth woman out walking on a local beach found what she at first thought was a curiously shaped stone.

It turned out to be much more.

The diamond-shaped rock Sue Hayden picked up on Menauhant Beach turned out to be an ancient arrowhead at least 2,000 years old.

Jeff Boudreau of the Massachusetts Archeological Society in Middleborough says the stone is an Early Woodland Indian arrowhead from the Rossville Era that is between 2,000 and 2,700 years old.

Deval Patrick, Environmentalist

(Mark Wilson/Globe Staff and Dave Fuller)

Two young bald eagles have a panoramic view of the Quabbin Reservoir from their nest, one of eight there. Photographer Mark Wilson handed a preset camera to state wildlife technician Dave Fuller, who carried it up a tree and clicked the shutter.

This is why I voted for Deval Patrick for governor. While the Boston Herald reports nothing but his spending to upgrade his offices (what did Mitt Romney care about his offices, he was NEVER IN THIS STATE. Grrrrr.) this is the kind of positive change we expect from Governor Patrick.

Boston Globe: Eagles getting assistance, but still endangered

Governor Deval Patrick banded two five-week-old bald eagles today, assisting in the effort to keep track of the endangered birds.

“I am so proud that our restoration program has helped keep these magnificent birds soaring over our Commonwealth,” Patrick said in a statement.

NYTimes: Massachusetts Law to Manage and Protect Ocean Waters

BOSTON — Gov. Deval Patrick signed into law Wednesday a measure that will establish the nation’s first management and protection plan for a state’s ocean waters.

The law sets ground rules for all offshore projects and businesses, including energy ventures and conservation areas that lie in state waters. The state controls all water within three miles of the coast, about 1.6 million acres of water.

Lawrence Eagle-Tribune: Creating 'green collar' jobs: Massachusetts groups striving for stronger position in environmental market

[I]n Massachusetts, Gov. Deval Patrick and House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi have been promoting their own green initiatives, which would dedicate $100 million over the next five years to clean-energy research and business development.

[]

Quincy Vale, president and CEO of PowerHouse Enterprises, a Lawrence company that designs environmentally friendly modular homes, said in the past, former Gov. Mitt Romney "said the right things" but didn't back up his words with funding. Gov. Patrick's administration, however, "gets it. Patrick has shown a lot more action," Vale said.

Good News

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama smiled as he received Kennedy's endorsement in January. Kennedy, accompanied by members of his family, gave this [sic] support and has campaigned heavily for the Illinois senator.
(Globe Photo)

Boston Globe: Kennedy has 'successful' surgery
3-hour procedure at Duke Medical Center targets tumor; doctor says goals achieved

Prayers For Ted

(Susan Walsh/AP)
Kennedy at work in the Senate earlier this month.
NYTimes: Kennedy Having Surgery for Tumor

Mr. Kennedy said in the statement that he and his wife Vicki, “along with my outstanding team of doctors at Massachusetts General Hospital, have consulted with experts from around the country and have decided that the best course of action for my brain tumor is targeted surgery followed by chemotherapy and radiation.”

He said that, “after completing treatment, I look forward to returning to the United States Senate and to doing everything I can to help elect Barack Obama as our next president.”

I am glad to hear that he is having surgery: operable is always better than inoperable.

Hang in there, Senator Kennedy.

Sign Get Well E-Card to Senator Kennedy

moveon.org: Get Well Soon, Senator Kennedy

Ted Kennedy, Living His Own Words

[A] good and decent man, who saw wrong and tried to right it, saw suffering and tried to heal it, saw war and tried to stop it.

- Edward M. Kennedy
Address at the Public Memorial Service for Robert F. Kennedy


Boston Globe: Legions he aided now praise Kennedy
Ordinary people recall his extraordinary help

Kennedy is best known as a legislative powerhouse, a tireless legend at courting allies and cutting deals, and as the battle-scarred face of the nation's most famous political family. But out of the spotlight and behind the scenes, his constituents say, the senior senator and his staff have cut through red tape to change countless individual lives, advocating for even the narrowest personal needs with a ferocity and attention to detail that still inspires awe in those on the receiving end decades later.

Few causes, it seems, have been too small to warrant his aid, be it helping an Ethiopian maintenance man seek immigration papers for his family; encouraging the activism of a young diabetes patient from Plymouth; or calling top officials in the military to stop a Westford stepmother from being deployed to Iraq.

As the well-loved senator begins his fight against brain cancer, people who have benefited from his service said they are praying for the recovery of a man who heard their cries and answered when it seemed impossible amid the din of politics.

Gotta Love Ted

Senator Edward M. Kennedy and his wife, Victoria, stood yesterday at the helm of the schooner Mya at the Hyannis Port Yacht Club. "It's really nice to see him out there doing what he loves . . . I'm sure it's good tonic," Senator John F. Kerry remarked. (Matthew J. Lee/Globe Staff)

Boston Globe: Showing resolve to fight, a family takes to the sea
In hospital bed, senator talked about sailing

Senator Kennedy Diagnosed with Malignant Brain Tumor

(Bill Greene/Globe Staff)
Senator Kennedy was joined in a Mass. General solarium today by his son Patrick; stepson Curran Raclin; son Edward M. Kennedy Jr.; daughter Kara Kennedy; and wife, Victoria.
Fuck.

Boston Globe: Sen. Edward Kennedy diagnosed with brain tumor; prognosis seen as poor

US Senator Edward M. Kennedy, the veteran lawmaker from Massachusetts who is the last surviving brother in the legendary Kennedy family, has been diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor, his doctors said today.

[]

The usual course of treatment for the tumor -- a malignant glioma -- includes combinations of various forms of radiation and chemotherapy, Dr. Lee Schwamm, vice chairman of the neurology department at the hospital, and Dr. Larry Ronan, Kennedy's primary care physician, said in a statement.

The doctors said decisions regarding the best course of treatment for the 76-year-old senator would be determined after further testing and analysis.

But other specialists said that the diagnostic details released by the hospital indicated that Kennedy has terminal brain cancer and most likely less than three years to live -- perhaps much less.

"Unfortunately, it's a really serious tumor," said Dr. Patrick Wen, clinical director for neuro-oncology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Mass. General's description of the tumor as a malignant glioma probably means the tumor is at stage 3 or 4 on a four-point scale of severity, with 4 the most serious, Wen said.

"The average survival for a Grade 4 tumor is 14 or 15 months," he said. "For a Grade 3 tumor, it's two to three years. Unfortunately, the older you are, the worse it is. The biology of the tumor is worse, it's more aggressive."

Mass. General did not mention any plan to operate to remove the tumor, and specialists say that is probably because it is located in an area of the brain, the left parietal lobe, with many important functions, including speech and language. Tumors in this region can affect the ability to understand spoken and written words.

Good News

Boston Globe: Ted Kennedy conscious, talking, after hospitalization for seizures

Get well Senator Kennedy.

Senator Kennedy Hospitalized

Cape Cod Times: Sen. Kennedy falls ill; taken to Boston hospital by helicopter

Senator Kennedy was taken by ambulance to Cape Cod Hospital at 8:30 this morning; two hours later he was medivac'ed to Mass. General Hospital. The photographs in this Cape Cod Times article appear to show a bag-valve mask being used to assist in breathing; never a good sign.

I always think of Ted Kennedy as "Uncle Ted" which is what a friend who worked for him as a staffer used to call him. He's been my Senator my entire voting life. Hang in there Uncle Ted.

Senator Kennedy had successful surgery for a partially blocked neck artery in October.

Cali Catching Up With Massachusetts

Supreme Court of California

NYTimes: California Supreme Court Overturns Gay Marriage Ban

Here's the actual opinion (pdf): In Re MARRIAGE CASES [Six consolidated appeals]

Massachusetts Eagle Count: 71

Wildlife officials counted 71 bald eagles across the state yesterday, including this one in Amesbury. (DAVID L. RYAN/GLOBE STAFF)

Boston Herald: State to conduct annual census of bald eagle population

BOSTON - Wildlife officials and volunteers have spotted 71 bald eagles along state waterways during the annual count of the once-endangered birds.

That’s up from 48 birds counted in Massachusetts a year ago during the one-day, nationwide survey.

The state Division of Fisheries and Wildlife says the sighting of 27 juvenile bald eagles Wednesday is a good sign.

The biggest number of eagles, 36, were seen during a helicopter survey of the Quabbin Reservoir in Belchertown. Other sites surveyed include the Merrimack River in Newburyport and two ponds in Lakeville.

Wildlife officials say the state’s all-time high was 76 eagles counted in 1998. Only eight eagles were spotted during the first statewide survey in 1979. The population had fallen because of habitat loss, bounty hunting and reproductive failure linked to pesticides.

Boston Globe: Eagles soaring across Bay State

Good Journalism

Boston Globe: Courts strip elders of their independence
Within minutes, judges send seniors to supervised care

I was going to blog about this article as a great example of what good journalism is: finding a problem in society and exposing it to the light of day. Apparently Massachusetts courts have been shuffling old folks into guardianships without complying with legal requirements, and without caring very much about the people who are hurt by this.

Then I read the attribution at the end of the story. It's a project from a graduate seminar in journalism at Northeastern University (home of my co-op law school).

This article was reported and written for a graduate seminar in Investigative Reporting at Northeastern University by eight students: Nicholas Coates, Meghan Gargan, Jeff Kelly, Maggie Kowalski, Candice Novak, Yerina Ranjit, Amanda Smith, and Richard Thompson. Their work was overseen and this article was edited by Northeastern journalism professor Walter V. Robinson, former editor of the Globe Spotlight Team. Robinson's e-mail address is wrobinson@globe.com. Confidential messages can be left at 617-929-3334.

Seeing a piece like this gives me two reactions. One, continuing frustration with our corporate media, which concentrates so much on pointless fact-free opinionating, and so little on actual reporting. Two, happiness to see that good journalism is still being taught at schools like Northeastern. I look forward to seeing the bylines of these reporters in the future.