BOSTON — Legislation to require state licenses for saltwater fishing in Massachusetts is on its way to Gov. Deval L. Patrick after quick approval by the Senate yesterday.

The bill would require people fishing in Massachusetts coastal waters to obtain state fishing licenses and pay fees of $15 beginning next year. story continues..

By CAPE COD TIMES
November 06, 2009

PROVINCETOWN — After a Nantucket sleigh ride off Race Point, Dave Lamoureux landed a 157-pound bluefin tuna yesterday — from his kayak.

"I fought it for about three hours," Lamoureux said. "It probably took another hour to paddle back in."

Lamoureux, a trader from Chicago and part-time Yarmouth resident, has been tilting at kayak fishing records since August. That means paddling a 12-foot-long hunk of plastic out into the open ocean and targeting tuna.
Rest of the story

THAT'S NUTS!!! I caught a tuna about that big on a 27' sailboat and it damn near killed me!

PORTLAND (NEWS CENTER) -- A 22-year-old culinary school graduate is the new Maine lobster chef of the year. Mackenzie Arrington bested two other chefs during a cook off on Portland's waterfront. The competition took place during Harvest on the Harbor, a three day food and wine festival.

Arrington, who grew up in Boothbay Harbor, won $1,000 for his dish of roasted lobster tail on braised cabbage and cornbread. story continues..

There's a video too.

Bumper crop plumps up squirrels while humans duck and cover

Fall may be New England’s most gentle season, with the weather just right, foliage bursting like fireworks, and only a faint foreboding of the coming winter gloom.
But in many parts of the region this time of year, particularly this year, the sky is falling - or at least it feels that way. Hard-shelled orbs are cracking windshields, thwacking gardeners, and tripping up joggers on their daily slog. story continues..

Swanzey woman, 92, takes giant leap to celebrate birthday
At a quick glance, 92-year-old Jane Bockstruck looks like your typical granny. She goes to Bingo, likes to crotchet and after six knee surgeries, doesn’t walk as well as she used to.

But get a glimpse of her soaring more than 13,000 feet up in the air, and you realize she’s anything but typical. story continues...

Watch the video

The Fluffernutter, a gooey combination of peanut butter and Marshmallow Fluff that has given countless children a sugar rush, is again being proposed as the state sandwich.

Massachusetts already has five official state foods, among the most in the country: the baked navy bean, corn muffin, chocolate chip cookie, Boston cream pie, and Boston cream doughnut. digest more...

Lawmakers will also hear proposals to designate "6" as the official state number.

Unreal... A few days late, sorry.

PORTLAND, Maine — Executives with FairPoint Communications Inc. will have plenty of questions to answer Wednesday when they face the utility regulatory boards from Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont — at the same time.

It's highly unusual — if not unprecedented — to have all three states' regulatory boards hold a joint meeting, but it speaks to the gravity of the situation for FairPoint, which has been plagued by ongoing order-fulfillment, customer service, billing and other problems in the three states. story continues..

CONCORD, N.H. — Put your keyboards away while driving in the Granite State, because yesterday Gov.

OTISFIELD, Maine -- Residents in a small Oxford County town saved their sole mailbox -- for now.The U.S. Postal Service considers Otisfield's sole mailbox on State Route 121 underused in a town of 1,560.
"This is essentially the post office for the town of Otisfield," Town Clerk Sharon Matthews said. story continues..

LEE -- The state is expected to close the boat ramp at Laurel Lake today, a week after a destructive and invasive species of mussel was discovered in its waters.

A spokeswoman for the state’s Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs said the ramp will be closed in an effort to contain the zebra mussels that have taken hold there. story continues..

PORTLAND -- Officials have shut down virtually the entire Maine coast to clam digging because of a widespread outbreak of red tide.

Darcie Couture of the Department of Marine Resources says the entire Maine coast is closed to clam and mussel harvesting except for two small areas of flats in eastern Maine. story continues..

MONTPELIER – Naked cyclists brought smiles to the faces of hundreds of sidewalk spectators Saturday as free-spirited riders spread a message of bike and body love.

No fewer than 42 men and women (and two appropriately clothed children) spun a well-watched path down Main Street early afternoon en route to the Statehouse. Aside from some body paint preaching the ills of oil dependency and the beauty of the bicycle, the crew for the most part bared all. See the bare facts...

Many test-takers obviously didn't get it. You answer the questions based on how you are supposed to drive. Not on how you actually do drive.

I have a hard time believing any licensed driver, even in Massachusetts, thinks "make sure the pedestrian sees you, but continue driving," could be a correct answer on any drivers test. story continues..

Take the test
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Officials say trolley driver was sending text message

An MBTA trolley operator was sending a text message to his girl-friend when he rear-ended a trolley last night in a crash that injured dozens of passengers and created a surreal scene as emergency workers set up a makeshift emergency area next to a circus tent before taking the wounded to hospitals.
"It's difficult for me to contain my outrage," said Daniel A. Grabauskas, general manager of the MBTA, who learned about the text message sent by a 24-year-old operator soon after the crash near Government Center. story continues..

The Boston Public Library is poised to sell or even give away a handful of items from its extensive special collection, as the landmark institution culls its vast holdings.
So far, the library's collections committee has discussed parting with three items, according to minutes from meetings: a Crehore piano, a series of large-scale Audubon prints, and a collection of Tichnor glass printing plates that were once used to make postcards. The library has had the Aububon prints since the mid-1800s, while the piano and glass plates were acquired in the last several years. Story continues..

SEARSBURG — The Vermont Public Service Board on Thursday issued a Certificate of Public Good to Deerfield Wind, LLC, for the construction 15 400-foot wind turbines.

The 30-megawatt facility would cover 80 acres of Green Mountain National Forest land in the towns of Searsburg and Readsboro. The project would be a geographical extension of the existing Searsburg Wind Facility, with seven turbines going up on the east side of Route 8 and eight turbines to the west. story continues..

BURLINGTON -- Ben & Jerry’s today launched a new addition to its line of Fair Trade flavors from its Vermont headquarters, along with a contest.

Chocolate Macadamia is is the newest addition to Ben & Jerry’s Fair Trade line that also includes Vanilla, Chocolate, Coffee Heath Bar, and Coffee Coffee Buzz Buzz Buzz. story continues..

From the Cape Cod Times:

By Karen Jeffrey
STAFF WRITER
March 25, 2009

HYANNIS - Time to take down the decorations - the Christmas decorations that is.

Hyannis firefighters were called to the Holiday Inn Tuesday night to extinguish a tree fire in front of the Route 132 hotel.

According to Captain William Rex, malfunctioning Christmas lights are believed to have sparked the blaze.

There were no injuries and no damage to the hotel.

»www.capecodonline.com/apps/pbcs.···1/NEWS01

The show, which debuts tonight, features the work of seven Maine brothers and their recreational pursuits.

To a TV producer, it makes perfect sense: a reality show following a logging family as it faces danger and isolation in Maine's forbidding northern woods.

"Yeah, we definitely had to think about it awhile, not being very familiar with TV," said Rudy Pelletier, one of the siblings who run Pelletier Brothers Inc. in Millinocket. "But then we decided to give it a try and see what happens."

»pressherald.mainetoday.com/story···c=PHnws