WAREHAM — Carol Reynolds scooped up handfuls of cranberries from the conveyor belt that was moving hundreds of thousands of pounds of the fruit from the bogs to a truck and offered them to the crowd nearby.

Reynolds, who works for A.D. Makepeace Co., started ticking off statistics as dozens crowded along the edge of the bog, watching workers wade into chest-high water and use rakes and booms to move the red patch of berries into a machine that sucked the fruits onto the conveyor belt, which then dumped the produce into the bed of a large truck that holds 500,000 pounds of the berries. story continues..

BOSTON — Some Massachusetts towns have given up enforcing a law that decriminalized the possession of small amounts of marijuana, saying the law is written with too many loopholes to be effective.

The law established a civil fine of $100 for those caught with an ounce or less of marijuana. That replaced what had been a criminal offense carrying a maximum penalty of six months in jail and a $500 fine, also for possession of an ounce or less of the drug. story continues..

LEWISTON — Maine's effort to become a world leader in deep-water, offshore wind power took one of its bigger steps forward in July.

A University of Maine task force is in the process of reviewing pre-qualification questionnaires from 11 engineering and design firms from around the world. Story continues..

BOSTON (AP) - Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry is docking his family's new $7 million yacht in neighboring Rhode Island, allowing him to avoid paying roughly $500,000 in taxes to the cash-strapped Bay State.

If the "Isabel" were kept at the 2008 Democratic presidential nominee's summer vacation home on Nantucket, or in Boston Harbor near his city residence, he would be liable for $437,500 in one-time sales tax. He would also have to pay $70,000 in annual excise taxes. story continues..

Peterson's Market in Yarmouthport hit by car.
Car crashes through Yarmouthport Supermarket- Worker Injured

Driver runs car into Yarmouthport market

Vehicle hits Peterson's Market in Yarmouthport

I know most everybody there... Welcome to my neighborhood!

SANDWICH - Winter has its Groundhog Day, so why not a Quahog Day in summer?

For the second year in a row, Cape Cod will stage a salute to the quahog on Monday, the first day of summer. The quahog — which is alternately pronounced in several ways including KWOH’-hog and KOH’-hog — is an edible, hard-shelled mollusk found along the eastern U.S. coast. story continues..

The Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles is holding its annual low-number license plate lottery.
The agency is putting 179 of the coveted plates up for grabs this year, including R12, F17 and 55A. story continues

PORTLAND, Maine — Troopers are stepping up traffic enforcement over the Memorial Day weekend. But that’s not the only reason motorists across the region should slow down.

Spring’s arrival has sent moose onto roadways, causing a spate of crashes including one that killed a man on one of Maine’s busiest highways, Interstate 295. The problems are most acute at night, when the moose are active and their dark color makes them nearly invisible to motorists. Story continues..

CONCORD — It seemed like a good idea to many residents, at least last week, before much of the surrounding area experienced the equivalent of an aquatic apocalypse.

Less than 48 hours before a ruptured water main cut the supply of potable water to about 2 million people in the Boston area, local residents voted to ban all sales of bottled water, an unprecedented measure in the country meant to spur other municipalities to reduce the rising amount of plastic clogging the nation’s streets and landfills. story continues..

By JAY LINDSAY
Associated Press Writer
AP Photo/Peter Dejong

BOSTON (AP) -- The Obama administration has approved what would be the nation's first offshore wind farm, off Cape Cod, inching the U.S. closer to harvesting an untapped domestic energy source - the steady breezes blowing along its vast coasts.

The marchers want to call attention to the double standard in society's attitudes toward male and female nudity.
PORTLAND – About two dozen women marched topless from Longfellow Square to Tommy's Park this afternoon in an effort to erase what they see as a double standard on male and female nudity. see more..

By Gwenn Friss
gfriss@capecodonline.com
February 27, 2010
HYANNIS – Although she's sold 100 million records, including 15 that went gold, Patti Page blushed yesterday when Barnstable assistant town manager Thomas Lynch referred to her by her old nickname, “Patti Page, The Singing Rage.”

Singling out Page's 1957 hit “Old Cape Cod,” in which she sings about sand dunes, lobster stew and falling in love, Lynch said, “We hope when you think of the song, you think of us, because a piece of us is with you in that song.”
Rest of story

PORTLAND, Maine — A retired Maine businessman thought he was helping the local economy in 2005 when he spent more than $100,000 in Portland on repairs to his 72-foot luxury yacht, newly purchased in Florida. Now he's feeling cheated.

A man who acts as a mascot for the New England Patriots is among 14 people who have been arrested for prostitution-related crimes in Rhode Island since a new law went into effect that banned indoor prostitution.

The bill signed into law in November made prostitution a misdemeanour crime regardless of where it occurs.

A career trooper who worked her way through the ranks and helped launch the state’s Amber Alert system to track abducted children was tapped yesterday to head the Massachusetts State Police, making her the first woman in the department’s 144-year history to hold the job.
Dressed in full uniform, Marian J. McGovern smiled broadly as Governor Deval Patrick announced her appointment as superintendent during a press conference in his office. He said she has held nearly every job in the department and “has the vision and the preparation to take the State Police to new heights.’’ story continues..

Residents in this small Maine town embrace Amish neighbors and their belief in leading a simple life
UNITY, Maine - The land was gorgeous. Pastures bounded by forests and overlooked by the distant Dixmont hills.

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..