Day: April 20, 2023

Hi Joey ,

Cathy Kelly ,who is the Director of Education  at Cape Ann Museum , and I introduced my book “ Exploring Gloucester” this morning at CAM.  Cathy is also the amazing designer of the book . 

“ Exploring Gloucester “ is an alphabet book which covers everything you would want to see and do in Gloucester. GMG is , of course , in the book ! 

The children listened to the story of how the book was put together and then were given their own alphabet books to fill out as they toured the Museum . They had a great time.

The same program will be repeated again on Thursday from 10:30-12.

Thank Joey !

Alice

Oak To Ember: Opening for lunch friday, saturday and sunday (hours coming soon) starting FRIDAY, April 28th. and if the weatha allows, join us on the deck

9 Rogers St

Gloucester MA

Moody Blues…

One lane is open on the new Essex bridge! They may be on schedule for the target date April 24!

Magnolia Café is looking for motivated individuals to join our team! We are now hiring for line cooks & front of house staff.

To apply send us an email here on FB or send your resume to info@mymagcafe.com

Sent to me by Janelle Cusick here’s the link

Hi. I am Lori-ann and I am a friend of Mike Carter. Many of you know Mike as a hometown staple in Gloucester. Born and raised here, he was the youngest of the 7 Carter children. A devout Catholic, he can be found many Sundays at Our Lady of Good Voyage church. I met Mike when I was just a young girl acting in Nan Webber’s productions through Theater in the Pines out of Rockport. Mike was involved in many of the plays and became part of that crew. He has always been a kind soul willing to help whenever needed, but now Mike desperately needs the community to step in and help him out. A few years back, Mike fell for the love of his life and moved away from his beloved hometown to Rockland where he could be with her. He quickly found a job driving for a transportation company and could do what he loves to do most; make other people smile. Things were going great until recently. Mike’s girlfriend was losing her mother. Although Mike did everything he could to lighten the stress on his girlfriend, she lost her mother anyway and her grieving process began. As the stress of that loss settled in for the couple, Mike found himself sick with what he thought was the flu. As the days went on, Mike became sicker and sicker. His girlfriend continued to plan for her mother’s funeral but Mike could not shake this bug. He became delirious and his girlfriend called for 9-1-1. Mike was rushed to a nearby hospital where he was diagnosed with Meningitis and placed in the intensive care unit where he fought for his life. Mike spent the next 3 weeks inpatient between the hospital and then a subsequent nursing and rehab home. During his stay, he was notified by doctors that his girlfriend would not be coming to visit. She had called and asked the doctors to remove her as the emergency contact as she decided she no longer wanted to continue the relationship. As Mike’s physical health improved, his mental health suffered greatly. Mike now had no home to be discharged to and was being told his insurance would no longer continue to pay for his care. The last 24 hours in the nursing home, Mike spent calling every lead he had for a new place to live back home and a job that would be close by. His large family has all since passed away. With no parents or siblings to lean on for help, Mike looked to his friends for relief. A generous friend was able to pay for an extended stay at a vacation rental to buy him some time. He has been actively applying for jobs and calling agencies for help but only has one week left to vacate the rental. Mike wants nothing more than to come back to the city he loves and to start over with the people he cares most about, but he can’t do this without help. I am hoping to raise enough to get Mike started in a place of his own back in Gloucester. No amount is too little. Be it $1.00 or $1000. Whatever you can give will help get Mike a bed and a few meals and help keep him off the streets.

We enjoyed watching Wizard, Amanda May and Joy Frances come in a couple of days ago. I noticed Amanda May crew included children and a dog so that was fun to see. The captains all waved and seemed to be in good spirits so I hope they had good luck out there.

As the Sawyer Free 2025 Capital Campaign to fund the renovation and expansion of Cape Ann’s oldest public library enters its second year, Earth Day on April 22  arrives at a time when public libraries are driving efforts to educate, address and invest in climate resilience, climate justice and climate change infrastructure. Not coincidentally, the architectural design principles of Sawyer Free 2025 reflect a building that will stand as an exemplar of carbon consciousness and climate action.

The library is committed to reducing both the health and environmental impacts of global air pollution and climate change. The new facility’s green design and building plans will limit its carbon footprint during and after construction. Embedding climate resilience into the local community is emblematic of Sawyer Free 2025’s overall mission to put people first.

“In Gloucester, about 60 percent of greenhouse gas emissions come from the built environment,” said Gemma Wilkens, sustainability coordinator for the City of Gloucester. “Although a much smaller portion of that comes from the city’s buildings specifically—about two percent—each new building here represents the potential to transform the way we fuel and operate the built environment for a greener future.”

Many architectural elements of Sawyer Free 2025 will minimize environmental impact and ensure the facility’s sustainability throughout its lifespan. Maintaining the 1976 building’s facade will significantly reduce construction emissions of CO2 by preserving large amounts of existing concrete. The project will also utilize a grade of plywood that doesn’t off-gas greenhouse emissions and will build in systems that can harvest thousands of gallons of rainwater for irrigation.

Conservation measures will extend to the Sawyer Free 2025 landscape design. Such upgrades will include the use of indigenous plant species that are resistant to disease and bugs and won’t overconsume soil or water because they are appropriate for the regional climate. Groundcover will be planted instead of grass wherever possible, eliminating the need for lawn-mowing, herbicides, fertilizers and artificial irrigation.

A rooftop solar panel array is the cornerstone of the new library’s plan to become the first net-zero emissions public building on Cape Ann, thus placing its carbon footprint among the best one percent of public libraries in the Commonwealth. The renovation and addition will be served by common building systems designed for efficient consumption, energy generation and storage, and water use.

These steps by the library to future-proof and adapt will mitigate greenhouse gas production. The role of the built environment in tackling the global climate crisis is fundamental to sustainability action. According to the U.S. Green Building Council, occupied buildings account for nearly 40 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions. That figure does not factor in other infrastructure and activities associated with those structures, for example, commuting to and from them.

As respected, resource-laden community centers, libraries are well positioned to mobilize citizens to learn about climate change and take action—at home, in our towns and cities and around the world. Sawyer Free 2025’s design principles seamlessly align with the American Library Association’s Resilient Communities initiative, which helps libraries engage their communities in programs and conversations that address the climate crisis.

“I deeply believe that libraries are an important place where we can invest in climate change infrastructure, climate resilience and climate justice,” says Sawyer Free Library patron and Gloucester resident Lenore Maniaci. “Think about the many ways libraries can help communities prepare for and be served during extreme weather events. These impact all residents regardless of age, income level, housing or any other factor. The new Sawyer Library will help build a future that protects and supports the next generation.”

Sawyer Free Library’s cultivation of hands-on programming, community dialogue and resources in the realm of climate awareness is well-established. The successful completion of the Sawyer Free 2025 Capital Campaign will exponentially amplify the library’s capacity to impact climate literacy by generating a 25-percent increase in annual visitors, a 25-percent increase in the number of public programs offered each month by the library and a 50-percent increase in the number of programs hosted at the library by partner agencies.

For more information about the new library or to get involved, visit sawyerfree2025.org.