Good Morning Gloucester

An update from the City of Gloucester website:

CITY HALL REOPENING TUESDAY JULY 21:  Gloucester City Hall and the City Hall Annex will reopen to the public on Tuesday, July 21, after closing to the public in March due to COVID-19. Residents are encouraged to continue to conduct city business online where possible or to call ahead for an appointment. Due to staggered staff schedules and limited office occupancy, wait times may be significantly increased for in-person services. Depending on volume, socially distanced queuing may be required outside of the building. Walk-ins are welcome, but those with appointments will be given priority. All visitors will need to check in upon arrival and provide their name, phone number and the department they are visiting. If needed, this information will be used for contact tracing efforts. Visitors will also be asked to use hand sanitizer before proceeding to a department for service.

Additional notifications regarding 2020 beach stickers and Vote by Mail also listed there, so check them out.  Small steps moving forward. Keep up the good work with masks and distancing.

CB (crystal ball) enjoys the summer as much as we all do and is happy to get back to some of her favorite spots: Eastern Point, the dock and the back shore.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CChTrIFnArT/?igshid=vjib6f8qoa5c

An incredible day for whalewatchers; however, a not so good day to be a sand eel! What an awe-inspiring afternoon we had today watching 5 adult humpback whales blow bubble nets and open mouth feed! As Mystery, Sprinkles, Echo’s 2014 calf, Bounce and Milkweed were busy feeding; Bounce and Milkweed’s calves were playing at the surface. The calves were practicing blowing bubbles of their own then swimming though the middle of them; as well as, tail breaching, full breaching and flipper slapping!

415 Main St
Gloucester, Massachusetts 01930
(978) 283-5110
www.seethewhales.com

I hope when/if baseball, hockey, football starts that the commentators focus on the sports instead of COVID

This is the fifth book authored by TIA President Emeritus Paul St. Germain. As a local historian he has detailed the rich history of this unique New England treasure and the efforts to preserve both its structures and natural history. He begins a thousand years ago when Indians summered there, moves to its discovery by famous explorers Samuel de Champlain and Captain John Smith in the seventeenth century, then to the fishermen, shipwrecks, and piracy around the island. From1835 to 1935, three lighthouses were built, all with fascinating stories of the keepers and their families. The island was opened to the public for the first time in 180 years in 2019 thanks to the efforts of the Thacher Island Association and Mass Audubon Society. This is the first book written about the complete history of Straitsmouth Island.

$25.00 includes shipping                

Go to the Thacher Island web site at www.thacherisland.org/product/saving-straitsmouth-island/  to order.