Great Blue Herons

Driving by Clark Pond on Monday, noticed this beautiful Heron and then saw two more playing with ducks.  The photo with the ducks is grainy due to the sun right in my lens.

Write a letter to the FCC to support 1623 Studios (Cape Ann TV) community media

New rules may be implemented with the FCC that could decimate funding to local community television. You still have time to weigh in with public comments today and tomorrow. See below for a current 2018 update and easy how-tos for public comments. (You can read more about  the FCC history and cape ann tv leading up to 1623 studios in a prior 2016 post.)

Erich Archer says thanks and please feel free to share:

LETTER TEMPLATES & HOW TO FILE COMMENTS BY 11/14/18

You can submit a comment to the FCC before November 15th with these steps:

  1. Go to this link: https://www.fcc.gov/ecfs/search/proceedings?q=name:((05-311))
  2. Click on ‘+ Express ‘
  3. Fill in your information and send

You can also the template found here. You can find other sample letters you can get from local lawmakers about the rulemaking to enter into the record. Let us know if you have questions!


BACKGROUND

The FCC’s “Further Notice of Proposed Rule Making (FNPRM) on Cable Franchising” was published in the Federal Register on October 15. This means that the deadline for comments will be November 14. This proposed Rule seeks to redefine and place a value on cable franchise obligations that have been traditionally defined as “In-Kind” (backhaul of signal, IPG, possibly our PEG channels themselves). The result would be to charge these “expenses” back against the franchise fee and essentially undermine the intent of the Cable Act. The national impact on PEG Access and local municipalities could be devastating. 

LATEST UPDATES

US Senator Edward Markey of Massachusetts knows community media and why it exists. He was on the House committee that helped enact the 1984 Cable Act that supported PEG across the United States. That’s why he’s outraged at the actions of the Federal Communications Commission to destabilize communities in its FNPRM on Cable Franchsing.

Among other things, the rulemaking proposes to define “in-kind” support so broadly it will allow cable companies to deduct just about ANY support against franchise fees – thus defunding municipalities AND community television.

Senator Markey is trying to organize Democratic US Senators to support a letter to the FCC disapproving of the proposed rulemaking. ACM wants to thank him for the effort. He’s been a champion of our cause for many years! Here are the Senators who so far have agreed to sign on to the Markey letter:

  • Senator Tammy Baldwin (WI)
  • Senator Ben Cardin (MD)
  • Senator Maggie Hassan (NH)
  • Senators Gary Peters and Debbie Stabenow (MI)
  • Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden (OR)
  • Senator Bernie Sanders (VT)

We want to thank all the ACM members who’ve been contacting their US Senators about signing on, but we need more! Please contact your US Senator about joining Senator Markey’s effort to oppose the FNPRM. You may notice some Democratic Senators who are not on the list!

If you need assistance or background information about the FNPRM, please contact Mike Wassenaar by email at mwassenaar@allcommunitymedia.org.

20161026_© c ryan Cape Ann TV Gloucester MA

Please support O’Maley Academy After School Program!!!!

Please support O’Maley Academy After School Program!!!!

O’Maley Academy Invites you 
..

Please join us at Jalapenos on Wednesday, November14th!!!!

Fun starts around 5:00!

10% of all food purchases go DIRECTLY to O’Maley Academy After School Program!!!!

If you can’t join us grab some take out! That works too!

We hope to see you all there!!!!!

 

Who Wore it Better?

Something happened over the weekend that made me remember that I snapped these photos at Stone’s Pub right around Halloween.

Freddy and I happened to be sitting at the bar for a quick bite when one of Stone’s patrons came in dressed as, none other than, Stone’s bartender Jamie.

Nice job.  He did, in fact, shave his head and dye his beard to complete the outfit along with donning the Stone’s Pub t-shirt and jeans.

UnknownUnknown-1

Critters at Parker River

Here’s some of the wonderful wildlife we saw at the Parker River National Wilidlife Refuge last week. Although it may have seemed quiet at the refuge, the critters just go about their business as usual.  We enjoy our trips to Parker River and I do plan to renew my membership.

IMG_7915

Bird watchers in the vicinity told me this is a Cooper’s Hawk.

IMG_7964

I was surprised to find the Great Blue Heron.

IMG_8083

Well The Blog Redesign Had Been In The Works For Weeks. I Hope You All Like It

newface

We’re coming up on 11 years and I don’t want to rest on our laurels. It was time to freshen up.  Some of the things added are the podcast preview clips which are a lot of fun (to me anyway).  We now have a larger header with rotating photos from this past year (many of which are in the new calendar).

It’s a cleaner design, less blocky and has an easier to read font.

Piece by piece I agonized over changing things but I think you, our readers will benefit and ultimately that’s what makes me happy.

Do me a favor, even if you hate it, lie to me and tell me it’s great.  I don’t want to have to do another redesign for a while. 😉

If you’re reading this it means you’ve figured out you scroll down to the content.  Hoping some of the less savvy folks don’t just hit the full screen landing page and freak out, not knowing they should scroll down.

 

Coffin’s Beach By The Numbers

Kenny MacCarthy's avatarCape Ann Home

Click here for video and a ride into the “private section” of Wingaersheek, rka (really known as) Coffin’s Beach. See the homes that sold as well as the ones that didn’t.

WIA map small

Prepared by McDermott & MacCarthy of Gibson Sotheby’s International Realty. Visit CapeAnnWaterfrontGuide.com for your free waterfront report as well as a copy of the map.

 

 

View original post

My Friend Mike Codair Installed Solar With Cazeault. Any Guesses as To What His Electric Bill Is?- ZERO!

codairsolar

He was so excited when he got his bill with an actual credit he sent me a photo.

You can sit there and do nothing and pay a ridiculous amount of money for electricity in your house or you can help the environment and pay yourself by getting solar installed.

Fill out the form and I’ll have lifelong Gloucester resident Tim Sanborn from Cazeault call you to go over your options for free.

 

← Back

Thank you for your response. ✹

Tim’s company installed mine, Tim’s company installed Marcy Plante’s, Tim’s Company installed Northeast Cleaner’s, Tim’s Company installed Preferred Autobody, Tim’s Company installed Sash Ludwig and Craig Dulong’s From Lanesville, Tim’s Company has installed over 250 solar systems on Cape Ann and you know what every single one of them say?  That it was the best decision they ever made on their home.

WHISMY AND WONDERMENT AT THE PRESENT GLOUCESTER GRAND OPENING!

Present Gloucester Artists Jess Damargin, Amanda Cook, Britton Davis, Mary Rhinelander, Liz Gramnas, Michele Del Vecchio, and Pam Lally

Beautiful, beautiful handmade wonderments can be found at Present Gloucester. Located this year at 186 Main Street, the open, sunny space is perfect for showcasing the whimsical, and often nature-inspired, gifts. You’ll find holiday ornaments, clothing, jewelry, original prints, hats, mittens, dolls and doll clothes, tree toppers, colorful yarn, teacup-sized decor, seahorses, and much, much more. Come do your shopping at Present Gloucester and be swept into the holiday spirit with magical fancy and imagination.

 

FUNNY LITTLE RUDDY DUCKS MIGRATING ALONG OUR SHORES!

Hey wait for me! – Doesn’t she look like she is running to catch a train 🙂

A flock of a dozen male and female Ruddy Ducks were recently spotted on Cape Ann, foraging at fresh water ponds and the marsh. They are really quite funny to watch as they dive for insects, other invertebrates, and aquatic plants and seeds. The males are especially fun and show-offy, animatedly puffing out their chest and fanning their feathers.

Ruddy Ducks are about the same size as Buffleheads and you will often seem them together in mixed flocks during the winter months.

CAPE ANN SYMPHONY HOLIDAY POPS

THE 67th SEASON

Yoichi Udagawa, Music Director

CAPE ANN SYMPHONY HOLIDAY POPS

A Festive Musical Celebration for

Orchestra and Chorus

Featuring

The Cape Ann Symphony Chorus,

The Ipswich High School Chamber Singers &

The Manchester-Essex Regional High School Select Chorus

The Cape Ann Symphony’s Annual Holiday Pops Concert, kicks off the holiday season on Saturday, November 24 at 2 pm at the Dolan Performing Arts Center at Ipswich High School on 134 High Street, Ipswich, MA; Saturday, November 24 at 7:30 pm and Sunday, November 25 at 2 pm at Manchester-Essex High School auditorium on 36 Lincoln Street in Manchester-by-the-Sea, MA with a joyful program of music from Strauss, Anderson, Mozart, Waldteufel, Vivaldi, Tchaikovsky and many others.  The 2018 Holiday Pops concert led by CAS Conductor and Music Director Yoichi Udagawa features the return of the Cape Ann Symphony Chorus under the direction of Rockport’s Wendy Betts; the CAS debut of Ipswich High School Chamber Singers and the Manchester-Essex Regional High School Select Chorus; as well as the conducting debut of CAS’s inaugural Conducting Fellow Ipswich’s Michael Coelho. A holiday tradition, the Cape Ann Symphony Holiday Pops Concerts regularly sell out. According to Cape Ann Symphony Board President Magnolia’s Fran White, “Last year’s Holiday Pops Concerts were complete sell outs so this year we added a third performance in our new performance venue in Ipswich. This year the Sunday November 25 matinee in Manchester has already sold out, but we still have tickets available for the matinee in Ipswich and the evening concert in Manchester. This is such an exciting year with the special guests from Ipswich, Manchester and Essex making their CAS debut and joining the orchestra and the Cape Ann Symphony Chorus on the stage. I would suggest getting tickets to the remaining concerts on Saturday afternoon in Ipswich and Saturday night in Manchester soon!” The Cape Ann Symphony Chorus and Orchestra joined by the Ipswich High School Chamber Singers on Saturday, November 24 at 2 pm at the Dolan Performing Arts Center at Ipswich High School on 134 High Street, Ipswich, MA; and joined by the Manchester-Essex Regional High School Select Chorus on Saturday, November 24 at 7:30 pm and Sunday, November 25 at 2 pm at Manchester-Essex High School auditorium on 36 Lincoln Street in Manchester-by-the-Sea, MA  perform a wide selection of holiday favorites ending the festive concerts with the annual audience sing-along. Single ticket prices are $43 for adults, $38 for senior citizens, $15 for Students of any age; $5 for youth 12 years old and under. For tickets and information, call 978-281-0543 or visit www.capeannsymphony.org.

Cape Ann Symphony Conductor and Music Director Yoichi Udagawa is looking forward to this year’s Holiday Pops Concert, ““

Continue reading “CAPE ANN SYMPHONY HOLIDAY POPS”

SENDING LOVE AND PRAYERS TO THE HANK JUNKER FAMILY

Sending much love and all our prayers to Judy, Marissa, Alexis and all the Junkers for the loss of their beloved husband and grandfather.

Henry “Hank” Juncker III

October 06, 1933 – October 11, 2018

Gloucester, MA – Henry Juncker, III, 85, beloved husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather, passed away on Thursday, October 11, at the Wolfeboro Bay Center, in Wolfeboro, N.H.
He was born in the Bronx, New York City, N.Y. to the late Henry Juncker, Jr. and Elna (Christensen) Juncker. Hank attended New York Public schools, graduating from Stuyvesant High School, and then studied at Brown University on a NROTC scholarship. It was there that he met his future wife Judy, a student at Pembroke College; they would marry in 1958.
Upon graduation from Brown in 1955, Ensign Juncker (USNR) deployed for cruises in the Mediterranean and Caribbean Seas, serving on the ammunition ship USS Great Sitkin (AE-17) as a gunnery and deck officer. He was honorably discharged from active service in 1957, with the rank of LT. (j.g.), and continued in reserve service thru 1960.
Following his service, Henry pursued graduate studies at Columbia University, earning a master’s degree in Education. His first teaching position was at Lakeland High School in upstate New York, where he and Judy discovered they missed the ocean, so he applied for several positions closer to the coast. He eventually interviewed with Paul Walsh from Marblehead Public Schools, who hired him to teach in Marblehead, Mass., where he would serve in multiple roles for 50+ years. Henry retired in 2014 as a highly respected educator, teaching and mentoring students and younger colleagues alike.
Henry was an active member of the Annisquam Village Church, serving many years as clerk, teaching Sunday school, and singing in the choir. He was also a long time member of the Chorus North Shore.
Hank is survived by his wife of 60 years, Judith, and the family was blessed earlier this summer to have been able to celebrate that union while he was still well. He is also survived by three children (Kristian, Sr. and his wife Cindy; Deene and his wife Jennifer Jensen; Betsy and her husband Karl Bujold); six grandchildren (Kristian, Jr. and his wife Jessica; Courtney Tranos; Arrienne Andrus and her husband Sean; Erik and his wife Vicki; Alexis DiGregorio; Marisa DiGregorio), and six great-grandchildren (Michael Johnson; Christopher Tranos Jr; Elias Tranos; Declan Andrus; Keelin Andrus; Claire Juncker). In addition, Henry is survived by his younger sister Elna Hickson and her husband Lloyd of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.In keeping with his wishes there is no funeral, but all are invited to a celebration of Henry’s life at 2 p.m. on Saturday, November 17 at the Annisquam Village Church, 820 Washington St, in Gloucester. Family and friends are cordially invited to a reception at the Annisquam Village Hall directly after the service.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent in his memory to Marblehead Dollars for Scholars, PO Box 4, Marblehead, MA 01945.

Holiday Fair at the Magnolia Library Center

The Women’s Community Club of Magnolia always has a great Holiday Fair. Hope to see you there. There will be many great talented artists there. Come on by.

 

1 Lexington Avenue, Magnolia, Gloucester, MA

Last night, #USCG Air Station #CapeCod medevaced a sick fisherman off the fishing boat Generation