The South Coast Insider - March 2013

Fall River’s new dining hot spots

March 2013 Vol. 17 / No. 3

the south coast coastalmags.com

Medical marijuana the full story BUSINESS

Too broke for bankruptcy Quitting smart

FOOD

Perfect Portuguese soup

Wine

Older and better

Plus

South Coast activities

Same house, new bank.

Same business, new bank.

And, that new bank is a Credit Union – St. Anne’s!

Trahan’s Trees and Shrubs in East Freetown is more than just trees and shrubs! For over two decades, the company has been providing total grounds services to local homeowners and businesses throughout the SouthCoast.

Since the company began in 1988, Trahan’s had been a big bank customer. But that all changed when they met Linda Morad, Senior Business Development Specialist at St. Anne’s Credit Union.

L to R: St. Anne’s Credit Union Mortgage Originator Tim Souza; Trahan’s Project Designer, Supervisor, and Office Manager Wayne Trahan; Trahan’s President and Owner Susan Trahan; and St. Anne’s Credit Union Senior Business Development Specialist Linda Morad.

“I told Linda I wanted a better mortgage rate, and she ran with the ball,” says Wayne. “She gave me the time and attention I needed, and mortgage originator Tim Souza handled the refinancing details from there and did a really super job!

“Once I saw how great they were at St. Anne’s, we did a complete turnaround of all our business accounts, too. We moved everything to St. Anne’s.

“A big bank is just a big building, with no personal touch. We were happy to find the professionalism we wanted and the personal touch we hoped for, right around the corner at St. Anne’s Credit Union — It’s perfect for our home and for our business!”

Ready for a local banker for your home or business?

Call us today at (877) 782-6637.

“We’re making a difference.”

StAnnes.com

Federally insured by NCUA St. Anne’s Credit Union NMLS #: 525435

The Bath Cove 145 Faunce Corner Road North Dartmouth, MA 02747 (508) 997-5466

Tresham™ Tresham gives a subtle twist to the tradition of classic Americana by introducing a modern eclectic sensibility to the designs. Endlessly playful, yet elegant, Tresham furniture, sinks, toilet and receptors invite you to live your life--with a twist.

Visit our KOHLERÂŽ showroom to experience the new Tresham collection.

305R Oliphant Lane Middletown, RI 02842 (401) 846-8680 www.thebathcove.com

Southcoast brings you top-notch heart care.

Outstanding Our passion. Your heart.

And that’s not us talking, it’s Healthgrades® — the nation’s leading independent health care ratings organization. In fact, Southcoast was once again named a recipient of Healthgrades America’s 100 Best Hospitals for Cardiac Care™.

If you have heart problems, it’s good to know that the best quality care — anywhere — is just minutes away, at Southcoast Hospitals.

That’s pretty outstanding!

Because it’s our passion. And your heart.

CoastalINSIDER11/15/06

11/15/06

8:44 AM

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Witheight nine nine With orthopedic specialists, orthopedic specialists, you don’thave havetoto you don’t compromise ontreatment treatment compromise on Coastal Orthopaedics – specialized, interdisciplinary care When you have a particular bone or joint problem, wouldn’t it be good to be treated by an orthopedic surgeon who specializes in it? That’s the idea at Coastal Orthopaedics. Our boardcertified doctors offer a full range of orthopedic specialties.

With one call you can find a highly experienced expert devoted to your particular need right here in the local area. Call for prompt, specialized world-class care.

24/7 Emergency coverage at Charlton Memorial Hospital . 24/7 Emergency Room care and only St. Anne’s Hospital at Charlton Memorial Hospital n . arthroscopic arthroscopic surgery surgery n

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Dr. James Worthington

MARCH 2013

Contents In Every Issue

4

From the publisher

WINE NOTES

28

Getting older, getting better

By Alton Long

6

Dateline South Coast

By Elizabeth Morse Read

YOUR MONEY

32

Pro Tips

30

The line in the sand

By Sherri Mahoney-Battles

THINGS TO DO

14

Cold beaches and caldo verde

By Paul Letendre

BUSINESS BUZZ

33

16

Fall River YMCA slates $10m renovation

Reaching out at the Lloyd Center

34

Too broke to go bankrupt

By JoAnn Bernier Cornell

By Jay Pateakos

18

Celtic sojourns

REGIONAL NEWS

By Joyce Rowley

COVER STORY

20

Reefer madness redux

By Elizabeth Morse Read

26

Dining out in Fall River

By Jay Pateakos

36

Planning in plain English

By Grant King

ON MY MIND

38

Thumbs up for Utah

By Paul E. Kandarian

ON THE COVER Just what the doctor ordered: the legalization of medical marijuana has friends and foes, but everyone has questions. We answer some of them beginning on page 20.

2

March 2013 / The South Coast Insider

Milk and Cookies with the Easter Bunny! at Buttonwood Park Zoo

HELP KIDS FLOURISH

Saturdays, March 23 and 30 at 1pm & 3pm Cost: Zoo Members: $10/person; Non-members: $15/person Pre-register and pay for Milk & Cookies at

www.bpzoo.org.

GIVE TODAY

The Y is a gathering place that strengthens our community. Kids pour in after school to do homework and learn from caring mentors. Seniors connect with each other and discover new ways to stay healthy. Local families turn to us for essential support in times of need. As a leading non-profit organization, the Y provides experiences that change lives.

And we depend on financial support from people like you to keep doing it.

Annual Support Campaign Providing financial assistance so the Y is accessible to all.

Please give today at ymcasouthcoast.org YMCA SOUTHCOAST Dartmouth YMCA 508.993.3361

Fall River YMCA 508.675.7841

ymcasouthcoast.org

Gleason Family YMCA 508.295.9622

Mattapoisett YMCA 508.758.4203

New Bedford YMCA 508.997.0734

425 Hawthorn St. New Bedford, MA 02740 www.bpzoo.org | 508-991-4556 x 14 The South Coast Insider / March 2013

3

FROM THE PUBLISHER Welcome to the latest edition of “The South Coast

March 2013 / Vol. 17 / No. 3

Insider”, the area’s best guide on the information you need to enjoy the wonderful area we live in, from restau-

Published by Coastal Communications Corp.

rants to cultural events to the latest in business news and family matters.

Publisher and Editor-in-Chief Ljiljana Vasiljevic

With the Vernal Equinox on March 20 we have the official first day of Spring, and after the last gasp of winter

Editor Greg Jones Contributors JoAnn Cornell, Paul E. Kandarian, Grant King, Paul Letendre, Alton Long, Sherri Mahoney-Battles, Jay Pateakos, Elizabeth Morse Read, Joyce Rowley

and those snowstorms of February, we are all ready for the longer days and warmer weather of Spring.

If you’re feeling like some exercise to kick off springtime, Joyce Rowley has all the information on the Great Leprechaun Hat 5k Run and other running events on page 18.

The South Coast Insider is published monthly for visitors and residents of the South Coast area. The Insider is distributed free of charge from Mount Hope Bay to Buzzards Bay. All contents copyright ©2013 Coastal Communications Corp.

Deadline 20 days prior to publication.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, by any means, without written permission from the Publisher. All information contained herein is believed to be reliable.

Coastal Communications Corp. does not assume any financial responsibility for typographical errors in advertisements, but will reprint that portion of an advertisement in which the typographical error occurs.

Circulation

Running sounds too much like work? Check out the Dartmouth public libraries for more than books; find out what libraries look like in this digital age on page 32 with Cara Connelly’s story.

Several stories on food await you. The full story on making caldo verde (you might know it as Portuguese soup) is on page 14, courtesy of Paul Letendre, or perhaps dinner out in one of the fine new restaurants that have been cropping up in Fall River. Jay Pateakos has the inside scoop on what’s hot and new on page 24.

The recent legislation changing the status of marijuana in Rhode Island and Massachusetts has everyone talking. Elizabeth Morse Read has the latest information on the state of things and a look into what the future may hold on this controversial subject on page 20.

Still waiting for the train? While it’s too early to buy a ticket on South Coast rail, Grant King has good news on the subject on page 36.

30,000 Subscriptions $25 per year

Address The South Coast Insider 144 Purchase Street • PO Box 3493 Fall River, MA 02722

Phone

Lots more inside, including our usual listings of things to do, places to go, and events to attend, all over the South Coast, in this issue of “The South Coast Insider”, your place to go for what you need to know.

Don’t forget to move your clocks ahead on March 10! Enjoy the longer evenings.

(508) 677-3000

Website www.coastalmags.com

E-mail editor@coastalmags.com

Ljiljana Vasiljevic Publisher and Editor-in-Chief

Our advertisers make this publication possible–please support them

facebook.com/thesouthcoastinsider 4

March 2013 / The South Coast Insider

New Bedford Medical Associates Dartmouth • New Bedford • Wareham Working Together to Keep Our Community Healthy Visit our New Walk-In Center

Cardiology / Internal Medicine

Gastroenterology

Bruce M. Brown, M.D., F.A.C.C. Mark R. Desnoyers, M.D., F.A.C.C. Nosheen Javed, M.D., F.A.C.C. Gregory D. Russell, M.D., F.A.C.C. David R. Stebbins, M.D., F.A.C.C. Alan J. Weinshel, M.D., F.A.C.C. Paula Ferreira, N.P. Vicki St. Paine, N.P.

Christopher Cheney, M.D., Ph.D

Family Practice Debby Almeida, M.D. Irena Gesheva, M.D. Anne Marie Treadup, M.D. Elizabeth Quann-Babineau, N.P. Joyce Vitale, N.P. Thomas J. McCormack, M.D. Paul Blauner, P.A.

Neurology John G. Stamoulis, M.D., F.A.H.A

Pulmonary / Sleep Medicine / Critical Care / Internal Medicine Stanley Kaplan, M.D. Christos Kapogiannis, M.D. Elizabeth Manzo, M.D. Curtis J. Mello, M.D., M.P.H., F.C.C.P. Kevin LeBlanc, N.P. Anne Shih, P.A. A. Aris Skaliotis, P.A.

Rheumatology Suzelle Luc, M.D.

368 Faunce Corner Rd. • Dartmouth, MA No Appointment Necessary!

(508) 985-5014 Mon-Fri: 8am-7pm, Sat: 8am-2pm — SPECIALTY SERVICES — • Bone Density Testing • Cat Scan • Central Laboratory • Comprehensive Pulmonary Exercise Testing • Coumadin Clinic • Echocardiology • EMG’s / EEG’s

• Once/Year Osteoporosis Infusion Therapy (Reclast) • Pulmonary Function Testing • Sleep Disorders • Transcranial Dopplers • Ultrasound • X-Ray

• Nuclear Stress Testing

Member of the South Coast Physician Network

Most Insurances Accepted

(508) 984-1000 • Toll Free 1-888-225-7262 • www.newbedfordmedical.com

The perfect time of year for laser skin resurfacing Caring for a mentally or physically disabled family member can be an emotional or financial concern.

If your loved one is currently on MassHealth Standard or Commonhealth insurance, you may qualify for financial

Get a new you for the new year. Call today for details on our special promotion.

651 Orchard St. • Suite 202 • New Bedford, MA 774.202.7049 • www.avalonmedicalspa.net

assistance from Beacon Adult Foster Care. As a caregiver you are eligible for a monthly, tax-free payment while you provide the care your loved one needs in the comfort of your own home.

For more information call 774-202-1837 or visit our website www.beaconafc.com The South Coast Insider / March 2013

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DATELINE: SOUTH COAST

News, views and trends... from Mount Hope Bay to Buzzards Bay

by Elizabeth Morse Read

S

tart planning your gardens, making your summer vacation plans and working on your taxes: spring will be here soon and the days are getting longer.

Celebrate the traditions of St. Patrick’s Day, Passover and Easter–and enjoy everything the South Coast has to offer.

Across the region Working with 13 Chambers of Commerce in southeastern Massachusetts, a consortium of six local colleges has created a new online portal called CONNECTLink which helps area employers find qualified student interns. For more info, visit www.connectsemass.org.

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Uh oh… UMass Dartmouth needs to cut $15 million from its budget, and a chunk of that will impact student financial aid. Stay tuned…

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“Moonrise Kingdom,” which was filmed entirely in Rhode Island, has been nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.

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Congratulations to the South Coast Men and Women of 2012, as chosen

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by the “Standard Times”: (South Coast) Bettina Borders and Gary Schuyler; (Acushnet) Lisa Fernandes and Michael G. Alves; (Dartmouth) Joe Vieira and Julie Manley; (Fairhaven) Wayne Oliveira and Tara Kohler; (Freetown) Rev. Arthur “Bill” Comeau and Cindy Cuthbertson; (Lakeville) Larry Simpson [Energy Advisory Comm. Chmn.] and Nancy LaFave; (Marion) John and Claire Russell; (Mattapoisett) Steve Kelleher and Kelly Sol Weglowski; (New Bedford) Tom Lopes and Darcy Fernandes; (Rochester) Gordon Helme and Dani Kleiman; (Wareham) Thom Strom and Claire Smith; (Westport) Fernando Larguinha/Peter Brown and Jan Hall/Nancy Crosby. Youth of the Year was Justin Braga and Teacher of the Year was Patricia Manchester.

Three locations on the South Coast made the top five of the Dirty Dozen in New England list of the Toxics Action Center: Brayton Point Coal Power Station in Somerset was #2; New Bedford’s Harbor Superfund Site and Parker St. Waste Site ranked #3; and Entergy Nuclear in Plymouth came in #4.

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Southcoast Visiting Nurse Association is looking for volunteers who can offer companionship for hospice patients and respite for their family caregivers. Call 508-973-3219 or visit www.southcoastvna.org.

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Head for the Warwick Mall on April 6 for the Summer Camp and Children’s Programs Expo. Start your summer plans now!

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If you’re over 50, learn about the bus trips sponsored by the New Bedford Senior Travel Program: Twin Rivers Casino Mar. 12; the Boston Flower & Garden Show Mar. 13; the Barry Manilow tribute Mar. 26, plus the five-day trip to Ottawa and

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Gov. Patrick intends to fully fund the $1.8 billion South Coast Rail project as the centerpiece of the state’s comprehensive transportation plan. The project is expected to create almost 4,000 jobs and generate $500 million annually in new economic activity. The DOT plan also includes funding for SRTA, Rt. 6 in Dartmouth, Rt. 18 in New Bedford, and Rts. 24 and 140 in Taunton.

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March 2013 / The South Coast Insider

The Thousand Islands May 20-24.

Call 508-991-6171.

Our Mission

Your Recovery

Attleboro Stroll through Capron Park Zoo. Go to www.capronparkzoo.com or call 774-203-1840.

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Take time to smell the roses at “Wings: Spring is in the Air,” a flower show at the Attleboro Arts Museum on March 21. Call 508-222-2644 or visit www.attleboroartsmuseum.org.

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Step back into the past at the Industrial History Museum in Attleboro on Thursdays and Fridays.

Call 508-222-3918 or go to www.industrialmuseum.com.

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Barrington An unusual piebald (spotted) deer was seen romping through Barrington in January.

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Join the newly-formed Barrington Community Choir! Non-residents are welcome, too. For more info, email BarringtonCommunityChoir@gmail. com or visit www.facebook.com/ BarringtonCommunityChoir.

Regaining functionality following an illness, accident, hospitalization, or surgery is the focus of the rehab services we provide. Our rehab team is dedicated to helping you achieve superior results and a safe return home. ¡ ¡ ¡ ¡

Physical Therapy Occupational Therapy Speech/Language Therapy Respiratory Therapy

Catholic Memorial Home, Fall River

catholicmemorialhome.org ¡ 508.679.0011 A Member of the Diocesan Health Facilities

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Bristol Bristol has received $150,000 of a statewide $1.65 million federal grant to recruit and train more volunteer firefighters and to purchase updated firefighting equipment.

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The Bristol Farmers Market is open at Mount Hope Farm barn on Sat. 9:00 a.m to 1:00 p.m.. www.mounthopefarm.org.

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Visit the animals at the Coggeshall Farm. Visit www.coggeshallfarm.org or call 401-253-9062.

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Southeastern Massachusetts Health & Rehabilitation Center

4586 Acushnet Ave. New Bedford, MA

508-998-1188

Flat Screen TV with Satellite n Wi-fi n Recliner n Separate reading area n Located on bus line n Multilingual staff: Portuguese & Spanish n

To schedule tours please call 508-998-1188 The South Coast Insider / March 2013

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Continued from previous page

Dighton Ninety-eight year old Eleanor Cummings was recently presented with the town’s Boston Post Cane, which goes to the town’s oldest resident.

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The Little Theatre will perform “Steel Magnolias” March 7- 10. Call 508-675-1852 or visit www.littletheatre.net.

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Fall River seniors can call their senior center for a list of Fisher Bus day trips planned for February-June.

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When you visit Battleship Cove (www.battleshipcove.org or 508-6781100), don’t miss the nearby Marine Museum (508-674-3533) or the Old Colony & Fall River Railroad Museum (508-674-9340).

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Fairhaven The movie “Fairhaven,” which was filmed on the South Coast two years ago, is now available on iTunes, Amazon Instant and cable on-demand nationwide.

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Fall River Follow the “Nature Tracks” at the Audubon Environmental Education Center on the first Saturday of the month.

Visit www.asri.org or call 401-949-5454 x 3041.

Dartmouth UMass Dartmouth has received a $339K grant from the National Science Foundation for the purchase of a nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometer.

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The Nonquitt cottage once owned

by Louisa May Alcott, author of “Little Women,” was destroyed by fire in late January.

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The Lloyd Center for the Environment in Dartmouth received a $10K grant from the CHT Foundation to provide hands-on science education for fifth graders in Fall River.

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UMass Dartmouth’s new computer simulation center puts it in the ranks of national university research programs and scientific research facilities.

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March 2013 / The South Coast Insider

Lafayette Park in the Flint neighborhood will be the site of a huge Disney-like carnival April 12-20.

Admission will be free.

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Restaurants are booming in Fall River! In just the past few months, Jerry Remy’s, Red Cedar and Tipsy Toboggan have opened; the Quequechan Club, the Belmont Club and Al Mac’s Diner have re-opened.

There are plans for a waterfront grill near Commercial Landing, and the Waterstreet Café may be reopening soon under new management. In addition, The Regatta at Battleship Cove, closed since 2009, was purchased for $3.5 million and will become a seafood restaurant, pub and function hall.

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When Park City, Utah’s Sundance Film Festival declined to screen Fall River native Jason Andreozzi’s indie film “Egypt Through the Glass Shop,” he didn’t give up hope: it was accepted for screening at the Break Dance Festival in nearby Salt Lake City.

Jason decided to whip up interest in his film back in Park City by riding a rented camel down Main Street and was promptly pulled over by the police and cited for obstructing traffic.

His stunt garnered national media attention for his film.

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Get your fresh veggies at the Fall River Winter Indoor Market at CD Recreation (the former Bank Street Armory) on Mar. 16 and April 20 between 1:00 p.m and 4 p.m.

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The Narrows Center for the Arts has a great line-up: there’s Jonathan Edwards Mar. 1; Forever Young: A Tribute to Neil Young Mar. 8 and 9, Dr. John Mar. 17; Paula Poundstone Apr. 13–and more! For complete details, visit www.narrowscenter.com or call 508-324-1926.

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After almost 60 years, Frosty Beverages of Fall River will be closing its doors.

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Freetown Ten-year-old Spencer Neubauer, a five-time Pokemon Trading Card game champion, recently participated in the regional competition in Virginia, with hopes of qualifying for the world championship competition in Vancouver.

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Mattapoisett Nine-year old Mia Oliveira has again celebrated her birthday by hosting an Animal Shelter party, asking for donations for local animal shelters instead of gifts for herself.

Last year, her birthday party netted $250 and 400 items for donation,

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Money Minute Tips Remember to Round Up Records for Tax Time

I

f you choose to deduct qualifying expenses or apply for certain credits on your tax return, you will need supporting documents in case the IRS requests an audit. When it comes to charitable donations, a cancelled check or detailed receipt is wanted. For business travel expenses, receipts that outline all applicable costs are required, in addition to a descriptive log of your trip’s timing and purpose. If your healthcare costs qualify for a deduction, you will need copies of invoices and proof of all payments.

For any type of childcare credit, you will need a document from your provider that shows expenses paid and a Tax I.D. number. To make the most of all deductions and credits, talk to a tax professional who can advise you best based on your specific situation.

This Money Minute is brought to you by:

www.bankfive.com • 774-888-6100 •

We b cOstU uy Jewel mE ry

The South Coast Insider / March 2013

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Continued from page 8 when added to the donations from customers at Hair Unlimited, where her mother Tara works.

Middleborough Spend some time at the Soule Homestead Education Center. Free, open Tuesdays-Sundays. Learn more at www.soulehomestead.org or call 508-947-6744.

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Whales of August” Mar. 14-24. Call 508-993-0772 or go to www.yourtheatre.org.

The New Bedford Historical Society was named a “Preserve America Steward” by First Lady Michelle Obama for their restoration of the Nathan and Mary Johnson house.

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New Bedford residents can visit the Whaling Museum for free through April, thanks to a BayCoast Bank grant.

The Zeiterion will present Mariza Mar. 9 - 10; Cirque Ziva Mar. 17; The Ultimate Billy Joel Experience Mar. 29; the Val Ramos Flamenco Ensemble April 4; the Dinosaur Petting Zoo April 7–and more!

Go to www.zeiterion.org or call 508-994-2900.

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New Bedford For the third time, Buttonwood Park Zoo has been named one of the “top ten worst zoos for elephants” by the non-profit group In Defense of Animals.

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Jerry Remy’s Sports Bar and Grill is considering opening a fifth restaurant at Riverside Landing.

The Island Foundation, based in Marion, has given a $5K grant to the Friends of Buttonwood Park to rebuild the basketball courts.

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Enjoy “The Red Violin,” performed by the New Bedford Symphony Orchestra on April 13 at the Zeiterion.

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St. Luke’s Hospital will soon open a robotic surgical program.

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Your Theatre will present “The

Newport Head for the Newport Playhouse and Cabaret Restaurant’s performance of “Greetings” through Mar. 24. Go to www.newportplayhouse. com or call 401-848-7529.

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Take a 10-mile train ride along Narragansett Bay on the Old Colony & Newport Railroad on Sundays.

Go to www.ocnrr.com or call 401-846-4674.

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Plymouth A North Atlantic right whale mother and calf were spotted off Plymouth in January, the earliest sighting on record up here. They’re usually calving off the Florida coast at this time of year.

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Enjoy an evening of free family fun and entertainment at AHA! Night in New Bedford. The Mar. 14 theme is “March in Motion,” and the Apr.11 theme is “Sustainable South Coast.”

Go to www.ahanewbedford.org or call 508-996-8253 x 205.

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(indoors!) at Carabiners in New Bedford. Go to www.carabiners.com or call 508-984-0808.

The City of New Bedford plans to build a 30-acre solar farm on cityowned land in Rochester. It’s estimated that it will generate enough energy to power the city’s entire water department.

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If you’ve got cabin fever, why not climb the walls or go rock climbing

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Portsmouth Join the ambiance at Common Fence Music: fiddler Bruce Molsky Mar. 2; Jesus Andujar & Grupo Sazon Mar. 23; Michael Johnson Apr. 6–and more! Call 401-683-5085 or go to www.commonfencemusic.org.

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Providence Save The Bay offers one-hour seasonal seal watching tours. They provide expert guides and binoculars for an educational view of these seasonal marine visitors. Visit www.savebay.org.

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March 2013 / The South Coast Insider

Check out “ThinkSpace” at the Providence Children’s Museum. Call 401-273-KIDS (5437) or visit www. childrenmuseum.org.

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If the kids are bouncing off the walls, take them to SkyZone, a wallto-wall indoor trampoline park in East Providence! For info, visit www. skyzone.com/providence or call 401-383-6000.

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Hear Celtic Woman Mar. 22 at the Performing Arts Center. Call 401-4212787 or go to www.ppacri.org.

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Enjoy a performance by Chatham Baroque on March 10 at the Museum Concerts of Providence. Call 401274-5073 or visit www.museumconcerts.org.

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B RINGING B ALA NCE TO N UMBERS

TAX PREPARATION without the S-T-R-E-S-S

25 Years Experience Specializing in small business and individuals Enrolled Agent… Licensed by the Internal Revenue Service

171 Pine Hill Road • Westport, MA

CALL SHERRI MAHONEY TODAY 508-636-9829 sherilyn@taxingmatters.com

w w w.taxingmatters.com Watch “Social Creatures” Mar. 14 – Apr. 21 at Trinity Rep. Call 401-351-4242 or www.trinityrep.com.

Not Your Average Plumber. $500 Off

NEW REBATES FOR 2013!

A NEW HEATING OR SOLAR SYSTEM

There’s something for everyone at Rhode Island College’s Performing and Fine Arts Series. Enjoy The Trisha Brown Dance Company on Mar. 6. For details, go to www.ric. edu/pfa or call 401-456-8144.

Reduce your home’s energy bill with a new energy efficient heating system or solar system.

Enjoy a Season of Symphonies with the Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra. There’s Jeremiah and the Great Symphony Mar. 23, followed by Beethoven’s Fifth on Apr. 13. Go to www.riphil.org or call 401-248-7070

Call Village Plumbing today for more information about rebates and to schedule an appointment for a free estimate.

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OffeR EXPIRES: 3/31/13

GasNetworks has great rebates available for high efficiency equipment.

plumbing • heating • Cooling • Solar Raynham The 109,000 sq. ft. Thai Buddhist Temple (officially named the Wat

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Bill Battles - Master Plumber 171 Pine Hill Road ~ Westport, MA

508-636-9080

www.TheVillagePlumber.com The South Coast Insider / March 2013

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Continued from previous page

Stafford &_______________________ Company Insurance

Nawamintararachutis, or NMR Meditation Center for short) is scheduled to be completed by July. For more info, visit www.watnawaminusa.org.

Back in January, when a Raynham dog-walker came across a trail of discarded clothing near the Taunton River, the Raynham, Taunton and Bridgewater first responders launched a search and rescue operation, which included K-9 units, a fire department boat and an eightwheeled amphibious vehicle. The (naked?) owner of the clothes was found safe on land. No explanation was forthcoming.

Somerset Woohoo! The state Department of Revenue has certified that the cashstrapped town actually has more than $5 million in undesignated surplus–free cash!

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Home • Auto Business • Life

Rehoboth

Insurance Choice…

Talk to a professional in your hometown OR Call an 800# in Fargo

The Manhattan String Quartet will perform at Arts in the Village on April 6. Call 508252-5768 or visit www. carpentermuseum.org.

— Since 1881 —

Rochester Artisan Bake Shop of Rochester won the “Best of The Knot Boston” for the second year as one of the best wedding cake and dessert bakeries in the region.

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March 2013 / The South Coast Insider

A replica of a “T” car from Boston’s Blue Line has taken up residence near the Taunton Green, with the goal of turning it into a hamburger joint/diner once all permitting is completed.

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The Taunton Library offers free or discounted passes to many museums and attractions throughout the South Coast. Visit www.tauntonlibrary.org.

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(508) 673-5893

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When Steward Health Care System bought Morton Hospital in 2011, it made a $250,000 donation to the Taunton police and fire departments to purchase much-needed equipment and vehicles.

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If you’re looking for something unusual to do, go to the Beer Can Museum and Hall of Fame in East Taunton. Visit www.beercanmuseum.org.

www.stafford-insurance.com

Somerset

In January, a burglar stole $200 worth of pennies from the home of a Taunton senior citizen.

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Celebrate the Choices

Fall River

Taunton

Tiverton Check out who’s playing at the Sandywoods Center for the Arts.

There’s The Smile Makers Mar. 2, Poor Old Shine Apr. 5–and more! Go to www.sandywoodsmusic.com.

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Wareham Buzzards Play Productions in East Wareham will present “The Glass

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Menagerie” Mar. 28-30 and Apr. 5-7 and 12-14. For more info, call 508295-5480 or go to www.buzzardsplayproductions.com.

“Begone Winter” is the program for the Mastersingers By The Sea performance on Mar. 9 at Church of the Good Shepherd, accompanied by musicians from the NBSO. Visit www.mastersingersbythesea.org or call 508-540-4732.

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When gift bags were given to visitors and dignitaries at the presidential inauguration, each bag contained some trail mix from Willows Cranberries of Wareham. Go to www. willowscranberries.com.

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Warren Enjoy a performance of “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” Mar. 8 – Apr. 7 at The 2nd Story Theatre. For details, call 401-247-4200 or go to www.2ndstorytheatre.com. The Theatre is hoping to buy the Liberty Street School for $100K.

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Happy St. Patrick’s Day Celebrate Our 21st Anniversary Sale

The 50-acre Truesdale Farm, which straddles the Westport/Little Compton town line, was sold for a whopping $9 million.

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The Westport Historical Society received a $100,000 donation from BayCoast Bank to fund its preservation and educational projects.

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Listen to the Boston University Opera Institute Mar. 24 at Concerts at the Point in Westport. Go to www.concertsatthepoint.org or call 508-636-9927.

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Highly-decorated WWII veteran Leo St. Onge, 91, has passed away. The U.S. Army veteran was awarded the Silver Star, the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart, and in 2009, the French Croix de Guerre.

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The South Coast Insider / March 2013

13

THINGS TO DO

Cold beaches and caldo verde

by Paul Letendre

Photo by JoAnn Bernier Cornell

The South Coast area that we live in is undoubtedly beautiful. Springtime can be stunning, winter can be spectacular and summers are to die for. March, however, can be “none of the above.”

It’s not winter, it’s not spring.

This is an in-between month: most of us lay low, we don’t expect much—don’t expect to be spending many hours outside. Yes, we might get a few good days here and there; and yes, we are much more likely to get quite a few awful days. We take it all in stride. We are New Englanders living in the South Coast area; we’re prepared to stoically deal with whatever hand Mother Nature deals us 14

(remember the February blizzard).

It’s midmorning on a cold March day. It’s cloudy out. It seems like months since we’ve had a blue sky.

Chores are done and there are actually a few spare daylight hours available.

But winter ….it won’t end this year! It can seem that way on a cold Saturday in March.

I was restless, longing for something undefined.

I bounced an idea off my

March 2013 / The South Coast Insider

wife, “Let’s do a summer thing, without the summer crowds.” Although she’s thinking that it’s more like a soup day than a beach day, she complied. She’s good like that. “Let me prep some Portuguese soup before we leave. I’ll put it in the crock pot.”

Our first stop was Lloyd Center for the Environment in Dartmouth. It was a quiet day there…we were the only guests in the visitors center and saw no one as we hiked the trails for about an hour. The mission statement of the Lloyd Center refers to instilling “a lifelong respect and affection for nature.” They do. After spending an hour on the trails, one can’t help but feeling an affectionate admiration for the natu-

ral wonders of the South Coast.

The next stop was Horseneck Beach. On any given day, this beach can be awe-inspiring. On this cold, windless and damp grey day, it wasn’t.

It seemed moon-like; vast and vacant, stone- and shell-strewn. The sea was flat. After a 30-minute walk on the beach, our car seemed haven-like, offering shelter and warmth.

“Let’s try Newport,” I said, thinking maybe that will lift me from this March melancholy. What can compare with Newport’s Ocean Drive on a gloomy day?

Yes, it was beautiful, but it didn’t cheer me. The flat ocean, seemingly still under the grey sky, the sum-

mer homes of the superrich, boarded and barren looking … no, these things don’t bring joy to March.

By then, the already overcast day was growing darker. We stopped on Thames Street for a coffee, but it didn’t satisfy.

We headed home. March gloom loomed: mission unsuccessful.

At home I opened the door and was greeted by a distinct aroma, a familiar one in our area: the aroma of caldo verde. Caldo verde means green broth. On the South Coast it is more

familiar as Portuguese soup. It came to the area from Portugal, where it is a dietary staple.

Yes, Portuguese soup lifts the spirits. The aroma lessens the restlessness, lends some reprieve to the confused longing.

This March melancholia, perhaps it’s part of the seasonal cycle that is germane to our area. There is a certain satisfaction in this restlessness and longing. Hey, it’s March— maybe we’re supposed to be gloomy.

Karen’s caldo verde

Healthy Weight for Life Program

The ingredients 1 lb. or so of chourico (or linguica) n 1 large bunch of kale n Olive oil n Large onion n Garlic n Fresh parsley n

n 2 quarts of chicken stock n Potatoes n Bay leaves n Dried thyme n Salt, pepper, crushed red pepper flakes

How to make it In a large fry pan, heat a couple of tablespoons of olive oil over medium high heat. Add a pound of sliced chourico (or linguica) and a large chopped onion and stir it all around with a wooden spoon for a couple of minutes. Add the two or four cloves of chopped garlic and continue stirring for another couple of minutes.

Now add a half quart or so of chicken stock and bring the whole pot up to boiling temp. Stir in a couple of bay leaves, a ¼ cup of chopped parsley, thyme (maybe ¼ teaspoon), along with salt, pepper and pepper flakes (to taste).

Then dump the whole works into a crock pot, add another quart and a half of chicken stock, a couple of cups or so of diced potatoes, and a bunch of cleaned and chopped kale. Leave the crock pot on medium heat for a few hours, and voila, you have heavenly Portuguese soup, known by its friends as caldo verde.

Of course, serve with a premium, crusty Portuguese bread.

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The South Coast Insider / March 2013

15

THINGS TO DO

Photo by JoAnn Bernier Cornell

Reaching out at the Lloyd Center

by JoAnn Bernier Cornell

W

ith Liz Moniz at the helm as Outreach Director, and Jen Wimmer as the Center’s new Outreach Specialist, the Lloyd Center for the Environment’s Outreach Department is growing by leaps and bounds. In the past, the Center has offered roughly 30 programs a year, comprised of a number of “member-only” and “public” services, including a variety of naturerelated walks, talks, watches, prowls, and kayak/canoe programs.

Many new programs This newly formed outreach team has been rapidly strengthening the 16

March 2013 / The South Coast Insider

Center’s presence in the community with a vast number of outreach offerings, including pre-school, schoolvacation-week and scout programs, walks and talks, adult and family oriented excursions. Over the past couple of months, this ambitious pair has already added 25 new programs through April alone, while they continue to work on scheduling many additional programs that will be offered throughout the coming year.

The Lloyd Center now has something for everyone because these new and exciting programs are not replacing but rather are being added to the wonderful traditional pro-

grams and events that have been led

by Lloyd Center staff members over the years.

Expanding membership In an interview with the Lloyd Center’s Interim Executive Director Rachael Stronach and Outreach Director Liz Moniz, the two talked of membership and the expansion of the Center’s Outreach Department.

“Lloyd Center memberships enable us to keep up with trail maintenance and keep our doors open to the public,” Ms. Stronach said, “and to encourage new members, we are increasing the benefits of member-

ship by expanding the number and type of outreach programs we offer.

Our aim is to get more people involved in outdoor and environmental programming, and although most programs are available to the general public, we will be featuring memberonly events throughout the year.”

“While the residents of the South Coast are familiar with the Lloyd Center’s school-based programs, we are excited to bring family-based programming to the entire community,” Ms. Moniz enthusiastically added. “The Lloyd Center, well known for its education programs, will reestablish itself as a leader in environmental outreach programming, … and public support, through family and individual Lloyd Center memberships, will help us to continue to provide quality education and outreach programming to the community.”

If you are unfamiliar with the programs offered at the Lloyd Center, take note of the vast variety of programs they have available to the public: women’s full-moon canoe trips; live hawk demonstrations; birding walks; sunset kayak tours; butterfly “tagging”; midnight owl prowls; whale and seal watches; seining for subtropical fish; butterfly walks and counts; birdwatching on Monomoy Island; the Center’s Annual Fall Rowing and Paddling Festival; canoeing on the Nemasket and Taunton Rivers … and the list goes on.

The Lloyd Center even has summertime fun covered with Summer Nature Adventures for children and teens, ages 5-15; Young Naturalist programs for children ages 5-7 and Coastal Study programs for children and teens entering grades 3-8. These summer programs are now scheduled and available to help you start planning fun-filled adventures for your children and teens over the upcoming summer. Just don’t wait too long as these programs quickly sold out last year due to their overwhelming popularity.

As a key part of the Lloyd Center’s mission to instill a lifelong respect

for nature in citizens of all ages, advance an understanding of coastal ecosystems, and promote a legacy of natural diversity in coastal environments, the Lloyd Center is working hard to bring visitors to this incredible nature preserve. They know that once you visit, you won’t be able to keep yourself away.

No entry fee!

At its recently expanded 82-acre nature preserve, comprising pristine salt marsh, maritime forest and undisturbed wetlands, in one of the most unspoiled reaches of Dartmouth, the Lloyd Center for the Environment’s visitor center is open from 10:00 a.m to 4:00 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday, and on Sundays, June - September, free of charge.

There, aquarium exhibits offer unique views of live freshwater and saltwater species of fish and other marine critters. The Center is also home to a fascinating collection of live local reptiles, many representing endangered species, being “headstarted” and readied for release back into their natural environment.

At the always popular touch-tank, youngsters learn the hands-on joy of socializing with gentle spider crabs, elusive minnows, sea stars (starfish), whelks, hermit crabs, periwinkles and mussels.

The top-floor Osprey Room Observatory, with its magnificent views of the Elizabeth Islands and Buzzards Bay, has been designated by the Massachusetts Executive Office of Environmental Affairs as one of the Commonwealth’s top-fifteen “Special Places.” Through the installed spotting scopes, one can get a close-up view of formerly endangered ospreys, and their chicks, nesting on platforms erected by members of the Center’s research staff.

Nature trails are open from dawn to dusk, seven days a week.

The Lloyd Center for the Environment is located at 430 Potomska Road, Dartmouth, Massachusetts. For more information, visit www.lloydcenter.org or call 508-990-0505.

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The South Coast Insider / March 2013

17

THINGS TO DO

Celtic sojourns

by Joyce Rowley

B’gosh and begorrah, it’s time for Saint Patty’s Day again.

South Coast now has two events that bring you around the green hills of New Bedford, the emerald city of South Coast. So put down your green beer and put on some running shoes. Maybe you’ll catch a glimpse of the city’s new Irish mayor out there among the green-hatted leprechauns and the Friendly Sons of Saint Patrick.

And for all you slug-a-beds, note the road closings during the races on these days. Then find a place along the course and cheer the runners as they fly by.

Great Leprechaun Hat 5k Run Saturday, March 9, 2013 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

Registration open to race day Online registration to March 6 at www.thesightings.com Entry fees: $30 adults, $25 for 12-18 years

Warm up with a 3.1-mile run/ walk around New Bedford in the Great Leprechaun Hat Run. The Sightings, known for their hat races (remember Santa’s Run?), starts their 18

March 2013 / The South Coast Insider

race on Union Street at the corner of MacArthur Boulevard. The course loops down to Cove Road on MacArthur Boulevard by side streets then wraps back to MacArthur Boulevard and finishes at the Waterfront Park near Union Street.

This is a first time event for The Sightings, a local group that is really into hats. The first 1,000 entrants get a free leprechaun hat. It’s a must that you wear something green.

Hosting the event is Slainte Irish Pub on Union Street, which will offer refreshments after the run.

This is a timed 5-k course that has been certified by Ray Nelson of USA Track and Field (USATF).

The sponsor, South Coast’s own world-class runner Geoff Smith, won the Boston Marathon in 1984 and 1986, was the top ranked 10-k runner in 1979, and ranked in the world’s top five runners from 1983 to 1989.

Smith, a Mattapoisett resident, now coaches people who want to learn how to run fast and hit their personal best.

Smith is also the record holder for the Men’s division of the second Saint Patrick’s Day race, the New Bedford Half Marathon.

New Bedford Half-Marathon Sunday, March 17, 2013 8:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Registration closes March 1 Online registration closes March 1 www.newbedfordhalfmarathon.com Entry fees: $70 before March 1st

A bit more serious is the 36th annual New Bedford Half Marathon (NBHM) hosted by the Friendly Sons of Saint Patrick since 2008. This is the second of seven USATF–New England Championship and Grand Prix races this year that range from a 5-k in Carver, MA to the Manchester Marathon in Manchester, NH. The NBHM ranks 25th of the top races in the country by “Runner’s World” magazine and number one in New England by “New England Runner” magazine.

The certified 13.1-mile race starts at 11:00 a.m. at Purchase Street and loops around the city of New Bedford with two major hills. The first is at three miles, while everyone is still fresh. The second is at 12 miles—New Bedford’s own “Heartbreak Hill” at the top of County Street. This is also the best place to watch the race.

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runners with “D-tag” computer chip technology. Runners can check out their times by being scanned at the finish line. Race results will be posted at www.CoolRunnings.com.

Last year the race had 3,350 entrants, up from 2,750 in 2011. Matt Pelletier from West Greenwich, CT took first place in the men’s division in 2012 with a final time of 1:06:31.

Hilary Dionne of Charlestown, MA came in first in the women’s division with a final time of 1:19:07. New Bedford’s Scott Anderson at 1:17:54 and Patricia Carreiro at 1:32:09 took the New Bedford awards.

Geoff Smith will award $2,000 per division for NBHM record breakers. Ingrid Kristiansen of Norway has held the women’s world record of 1:08:32 since 1989. Smith’s 1986 world-class record of 1:01:58 for the course has not yet been broken.

(Yes, that’s 13.1 miles in just under 62 minutes).

Nearly $14,000 in structured prizes are awarded with top prizes of $1,000 going to the men’s and women’s open first place runners. $250 will be awarded to the first in each division from New Bedford residents.

It’s a demanding race, organized to give the runners a quality event. The course is closed to traffic during the race and police protected. There are ample water stations, EMT standbys, and volunteers. After the race, runners are treated to New Bedford-style clam chowder, fish sandwiches and a hot shower at the YMCA on South Water Street.

COVER STORY

Reefer madness redux

by Elizabeth Morse Read

Back in the 1960s, when Vatican Council II turned the Catholic church on its head and said that there would be no more Limbo, that Mass did not have to be celebrated in Latin, that altars should be turned around to face the congregation, and that you could go to Sunday Mass on Saturday afternoon, there was … uh… more than a little resistance by the stunned clergy and totally confused parishioners.

It’s very hard to suddenly have the laws and restrictions of a lifetime pulled out from beneath you and to calmly accept the new normal.

And so it is with the recent tsunami of legislative and social change surrounding marijuana—also known as pot, weed, boo, reefer, ganja, Mary Jane, grass...a lot of nicknames for a plant 20

March 2013 / The South Coast Insider

that people have known about for millennia.

The campy movie “Reefer Madness” (1936) was shown in health education classes and armed forces training reels nationwide for decades, featuring bloodshot-eyed, zombified youths indulging in anti-social behavior and lewd acts.

The federal government outlawed marijuana in 1937. The Controlled Substances Act of 1970 declared it to be a Class I drug, along with heroin, LSD, ecstasy, and opium (versus Class II drugs like cocaine and methamphetamine), with severe penalties for its production, possession or use.

At the height of the “War on Drugs” in the 1980s, Nancy Reagan famously urged people to, “Just say ‘no’.”

But that was then and this is now. In 2006, Rhode Island became the 11th state to legalize medical marijuana.

In 2008, Massachusetts decriminalized the possession of under an ounce and then became the 18th state to legalize medical marijuana in

the November election; at the same time, Colorado and Washington State legalized marijuana for adult recreational use, in direct defiance of federal law.

And the odds are good that both Rhode Island and Massachusetts will vote to legalize recreational use of marijuana within the next five years.

Supporters will hint at the prospect of new jobs and tax revenues to aid cash-strapped municipalities.

Maui wowie!! How did this happen?

A brief history of weed Archeological evidence shows that cannabis (the scientific name for marijuana) and its derivatives were known and used around the world for almost 3,000 years before the birth of Christ, as a recreational substance, a religious/spiritual aid or as medicine.

It was one of the 50 essential herbs of traditional Chinese medicine.

The ancient Greeks used it to treat wounds and sprains on their horses.

In India, it was used to ease the pain of childbirth. Queen Victoria used it to remedy menstrual cramps. The OSS (Office of Strategic Services, the WWII precursor of the CIA) used it as a truth serum during interrogations.

Bill Clinton, to the amusement of nearly everyone, claimed he tried it, but didn’t inhale. Both President Barack Obama and NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg both admit to trying it–and inhaling. And the Rastafarians of Jamaica, who smoke it (a lot) for religious purposes, have one of the lowest incidences of glaucoma in the world.

Despite the federal government’s position, scientists have conducted limited trials to test marijuana’s legendary healing properties. The trials were limited because the plant’s Class I drug status makes it virtually impossible to grow or test it outside of specific government settings.

A growing body of evidence from European studies accelerated the movement to allow medical professionals in the U.S. to recommend marijuana (or a derivative) to patients

suffering from a broad range of diseases and chronic conditions.

Federal law may still prohibit the cultivation, possession or use of marijuana, but increasingly, federal agents and judicial representatives have refrained from prosecuting licensed providers or users who operate within the medical marijuana laws of their state.

To date, the federal government has only intervened when flagrant abuses of state laws, fraud or criminal activity has been suspected. During a recent ABC interview, President Obama indicated that chasing down licensed users of medical marijuana was not a very good use of federal resources.

That’s a real bummer, man…

In 1970, the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) was created, the federal Controlled Substances Act, which declared marijuana to be a dangerous drug, was passed, the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) was officially formed, and the “War on Drugs” began in earnest.

But, just as Prohibition didn’t stop people from drinking alcohol in the 1920s, the war on drugs didn’t stop people from smoking marijuana in the 1970s (or the 1980s, the 90s, or ever). Instead, it enabled the increasingly-violent black market in illicit drugs to flourish (think Al Capone, Mexican cartels) and severely punished college kids who experimented.

The United States represents only five percent of the world’s population, yet we have 25 percent of the world’s prisoners—one-third of whom are serving time for nonviolent drug offenses, and of those, almost half are marijuana-related.

In 2009, we spent almost $150 billion on enforcement and court costs for these crimes, and close to $70 billion a year on incarceration/corrections. In 2010, 1.5 million Americans were arrested for simple drug possession and 40 per cent of those arrests were for marijuana.

Continued on next page

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The South Coast Insider / March 2013

21

Continued from previous page

You’re good to grow at Sweetleaf Hydroponics Thinking of starting a micro-green or herb garden? The garden center at Sweetleaf Hydroponic is the South Coast area’s resource for expert advice and quality products.

From small micro-green gardens to large scale medical marijuana grow facilities; Sweetleaf has the know-how and the products.

The knowledgeable staff has over 20 years of experience with hydroponic, aeroponic, deep-water culture and organic growing needs. The owner of Sweetleaf, Brian Jagielski is a licensed construction supervisor who has been involved with specialized growing operations since the early 90s.

On-site consulting is also available from Brian, who can aid in the construction of gardens that have climatically ideal humidity levels, lighting, plant size and space requirements.

Sweetleaf carries an extensive selection of soil additives from the premium manufacturers of both mineral and organics, such as Advanced Nutrients and General Hydroponics. They also supply predator insects to rid your plants of spider mites, fungus gnats, thrips, aphids, whiteflies and mealybugs.

Brian notes that predator insects won’t immediately rid you of pests, but are best utilized to maintain a pest and chemical free environment.

The staff at Sweetleal will also bring you up to date on products and growing tips; as well as share what they know about the latest in medical marijuana licensing information. Visit them online at www.sweetleafhydroponicgardenshop. com.

22

March 2013 / The South Coast Insider

Feelin’ groovy Cannabis contains many powerful chemicals in the leaves, seeds and resin of the female plant, the bestknown being THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) and CBD (cannabidiol), both of which have psychotropic and physiological effects when smoked or ingested.

“Getting high” induces dreaminess, relaxation, increased appetite (“getting the munchies”), enhanced enjoyment of music, touch and humor, perceived distortion of time, and short-term memory loss, but it can also trigger anxiety, lack of coordination and a delayed response/reaction time (so it shouldn’t be used before driving or operating machinery).

When marijuana is smoked, the effects are almost immediate and can last for a few hours. When ingested (in brownies or teas, for instance), it takes longer for the effects to kick in, but when they do they are much stronger and last longer.

Users can become psychologically dependent, but marijuana is not physically addictive. As for what might constitute a lethal dose of marijuana, it’s likely that the only way you can die from marijuana would be if a one-ton brick of it fell on you.

I feel your pain The purpose of “medical marijuana” is to achieve the physiological effects (pain relief being the most significant) although the Massachusetts law specifically does not mention pain relief (Rhode Island law does), primarily because California and several other states abused that as a reason for recommending medical marijuana—thereby attracting the attention of the “Feds.”

In California, Arizona and Nevada, 90 percent of medical marijuana patients claim chronic pain; in Oregon, it’s over 97 percent.

But among many other beneficial effects, marijuana reduces the

intraocular pressure of glaucoma; stimulates the appetite of anorexics; HIV/AIDS patients and those undergoing chemotherapy find it suppresses nausea; it reduces epileptic seizures; eases the spasms associated with multiple sclerosis, Crohn’s disease, ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease), Parkinson’s Disease and spinal cord injuries; reduces the anxiety of the terminally ill and those suffering from depression, bipolar disorder, PMS and PTSD and may even slow the progression of breast cancer, brain cancer and Alzheimer’s disease.

Until the invention of aspirin in the 19th century, cannabis was the most common pain-reliever and anti-inflammatory medication in use in the western world.

Purple haze Medical marijuana legislation differs from state to state, but its core design is pretty simple: persons suffering from certain ailments and disorders are allowed by state law to use marijuana or its derivatives to alleviate their symptoms within the privacy of their home.

A qualifying medical professional can provide them with the appropriate certification which allows the patients to apply for a state-issued ID card and use the card to purchase medical marijuana from state-regulated dispensaries.

In addition, until such dispensaries are established, certified patients are allowed to grow a limited number of marijuana plants for their personal medical use and/or have a certain amount of “usable” marijuana in their possession.

But although the laws were written with the best of intentions, there’s a lot of wiggle room created by what’s left unsaid, and even more confusion amongst the people who may not have supported the change in the law but now have to cope with the implications.

There are a number of items not addressed, beginning with the fact that the state laws do not protect anyone from federal prosecution.

Police officers, who are required to uphold federal law, cannot violate those federal laws and use medical marijuana. Until state-regulated dispensaries are in operation, certified medical marijuana patients will have to either grow their own (which may not be legal, depending upon the state) or else buy from the black market, which is still definitely not legal.

And you can’t always safely grow your own because buying seeds appears to still be illegal.

But anyone who just happens to be found in the presence of someone smoking medical marijuana is not subject to arrest. Also, neither insurance companies nor government agencies are required to reimburse certified patients for the cost of their marijuana treatments. The whole affair is very much a work in progress.

Smoke two and call me in the morning In Massachusetts, until all the new regulations are worked out and in force, a letter of certification from a licensed health professional will be considered a valid ID allowing a

patient to possess and use marijuana for medical purposes.

Nurse practitioners and physician assistants are allowed to certify patients in Massachusetts, as long as they are under the direct supervision of a licensed physician. But in Rhode Island, only doctors licensed in Rhode Island, Massachusetts or Connecticut (not physician’s assistants or nurse practitioners) will be allowed to certify that a patient should use medical marijuana. The ACLU is challenging that recent ruling by the governor.

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While researching this article, I asked a young doctor how he would determine how much marijuana a patient would need for any given ailment. He answered that he honestly didn’t have a clue: it’s not exactly something they teach in medical school, and the current laws in Rhode Island and Massachusetts don’t give clear answers to questions like this, at least not yet.

And then there’s the question of daily dosage. Medical professionals in both states didn’t receive much “heads-up” advice about their possible role once the laws went into effect.

No medical professional is required by the new laws to provide certification for a qualifying patient, but many will be reluctant to see their patients take their medical records to an unscrupulous “Dr. Feel-Good” practice (many from out-of-state) who might provide certifications for any and all who pay the fee. In November, a Providence company named 11th State Consultations that had been providing medical marijuana authorization cards was shut down by the state for not having a license as a health-care facility.

Medical professionals who do decide to recommend medical marijuana are protected by the law from any professional sanction or prejudice, but many will still hesitate to do so for

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Continued from previous page fear of negative publicity.

Where there’s smoke, there’s confusion In Massachusetts, certified patients are allowed to have in their possession a “60-day supply” of medical marijuana, although that’s a pretty fuzzy definition which will not be defined by the state’s Department of Public Health until April. In their defense, note that this is the same probably-underfunded department that’s grappling with the state drug lab scandal and the compounding pharmacy/fungal meningitis outbreak disaster.

Meanwhile, California and Washington State define a 60-day supply as 24 ounces (1.5 pounds) or 15 mature plants. That’s four-tenths of an ounce daily, and that, folks, is a lot of marijuana, according to the online experts we consulted.

In Rhode Island, a patient can have up to 12 mature plants or 2.5 ounces of ready-to-use marijuana for use in the privacy of their home. In both RI and MA, it is not allowed to consume medical marijuana in public places, on public transportation, near schools or parks, and employers are not required to allow employees to use it in the workplace.

Like doctors, local law enforcement is also scratching its collective head about the medical marijuana laws.

Back in December, the Warren RI police received a call from a resident who said that his shed had been broken into and all his marijuana plants were stolen. They were bemused, to say the least, but when they investigated, they found that the man was indeed a licensed user of medical marijuana and therefore within the law to grow his own, seeing as there was no licensed dispensary in the state where he could purchase medical marijuana.

Rhode Island’s law permitting the use of medical marijuana was passed in 2006, yet there are still no 24

March 2013 / The South Coast Insider

“compassion centers,” as they are so quaintly called, in the Ocean State, although there’s talk that three may be licensed in 2013.

Current laws also do not mandate that local law enforcement (or neighbors) be notified when residents are allowed to grow marijuana plants at their place of residence (and landlords cannot discriminate against legal users of medical marijuana).

One of the more curious features of the Massachusetts laws is that a patient can designate a “caregiver” to grow it for them and, once the caregiver is state-certified, they could legally grow marijuana for a limited

days regarding the regulation of dispensaries.

Each of the state’s 14 counties must have at least one, but no more than five dispensaries, and the state’s total cannot exceed 35 for at least a year after implementation. So, if the Commonwealth’s population is 6.6 million, that’s one dispensary for every 188,000 residents.

In Rhode Island, with a population of more than a million, of which more than 6,000 are already licensed to use medical marijuana, three dispensaries will serve more than 300,000 residents each.

In Arizona, there can be one dispensary for every ten pharmacies.

Some states, like Hawaii (home of the potent Maui Wowie strain of marijuana) don’t have dispensaries at all.

You don’t need to be munching on Alice B. Toklas brownies to be totally confused by all of the above.

N.I.M.B.Y.

Medical marijuana is big business, and legalized marijuana, medical or not, is a huge business. number of patients. A legal dispensary can be a designated “caregiver.”

Rhode Island does not allow this.

The governor of Montana shut down all dispensaries last year after federal agents raided and shut down numerous dispensaries in his state which, as “caregivers,” were growing marijuana for almost 400 patients each.

The Massachusetts law requires the Department of Public Health, the overseeing agency of the medical marijuana program, to have regulations in place within 90

Clearly, no one would want a medical marijuana dispensary or “compassion center” next to a school, playground, residential area or shopping district.

But some cities and towns in Massachusetts, fearing increased crime and a decrease in property values (and confusing dispensaries with methadone clinics), don’t want them in their towns at all and have been scrambling to change zoning laws to prohibit them from setting up shop anywhere within their borders.

Other municipal leaders are beseeching Boston to delay the implementation of the law for at least six months, so that they can bring the issue before Town Meeting, which is usually scheduled in late spring.

But no one has clarified whether towns and cities even have the legal right to ban dispensaries within their borders. In the meantime, other municipalities have strongly suggested that dispensaries be limited to industrial zones (which are not very welllit or patrolled) or within hospitals/ medical centers that already have a

pharmacy and in-house security.

And then there’s the question of places like Nantucket, which is both a county and a single town. Will it have five dispensaries, probably run by out-of-state “ganjapreneurs,” and attract a lot of unwelcome tourists?

There will be fierce competition for ownership of Massachusetts’ thirtyfive medical marijuana dispensaries and Rhode Island’s two or three.

Contrast those numbers with Arizona, which has a population size (6.5 million) close to Massachusetts’ (6.6 million), yet more than 120 dispensaries, or Colorado, with 5 million, which just legalized marijuana for recreational use, and has more than 400.

In California (population 38 million), which is the grandaddy of marijuana use states (legal or not), they’ve apparently lost count of how many dispensaries there are throughout the state, although they do know that there are more dispensaries than there are Starbucks, that there are more than 1,000 in Los Angeles alone, and that the Feds shut down more than 600 “dispensaries” last year because they were obviously selling to non-medical customers.

Both Rhode Island and Massachusetts learned from the abuses and loopholes of California’s early experiment with legal medical marijuana before crafting their own laws.

Ganjapreneurs But there are businesses related to medical marijuana that will want to open legitimate businesses, such as medical consultants to evaluate patients for certification or sellers of plant-growing systems and supplies.

As these would create both jobs and tax revenues, it would be a hard sell to prevent them from opening their doors, even if a particular town succeeds in banning dispensaries.

Old-fashioned “head shops” selling marijuana paraphernalia like rolling papers, bongs, hookahs and Peter Max black-light posters will make a comeback.

Just as nature abhors a vacuum, so, too, does the business world. Medical marijuana support businesses from out of state (mostly California and Colorado) are already working with lawyers in Massachusetts to help them become the first on the block.

CannaMed of California opened shop in Framingham as soon as the law passed in November to provide medical consultation services for patients seeking certification. It’s not been all peace-and-love, however.

They had to move their office to another location after their office-building neighbors discovered what their business was all about.

There’s GreenGro Technologies, which sells vertical plant-growing supplies, and Grolife, Inc., which sells hydroponic horticulture products, and MedBox (they’ve already set up shop in Natick), which manufactures high-tech automated marijuana dispensing machines which use a patient’s fingerprint and only dispenses the legal amount.

But the most colorful entrepreneurial franchise hoping to capture the New England market is Dixie Elixirs and Edibles of Denver CO, which produces THC-infused beverages, ice cream, chocolates, topical salves, THC capsules, and energy shots.

Dixie was featured in an October segment on “60 Minutes” as a typical “ganjapreneur” coming to a store near you. Gives new meaning to “Rocky Mountain High.”

The case for legalization Medical marijuana is big business, and legalized marijuana, medical or not, is a huge business.

Current estimates say that the pot industry generated almost $2 billion in revenues in 2012 and is projected to hit $9 billion in 2016. Colorado is the developed world’s only regulated for-profit cannabis market, and in 2012, sales reached $200 million, which brought tens of millions of dollars in local, state and federal taxes.

In 2008, medical marijuana (legal) generated $2 billion in sales and $100

million in state taxes.

In 2009, marijuana was California’s largest cash crop, legal or not, with an annual revenue approaching $14 billion. If those transactions had been subject to a 10 percent “sin tax” (as is done with alcohol and tobacco), that would have added $1.4 billion to the state’s coffers.

A famous study in 2006 ranked marijuana as the nation’s numberone cash crop, at $35.8 billion annually, more than corn and wheat combined. A recent study questioning that finding suggests marijuana might be among the top five cash crops. Whatever the value of the crop, keeping it illegal is expensive.

According to one Harvard economist, legalizing marijuana would save almost $8 billion now spent on enforcement, and would generate billions in new local, state and federal revenues.

A week after the November election, Barney Frank (D-MA) and Ron Paul (R-TX) sponsored legislation to remove federal criminal penalties for using marijuana, and urged President Obama to respect the wishes of the voters in Colorado and Washington, and to stop the Justice Department from enforcing the Controlled Substances Act in states where medical and/or recreational use of marijuana has been approved by the citizenry.

“For the times, they are a-changing…” Put that in your pipe and smoke it…

For more info…

In Massachusetts, contact: Department of Public Health One Ashburton Place, 11th floor Boston MA 02108 617-573-1600 In Rhode Island, contact: Rhode Island Department of Health Office of Health Professions Regulation, Room 104 3 Capitol Hill Providence RI 02908 401-222-2828

The South Coast Insider / March 2013

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COVER STORY conversation piece and something people really enjoy. It’s just like Federal Hill and something cool people can do,” Sousa added.

Competition good for everyone

Dining out in Fall River

by Jay Pateakos

F

all River has always been known for its Portuguese restaurants. Sports figures or front-line politicians can be seen dining in one of the many that grace the city because those are the restaurants that helped put the city on the map when it comes to fine dining.

But then the city, beginning last year, began to see some increased diversity in its restaurant offerings and suddenly it started becoming a true restaurant hot-spot. 2012 brought back the historic Quequechan Club, with its promise of Italian food and steak offerings, Jerry Remy’s Sports Bar & Grille with a dozens of specialty burgers and Red Cedar, with its brick oven-baked food.

“For the longest time Fall River was all about the Portuguese restaurants 26

March 2013 / The South Coast Insider

but people look for different things too and that’s why we came out with Italian dishes and high-end steaks to give people different choices,” said Leo Sousa, owner of the new Q Club on North Main Street, who also owns the Martini Bar. “Seeing a historic place like the Q Club close down was a shame for the city. I wanted to recover it and keep it going even though it was a big risk but it’s starting to pay off.”

With couple memberships at $120 annually and corporate memberships at $300, Sousa hopes to have 400 memberships by April. He’s more than halfway there at 200 and counting.

“We put in a hookah lounge as a place for people to go instead of Providence and Boston. It’s a

Victor Silva, owner of Sagres Restaurant on Columbia Street for the past 38 years, one of the most well-known Portuguese restaurants in the city (Bruins bruiser Milan Lucic was just seen there a few months ago), said he sees only benefits from the growing number and variety of restaurants in the city that now provide competition for the established restaurants.

“It makes everyone else better and creates a buzz in the city, something positive, which is good for the community. Too often there are negative sentiments that come out of Fall River but for something like this to come out of the city, it’s positive,” said Silva.

“All the restaurants are very different from each other and I don’t think there’s a huge competition. With our Portuguese/American food, we’ve always attracted people from all over New England because of our food but creating choices and this kind of buzz

is a good thing for the city.”

In the former Quaker Fabric corporate headquarters now known as Commonwealth Landing, two new restaurants created a significant buzz last year with Jerry Remy’s Sports Bar & Grille and Red Cedar. While different in their offerings with Remy’s going for a more sports bar offering and Cedars a brick oven taste, both have been busy keeping up with the activity that comes to it each night.

Remy’s partner John O’Rourke said ever since he and former Red Sox Jerry Remy got into the restaurant business, Remy wanted a place in Fall River.

“Boston was the logical place to start but we knew Fall River would come quickly,” said O’Rourke, who credited Kenneth Fiola Jr., Executive Vice President of FROED, with making the deal happen in the first place. “I know this sounds cliché but Jerry always spoke about giving back to the area he came from.”

And Remy’s has been busy ever since. Like Silva, O’Rourke said the increase in competition for the restaurant dollar can be a very good thing for the city.

“I would like to think we are partially responsible for that. I hope other local restaurants have benefitted by us coming to Fall River. When people make plans to visit Remy’s in the evening, they are in a sense committing to the area,” said O’Rourke, who has looked at other locations in New Bedford and Providence for its next location but has made no decision on it yet. “Once they arrive, if they are uncomfortable with the waiting time (if there is one) they look elsewhere in Fall River. It’s a good situation for everybody.”

Fall River: the right place And the decision to place such a large investment in an unproven area of the city?

“To the contrary of what some naysayers predicted, Fall River has proven to be a great decision,” O’Rourke said.

“Our staff and community have been a pleasure to deal with. We have not

had a single issue since we opened.”

Red Cedar General Manager Shannon Raposo said the owners of the restaurant, all born and raised in the area, wanted to bring a unique and diverse food experience to Fall River. Instead of your typical fryolator, Raposo said the restaurant invested in a wood-fired brick oven that helps to provide a different perspective on how food is cooked.

“It’s been absolutely amazing so far and we are trying to build a great team of people that will help give back to the community,” said Raposo. “It’s such a beautiful place with an incredible view and we’ve incorporated so many things of Fall River in here. It’s a very diverse menu and we are trying to create as many healthy options as we can.”

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With entertainment on the weekends and a 200-person outdoor patio area ready to go once the weather breaks, Raposo said Red Cedar has much to look forward to in the months ahead.

“We have an excellent layout here where people can see the flipping of the pizzas and the fully exposed oven area–it just helps to separate us from other restaurants,” added Raposo.

“Once the summer comes, we will truly stand out.”

Fall River Mayor Will Flanagan said his city has always been blessed with an abundance of excellent restaurants and the new arrivals will just help to show more people that Fall River is a destination for all.

“Over the past year, we have seen an increase in restaurant activity, especially along the beautiful waterfront with Remy’s and Red Cedar and in our historic downtown region with the newly renovated Q Club and there will likely be more to come in the year ahead,” said Flanagan, who recently saw the former waterfront venue the Regatta purchased and plans to make it into a restaurant and convention center. “Fall River has always had a lot to offer businesses, more so now than ever and with the waterfront set to open up even more in the coming years, we expect Fall River to be a destination for more companies looking to locate here and consumers searching for great restaurants, entertainment and activities.”

No one has to convince newly renovated Belmont Club owner Priscilla Poirier, who grew up around Fall River, what sets Fall River apart or why restaurants are locating to the former Spindle City. Poirier tends to dismiss any negative talk of Fall River, pointing only to the overwhelming beauty of the city, and how blessed we all are to live in such an area.

As far as the increase of restaurants in the city, Poirier said it’s “unfortunate” that it hasn’t been that way already for the last 20 years.

“The setting in the city, the westward view of the city is very unique.

We are blessed with amazing views, access to the water and history of the city and with the influx of restaurants in the city, people may start to explore it and see what a treasure it really is,” said Poirier, who hopes to begin serving lunch and coffee offerings in her club soon and just welcomed a new arrival of a baby grand piano for classic nightly entertainment. “My father worked all over the country and he always said there was no place like home when he came back here. This city has so much to offer. This is a multi-cultured city where anyone can come and be embraced. The restaurants just provide more diversity to an already amazing city.”

The South Coast Insider / March 2013

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WINE NOTES

Getting older, getting better

by Alton Long

Many years ago I went to the wine shop and asked the salesperson near the door to show me where the Bordeaux wines were. My wife was making a nice roast beef dinner for a special guest whom I knew appreciated fine wine.

I had the pleasure of dining out with him on business and he always delighted me by ordering a very fine wine for our dinner. I knew that one of the best wines for pairing with roast beef would be a fine red Bordeaux.

The kindness of strangers Standing nearby was a well-dressed elderly gentleman who overheard my request to the sales person.

He asked me if I was buying that bottle of Bordeaux for my cellar, or did I plan to consume it soon. I told him about my wife’s roast beef dinner and that a red Bordeaux wine was 28

recommended in the cookbook she was using.

He slowly smiled and very politely said, “You really should buy two bottles: one for tonight and the other to lay down in a cool dark space and leave it there for a year or two to see how it improves.” Then he added, ”One of the greatest joys of my senior years is having a bottle of old Bordeaux that I put away back when I was your age.” So I did, and two years later I experienced exactly what he meant. And that was the beginning of my wine cellar.

About 20 years later, when I planned to move from my home in Pennsylvania to Rhode Island, I had close

March 2013 / The South Coast Insider

to 600 bottles in my cellar. I used a lot of it with several celebrations with friends and neighbors as we announced our plans to move to Rhode Island. But I still had to move about 400 bottles to my new home. Now, as I grow older and slowly deplete my aging wine cellar, I too find that I have many special joys that I can “draw from my cellar.” Some of these are wines I anticipated would be “over the hill.” But after breathing a while, I discovered that they usually improve and become delicious. I still have many bottles of old wines; some are a bit tired, but others are often amazing.

Bottles with a history Almost all bottles of decent wines have the vintage year on them. On those good bottles that I want to save for special occasion I also write the date of purchase, and if they were a gift from a friend, I add that person’s

name as well as the date it was given and cellared.

If they visit me again, and that wine is appropriate, I will open it in their honor, The guests are usually very pleased. So in any case, it is often a special time when I open one of these gift bottles and I always drink a toast to the giver.

Mellowing the tannic ‘bite’ It is well known that tannin, which is leached from the grape skins as a wine ferments, especially a red wine, is often offensive to most wine lovers. It has a bitter and dry character that distracts from the beauty of the wine flavors.

Fortunately it dissipates with aging. An almost undrinkable red Zinfandel that was purchased in the 80s was quite pleasant after a 20-year rest in the cellar.

Yes, it was over 21 years old, so it was really ready to drink.

Actually, tannin tends to serve as a preservative to the fruit of the wine. Of course the alcohol keeps wine safe to consume for centuries. It has been my pleasure to consume some very old wines, many over 50 years old. As an aside, I once had a taste (about two ounces) of an 1863 Port.

First, I immediately noticed it was a pale, clear, reddishbrown color. The aroma was initially a bit “dumb,” faint and fleeting. I used the technique of covering the glass with my very clean hands, i.e., no lotion or residual food odors. I can remember the experience to this day. First, I detected a hint of a “tea,” then something faint like some can-

appears that our ancestors were really onto a great idea, preserving grape juice so if you ever had a really bad harvest, you could draw off the wines that you had cellared. It must have been a rewarding discovery for them to learn that the cellaring may have actually made the wines better.

Tannin is also nicely abated when it is served with a meat dish or with a cheese, especially one that is rich and creamy. This is one reason, if not the primary one, that red wines, (which usually have a lot more tannin than white wines) are best with red meat. On the other hand please note that tannin in any wine seems to “fight” with fish and

One of the greatest joys of wine is retrieving a wine you purchased several years ago and enjoying this slightly aged and much improved wine. died fruit. When I sipped it, and swished it around in my mouth, I immediately felt it was soft and smooth, as it had lost nearly all of its tannin. This made it seem very mellow. But as I swallowed it and reflected on the aftertaste I once again sensed the residual candied fruit. I decided it was delicious!

But somehow, while the wine was not in any way “great,” I was emotionally impacted as I thought, “Oh my, the grapes that were used to make this wine were picked when Abraham Lincoln was still alive.” This experience has stayed with me and has made me very conscious of the longevity of well-made wines. It

seafood. Those reason are complex, quite esoteric, and beyond the scope of this single article.

Starting your cellar So, the next time you go out to buy a bottle of wine, especially if it’s a red wine, buy two. Set one aside in a dark cool area. A basement corner might be best, but a dark closet in the coolest part of your home will still work. In any case, after you have accumulated a dozen or so bottles, you will discover, as I did, that one of the greatest joys of wine is retrieving a wine you purchased several years ago and enjoying this slightly aged and much improved wine.

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29

YOUR MONEY

The line in the sand

by Sherri Mahoney-Battles

In a previous article I advised new business owners to be prepared to lose money. Most accountants and business advisors know that in order for a new business to succeed it first needs to fail.

M

any new business owners aren’t prepared to suffer losses for the first few years and find themselves discouraged and broke before their businesses make a turn towards profitability. A sound financial plan that allows for the leaner start-up years will allow for continued operations until such time as the business can become profitable.

There is, however, a time to draw the line in the sand. At what point should you expect your business to become profitable? The IRS expects businesses to lose money and has guidelines as to how many years you can operate at a loss before they consider your business to be a hobby as opposed to a business. The IRS expects a business carried on for profit to make a profit during at least three of the last five years. Economics is also a factor to consider relative to a business’ ability to generate a profit. These are hard economic times for any business to profit in, and most new businesses

30

March 2013 / The South Coast Insider

should probably expect a longer period without profit than would be anticipated in a strong economy. Additionally, some types of businesses require larger outlays of start-up costs for materials, tools, or equipment that contribute to their inability to profit initially.

Stop working for free At some point, however, every business owner should expect to be compensated for their services, and a business that cannot cover its expenses and compensate its owner is not sustainable. Most small business owners see little separation between themselves and their business. Tell a business owner that their business is failing, and you might as well have told them that their child is stupid.

After all, a business is a lot like a child that we raise and nurture, taking pride in its gains and often turning a blind eye to its faults.

A case study Many years ago I worked with a client that owned a specialty foods store.

Michelle had owned this store for over 10 years when I began working with her, but the business had never made a profit. Every year she subsidized her business with home equity loans, refinances, credit cards and loans from family and friends. Michelle owed everyone money and vendors often refused to make deliveries due to non-payment. She avoided going places for fear of running into people that she had borrowed money from.

She worked long hours seven days a week without getting a paycheck.

Michelle was drained both financially and emotionally, had trouble sleeping at night, and was beginning to have health problems. We worked together for several years on different strategies designed to make her business profitable, but for various reasons none of them seemed to work. Michelle seemed determined to sabotage whatever progress we made.

One day during an intense meeting I crossed a hard line and asked her some difficult questions. Why was she willing to work for a business that was not able to pay her? Did she not value herself or feel that her time was worth anything? Would she take a job working for another company if there was no paycheck at the end of the week? Obviously, these questions struck a raw nerve and we stopped working together shortly after this meeting. A few years later I was surprised to receive a letter from Michelle.

She wanted me to know that she had closed her store and gotten a job with a paycheck. The difficult questions that I had asked were a turning point for her. She admitted that although the questions and their answers were painful to hear at the time, they ultimately allowed her to free herself from a business that took more than she was able to give.

Turning a failing business into a success requires that you set expectations and goals for the business. A business needs to be held accountable. Would you go to work for a company that didn’t provide you with a paycheck?

The same should hold true for your own business. Define and write down the expectations that you have for your business. Your business needs to provide adequate compensation for the time that you invest. It should also provide for a future retirement and the same benefits that you would expect to receive from an employer.

Too many times I have worked with clients who have no expectation or level of accountability for their businesses. When we write a business plan and do cash flow projections we set goals for our business to achieve These tools are a map towards success, and a business without a map or goals has no place to go.

Carl’s Collision Center

Sherri Mahoney-Battles, of Taxing Matters, specializes in income tax preparation for small businesses and individuals. As an Enrolled Agent, licensed by the IRS, Sherri has been representing clients for over twenty-five years. Visit her website at www.taxingmatters.com.

The South Coast Insider / March 2013

31

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Any home can be easily equipped for whole house audio. You can upgrade your existing home audio or theatre system to work wirelessly with your smartphone or tablet. If you don’t currently have a system, we suggest installing in-wall or in-ceiling architectural speakers for living areas that get the most use. Basic portable players are great for bedrooms and home offices and outdoor speakers can be setup for your deck, porch or pool.

Whole house audio is a great way to add value to your home and more music to your life.

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Home Improvement & Outdoor Living

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hen looking for an apartment, safety, friendliness of staff and residents and care-free living are important. The best way to determine if the place you are considering has these qualities is to ask the residents that you see while visiting.

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Your health

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hen practicing yoga, did you know that the breath is 1,000 times more important than the postures? Did you know that a complete organic breath can increase one’s longevity, and retard the aging process?

Did you know that a slow, prolonged hold of a posture has more profound benefits than a quick sequence of postures done in unison? Of this you can be certain: a little yoga, done consistently, develops “clear seeing” and “calm abiding” within the body/ mind…and the process is nothing less than transformational.

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Fall River YMCA slates $10m renovation With half of their $10 million budget already met with grants and tax credits, the Fall River YMCA has big plans for its 1892-vintage building, located at 199 N. Main St. The plans specify keeping the historical building, but with extensive renovations.

Included in the plans, announced at a recent press conference to kick off the fundraising campaign, are a new entrance and an elevator to make the entire building handicapped-accessible and constructing two squash courts on the back of the building next to the pool. The existing squash courts will become a fitness center, and above the new facility will be classrooms, computer labs and a kitchen for the Y’s after-school programs.

For more information, contact the Fall River YMCA at 508-675-7841 or www. ymcasouthcoast.org. Photos courtesy of Image Plus Photography.

1. Frank Duffy, Nick Christ, Jean MacCormack, Gary Schuyler, CEO and President YMCA Southcoast, Atty. Peter Bullard 2. Mayor William Flanagan, Nancy Bonell 3. Gary Schuyler, Atty. Peter Bullard, Atty. Arthur DeAscentis, Dr. John J. Sbrega

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The South Coast Insider / March 2013

33

BUSINESS BUZZ

Too broke to go bankrupt: a success story

by Jay Pateakos

T

here are perhaps few business stories in our region that portray the impact of the great recession and a business survival more than Precix, Inc. Founded in 1910 and famous for their gas masks used at the height of World War II, the Precix of today, which manufactures high-performance sealing components for the automotive, aerospace, energy and industrial markets, almost died when the recession took hold. Halfway through 2008, with the recession beginning to take a stranglehold, no one was buying cars and Precix, with a full employee count of 300, began a rapid descent that saw more than 100 employees laid off in less than a year.

Those that were lucky enough to stay, including upper management, saw significant cuts in pay, benefits and 401(k) accounts.

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March 2013 / The South Coast Insider

Photos by Neil Alexander

Down but not out “At that time, we couldn’t even afford to go bankrupt. We had to stretch payables because no one at that time was buying cars,” said Precix President David Slutz, who took over just as the economy tanked. “Then the bank comes in and says, nah, we don’t like your loans, wanting us to sell or shut down.”

But Slutz was not about to let a company nearing its centennial anniversary flop. Although he tended and preferred to shy away from the political figures of the area, Slutz took his case to then-New Bedford Mayor Scott Lang and flew to Washington to visit with Congressman Barney Frank.

Nervous banks “We weren’t missing payments or anything and we felt we had time but our bank was looking to break covenants at a time when the whole world was falling apart. We were still

making the payments,” said Slutz.

“Eventually the bank backed off, we were able to borrow money from the state.”

With two plants, including a secondary one that was costing the company $22,000 a day, Slutz decided to close the second plant in mid-2009 and make the other one that much more efficient.

And then, like a divine message, “Cash for Clunkers” was created.

For more than a year, consumers had not been interested in buying cars but the new government program helped the automobile industry rebound virtually overnight.

“We went from struggling to survive to calling people back to work, we were so busy. Suddenly we had 342 employees and sales had never been higher,” said Slutz. “The economy had eliminated many other companies, leaving us little competition. We were shipping to 26 different countries.”

Despite the huge sales, Slutz continued to trim the fat, eliminating products that they were losing money on and focused on parts that were only made by select manufacturers.

Sales for FY 2009 were $23 million but by FY2012, they had more than doubled to $48 million. Not too bad for a company that in mid-2008 was nearly on life support.

Valuable lessons learned For Slutz, the experience provided many lessons learned that are carried on even today. Get involved. Talk to people. Stay in touch with local and state politicians and officials.

“You never finish what you never start. We knew we had to get something done, we just had to figure it out,” Slutz said. “The biggest thing was staying connected, whether it was reaching out to Lang or Frank or others. We weren’t asking for a bailout; we were just looking to run a little interference. Now I do more networking and I want to stay connected.”

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Honesty is the best policy And there’s not a board or committee that Slutz has not volunteered his time for. When it comes to his employees, Slutz has maintained an open, honest dialogue since that first day in July, 2008, when everything exploded. He never lied to any of them, he said, he was always upfront, and that, among many other reasons, was why they stayed with him through good and bad.

“I took over in June of 2008 and my first round of layoffs was in July.

These are things you go through that don’t get taught. But I always kept the employees in the know and told them I would never lie to them, and I didn’t,” said Slutz, whose employees average tenure is roughly two decades. “It taught me to build a strong rapport with my associates, like it was the world against us, but I always kept them informed. Once we were able to, we reinstated full pay and benefits and everyone is energized and happy.

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35

REGIONAL NEWS

Planning in plain English

by Grant King

C

ity planning needs to be rebranded and its role in our communities needs to be clearly explained. To this end, let’s translate some common planning words and phrases into plain American English: When a planner advocates for sustainability, we should also hear the words self-reliance, efficiency, and restraint.

Workforce housing opportunities just means decent rents for middleclass families whose primary breadwinner might be a policeman or a school teacher.

The phrases “pedestrian-friendly” and “compact neighborhood” should evoke independence from foreign oil as much as images of children walking safely to school or employees commuting on bikes.

Mitigating climate change is the same thing as maintaining the integrity of crops, fishing holes, hunting grounds, drinking water, and real estate assets by the shore.

I’ve been adding entries to this dictionary of translations over the past few months, during which time I’ve had the honor to visit with many of the South Coast’s citizens, boards of selectmen, mayors, and even Governor Patrick. The purpose of these meetings was to prepare for a major land use planning update in our region. The work is quite simple: during public workshops, citizens are looking at their community and answering the questions “where should we develop?” and “what should we protect?” And they aren’t just pulling the answers out of thin air—they are 36

March 2013 / The South Coast Insider

actively debating municipal priorities and basing their decisions on accurate, interactive information such as the location of sewer service areas, zoning districts, drinking water resources, and historic sites.

While these meetings have been

overwhelmingly positive and constructive, we’ve sometimes needed that dictionary. Certainly not because participants needed more knowledge! No, we needed translations for the times when people were using different, seemingly opposing

words to advance similar ideas, to voice the shared priorities, and to show that they each cared equally about balancing their neighbor’s property rights with smart development. We needed the dictionary to find common ground.

Translating plans into practice Since the first round of this landuse planning took place almost five years ago, these same citizens and communities have been putting their plans into practice: At annual town meetings, communities are passing sustainable zoning amendments that are both development-friendly and careful with natural resources. (Translation: two-thirds of your town believes that fiscal self-reliance, efficient return on private investment, and showing restraint towards drinking water supplies and animal habitats can all go together.)

the need to hold down public debt or make other needed investments, South Coast Rail offers another opportunity to speak plainly and to seek common ground. I’ll start: no one can be certain that the project is the absolute best investment of taxpayer resources. To know that for sure we need information contained in the Final Environmental Impact Review/Statement (due later this Spring), clear-eyed benefit: cost analysis, and clairvoyant vision that can see 50 years into the future after the project is built.

However, we can confidently say that quick, simplistic criticism of this public investment ignores the fact that the rail is only a small portion of the Patrick administration’s balanced transportation plan–a plan that dedicates over 70 percent of proposed new capital to the existing system while also seeking to enable future growth and service expansion in

If we continue to refer to our planning dictionary, to speak plainly, and to try to translate each other’s ideas, we can also be sure to stay in good company Municipalities are providing incentives to produce workforce housing opportunities. Translation: Your city is working with developers to provide middle-class families with decent rents and mortgage rates.

Cities and towns are working to target infrastructure investments or conservation efforts to their chosen priority development and priority protection areas. Translation: Your town is working hard with limited resources to enable needed real estate and commercial development while protecting your favorite fishing hole.

long-neglected cities and towns. This criticism also ignores the independent merits of local planning efforts.

If we continue to refer to our planning dictionary, to speak plainly, and to try to translate each other’s ideas, we can also be sure to stay in good company–company ranging from the decent and smart (and sometimes skeptical) citizens of the South Coast to a decent and smart governor, all of us leaning on shared values and common-sense planning to ensure that our communities grow well and that taxpayer money is money well-spent.

Shared values and common sense

Principal Comprehensive Planner Grant King is at SRPEDD. He is working on community-driven land use planning associated with the South Coast Rail project.

All of these planning efforts are made possible through funding associated with the South Coast Rail project. While one might be conflicted about the cost of the project and

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The South Coast Insider / March 2013

37

ON MY MIND

Thumbs up for Utah

by Paul E. Kandarian

In my never-ending quest to hurt myself doing fun things, I screwed up my thumb while skiing.

I didn’t set out to do it. I never set out to hurt myself, it sorta just happens, the way when a politician opens his or her mouth, lies come out. It’s just a given.

This happened skiing in Utah. First of all, in defense of Utah, it was not the state’s fault. It’s the state’s fault for a myriad of other things, such as Mormonism, and the glaring lack of a state lottery as a result, which is a shame because having one would mean us travelers pumping more money into the economy.

Mormons, members of the mouthful known as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, are an odd lot, which sort of explains Nitwit Mitt Romney’s odd look through much of his losing presidential campaign.

They don’t smoke or drink liquor or coffee. They don’t socialize with non-Mormons nor let their kids play with non-Mormon kids.

They don’t allow pre-marital sex, tattoos, looking at pornography or doing any gambling. In short, they’re 38

more boring than a CPA convention.

But they’re not as polygamous as I thought, with just the fundamentalists among them marrying more than one woman, which in my opinion isn’t so much immoral as it is WAY too much work. One woman at a time will drain most men, more than one is downright suicide.

But hey, it can be fun: At Squatters Pub in downtown Salt Lake, they serve a mean “Polygamy Porter,” which according to the label is so good, you can “take some home to the wives.”

Welcome to the inversion Another thing Utah is to blame for is air pollution. It seems odd that in a state of incredible beauty and otherworldly geology (think Bryce Canyon, Monument Valley and Zion national parks, jaw-dropping places to say the least), there’d be a pollution problem. I flew into Salt Lake on a clear day, dropping into a blanket of what I thought were clouds, but later found out was also air pollution.

They have inversion there, low clouds get trapped in the valley and smog from

March 2013 / The South Coast Insider

mining and refining operations and cars can’t escape, so the whole city is shrouded in this grisly, off-white mist that’s so bad you can’t even see the Wasatch Mountains which are seemingly so close to the city you can touch them.

I read while I was there that the state in January had the worst air-quality rating in the nation, and often does. Other

headlines declared doctors saying smog in Utah leads to early deaths, others declaring a health emergency due to pollution, and one saying the “mother of all inversions” set up shop in northern Utah. Highway signs are always advising carpooling to help clear the air. I mean all this in one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen.

When I got above smog level, anyway.

And I did, skiing up at Alta, Snowbird and Snowbasin, cutting through cavernous mountain passes, past gates that close the road when there is avalanche danger (and with 10,000-foot steep peaks, there’s always avalanche danger), and hearing the routine booming of artillery used to knock down dangerous snow on high.

I had never skied the West, always skiing the East, and getting used to it, the boilerplate, the ice, the constant threat of rocks sticking out of rock-hard snow, skis and teeth chattering as I cut across frozen, uncertain terrain.

excruciating pain through my hand. So I did what comes naturally to any skier: I got up, shook it off, kept skiing and then went to the Rustler’s Lodge (which has its own minilift to get to), ate some killer chili and had a beer. Oh, then I got my thumb fixed.

Turns out it was a tear of the ulnar collateral ligament that runs down the thumb. The doc at the Alta clinic was great, fitting me with a removable cast when I wasn’t skiing and even crafting one over my ski glove so I could continue the sport I love. I asked if I should keep skiing the next two days, and he answered with words

I followed my doctor’s advice, which admittedly I don’t often do, and skied the hell out of Utah Welcome to great snow Not so the West. Here, even in the absence of fresh powder as was the case when I was there, the snow is a skier’s dream come true, particularly older ones like me, hardpacked, well-groomed, easy-to-ski heaven on white Earth. I skied hard, as hard as my age allowed anyway, and had the absolute best skiing experience of my life.

Well, there was that first morning at Alta, when I was going too fast down a steep slope and cut too hard into the mountain, slamming on my side, my right thumb banging into the hard pack and sending a white-hot sheet of

sure to warm the heart of any weekend warrior: “Oh, by all means, I would if I were you.” I mean this guy is a true skier, he even works at the clinic wearing ski pants, pulling duty between runs on the mountain. You gotta love that.

So I followed my doctor’s advice, which admittedly I don’t often do, and skied the hell out of Utah the next two days, falling here and there, not getting hurt (or more hurt) each time, and having the time of my life.

So thanks, Utah, you may have weird Mormons and air pollution problems, but when it comes to skiing, you get a huge, cast-covered thumbs-up from me.

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