Westport
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EverythingWestport.com
Sunday,
November 29, 2015
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Westport
Land Conservation Trust joins #GivingTuesday Movement.
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Westport Selectmen voted unanimously at their last meeting
to join the program. Residents are automatically enrolled, but may “opt-out”
if they wish. EverythingWestport.com Monday,
November 16, 2015 Westport - Community leaders from across southeastern
Massachusetts today announced the launch of a regional Community Electricity
Aggregation program. Organized by municipal leaders, the program allows
participating residents and businesses to significantly reduce electricity
rates through a bulk-purchasing contract. "Spiking
utility costs over the last two winters have placed a real burden on
household budgets," said New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell. "New
Bedford and the other participating communities have worked closely with
SRPEDD and consultant Good Energy, to secure a fixed-term contract that will
help to protect area residents and businesses from future spikes in
electricity prices." Under the new contract,
beginning in January 2016, the rate per kWh for electricity supply will be
fixed for 24 months at $0.0949/kWh. Based on this new rate and historical
utility usage data, the group is expecting to see an estimated $15 million in
aggregate savings in the region when compared to the current Eversource and National Grid published winter utility
rates. Eligible accounts
will be automatically enrolled unless they choose to opt-out during a 30-day
opt-out period. There will be no early termination fees at any time for those
who wish to leave this new program, as compared to many other competitive
supply offers that do include early termination fees. Working with the
Southeastern Regional Planning and Economic Development District (SRPEDD), 23
communities in the region succeeded in using their combined purchasing power
to establish new power rates that will bring savings to area residents and
businesses in participating communities this winter. Communities participating in
the SRPEDD program include Acushnet, Attleboro, Carver, Dartmouth, Dedham,
Dighton, Douglas, Dracut, Fairhaven, Fall River, Freetown, Marion,
Mattapoisett, New Bedford, Northbridge, Norton, Plainville, Rehoboth,
Seekonk, Somerset, Swansea, Westford, and Westport for a combined
225,000 eligible households and businesses. Ross Perry,
Director of Municipal Management at SRPEDD said, "We started looking
into this last year and managed to get through the regulatory approvals
process in record time. We had a lot of support and guidance from State
elected officials, the Department of Energy Resources and the Department of
Public Utilities and we're very excited to get the program underway in time for
January winter rates."
To learn more
about the program, contact (844) MASSCEA (627-7232) info@masscea.com or visit www.MASSCEA.com. For more information, contact: Tim King Westport
Town Administrator 508.636.1003
or email: kingt@westport-ma.gov.
Ross Perry Director of
Municipal Management at SRPEDD 508.824.1367 Ext.
214 Mobile:
978.621.6662 or email: Jackie Abramian BridgeView Marketing (for Good Energy,
Inc.) 603.570.7533 or
email: Jackie@bridgeviewmarketing.com
Twitter: @GoodEnergyUS EverythingWestport.com Tuesday, November
24, 2015 I witnessed many
controversies. The latest one causes a
little pain in me — “restoring dunes” at Beach Avenue.” I have lived
in this town for 90 years and witnessed many controversies. The
latest one causes a little pain in me — “Restoring dunes” at Beach Avenue.” I started operating
a swordfish boat out of Westport in 1941. At that time there was a big house
on the Charlton property close to the beach. That house was clearly
visible to me when returning to port. I don’t remember any dunes
interfering with my vision of that house. A good example of
what can happen to dunes is the west end of Horseneck Beach. Before the
’38 hurricane there were five cottages located there. My uncle had one.
Those cottages were probably about 50 feet into the dunes. A few years
ago a friend asked me to go to the beach and explain something for
him. We walked down the beach to the west end at low tide. He
pointed to two pipes about 2 inches in diameter sticking above the water —
nearby was a concrete block. I said that the
pipes were well points used for water to one of the cottages. When one
pipe plugged up, another was driven down for water. The location of
those pipes tells me that about 300 feet of dunes had gone. Because
there are more dunes behind that area, the ocean is kept from the
river. The Beach Avenue spit is so
narrow that I believe constructing dunes will not last because there will be
no backup to save them. The sand will soon be in the river. Highway Surveyor
Paul Perreira placed big stones along East beach to
try to save the road. The state of Massachusetts ordered them removed
because they were not “natural.” If I never saw dunes at Beach Avenue,
then why isn’t “no” dunes natural? I also would
like to see the area left as is. The road is not great but we do not go
there for a smooth ride. Wife Alice has been totally blind and in a
wheelchair for four years. She could not go to any beach until Beach
Avenue came along. What a pleasure for me to see her smiling with her
feet in the sand. Please leave Beach Avenue as Mother Nature has
designed it. Carlton “Cukie” Macomber Westport EverythingWestport.com Tuesday, November
24, 2015 I am sorry to
report that we have hit a snag with the project and need to suspend our
effort and pass it (over) at the Special Town Meeting on December 1st. One of the
properties that abuts the section of
roadway to be abandoned has changed hands this week. The new owner
understandably has not had time to evaluate the long term impact of our
project on his new property. Recall that we committed to
obtain cooperation from all of the property owners affected by the discontinuance.
Without their help, we cannot return 100% of the land currently in the
road layout to the Town and in this case, we are faced with changing the
plan so significantly as to disqualify it under the warrant article. We would like to
express our gratitude to all of the parties that have come together to bring
the project to this point. This effort has engendered such
a spirit of cooperation among residents that many have donated their
time, resources and property to make the plan work. Very special
thanks to those many supporters who have been out there spreading the word
and so successfully turning around
lingering misconceptions. We would also like to thank
those Westporters who have been thoughtful in their critique of this
project. It is only after listening to those concerns and making key
adjustments to the project that we were able to create something we can all
be proud of. Finally, I would
like to thank all of you who have taken the time to look into this project to
consider how to vote at Town Meeting. R. Michael
Sullivan, member Westport Board of Selectmen. Westport
Land Conservation Trust Joins #GivingTuesday
Movement. Contributions
Save the Places People Love and Strengthen Land Conservation. EverythingWestport.com Thursday,
November 26, 2015 Westport, MA
November 19, 2015 – Westport Land Conservation Trust announced today it has
joined #GivingTuesday,
a national day of spending with a purpose. Taking place Tuesday, December 1st, #GivingTuesday
comes on the heels of Black Friday and Cyber Monday to create a better world. By harnessing the
power of social media, #GivingTuesday participants
inspire people to take action that improves their community by supporting the
causes and charities most important to them. “Our individual
supporters are the lifeblood of our organization,” said Executive Director
Ryan Mann. “Their support and commitment to conservation provides us not only
with the resources to do our work, but with the confidence to tackle any and
all challenges. We’re extremely grateful to all who support us this Giving
Tuesday.” Contributions to
the Westport Land Conservation Trust can be made by sending a check to WLCT
PO Box 3975 Westport, MA 02790. For other options
see the “donate” link on their website - www.westportlandtrust.org.
“Local land
trusts like WLCT form the backbone of land conservation in America,” said Rob
Aldrich, director of community conservation at the Land Trust Alliance, a
national land conservation organization that counts WLCT among its more than
1,100 member land trusts. “To remember WLCT this Giving Tuesday is to
remember the importance of land to our communities.” © 2015 Community Events of Westport. All rights
reserved. EverythingWestport.com |
