The South Coast Insider - March 2015

March 2015

the south coast

Vol. 19 / No. 3

coastalmags.com

nurture your soul

Gallery gazing Keeping an eye on diet

Famous females Bright ideas

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“I had tried to refinance my business in the past, but I never found the right tool for the job.

I could never achieve my goals,” Paul says.

But that all changed, he says, when he met Ed Moniz from St. Anne’s Credit Union.

Paul Medeiros (left) of Paul’s Auto Body and Sales with Ed Moniz, Senior Business Development Specialist, St. Anne’s Credit Union

“Ed was very honest and helpful right from the beginning. I was told what my rate was going to be, what fees would apply. That never changed. We remained in constant contact from the beginning to the very end. It was a great experience — one I would recommend to anyone,” Paul explains.

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contents

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MARCH 2015 In every issue

4 28

32

12

Book picks

By LAURA LATOUR

Dateline: South Coast

By Elizabeth Morse Read

COVER STORY

6

20

30

From the publisher

20

BUSINESS BUZZ

14

Taking on taxes

By SHERRI MAHONEY-BATTLES

16 Hitting a moving target

30

By STEVE SMITH

What about your bulbs?

By DAN LOGAN

Nutrition month

OF INTEREST

Explorium on the move

22

By Jay Pateakos

By MICHAEL J. DECICCO

24

Emerald canines

By BRIAN J. LOWNEY

Famous women

THINGS TO DO

10

Take part in art

ON MY MIND

A place tolearn and play

38

12

18

By SEAN McCARTHY

By Elizabeth Morse Read

A St. Patrick’s Day quiz

By PAUL E. KANDARIAN

By DEREK VITAL

Sugarbush time!

By JOYCE ROWLEY

ON THE COVER These wooden bowls, handcrafted by South Dartmouth-based woodworker Brian Weir, are on display in Gallery 65 in New Bedford. For more on Gallery 65, visit www.Gallery65OnWilliam.com or read our article on page 10!

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March 2015 / The South Coast Insider

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The South Coast Insider / March 2015

3

FROM THE PUBLISHER March 2015 / Vol. 19 / No. 3

Published by

Coastal Communications Corp.

Is it spring yet? I can’t tell from behind this wall of snow!

Publisher and Editor-in-Chief Ljiljana Vasiljevic

While we sit and wait for that glorious thaw, there’s still lots

Editor

to see, do, and learn.

Sebastian Clarkin

Online Editor Paul Letendre

Sure, we’ve all stocked up on milk and bread, but that’s

Contributors

hardly a healthy diet. Jay Pateakos asked a few nutritionists

Michael J. DeCicco, Paul E. Kandarian, Laura Latour, Dan Logan, Brian J. Lowney, Sherri Mahoney-Battles, Sean McCarthy, Elizabeth Morse Read, Jay Pateakos, Joyce Rowley, Steve Smith, Derek Vital

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 ©2015 Coastal Communications Corp.

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.

Deadline

for their best advice on how to get fit and healthy. Start your new diet on page 6.

We’re all looking forward to those April showers, but only if those water droplets aren’t tears! Tax season can be paralyzingly stressful, but on page 14, Sherri Mahoney-Battles has all the advice (and positive encouragement) you need to make it through another round with the IRS. With all the snow days, power bills can become a concern. Dan Logan has some money-saving advice on page 30.

If you’re starting to come down with cabin fever, we’ve got just the prescription.

On page 12, Derek Vital recommends bringing the kids down to the Children’s

20 days prior to publication.

Museum of Greater Fall River. On page 18, Joyce Rowley fills you in on tapping

Circulation

maple trees for sap. And if you’re completely buried in the snow, follow Laura

30,000

Latour’s book recommendations on page 28 to explore some other worlds.

Subscriptions

$25 per year

Address

Let’s make the most of winter while it’s still here. I’ll see you in the spring!

The South Coast Insider 144 Purchase Street Fall River, MA 02722

Phone

(508) 677-3000

Website

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E-mail

editor@coastalmags.com Our advertisers make this publication possible— please support them.

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March 2015 / The South Coast Insider

Ljiljana Vasiljevic Publisher and Editor-in-Chief

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The South Coast Insider / March 2015

5

Nutrition month

COVER STORY

BY Jay Pateakos

You know those New Year’s resolutions of eating better and exercising have long since disappeared as you read this. January is over and most people go back to the way they were. So consider this your second chance to get it right. Make this one stick.

I’ve never been that into nutrition in any form.

But that needs to stop. My kids eat far healthier than I do and I wonder how I went wrong along the way. Was it my upbringing? College? Single life that made me just eat whatever I wanted? Well, I’m certainly not the healthiest of people despite the fact that I work out each week. Like many, I could stand to lose a few pounds and how that will come is through eating better – something I need to start focusing on in a hurry.

My blood pressure wasn’t great at my last physical and if that wasn’t an indication that change is needed, I don’t know what is. While my father lived to be 91, I also had a brother die at 38 of a heart attack so there is always concern in the air for where my future sits and what I need to do to make this journey as long as possible. The interviews below will help guide people like me, looking for a place

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March 2015 / The South Coast Insider

to start and help push them where they need to go and not go. We have to take care of these bodies of ours and make sure we are around to eventually be pains to our kids. That’s my goal.

Getting motivated

Stacy Medeiros, Registered Dietician at the Southcoast Center for Weight Loss, said the best beginning point would be to eat at least three meals per day. The next step is to talk to your primary care physician and ask for a referral for nutrition counseling.

“Most health insurance providers will cover nutritional counseling if referred by a PCP,” Medeiros noted. “There is so much confusing or false nutrition information out there and meeting with a registered dietitian can help weed out some of that.”

Medeiros said some popular myths about

nutrition include that there are good and bad foods; that fat is bad; and that you need to go on a diet to lose weight. She said in the end, when it comes to all three, it’s more about the nutrition than any other factors.

“Better nutrition can either help to avoid or improve existing conditions such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, certain cancers, hypertension, high cholesterol, osteoporosis and more,” said Medeiros. “It can also help with improved mood, sleep and energy levels.”

So how exactly can we eat better? Medeiros said the key to eating healthy is planning and it doesn’t need to take that much time. Spending an hour or two per week on menu planning or preparing some meals ahead of time can make a huge difference.

But what about if you frequently eat out? How can you control your nutrition then? “Many restaurants will have the nutrition information of items on

hyperlipidemia etc. The best incentives are the ones that are meaningful to you. For example, are you eating healthy to lose weight because you want to or is that what other people say you should do? If it’s not for your own personal reasons, then chances are that the change won’t last very long.”

Myth busting

Katie Lefebvre, Assistant Professor of Biology at Bristol Community College in Fall River, had her own take on nutritional myths, including those that fat-free, diet, or organic on a label mean that a product is healthy, that fad diets are not detrimental to you in the long run, and that severely cutting calories helps increase your metabolism.

Lefebvre said fat-free products have a large amount of sugar in them, in order to compensate for the flavor lost due to fat removal. A lot of the artificial sweeteners used in diet food products have actually been shown to confuse our normal metab-

Motivation is what may have gotten you started but habits are what keep you going. the menu on their website. My suggestion to people who eat out frequently is to go on the website and determine what the best option is and have a plan prior to going out,” Medeiros said. “For restaurants that don’t offer nutritional information using a website like MyFitnessPal.com (also available as a mobile app) can help analyze foods. I think just being aware of how many calories, fat and sodium are actually in some restaurant meals can help people make better choices.”

Medeiros admitted that getting started is the hardest part, but once you start, setting small goals can help you keep at it.

“Motivation is what may have gotten you started but habits are what keep you going. Habits don’t form overnight, and realizing that it may take time to form new habits is very important,” she said.

“There could be many incentives such as feeling better, weight loss if overweight, or improvement in conditions such as diabetes, hypertension,

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“And there is currently no real regulation over the use of the term “organic.” A lot of the fad diets out there are no different than if you were to consume three candy bars a day – they are aimed at cutting calories, rather than giving the consumer better nutrients,” said Lefebvre. “And, tying into the third point, a reduction in the number of calories below the medically recommended level will actually slow your metabolism in the long run.”

Lefebvre said the reason better nutrition is important is because we literally are what we eat.

“Our cells get all of the nutrients and energy that they require from the food that we consume,” she noted. “If we consume food poor in nutritional value, our bodies will suffer – it’s the equivalent of putting 87 unleaded in a vehicle that requires diesel.”

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Continued FROM PREVIOUS PAGE

And the incentives for better nutrition?

“Accountability – have someone or perhaps a website that you must report to. Think about all of the benefits you will see after achieving better nutrition: increased cardiac health and endurance, better performance in sports, and in your personal life, plus a long life and more time to spend with family,” Lefebvre. “Pick a diet that you can actually stick to – one you actually like eating.

Allow yourself planned treats – denying yourself completely will likely lead to binging later.”

Healthy and whole

Dr. Laura Tavares Bomback, owner of the Fall River-based Natural Health Solutions cited a 1951 quote from Dr. Royal Lee, one of the pioneers of whole food nutrition where he is referring to drug therapy over nutrition: “One of the biggest

Like Medeiros, Bomback said one prevalent myth about nutrition is that fat is bad for us. She said fats are important for the production of hormones, immune system, digestion, heart health and many other benefits.

“We need fats from animals (meat, fatty fish, eggs), butter, nuts, avocados, oils (olive, coconut, flax, palm, even lard). Avoid all hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated oils, such as corn, soy, safflower, canola, and cottonseed; these are the fats that contribute to heart disease,” said Bomback. “A wonderful website that is based on principles of healthy diets is The Weston A. Price Foundation. Dr. Price, like Dr. Lee, was a pioneer in real food nutrition. The site is www.WestonAPrice.org and is well worth visiting. There are many myths debunked on this site.”

Bomback said because our bodies are always in need of fuel for energy and are always undergoing repair, we need to put in quality fuel and quality

Learn to forgive yourself and move forward because you still have the rest of the day left to make wiser decisions. tragedies of human civilization is the precedents of chemical therapy over nutrition. It is a substitution of artificial therapy over natural, of poison over food, in which we are feeding people poisons trying to correct the reactions of starvation.”

“We are overfed yet we are still suffering from malnutrition and starvation,” said Bomback, referring to the quote. “We have been feeding ourselves with non-food and as a result we have become a nation of tired, overweight people just waiting for a disease to happen to us.”

So where should we start? Well, Bomback noted, you need to start small and be realistic.

“For example, begin by making small changes such as reducing sugar from your diet. Sugar is such a toxic, addictive substance that reducing it can make big differences in the way you feel,” Bomback said. “As you begin to eliminate sugar, then you can start substituting better choices, such as fruit.”

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March 2015 / The South Coast Insider

repair products such as vitamins, minerals, fats and proteins from real food.

“Our cells undergo division and need to have real repair products in order to divide into another healthy cell. If we don’t, then it affects the quality of the genetic material of the cell and if the cell quality diminishes, it divides into another unhealthy cell and then there goes the tissue quality and ultimately the organ. This is how ill or non-optimum health sets in. We are only as healthy as our cells,” said Bomback.

Oh and how many of us love processed food.

Well, definitely stay away from that, Bomback stressed.

“Processed food is non-food. It doesn’t have the true building blocks for running and repairing the body, but whole food does,” she said. “Keep in mind that if it didn’t have a mother or if it didn’t grow out of the ground then it is not whole food. It is true that we are what we eat, but, even more true

is that we become what we eat.”

Her advice to maintain better nutrition throughout our busy lives is to keep healthy edibles with you or in your car such as nuts or fruit – pack snacks in a small lunch cooler such as a small piece of cheese and gluten free crackers, cut up veggies with hummus, water or green tea instead of soft drinks. Also, a protein drink can take the place of a sugary/salty snack.

“There is so much good food out there, we are only limited by our imagination,” Bomback said.

“Sometimes we need to think outside the box.”

And how you stay on that right path is to continue to practice making healthy choices, keep your choices simple and clean, lay off the high carbohydrate foods or keep them to a minimum, such as bread and potatoes and avoid fried foods due to the rancid oils they are cooked in.

“The best incentive to keeping it up is how you begin to feel physically and about yourself. You can tell how bad you feel when you eat poorly again,” Bomback said. “If you get off track, don’t think you are a failure. We have been eating processed, sugary, non-foods for most of our lives and to make life-long changes can be a challenge, so just know that it can happen. Get back on the starting line and begin again.”

Pitfalls and promise

Stephanie Reusch, MA, RD, for the Mass in Motion New Bedford/Southeastern MA Food Security Network said if you’re interested in building a strong nutritional foundation it’s important to first determine where you’re currently at in your nutrition journey. Keeping a food journal is a great way to determine your starting point and identify areas to improve, Reusch said. A food journal is a daily log of everything you eat from the time you wake up to the time you fall asleep. It includes the full details from the serving sizes to the dates and times. The more details the better, she said.

“Food journals have come a long way. If you enjoy writing, simply keep a pocket-sized notebook to jot down your meals and snacks. For those food photographers, you can snap a photo of each meal and over time you will create a visual food diary.

The phone gurus out there can choose from plenty of free food journal apps available as well,” Reusch said. “Many people who start a food diary are surprised to learn that they actually ate more food than they thought or perhaps didn’t even eat enough of the right foods, i.e. fruits and vegetables. It serves as tool for self-reflection and you are always going to learn something new about your eating habits.”

Reusch noted that she recommends recording for a least a full weeks’ worth to get a good snapshot of your eating habits. If, after you have completed

your food journal, you are feeling overwhelmed with what to do next, she recommends seeing a dietitian who can help you on your path to better nutrition. Most dietitian visits are covered under your insurance with a referral from your doctor.

Reusch said when she hears someone say they are too busy to cook breakfast she often thinks of the quote, “No one is busy in this world. It’s all about priorities.” In order to improve your overall health both physically and mentally, you have to truly make it a priority in your life, she said. Just as you would set aside the time for paying your bills or walking the dog, it’s equally as important to set aside those 15 minutes in the morning to cook breakfast.

While it is usually more difficult to eat healthier when dining out, it is not impossible, Reusch noted when asked about the frequent restaurant-goers.

“Portion sizes are a big factor to consider when eating out. Of course you want to get the biggest bang for your buck, but that can also means getting a full day worth of calories in one meal. Splitting a large plate with friends and family is a great way to not only save money, but also keep those portions in check. There is always saving the other half for later as well.”

There are a number of restaurants that have healthy dining options and even separate menus.

Knowing exactly what you are ordering will make the biggest difference, Reusch said, so she recommends becoming best friends with your server.

“Don’t be afraid to ask them questions! You are, after all, paying for the food,” she said.

When creating your goals for better health and nutrition, Reusch stressed to set yourself up for success – not failure. Start out with small changes and when you feel ready, move on to another small change. Creating a plan that works for you is key to a healthy lifestyle – not your friends, family, neighbor, or co-worker. This is your journey. The only way you will find what truly works for you is if you try yourself. Creating a healthy relationship with food is a lifelong journey, Reusch said.

And what if you fall back on the non-nutrition wagon?

“If you have a bad day and decide to eat a doughnut for breakfast, that’s okay. And if you’re going to eat it, at least enjoy it or else you’ll feel even worse and continue into the downward cycle of bad eating,” said Reusch. “Learn to forgive yourself and move forward because you still have the rest of the day left to make wiser decisions. Unfortunately, a big mistake people make when starting out on their nutrition journey is completely restricting their favorite foods. While food should be your medicine, it should also be enjoyed.”

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THINGS TO DO

Grimshaw-Gudewicz Gallery

Take part in art

By SEAN McCARTHY

If a picture says a thousand words, then what about an art gallery?

From reality to fantasy, art is a world that can only be uniquely judged by the observer. Nobody likes the same food, the same fashion, or the same music. So it is with art.

The South Coast artistic menu is rich. There is not only variety from gallery to gallery, but oftentimes there is variety within the galleries themselves.

Collections at the colleges

“Everyone has their own authentic experience from art,” says Catherine Moran, an Art History professor at Bristol Community College. “Artists create to share something and connect with other people.

Hopefully they are moved, intrigued and inspired.”

BCC makes its own contribution to the regional art community – the Grimshaw-Gudewicz Gallery on their Fall River campus (BristolCC.edu/gallery), a gallery that attracts upwards of 3,000 visitors a year, showcases artists from throughout New England for a month at a time. Every April the gallery does a show comprised entirely of students works. Every three years they do a show devoting their walls to works done by the school’s faculty.

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March 2015 / The South Coast Insider

“There are no limits to the materials that can make a work of art,” says gallery curator Kathleen Hancock. “This is a rich area for the arts. There’s a vast variety of works and it can be interesting and provocative. We’d like to challenge people’s preconceived notions of what art should be. We’re opening a lot of young minds.”

But of course galleries can open the minds of people of all ages. UMass-Dartmouth supports two galleries – one in downtown New Bedford and another on their campus in the College of Visual and Performing Arts (UMassd.edu/cvpa/universityartgallery.) The campus gallery is devoted to students and faculty and the downtown gallery displays the works of national and international artists.

According to UMass Gallery Director Viera Levitt, students are encouraged to “push the creative envelope. We want our shows to be as diverse as possible. They may be different in their mediums but they’re often unified in their talent. When we do a student show they learn what the world of professional artists and galleries can be like, it’s almost a firsthand experience. They learn to work with a

curator and other artists.”

Levitt says that the downtown gallery aims to spice up the downtown area and help people see art in a different way.

Browsing New Bedford

If you’re looking for a true creative panoply, Gallery 65 in downtown New Bedford is an eclectic feast (Gallery65OnWilliam.com.) Nearly four years after opening its doors, the gallery boasts as many as 40 local artists at a time, ranging from Cape Cod to Providence. They offer works in ceramics, glass, textile, painting, photography, wood, tiles, scarves, hats, and jewelry.

Co-owner Marc St. Pierre is currently working with Encaustic Painting, which is creating paintings with melting wax. St. Pierre co-owns the store with wife Nicole.

Your thirst for the eclectic could also take you to Gallery X, also on William St. downtown (GalleryX. org). Gallery X as two rooms – a main gallery upstairs with the Frederick Douglass Gallery downstairs. Since getting its start 25 years ago, this

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renovated church is run by an artist collaborative.

“We’re trying to bring different tastes together,” says owner Susan Hauck. “We want people to get lost in the art, and take them away from their world and its troubles. We’re very inclusive and involve all kinds of works. We strive to be a non-judgmental space.”

Examples of Gallery X’s uniqueness is their annual showcase titled “Classic Nude,” where the space is full of any and all forms of art that portray the naked form. The gallery also hosts a show of art done entirely by nursery school students. They also do a

rarely-available Nantucket basket weaving of Lakeville’s Trish Brown, and the exclusively-crafted boxes that Rochester’s Ted Brillon creates from exotic woods. The gallery also offers the marinethemed sculptures and creations of Mattapoisett’s Albert Doucette.

And variety is a also big factor in the main mission of Gallery TL6 in downtown (TL6TheGallery. com) and its display of almost two dozen local artists, many of whom make their works for sale.

Jewelry is a large component of the offerings with pieces that make a point to be out of the ordinary.

We want people to get lost in the art showcase featuring alumni from the defunct Swain School of Design and a student-run photography show by students of UMass-Dartmouth.

Downtown visitors can enjoy – as well as purchase – the works of a group of finely crafted, time honored artists at the Duff Gallery on Centre St (RobertDuff.com). While the major focus is the painting of owner Robert Duff who has been working with oil painting for 35 years, his gallery also includes an array of different creative approaches from a group of accomplished regional artists.

Among the artists being shown at Duff Gallery are Robbi Staples who has been selling pieces of furniture for 30 years. Also on display is the sculpture of Mattapoisett’s John Magnon, the

The store features different artists every month and puts much emphasis on monthly AHA! Nights on the second Thursday of each month. Last June, TL6 featured the body painter Melinda Abreu of New Bedford who uses special cosmetics on models who pose in underwear or bikinis and are displayed in the store’s window. Some of the models are adorned in glitter and some glowed with the assistance of black lights. The store also offers hand-made glass work and paintings as well as illustrations by Shelley Cardoos which were done on an iPad. In the world of art there seems to be something for everyone. There are so many opportunities because there is no limit to creativity.

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11

THINGS TO DO

A place to learn and play

By Derek Vital

Since moving into its permanent home on North Main Street a few years ago, The Children’s Museum of Greater Fall River has become a popular destination for families with young children.

The museum boasts various themed rooms including the Lego Room, Violet’s Music, World of Water, and Dino’s Dig where young people can explore a number of hands-on activities.

Executive Director JoAnne Sbrega said the museum is in the process of building a new Air Wall exhibit where objects like scarves and light balls go through tubes configured on a wall powered by air.

Sbrega said they hope to have the new exhibit up and

12

March 2015 / The South Coast Insider

running this spring. They are also putting together a train exhibit which is scheduled to open later this year.

“All our fabricators are local at this point,” said Sbrega. “We are still looking for sponsors for existing rooms as well as new opportunities.”

After being a traveling exhibit for its first decade of operation, the Children’s Museum moved in to the Handmade jewelry by Leah Hanoud former Superior Courthouse Fall River, is perfect Valentine’s atof441 North MainforStreet Day at Plante Jewelers. two years ago. Sbrega said

the visitors are a mix of walkup customers who come check out the place for the day and members who can come as often as they please.

“Memberships are increasing all the time,” said Sbrega. “People are coming in to purchase memberships and gift certificates... which is great.”

The perks of becoming a museum member include reduced rates for birthday parties and purchases from the gift shop. Children’s Museum of Greater Fall River members get half-price entry into 300 Association of Children’s Museums nationwide. They are also part of the pass program with the libraries in greater Fall River, making a trip to the museum affordable for all families.

“We do get quite a few walk-ins and also members from other children’s museums which have the reciprocal membership which we sell as well,” said Sbrega.

Grow and learn

Sbrega lists the Dinosaur and Music themed rooms as the most popular attractions. The Dinosaur Room allows children to play the role of paleontologist, digging for fossils and playing with different types of dinosaurs.

There is also a climbing wall and a giant magnetic wall.

The Music Room includes various instruments that children can experiment with.

It is based on the children’s book Violet’s Room authored by Angela Johnson and illustrated by Laura Huluska-Beith.

“For the younger children, construction and Legos are quite popular,” said Sbrega, who added that the Likable

Recyclable Room has been a popular attraction for older kids and adults. “Who doesn’t like to play in water or put on a puppet show?

So those areas are favorites as well. The magna tiles and light table are big attractions in the Color Room.”

The museum is continuously seeking sponsors which allow the non-profit to continue providing topnotch education and entertainment for area youth.

They also have a handful of fundraising events in the upcoming months which helps defray operational costs.

“Our Spring Fling will take place in May which is a major fundraiser for us,” said Sbrega. “We have wine and beer tastings as well as food stations upstairs in the beautiful courtroom. A Paint and Pour party will be held in March.”

There are a wide range of memberships to select from.

The Explore membership costs $60 per year and allows free admission to the museum for two people. A Discover membership costs $80 and is good for four people. A Grand Discover membership is geared toward grandparents and allows admission for four people. It costs $70 annually. The Discover Plus is $125, allows admission for four people and connects you to discounted admission at other participating children’s museums.

The museum is open Wednesday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and noon to 4 p.m. on Sundays. Daily admission is $8 and there is no charge for children under the age of 1.

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The South Coast Insider / March 2015

13

BUSINESS BUZZ

Does tax season leave you stressed?

A

re you stressed about filing your tax returns?

How can just a few sheets of paper filled with number invoke such stress for so many of us? For a lot of people, their tax return presents either a grim picture of money owed or a financial overview that they like to pretend doesn’t exist. The reality is that tax return filing is nothing more than a reconciliation of income, deductions and a resulting computation of tax.

For the most part, the calculation of income and deductions follows a logical procedure. Money that is earned through wages or investments is subject to tax. There are also an array of deductions and credits that can be used to offset tax. The result is that taxable income, minus deductions, equals

14

March 2015 / The South Coast Insider

by Sherri Mahoney-Battles taxable income. The calculated tax can then be reduced by credits.

Understanding the tax process can make the filing process a little less intimidating. Planning for the upcoming tax year can help you prepare for an upcoming tax balance.

Let’s look at some ways to help make filing your taxes a little less stressful.

Be organized

Clients often bring in piles of unopened envelopes or search their homes frantically looking for tax documents before rushing out the door to their tax appointment. Don’t be this person.

At the beginning of the year, start a file marked “tax documents.” As tax documents come in the mail, secure them in the file. Review the previous

year’s return to refresh your memory so that you know what documents you should be expecting. If you have a tax appointment scheduled, you should have all of your documents collected prior to your appointment. If your tax preparer provides you with a tax organizer, take advantage of it.

These organizers usually provide a list of items and amounts from the previous year so it’s a great tool to help you identify the documents that you need and offer a comparison to income and deductions included on the previous year’s return.

Most things are consistent from year to year, so a review of last year’s return or a tax organizer should give you a pretty good idea of the kinds of items and amounts you should be looking for.

Be prepared

Most of us know when we have changes that affect our financial situation. Did you change jobs? Sell a home? Sell investments? Have a major illness that resulted in significant medical bills? Did your business income increase/decrease? Did your child graduate high school and start college? Did you cash in a retirement fund or IRA? Don’t wait until tax time for a surprise tax bill. If you have additional income during the year that will be taxed, you can have additional taxes withheld at the source or make estimated tax payments. Most taxpayers are in a 15 or 25 percent tax bracket. It’s relatively easy to estimate a potential increase in tax, and it’s much easier to have this money prepaid or set aside than to be caught unprepared with a large tax bill.

Alternatively, a decrease in business

a painful experience.

If you’re not happy with your current financial situation, a tax season review can be an opportunity to set some financial goals for the future year. Make a list of debts and put together a repayment plan. Identify some financial goals. Should you increase your retirement contributions or start funding college funds for your children? Does your current job support your financial obligations or should you be thinking about a job or career change?

Your completed tax return is a snapshot view of your financial situation, and you should take the opportunity to identify some financial goals for the coming year. Make a list of short-term goals and a list of long-term goals, and make plans to review your progress after your next tax filing.

You’ll be amazed at how rewarding it can be when you see that you’ve met

You’ll be amazed at how rewarding it can be when you see that you’ve met some or all of your goals. income or an increase in deductions/ credits may result in you paying in too much tax. Why overpay the IRS when you don’t have to? If you are making estimated payments, based on your previous year’s tax and your income drops you can lower the amount of your estimated tax payments. Estimated payments are nothing more than an estimate of the tax you anticipate owing, and you should adjust them up or down as necessary.

Just know that in order to avoid an underpayment penalty you must pay in at least 100% of the previous year’s tax or 90% of the current year’s tax.

Seize the opportunity

Unfortunately, for many people the stress associated with filing tax returns involves more than just the tax filing itself. A close examination of your financial situation can often be

some or all of your goals. Try to think of your tax preparation as an opportunity to bring your financial goals into alignment.

Relax

Remember, your tax return is nothing more than a few sheets of paper filled with numbers. It’s not a measure of success or failure. When you take the steps to be organized and prepared you can minimize the stress associated with your tax filings.

We are all on the same walk through life, and whatever financial failures we might have experienced in the past year are nothing more than lessons to live by. We stumble. We fall. Take pleasure in the fact that you are in a new financial year. Tax time is a great time to dust ourselves off, kiss the previous year goodbye and put our best step forward into the next year!

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15

BUSINESS BUZZ

Planning for our future economy

by Steve Smith

As a regional planner, I work with fellow city and town planners, among others, to help the South Coast prepare for the future. he task seems fairly straight forward, and often it is. A simplified scenario of what we do might look like this: We might start with population.

Based upon past trends, we predict how many people will be born, how many will die, how many will move into the region, and how many will move out.

That equation gives us a predicted future population estimate. Once we know how many people we’ll have, we try to determine where they are likely to live, work, and go to school, and how they will travel between those destinations.

These factors all have direct impact on the need for housing, transportation, education, and the types and locations of jobs.

Many questions are asked and answered. How much and what type of housing will we need? How can we spur the success of small businesses?

How do we meet the demand to move goods and people? Should we invest in commuter rail? Road improvements? Expanded transit service? Do we have enough of a water supply?

How do we absorb additional development while maintaining our region’s special natural and cultural features?

16

Planners are not clairvoyant, nor are they omnipotent. Market forces drive many of these questions and planners and public officials must anticipate and work with them. Many factors are not predictable or even foreseeable.

Let me give you an example.

Past

A little over twenty years ago, SRPEDD worked with area legislators, colleges and universities, local officials and citizens to produce “An Agenda for Economic Development.”

The report was directed by the Southeastern Massachusetts Legislative Caucus and spearheaded

by Taunton Senator Marc Pacheco (State Representative at that time).

The collaboration produced a thoughtful and comprehensive look at the region’s future needs. Its preparation involved well-attended public meetings with robust participation from citizens and officials.

Short-term and long-term goals were set for the legislators in eleven categories covering everything from education and transportation to local government reform. In subsequent years, our legislators did a laudable job addressing many of the report’s recommendations.

But that’s not the whole story, for there is one very surprising aspect to the report: it is remarkable how many

March 2015 / The South Coast Insider

factors that drive our current economy and influence our region’s development today were virtually unknown in 1993.

The internet was not much of a factor then, when it was a burgeoning technology. Today, it is a basic utility upon which we are completely dependent. It

has given rise to entire industries.

In 1993, enclosed shopping malls were clean new temples of commercialism with overflowing parking lots.

In 2015, many malls across the country are being “re-purposed” with some even being torn down. Their time has passed.

Today, the Commonwealth and City of New Bedford are investing over $100 million to support offshore wind generation.

A generation ago, our cities were being hollowed out by rapid suburban home and job growth.

Today, cities across the country are experiencing a renaissance driven by millennials and professionals.

Climate change and associated sea level rise were virtually unacknowledged in 1993, and yet they are major factors in planning for our region in 2015, especially in communities along the South Coast.

Future

Renewable energy? Twenty years ago, we could barely define the term.

Today, the Commonwealth and City of New Bedford are investing over $100 million to support offshore wind generation. And Dartmouth is the state’s leading producer of solar energy.

workforce that can adapt to new tasks and challenges. We should still train workers to operate today’s machines, but we also need to give them broader skills to adapt to the next generation of industrial technology.

We need infrastructure that is flexible and up-to-date, like innovation-energizing high speed broadband infrastructure.

We need flexible, well-located, and sufficient classroom, lab, and workshop space.

We need sufficient and accessible housing stock in our city and town centers – a true social infrastructural asset that is as necessary to a thriving economy as any road or bridge.

We need a regulatory structure that is focused on outcomes, not processes. We are too often locked

Good fundamental education and lifelong learning will make us adaptable and competitive as we prepare to harness the many new dynamics of our future economy.

How could the participants in developing “An Agenda for Economic Development” have missed these changes? And more importantly, how do we plan for our region’s economy and development going forward when we don’t even know what the economic landscape will look like in twenty years? Will major medical advances drastically change our population profile? Will driverless cars make our traffic planning obsolete? Will 3D printers undermine and replace successful manufacturing enterprises?

We can’t predict the future any better now than in 1993, so the best way to prepare is to build a strong and flexible foundation for decisionmaking rather than locking ourselves into detailed decisions. How do we accomplish this?

With regard to our future economy, we must prepare an educated

South Coast Business Network

into rules and regulations that worked decades ago but no longer seem relevant.

Environmental regulators in particular need to move past narrow perspectives and embrace broader challenges such as climate change.

But the most important need is to prepare our residents to understand and embrace inevitable changes.

We must educate ourselves to learn to think critically, solve problems, and communicate effectively. It’s not rocket science that will insure a better future – it’s the same solution as it has always been. Good fundamental education and lifelong learning will make us adaptable and competitive as we prepare to harness the many new dynamics of our future economy.

Stephen C. Smith, Executive Director of SRPEDD since 1983.

The South Coast Insider / March 2015

17

THINGS TO DO

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Spring time is sugar bush time!

Y

ou know spring has finally arrived when you hear the sound of sap dripping into a bucket hung on a tapped maple tree.

But gathering maple sap has all but died out in the South Coast.

There are only a few places that are keeping alive a heritage that dates back 10,000 years to the Native American culture.

High land values make it hard to hold onto forest land or start new farms, says Richard Forbes, owner of Matfield Maple Farm in West Bridgewater and the only remaining sugarhouse south of Boston and east of Worcester. Finding 10 to 20 acres of undeveloped forest land with a good stand of 40-year-old maples on the South Coast is hard enough; coming up with the $2 million price tag is even harder.

For sixteen years, Forbes has run a sugarhouse, starting out with just a few buckets for “something to do in the winter.” The seasonal hobby grew to 300 buckets, and “then the pipelines went in,” Forbes said. Six miles of pipelines to serve 1,100 taps.

Working out of a 200-year-old barn, the farm evolved into a full-time business, gift store, and supply house for those who want do-it-yourself maple syrup and maple sugar. The store sells buckets, taps, tubing, spouts (called “spiles”), and instructions.

“It’s a great experience to learn a part of our heritage,” Forbes said of the backyard sugar makers and culinary students that stop by to get their equipment. He also gives tours to schools and youth groups during the week.

Once the season starts, Forbes offers tours to the public twice daily on Saturdays. Tours include a

18

March 2015 / The South Coast Insider

By Joyce Rowley

Sap dripping into a bucket hung on a tapped maple tree, a heritage that dates back 10,000 years to the Native American culture.

quarter-mile walk through the woods and back to the sugar house where new technology turns sap to syrup.

The best time to capture the sap is when the temperatures are mild during the day, but still below freezing at night. Forbes said he usually starts tapping by February 12, but the heavy snow delayed him by a couple weeks this year. Once it starts, sap flows off and on for up to six weeks.

How much water is removed depends on how sweet the sap is--and that depends on the trees, the soil, and the weather. Forbes was predicting a good year for maple syrup this year.The same snow that delayed the sap added moisture to it.

Converting the sap to sugar may take several days. Less water means a shorter time to boil it down but typically there’s a 40:1 ratio of sap to syrup.

So sweet and it’s good for you, too!

It is the boiling process that creates new phenols, according to University of Rhode Island professor Navindra Seeram, who has studied maple syrup’s chemistry for several years.

In 2010, Dr. Seeram, an associate professor of

sweeteners. Ongoing research is testing whether those properties will help control Type 2 diabetes some day.

And maple syrup is organic. That means that its properties are provided without additives or genetic modifications.

Hikes and pancakes

You can also go sugaring at both Massachusetts Audubon Society and the Audubon Society of Rhode Island in March.

The Audubon Society of Rhode Island has hosted the event for several years, says Hope Foley, media specialist. This year they will hold it in here on the South Coast on at Caratunk Wildlife Refuge in Seekonk, MA. Open to the public as well as members, this is a popular program. Foley advises people who are interested to register early. Tours start every 15 minutes beginning at 9 a.m. and ending at noon on Saturday, March 14.

Participants learn how to make maple syrup and how it was first made by Native Americans, then follow it up with a pancake breakfast of fresh maple

The best time to capture the sap is when the temperatures are mild during the day, but still below freezing at night. biomedical and pharmaceutical sciences in the College of Pharmacy, discovered a new phenol that he named Quebecol after the Quebec maple syrup used to identify it.

Since then, over 60 new components to maple syrup have been identified. In 2013, Raed Omar, one of Seeram’s doctoral students, compared maple syrup to blueberries for the number of anti-oxidants, anti-inflammatory, and colon cancer-fighting properties in it.

Other researchers have tested maple syrup in comparison to molasses, agave syrup, honey, brown rice syrup, and corn syrup. The results suggested that maple syrup, molasses, and agave syrup have less glucose response and less insulin-secretion induction than most of the other

syrup over pancakes, muffins and doughnuts.

MassAudubon will hold weekend maple sugaring tours starting on February 28 and continuing on Saturdays and Sundays through March 15, 2015 at the Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary in Topsfield, MA. They also offer tours for schools, scouts and youth groups. Advance registration for the weekend tours is required.

A naturalist guides groups through the sanctuary and shows how to identify a sugar maple tree before it leafs out. The sanctuary has a warming barn and gift shop as well. Tours last an hour, rain or shine, and they advise visitors to dress warmly and wear waterproof boots.

So bundle up the kids and get out in the woods to tap into the first sweet taste of spring!

For more information on Matfield Maple Farm, visit www.matfieldmaplefarm.com.

Register for Audubon of Rhode Island’s pancake breakfast at www.asri.doubleknot.com/event/1666533 and weekend tours at Ipswich River Reserve with MassAudubon at www.massaudubon.org/get-outdoors/ wildlife-sanctuaries/ipswich-river/news-events/weekend-maple-sugaring-tours All of the tours charge nominal fees ranging from $6 at Matfield Maple Farm to $10 at Ipswish River Wildlife Sanctuary. Check their websites for the most current information, to register for tours, and to get driving directions.

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19

COVER STORY

Expl rium on the move

by Michael J. DeCicco

The Ocean Explorium’s planned move to the Buttonwood Park Zoo, which was announced last August, is 60 percent ready to begin as the zoo prepares a spring schedule with a variety of highlights.

Z

oo director Keith Lovett said the Explorium’s move is closer than ever to happening now that fundraising efforts have yielded 60 percent of the Explorium’s multi-million dollar goal. “It will likely have raised enough by the next month,” he said.

That’s when the merger plans will begin to see reality, he said. The Explorium’s living exhibit of aquatic species will move into the zoo’s existing aquatic center. Its Hemisphere exhibit, a six-foottall computerized screen globe also known as the Sphere, will be placed in the zoo’s education center.

Explorium Executive Director Abbey Spargo said the Sphere would be suspended from a zoo classroom ceiling high enough to be out of the way until needed for education or general tours.

First, however, the Explorium, which is closed to the general public but still books group visits and field trip tours, has had to raise the funds needed to accomplish the move by reaching out to its existing donors, donating corporations, and the general public.

On the move

Spargo said the goal is to raise what’s needed to move, then set aside the remainder to continue its educational programs. The cost for both keeps

20

March 2015 / The South Coast Insider

going up, so she declined to quote a definite dollar amount.

“We’re very excited about transferring to the zoo facilities,” Spargo said. “We believe this move will be a great educational benefit for the entire South Coast region. It will broaden our outreach and our educational programs.”

As great as the move is, Spargo will miss the old location, “because downtown was a great spot for us. It was nice being part of the continuing revitalization of downtown New Bedford.”

She said the tourist attractions in the historic district and downtown created a lot of Explorium foot traffic from all over the world. International visitors, she said, included tourists from Brazil, Argentina, India, Japan, and all across Europe.

“But we are excited by the potential increase in traffic we’ll experience once we are in the new location,” she added. “The zoo is open year-round.

That excites us.”

Big plans, big steps

The move will go in stages with the goal of being totally out of the downtown New Bedford building by the end of 2015. In the first stage, the Explorium would work in the zoo’s existing facilities. The highest priority will be moving the Sphere to the zoo classrooms in the late fall of 2015.

In stage two, the zoo’s aquatics building will be re-designed to expand the species of fish on exhibit. This display will relate the story of water’s journey around the earth, she said. It will include endangered species and will have a more global focus.

Zoo director Keith Lovett said the plan began when Ocean Explorium approached the city zoo last summer. “We realized this will be a more stable environment for the aquarium,” he said. “They were renting their space. We are a city-run zoo.”

Many details remain up in the air pending funding, he said. That includes what Explorium staff and programs will make the transition to the new facility. As an example, Explorium personnel will become city employees and probably have to re-apply.

Still, he looks forward to the partnership. “They have some great programs that will mix well with our services. It will strengthen both of us.”

Spargo said the Explorium is working with the zoo to transfer as many of the downtown programs as possible. “We are very hopeful that as our programs at the zoo increase, more and more of our staff will be able to come back,” she said.

For more information on the Explorium’s programs, visit OceanExplorium.org.

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uttonwood Park Zoo’s other spring schedule highlight is its participation in a national program also related to aquatic life. Starting on March 7 and every Saturday through April 11, from 1:30-3:30 p.m. the zoo will host a Frog Watch USA Citizen Service Project training. Interested participants will be taught how to monitor the local frog population to report back on where endangered species are declining.

Carey Hawthorn, the zoo’s curator of education, explained they will be taught how to gauge frog populations by identifying different frog calls, and then once a week they will go to the sites to which they’ve been assigned and report their findings.

Hawthorn said it is a crucial component of an important national project. “Frog populations are dying because of a variety of environmental factors, including massive development of their living spaces,” she said. “We are trying to get ahead of the problem by monitoring where it is occurring.”

To pre-register for the FrogUSA project, call 508-991-6178 ext. 31. For more information on the national program, go to AZA.org/frogwatch.

The zoo’s other large spring program will be “Party for the Planet” on April 18, with a rain date of April 25. In honor of Earth Day, local organizations and schools that do green and environmental conservation projects will attend with information and activities on how families can do their own green conservation projects at home and in the outside world.

Participants will include the Bristol County Beekeepers Association, with a display on beekeeping and how bees are an important part of the natural world. Other groups there will include New Bedford Parks and Recreation, the Greater New Bedford recycling program, the South Coast Regional Energy Challenge and the Global Learning Charter School.

For more information on “Party for the Planet,” contact Carrie Hawthorn at 508-991-6178 ext. 22.

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21

OF INTEREST Irish Terrier

sh Water Spaniel Iri

Irish RED AND WHITE SETTER

SOFT COATED ATEN TERRIER H W E

f Imaal Terri er en o Gl

Emerald canines

By Brian J. Lowney

The month of March is not only a great time for the Irish, but also a wonderful occasion to celebrate the many fascinating dog breeds that originated on the Emerald Isle.

During the month, many St. Patrick’s Day parades feature floats showcasing Irish breeds, which are annually highlighted by the American Kennel Club on this side of the Atlantic.

Ireland is the ancestral home of the regal Irish wolfhound, handsome Irish red and white setters, the sporty Irish water spaniel, and four noble vermin hunters, the Kerry blue, soft coated wheaten, Glen of Imaal, and Irish terriers.

Irish wolfhound

According to historians, the earliest reference to the Irish wolfhound appeared in Roman records in the late fourth century. These large dogs were often given by royalty as gifts, and were used to hunt, guard flocks of sheep, and serve as family companions.

Swansea resident Colleen Brown has owned wolfhounds

22

March 2015 / The South Coast Insider

for more than 15 years, and trains her large dogs in obedience and rally.

“Irish wolfhounds are very gentle, very strong, and sometimes very mischievous,” begins Brown, adding that these dogs are the tallest of the hundreds of breeds registered by kennel clubs throughout the world.

“They sometimes like to play games with their owners,” she continues, noting that these loyal sighthounds are keenly intelligent and like most Irishmen, have a playful sense of humor.

As an example, Brown says that her hounds sometimes like to dig holes in the backyard and fill the small pits with bones and favorite toys, and make her guess where the treasures are buried.

While Brown’s Irish wolfhounds have earned many performance titles, she admits that training these dogs does require a lot of perseverance and the patience of St. Patrick.

“They do not like repetition,” she tells, explaining that to prevent her dogs from getting bored as they train for obedience and rally trials, she often “adds a new twist” to each training session to keep the hounds interested and focused

Built to a Standard, Not a Price on the various routines that a canine must complete to earn a leg on a performance title.

The official AKC breed standard notes that these dogs measure 32 inches or higher at the withers (shoulders), and usually weigh about 120 pounds. Sadly, Irish wolfhounds suffer from a variety of health issues including bone cancer, and enjoy a short lifespan of only six to eight years.

“Wolfhounds are great dogs but they are not for everyone,” Brown notes, explaining that since a national dog food manufacturer featured an Irish wolfhound in its commercials a few years ago, interest in the breed has skyrocketed. She says while these loyal and loving dogs are accurately portrayed in the advertisements, the public needs to know that Irish wolfhounds require a lot of room, regular exercise, and at least a weekly brushing.

Wolfhounds can be expensive to keep since most have good appetites, and if long-term veterinary care and medication is required to treat a medical condition.

Irish SETTER

One Irish breed that certainly is familiar to many people is the noble Irish setter, affectionately known as “Big Red.” Irish sportsmen who crossed several indigenous breeds to create an athletic gundog developed this versatile sporting dog in the 18th century. Soon the breed’s popularity spread throughout the British Isles and finally to America, where it became a prized hunting companion. Today, many Irish setters are dual titleholders, and have earned conformation championships and hunting titles.

KERRY BLUE TERRIER

Another Irish breed that is widely recognized is the Kerry blue terrier. This medium-sized rodent hunter is known for its keen intelligence, bluish-gray curly coat, great loyalty, and determination. While most Kerry blues now serve as family companions and show dogs, some specimens have been used in Britain for police work because of their many fine qualities.

A good pint of Guinness, a lively jig, and these wonderful Irish breeds are all part of the Auld Sod’s great legacy.

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OF INTEREST

The BRainy Bunch Famous ladies of the South Coast

M

By Elizabeth Morse Read

arch is National Women’s History Month, and the South Coast has been home to some pretty amazing women, going all the way back to colonial times. Renaissance women, behind the headlines over-achievers who rarely get any credit or notice for their contributions to society. But they all poked through the glass ceilings of their time and place, shaping history, commerce and popular culture.

So, to paraphrase Ecclesiastes 44:1, “Let us now praise famous women” from here on the South Coast. Renaissance women, behind the headlines over-achievers who rarely get any credit or notice for their contributions to society. But they all poked through the glass ceilings of their time and place, shaping history, commerce and popular culture.

So, to paraphrase Ecclesiastes 44:1, “Let us now praise famous women” from here on the South Coast.

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March 2015 / The South Coast Insider

Elizabeth Poole (or Pole) (1588-1654)

Elizabeth Poole was an English-born settler in Plymouth Colony who became the first woman to found a town in America—Taunton, Massachusetts.

Anne Hutchinson (1591-1643)

Like Mary Dyer, Anne Hutchinson was a charismatic English-born woman of strong beliefs who ran afoul of the Puritan clergy in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. When she was declared a heretic and banished, she was advised by Roger Williams, the founder of Providence, to establish a colony on Aquidneck Island. A few years later, when there was the threat that the Massachusetts Bay Colony might take over the new colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Anne took her family to a supposedly-safer haven in the New Netherland colony (what is now the Bronx), where she and all but one of her children were massacred in a raid by the native Siwanoy tribe.

Anne Hutchinson is honored as a champion of religious liberty and of women’s role in the clergy. In addition to a statue in front of the Massachusetts State House in Boston, and a memorial at Founders’ Brook Park in Portsmouth, the Hutchinson River (one of few U.S. rivers named after a woman) and the Hutchinson River Parkway in southern New York are named after her.

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Mary Dyer (1611-1660)

Mary Dyer was an English-born Puritan from the Massachusetts Bay Colony who later became a Quaker; she was imprisoned, banished and eventually hanged as a heretic for refusing to give up her Quaker beliefs.

Before her execution, she and many others who’d clashed with the Puritan Boston clergy (see Anne Hutchinson

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below) established a new colony on Aquidneck Island, which eventually became the towns of Newport, Middletown, and Portsmouth. A memorial Herb Garden at Founders’ Brook Park in Portsmouth commemorates her, as does a bronze statue in front of the Massachusetts State House in Boston.

Hetty Green (1834 -1916)

Henrietta (“Hetty”) Green was called “The Witch of Wall Street” and was America’s first female tycoon. She was born into a wealthy Quaker whaling family in New Bedford. Throughout her life, her genius for ruthless wealth-building was legendary. By shrewdly investing and financing, she was the richest woman in America when she died.

But as much as Hetty Green was financially-brilliant, she was as eccentric and miserly-to-the-extreme. She is still in the Guinness Book of World Records as the “world’s greatest miser.” She demanded a “pre-nup” agreement before she married her husband at age 33. Her son lost his leg because she wouldn’t pay for the appropriate medical care. But Hetty Green’s two children gave away their inheritances generously. Colonel Ted Green’s estate (“Round Hill” in South Dartmouth) has a fascinating scientific and political history. Her daughter Sylvia (who married into the Astor family) financed the construction of the beautiful New Bedford Public Library in downtown New Bedford.

Elizabeth Borden (1860-1927)

Lizzie Borden was never convicted of the 1892 murder of her father and stepmother, but she became as notorious as O.J. Simpson or Jack the Ripper. It was a lurid, brutal crime and it has not been solved to this day, although it continues to be a subject for books and TV dramas and conspiracy-theorists.

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March 2015 / The South Coast Insider

Whether guilty or not, Lizzie Borden had been a “proper” church-going, unmarried woman from a textile-wealth family in Fall River. After her acquittal at the internationally-publicized trial in New Bedford, she continued to live in Fall River, but suffered such ostracism that her only sister moved away and never came back.

Lizzie bequeathed the equivalent of half a million dollars to the Animal Rescue League when she died. She is buried in the Borden family plot in Fall River’s Oak Grove Cemetery.

The scene of the crime is now a B&B/ museum.

The BRainy Bunch Katharine Gibbs (1863-1934)

Remember your grandmother referring to her career-driven unmarried friend as a “Katie Gibbs Girl?” Katharine Gibbs and her sister bought the old Providence School for Secretaries during WWI, and changed the curriculum to create a professional career-training program for women entering the office workplace to replace men fighting overseas. The Katharine Gibbs School teaching model was so successful that they expanded and opened branch campuses near every major Ivy League university in the country.

Ann Partridge

A world-renowned medical oncologist and breast cancer researcher, Ann Partridge (MD, MPH) is clinical director of the Breast Oncology Program at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, and associate professor of medicine at Harvard University. Dr. Partridge is the international expert on breast cancer in younger women.

She lives in New Bedford with her husband, Mayor Jon Mitchell.

Carolyn Huntoon (August 25, 1940)

A resident of Barrington, Carolyn Huntoon was the first woman to serve as director of the Johnson Space Center in Houston, having started her career with NASA in 1970. She served as the assistant secretary for environmental management for the Department of Energy under both President Clinton and President George W. Bush, overseeing the cleanup of nuclear sites. She has received many international awards for her contributions to space medicine and space biology.

Meredith Vieira (December 30, 1953)

Providence-born Meredith Vieira is a TV journalism trailblazer. She started her television career as a reporter/ anchor for WJAR-TV in Providence, and went on to become co-host on NBC’s Today, original moderator of ABC’s The View, and winner of 14 Emmy awards. She now hosts her own nationally-syndicated talk show, The Meredith Vieira Show, and was the first woman to anchor NBC’s primetime coverage of the Olympics in 2014.

Geena Davis (January 21, 1956)

Virginia (“Geena”) Davis, who comes from Wareham, is best known as an actress, but she is highly-accomplished in many other ways. She is member of Mensa, is fluent in Swedish, received an honorary doctorate from Bates College for her work on ending stereotyping of women in the film industry, was organist for her

childhood church, launched an annual film festival in Arkansas to highlight diversity in films, and was a semi-finalist for the U.S. Women’s Archery Team for the Sydney 2000 Summer Olympics.

Geena Davis also won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress (The Accidental Tourist), another Oscar for Best Actress (Thelma and Louise), the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Television Series Drama (Commander in Chief) and has been nominated for numerous other acting awards. She has appeared in such hit movies as The Fly, Beetlejuice, and A League of Their Own.

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Gina Raimondo (May 17, 1971)

Not only is Gina Raimondo the first female governor of the state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, but she’s also a “local girl” with a stunning resume. She was valedictorian of her graduating class at La Salle Academy, received her B.A. in Economics from Harvard, her law degree from Yale, and her Ph.D. in Sociology as a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University.

She co-founded Point Judith Capital, the state’s first venture capital firm, and served as the state’s General Treasurer before she became Rhode Island’s 75th governor.

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She was Deputy Campaign Manager for President Obama’s reelection campaign, and she has also served campaigning or communications roles for John Kerry, Ted Kennedy, Bill Clinton, and Michelle Obama. She is now one of the hosts on CNN’s Crossfire talk show. In 2009, she was named “one of the 50 most powerful people in Washington” by GQ magazine.

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27

BOOK PICKS

BY LAURA LATOUR / Partners Village Store

March is Women’s History Month! In celebration, I have put together a few book suggestions, both fiction and nonfiction, about some noteworthy women who have helped to shape our world. Whether part of local history or world history, these fierce women managed to rise to the top of their respective fields (or helped others to do so) despite hardships, controversy, and self-imposed doubts. I hope you will take their stories as inspiration to learn about other women and their contributions to history.

My Beloved World

by Sonia Sotomayor Published by Vintage $15.95 paperback

Remarkable Women of Rhode Island

by Frank L. Grzyb & Russell J. DeSimone Published by History Press $19.99 paperback Rhode Island proudly claims a long list of remarkable women throughout history, from pioneering education reformers and suffragettes to trailblazing athletes and authors. Join authors Frank L. Grzyb, a decorated combat veteran and member of the Rhode Island Civil War Round Table, and Russell J. DeSimone, an independent scholar and co-historian in residence for Providence College’s Dorr Rebellion Project, in this captivating and insightful account that spans five centuries of women who made history in the smallest state in the nation.

Remarkable Women of Rhode Island tells the story of local luminaries. Isabelle Ahearn O’Neil became the first woman to hold office in the Rhode Island legislature in 1922. Wilma Briggs became the first woman in the state to play on a local high school boys’ baseball team and, later, went on to join the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League in the 1940s. Grzyb and DeSimone also recount the less-famous but still important stories of women like Sarah Helen Whitman who in the mid-1800s became a prominent female poet and nearly married Edgar Allan Poe.

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March 2015 / The South Coast Insider

Empress Dowager Cixi: The Concubine Who Launched Modern China

by Jung Chang Published by Anchor $17.95 paperback Named a New York Times Notable Book, Empress Dowager Cixi tells the extraordinary story of one of the most powerful women in world history, a woman who single-handedly shaped the birth of modern China.

In 1852, at age sixteen, Cixi was chosen as one of Emperor Xianfeng’s numerous concubines. When he died in 1861, their five-year-old son succeeded to the throne. Cixi at once launched a coup against her son’s regents and placed herself as the true source of power – governing through a silk screen that separated her from her male officials.

Drawing on newly available sources, Jung Chang provides a revisionist biography, overturning Cixi’s reputation as a conservative despot. Under Cixi’s extraordinary reign, the ancient country attained industries, railways, electricity, and a military with up-to-date weaponry. She abolished foot-binding, inaugurated women’s liberation, and embarked on a path to introduce voting rights. Packed with drama, this groundbreaking biography powerfully reforms our view of a crucial period in China’s – and the world’s – history.

Nominated by President Obama, Sonia Sotomayor assumed her role as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court on August 8, 2009, becoming the first Hispanic and third woman appointed to the United States Supreme Court. As such, Sotomayor has become an instant American icon, earning her name a place in American history alongside Sandra Day O’Connor and Madeleine Albright.

In My Beloved World, Sonia Sotomayor recounts her life from a Bronx housing project to the federal bench with a candor and intimacy never undertaken by a sitting Justice. Her journey offers an inspiring testament to her own extraordinary determination and the power of believing in oneself. “People who live in difficult circumstances,” Sotomayor writes in her preface, “need to know that happy endings are possible.” Dahlia Lithwick of The Washington Post says, “Anyone wondering how a child raised in public housing, without speaking English, by an alcoholic father and a largely absent mother could become the first Latina on the Supreme Court will find the answer in these pages.

It didn’t take just a village: It took a country.”

Sonia Sotomayor graduated summa cum laude from Princeton in 1976 and from Yale Law School in 1979. She worked as an assistant district attorney in New York and she served as a judge of the U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, and from 1998 to 2009 on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit before assuming her role as U.S. Supreme Court Justice.

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The Movement of Stars

by Amy Brill Published by Riverhead Trade $16.00 paperback

Madame Picasso

by Anne Girard Published by Harlequin MIRA $14.95 paperback

Inspired by the real life of Maria Mitchell, America’s first professional female astronomer, Amy Brill’s debut novel “lights the way, like a comet, for women whose minds and hearts lead them beyond boundaries,” says People magazine. In The Movement of Stars, the author captures the unique character of mid-nineteenth century Nantucket through the life of Hannah Gardner Price, a talented amateur astronomer. Hannah’s life parallels that of Maria Mitchell in many ways; both women are part of a strict Quaker upbringing, both women start out as apprentice star-gazers under the tutelage of their fathers, and both women achieve their dream of discovering a comet and winning a gold medal awarded by the King of Denmark.

However, Hannah Price’s life story diverges from Maria Mitchell’s when author Amy Brill introduces Isaac Martin, a young, dark-skinned whaler from the Azores, who Hannah takes on as a student.

Isaac, like Hannah herself, has ambitions beyond his expected station in life. Drawn to his intellectual curiosity and honest manner, Hannah’s standing in the community begins to unravel when their shared interest in the stars develops into something deeper. Her most fundamental beliefs about work and love are challenged, and ultimately change the course of her life forever. Booklist says, “Hannah’s search during a period of great discovery and advancement in astronomy, as well as her relationship with Isaac amid widespread abolitionist sentiments, adds up to a stirring historical drama.”

Novels which tell the story of “The Woman Behind the Man,” have seen a boon in the last few years. With the popularity of Loving Frank (Frank Lloyd Wright) and The Paris Wife (Ernest Hemingway), is it any wonder that authors feel inspired to delve into the historic annals to tell the story of the real-life female muses, patronesses, and lovers of famous artists? In Madame Picasso, author Anne Girard takes on the story of the enigmatic Eval Goel, one of Picasso’s first lovers, and one of the few women who survived his betrayals.

When Eva Gouel moves to Paris from the countryside, she is full of ambition and dreams of stardom. Though young and inexperienced, she manages to find work as a costumer at the famous Moulin Rouge, and it is here that she first catches the attention of Pablo Picasso, a rising star in the art world. A brilliant but eccentric artist, Picasso sets his sights on Eva, and Eva can’t help but be drawn into his web. But what starts as a torrid affair soon evolves into what will become the first great love of Picasso’s life.

With sparkling insight and passion, Madame Picasso introduces us to a dazzling heroine, taking us from the salon of Gertrude Stein to the glamorous Moulin Rouge and inside the studio and heart of one of the most enigmatic and iconic artists of the twentieth century.

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The South Coast Insider / March 2015

29

BUSINESS BUZZ

What about your

light bulbs?

by Dan Logan

Here’s something you probably haven’t spent much time thinking about: how much do you spend on buying and powering light bulbs?

W

e’re in a transition period now.

Actually, the transition has already happened, but you probably still have a stash of your old, familiar incandescent bulbs, so you haven’t given much thought to what has changed. Now your stash is dwindling and you’ve discovered the trusty incandescent bulb has pretty much gone the way of the passenger pigeon. If you’ve searched the light bulb aisle you’ve noted that your $1.89 four-pack of 60-watt incandescent bulbs is nowhere to be found, replaced on the shelf by single bulbs that cost ten or twenty times more.

Suddenly, light bulbs aren’t a blank spot in your memory. They’re a line item in your budget.

Count the number of light fixtures in your house, and estimate how often the bulb in each fixture is used. The rule of thumb used by the people who think hard about this stuff is 40 light fixtures for the average house. The usage rule of thumb is three hours per bulb per day (1,095 hours per year).

You’ll probably be surprised by just how many

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March 2015 / The South Coast Insider

fixtures you have. And, especially if you have kids, think about how long those lights are actually on, even if they’re not actually lighting anything for anyone.

How did we get to the point we’re paying five or ten or even fifteen dollars for a light bulb?

A light in the attic

The Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) of 2007 mandated significantly more energy-efficient bulbs. That was okay with manufacturers – so long as the much less efficient but way, way cheaper incandescent bulbs had to meet much higher standards of efficiency. Incandescents weren’t banned, but if their production was halted because they couldn’t meet efficiency standards, more efficient bulbs would be instantly accepted, albeit with lots of consumer griping.

The end times came for 75 and 100-watt incandescent bulbs in January 2012, and the 40 and 60-watt incandescent bulbs followed in January 2014.

Paying fifteen dollars for a light bulb might be a shock to a consumer’s system, but like eating and

breathing, there’s only so much you can cut back on before your quality of life begins to suffer, so at some point most of us will be spending the money on newfangled bulbs.

The good news is that while your wallet will initially take a hit, but there should be a fairly quick payoff. The incandescent bulb is notoriously inefficient. Incandescent bulbs give off most of their energy (more than 95%) as heat rather than light.

By 2012, the manufacturers knew how to create much more energy-efficient bulbs using other technologies. And since then they’ve kept getting better. As we’ll see, despite the jaw-dropping cost of the bulbs, over time they’ll save you quite a bit of money.

Plus, the price of the energy-efficient bulbs keeps falling.

Shining a light

So what type of bulb should you get? There are three technologies of bulbs currently replacing the old incandescents: LED, compact fluorescent lamps (CFL) and halogen bulbs. To cut to the chase, LED

bulbs appear to be the way to go.

The first challenge: decide how bright a bulb you need. We always thought of light bulbs in terms of watts. Now you want to look at lumens.

The traditional 60-watt incandescent bulb is bright to the tune of about 800-850 lumens. A 40-watt incandescent bulb puts out about 450500 lumens, and a 100-watt bulb at least 1,600 lumens.

Another important specification for apples-to-apples comparisons is the rated life of the bulb. This is where that $10 bulb turns into a money saver.

An incandescent bulb’s rated life is usually about a year (1,000 hours). We’ll see how that compares to newer technology bulbs.

I just rooted through my current bulb collection to see what I have, since I had given little thought to the new world of light bulbs when I bought them. I still have about a year’s supply of 60-watt incandescents. I have a couple of CFLs, price unknown. I also uncovered two 500-lumen LEDs (equivalent to a 40-watt incandescent) I forgot I had that cost me about $4.50 apiece.

Each 500-lumen LED bulb will cost about $0.78 a year to light at 11.9 cents per kilowatt hour, which is the rate on my current NSTAR/EVERSOURCE electric bill. The LED equivalent of a 40-watt incandescent bulb only uses 15 percent of that, or 6 watts of energy to produce the same amount of light. A 40-watt incandescent would cost $5.21 to run for the same period. And that LED bulb has a rated life of more than 13 years (15,000 hours).

Another factor in your choice of bulb – one that doesn’t really impact the operating cost – is its Color Rendering Index or CRI. The CRI gives you an idea of how accurately colors are lit by the bulb. A CRI of 80 and above indicates good color accuracy, to a maximum of 100. Most LEDs have a CFI of 80 or higher. LEDs also don’t run particularly hot.

Some models are dimmable. Models are available in different color temperatures, meaning you can opt for that warm look or for something cooler and whiter. All in all, LED bulbs have serious advantages and few downsides other than their initial purchase price.

For some time, compact-fluorescent lamps (CFLs) were the energy efficiency champs of the light bulb world and they remain popular. However, CFLs have some drawbacks. They’re long-lived, but not as long as LEDs.

The CFLs I’m using in my house take a minute or so to reach full brightness. CFLs also have a reputation for shortened lives if they’re turned on and off frequently.

CFL bulbs look something like soft-serve ice cream. They fit in standard fixtures but aren’t well suited to the wire clamps used on many lampshades.

They contain a tiny amount of mercury, so they’re not supposed to be put in the regular trash or recycling. If you’re conscientious about this, ask the retailer if they have a disposal program in place.

CFLs can flicker enough to cause headaches, and produce enough UV radiation to possibly cause skin cancer.

Halogen bulbs are another option, but they’re not serious competition for LEDs. Halogen bulbs are a slightly more efficient variation on incandescent technology.

According to Consumer Reports, halogen bulbs give you near maximum brightness instantly and are dimmable.

They have a very high CRI for color accuracy, but they’re hot, and their rated life is similar to that of the incandescent bulb.

Bulbs that go belly up well before their rated life arrives has always been an irritating fact of life (as well as for car parts, hard drives and most other products you can name).

I recall buying packs of incandescent bulbs that apparently came from a bad production lot because I wound up throwing most of them away. Fat chance I’ll do that with the new ones. But I’ve read similar consumer complaints about the new technology bulbs. Skeptical users say to check the warranty before you buy, keep the packaging, and try each bulb as soon as you buy it to be sure it’s not dead on arrival.

The light bulb section of any store always seemed to me to be composed of an infinite, random and incomprehensible mishmash of products. If this is also true for you, take a look at Lightopedia.com’s chart entitled Bulbs Shapes and Sizes at www. lightopedia.com/bulb-shapes-sizes.

Once you figure out what’s what, you might be heartened by the improvements in the everyday light bulb. The savings are fairly modest, but each year our households add more and more devices that are reliant on electricity. Using more efficient devices will help keep your budget from being swallowed whole.

The light bulb section of any store always seemed to me to be composed of an infinite, random and incomprehensible mishmash of products.

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The South Coast Insider / March 2015

31

DATELINE: SOUTH COAST

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

by Elizabeth Morse Read

The groundhog said there’s six more weeks of winter… welcome to March on the South Coast. We’ve just survived blizzards, a media-blitz trial in Fall River, and “Deflate-gate.” But the days are getting longer, and everyone’s just itchin’ to get outdoors. So get yourself up and take advantage of what’s going on this month!

And don’t miss the parties on St. Patrick’s Day!

across the region Uh oh… Pending state approval, NSTAR Gas rates for consumers could jump by 12% or more by 2016.

Center will host a 7-day trip to Savannah, Jekyl Island, and Beaufort April 19-25. Call 508-9794029. The Acushnet Senior Center will head for the Turning Stone Resort & Casino March 24-26. Call 508-998-0280.

Double uh oh… The deals between Cape Wind and both NSTAR and National Grid for power produced by the proposed Nantucket Sound wind farm have fallen apart.

“My Brother’s Keeper” of Easton and Dartmouth is looking for volunteers and gently-used residential furniture for families in need. Free pick-up. Call 774305-4577 or visit www.MyBrothersKeeper.org.

The U.S. Olympic Committee has chosen Boston to compete against Rome, Johannesburg and Istanbul to host the 2024 summer games – many events would take place outside of the city limits, possibly in the South Coast. (Let’s hope that South Coast Rail is operational before then!)

J.C. Penney will shut down its stores in Taunton and Providence by April.

Global Education Team teachers and students from the Wareham Public Schools are hoping to raise enough money to attend a Global Student Summit in Sweden in April 2016. Any and all contributions to support their dream can be sent to their scholarship account at www.gofundme.com/ k8xtok.

March 2015 / The South Coast Insider

carver The Carver Winter Farmers’ Market will be open on the first Sunday of the month at The Frosty Dog. More info, call 508-944-3194.

attleboro

dartmouth

There’s always something to see or do at the Capron Park Zoo. Call 774-203-1840 or go to www. capronparkzoo.com.

UMass Dartmouth Law Professor Margaret Drew has been named a Bellow scholar by the Association of American Law Schools for her advocacy work with HIV/AIDS patients.

bristol

The Dartmouth High School football team, Division 3 Super Bowl Champs, were named The Standard-Times 2014 South Coast Youth of the Year.

When the kids K-4 are on school vacations (April 20-24), send them to Camp Sequoia at Blithewold! And mark your calendars – “Daffodil Days” start April 1. Go to www.blithewold.org or call 401-253-2707.

Experience pre-Industrial life at the Coggeshall Farm Museum, rated the “Best Living-History” If you’re 50 or older, check out the trips sponfarm in Rhode Island by Yankee Magazine. To sored by the New Bedford Senior Travel Program LaSalette Shrine will be celebrating its 61st yearwww.coggeshallfarm.org putting on its “Festival of Lights”, learn more, visit or call – there’s the trip to Washington DC May 15-19. For illuminating most of the South Coast with its massive 450,000 Christmas lights.

401-253-9062. details, call 508-991-6171. The Fairhaven Senior

32

If you’re a boat-lover, don’t miss the Herreshoff Marine Museum, home to the America’s Cup Hall of Fame. Learn more at www.herreshoff.org.

Marianne Olen, a music teacher at Dartmouth’s Quinn School, was named The Standard-Times 2014 South Coast Teacher of the Year.

easton

Check out the Children’s Museum in Easton!

For info, call 508-230-3789 or visit www.

ChildrensMuseumInEaston.org.

fairhaven

mattapoisett

Meet your friends on Saturdays at the Oxford Book Haven and Café at the Church of the Good Shepherd in North Fairhaven. Fresh soups and desserts, used books on sale, board games, and WiFi. To learn more, visit www.GoodShepherdFairhaven. com or call 508-992-2281.

Cape Cod Five Savings Bank has awarded educational mini-grants to several South Coast schools and educators. Mattapoisett’s Center School received funding for field trips; teachers at Wareham High School, Wareham Middle School and West Wareham Academy also received awards that will provide unique learning opportunities for students.

fall river

The Old Rochester Regional Schools district was awarded a $60,000 state grant to increase technology offerings.

Check out the free exhibit of Depression-era WPA paintings at the Cherry & Webb Gallery, sponsored by the Greater Fall River Art Association. For more information, go to www.GreaterFallRiverArtAssoc. org.

Two women in Fall River bought scratch tickets at two different stores in Somerset, and both won $1,000,000 prizes on the same day. What are the chances of that!!

Check out the ship models at the Fall River Marine Museum in Battleship Cove. For more info, call 508-674-3533 or visit www.MarineMuseumFR. org.

The Narrows Center for the Arts has a fabulous lineup – there’s Royal Southern Brotherhood March 5, Asleep at the Wheel March 6, Jorma Kaukkonen March 12, Richie Furay Band March 19, Todd Snider March 21, Imagination Movers March 28, Pat Travers Band April 11, Dan Hicks and the Hot Licks April 16, and much, much more! For a complete schedule, visit www.NarrowsCenter.com or call 508-324-1926.

Fall River’s Little Theatre will present “The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940” March 19-22.

For details, visit www.LittleTheatre.net or call 508-675-1852.

Check out what’s going on at the Children’s Museum of Greater Fall River. For more info, go to www.cmgfr.org or call 508-672-0033.

marion The Marion Natural History Museum will be offering family-friendly presentations, such as “Beyond the White Shark: Sharks of New England” on March 6. For more info, go to www.

MarionMuseum.org or call 508-758-9089.

Tabor Academy is building an energy-efficient dormitory.

Now accepting applications

The Winter Farmers Market will be held on the second Saturday of each month at the Old Rochester Regional Junior High gymnasium.

new bedford The indie movie “Whiplash” was one of eight Oscar-nominated films for Best Picture. Actor Nate Lang of New Bedford, son of former mayor Scott Lang, performs in the movie.

It’s all happenin’ at the Z! Head for the Zeiterion for Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes March 6, Kathy Griffin March 11, St. Patrick’s Day Celtic Sojourn March 13, Doo Wop 11 on March 28 – and much more! Go to www.Zeiterion.org or call 508-999-6276.

And don’t miss the New Bedford Symphony Orchestra’s performances at the Zeiterion of “Mesmerizing Masterpieces” April 11. Go to www.

Zeiterion.org, www.NBSymphony.org, or call 508-999-6276.

Head for the Buttonwood Park Zoo when the kids are home! There’s something for all ages – try “Toddler Tales” every Thursday morning, free with admission. Stories, snacks and activities. For details, call 508-991-6178 or visit www.bpzoo.org.

Enjoy FREE family fun and entertainment at AHA! Night. The March 12 theme is “Hand to Hand.” The April 9 theme is “Sustainable South Coast.” Go to www.AhaNewBedford.org or call 508-996-8253.

If you’re a fan of Americana and roots music, check out the monthly Salon Concerts at the Wamsutta Club. Hilary Hawke & Dubl Handi will perform on March 7. For details, go to www.

WamsuttaConcerts.com.

The New Bedford Art Museum/Artworks! will host a “Bach Explored” recital on April 8. For details, call 617-466-9042 or visit paulcienniwa.com/ itinerary.

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The South Coast Insider / March 2015

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Where old and new friends have met since 1933

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Turn off the TV and go see a play! New Bedford’s Your Theatre will perform “Other Desert Cities” March 19-22, 26-29, and “The Obraz” April 9-12.

For more info, go to www.YourTheatre.org or call 508-993-0772.

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CoastalMags.com 34

March 2015 / The South Coast Insider

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Festival Ballet Providence will perform the two-part “Juxtapose” March 13-14 at The VETS in Providence. For info, call 401-421ARTS or visit www.TheVetsRI.org or www.

FestivalBalletProvidence.org.

Show up hungry for the Spring Restaurant Week in Newport March 20-29. For complete info, visit www.DiscoverNewportRestaurantWeek.com.

Take the family to the Roger Williams Park Zoo! For info, go to www.rwpzoo.org or call 401-785-3510.

Enjoy a performance of “Lie, Cheat, and Genuflect” through March 15 at the Newport Playhouse. Go to www.NewportPlayhouse.com or call 401-848-7529.

Head for the Providence Performing Arts Center for “I Love Lucy! Live on Stage” through March 1, Diana Krall March 4, Blue Man Group March 6-8, Jay Leno Live! March 21 – and much more! Call 401-421-2787 or go to www.ppacri.org.

plymouth The indoors winter farmers market at Plymouth Plantation will be open on the second Thursday of each month. For more info, visit www.

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Head for Common Fence Music for some down-home entertainment. There’s the Foghorn Stringband March 21. Plan ahead for Common Fence Music’s “Roots Caboose,” starting

Rhode Island College hosts a full schedule of performing arts events – there’s The Muir String Quartet on April 6. For a complete schedule, visit www.ric.edu/pfa or call 401-456-8144.

Treat your friends to a performance at Trinity Rep! “The Glass Menagerie” will be performed through March 29, and “A Flea in Her Ear” March 26 - April 26. Call 401-351-4243 or visit www.TrinityRep.com.

Continued on NEXT page

Don’t miss The Jammin’ Divas on March 6 at The Sandywoods Center for the Arts as the perform traditional and contemporary original Folk Music from Ireland, Australia and the USA.

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The South Coast Insider / March 2015

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Continued from previous page

Sleep well while you’re away from home.

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The Baeverstam/Finehouse Duo will perform on March 21, and the Zefira Trio on April 25 in the “Arts in the Village” series at Goff Memorial Hall. Join the Sunday Night Jammers for free monthly dances.

Call 508-252-3031 or visit www.CarpenterMuseum. org.

somerset The state’s Department of Energy Resources will pay the town of Somerset $531,000 to offset lost tax revenues from the Montaup power plant closure five years ago.

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Now available in your area through The AARP Massachusetts Auto Insurance Program from Plymouth Rock offers AARP members in Massachusetts special savings in addition to the everyday benefits that set Plymouth Rock apart from its competition. With Plymouth Rock, lower rates are just the beginning.

Cape Cod Five Savings Bank has awarded educational mini-grants to several South Coast schools and educators. Teachers at Wareham High School, Wareham Middle School and West Wareham Academy all received awards that will provide unique learning opportunities for students.

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Plymouth Rock pays royalty fees to AARP for the use of its intellectual property. These fees are used for the general purposes of AARP. AARP does not employ or endorse agents, producers or brokers. AARP and its affiliates are not insurers.

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March 2015 / The South Coast Insider

wareham The Gateway Tavern in Wareham recently donated $9,000 to the Wareham High school library, which brings their generous donations to the school since 2009 to almost $37,000.

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The Sandywoods Center for the Arts will present The Jammin’ Divas on March 6 and Gong Sound Bath March 21. For a complete schedule, go to www.SandywoodsMusic.com or call 401-241-7349.

warren Head for 2nd Story Theatre! “4000 Miles” will be onstage through March 29, and “The Ladies Man” March 13 – April 12. For details, call 401-247-4200 or go to www.2ndStoryTheatre.com.

westport Concerts at the Point will present The Boston Trio on March 21. For more info, call 508-636-0698 or visit www.ConcertsAtThePoint.org.

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The South Coast Insider / March 2015

37

ON MY MIND

O

A St. Patrick’s Day quiz

by Paul E. Kandarian

kay, so it’s March, which as we all know is the bridge season between the god-awful snow we’ve had and spring, which in New England lasts 50 seconds before morphing into the much-longer New England summer of two and a half minutes that gives way to our 18-year-long winter.

And it’s also the month for St. Patrick’s Day. I knew nothing about St. Patrick’s Day, not being Irish. I’m Italian. We have Columbus Day, a holiday celebrating the notion that Christopher Columbus actually discovered America, ignoring the reality that he and other discovering types introduced diseases that wiped out a chunk of the indigenous population already happily living here without the need to be discovered.

But hey, enough of depressing history! It’s St. Patrick’s Day! So I went looking for info on St. Patrick and was shocked by what I found. For one thing, according to “St. Patrick of Ireland: A Biography,” the real St. Patrick wasn’t even Irish. He was Pakistani, and drove a cab in South Boston.

No, wait, that’s not right. Don’t believe everything you read on the Internet.

What body of water separates Ireland from Great Britain? a ) English Channel b) Atlantic Ocean c ) Irish Sea d ) A flowing body of green-tinted beer What rare artifact can be found in Dublin’s Trinity College Library? a ) The Book of Kells b) The Magna Carta c ) A Gutenberg Bible d ) My Years “Tending” Sheep (wink-wink),

by St. Patrick Irish myth refers to the “Four Treasures of Ireland” that come from specific Irish cities.

Which of these was not one of the four treasures? a ) Sword b) Cauldron c ) Knife d ) The Alcoholics Anonymous “Serenity Prayer”

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March 2015 / The South Coast Insider

Actually St. Patrick was British, born around 390 to an aristocratic Christian family with a townhouse, country villa and slaves.

But, as the bad luck of the Irish would have it, he got kidnapped at 16 and was sent to Ireland as a slave to tend sheep for six years. Oh, well. But the story goes he had dreams telling him to escape (like if you’re a slave, you need dreams to tell you to escape), made it back to Britain, where more dreams told him to go back to Ireland. Make up your mind, Paddy, for God’s sake.

Anyway, back he went to convert the Irish to Christianity and start a holiday dedicated to dyeing beer green and wearing shamrock clothing and pretending you’re Irish. I’m sure he’d be proud.

Legend has it that St. Patrick drove the snakes from Ireland. Fact has it that Ireland has no snakes anyway. But the Irish have never let the facts get in the way of a good story, and snake-chasing makes a pretty damn good story.

So in the tradition of stretching the truth to the breaking point, here’s a quiz about many things Irish:

What was responsible for the potato crop failure that caused the Great Irish Famine? a ) Drought b) Blight c ) Locust swarms d ) Using green-tinted beer to water the potato crops What is Ireland’s most popular tourist attraction? a ) Eagle Island Lighthouse b) Cliffs of Moher c ) Dromberg Circle d ) Dublin gutters Which of these famous actors are not Irish? a ) Liam Neeson b) Colin Farrell c ) Pierce Brosnan d ) Bruce Lee

What’s a shillelagh? a ) A pot of gold b) A blackthorn stick c ) A fairy’s den d ) What St. Patrick called his “Christianity persuader” What did St. Patrick use to help explain the Tripartite God to the Irish? a ) A harp b) A shamrock c ) Promises of Guinness d ) A rocket-propelled shillelagh launcher Legend has it that when you kiss the Blarney Stone, you will... a ) Have the gift of gab b) Marry within a year c ) Have good luck d ) Need to date more. Much, much more.

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Irish step dancing is: a ) A dance involving stiff upper bodies and intricate footwork. b) A long-standing Irish performance tradition c ) Very popular all over the world d ) A method Irish men use to stumble quietly up the steps into the house in the wee hours without waking the wife. e ) All of the above What does Erin go Bragh mean? a ) Ireland Forever b) Everyone is Irish c ) Kiss me, I’m Irish d ) Erin, Patrick’s sheep is wearing your bra.

What is the unit of currency in Ireland? a ) The Euro b) The Pound c ) The Drachma d ) The Guinness

W.B. Yeats is an Irish poet who loved to write about what? a ) Leprechauns b) Fairies and ghosts c ) Trolls 4.) How he liked to confuse people unsure of pronouncing his name “Yates” or “Yeets.”

A popular Irish dish of shredded cabbage, minced onions, mashed potatoes and melted butter is known as what? a ) Mulligatawny b) Shepherd’s pie c ) Colcannon 4.) Gross but considered Irish haute cuisine Happy St. Patrick’s Day, everyone, and drink up.

It’ll be winter again in about two and a half minutes.

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The South Coast Insider / March 2015

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March 2015 / The South Coast Insider

Wave bracelet $450.

She may not be a Leprechaun but Shannon, our favorite Irish lass, is wearin’ the green (poncho and scarf) and a shamrock bling.

Speaking of green, has anyone seen our lawn? We haven’t seen it for months.

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Vietnam History Day Saturday, March 28, 2015 Join Battleship Cove as we delve into the history of the Vietnam War, honor the sacrifices of our troops and give thanks to the veterans still with us today on Saturday, March 28, from 9:00am – 4:00pm at Vietnam History Day. Special tours of the USS Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr, and Huey Helicopter * Speakers * Helmet decorating FUNshops for the kids * Vietnam Veterans receive free admission.

Visit www.battleshipcove.org for more information.

5 Water Street • Fall River, MA 508-678-1100

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Assisted Living Accommodations start at only $2850 per month.......

Imagine, living in a beautiful New England country inn that overlooks scenic Mount Hope Bay. Discover a carefree senior lifestyle that provides a wonderful new feeling of comfort and security. Contrary to living alone in a large oversized house, especially when assistance is needed, the “Inn” at Clifton can be significantly less worrisome and less expensive. At the “Inn” we have no typical apartments—each one is different and prices do vary according to apartment size, location and specific features.

When compared to other assisted living communities, the “Inn” offers so much more. Clifton’s almost all-inclusive rates consist of amenities that many other facilities charge extra for, including.......  Three delicious Meals Daily  Personal Care Services  Green House  Medication Management  Scheduled Transportation  Walking Paths  Step-In Showers  24-hour CNA Staffing  Emergency Monitoring Systems  Library with Fireplace

 Daily Activities  Registered Nurses to monitor your health and well-being  Garden & Water Views  Walk-In Closets  Housekeeping and Laundry Services  Fitness Area  Non-Denominational Chapel  Whirl Pool Spa  And Much, Much More…

And.......here at the “Inn” we deal with the challenges brought on by severe winter weather. We do all of the shoveling. We clean off the frozen windows of your car. Your mail and newspapers are delivered inside. We face the bitter cold outside…while our residents can sit around the fireplaces in the Dining Room, the Parlor and the Library. With family, good friends, a cup of Hot Cider, Cocoa or Coffee, they can capture the special cozy, warm feeling that is unique to the traditional inns of New England.

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