Patriotgeist:
With hurrying home from Boston after a full day of editing on the Monarch film project, I didn’t have time to write a longer post. It was a tremendously productive day. My film doesn’t just show Gloucester’s wildlife in a beautiful light, but highlights the natural beauty found all around Cape Ann.
Without jinxing the project I feel hopeful we will have a documentary by spring. No dates have been decided as of yet, but I am getting pretty excited to premiere the final cut!
Tagged Cape Ann, Gloucester Harbor Sunset, Rocky Neck, Rocky Neck Marine RailwaysLeave a comment	
The obsession continues,
Tagged Colors, pier, sunset6 Comments	
Ladies Night at the 525
Unbelievable deals on fabulous food & wine. Come see [and taste] why Ladies Night is so fun at the 525. Try out our new winter menu, all of your favorites, plus seasonal specials.
Magnolia Gloucester, MA 01930
Tagged 525 Tavern, Ladies NightLeave a comment	
Father and son enjoy a brisk walk to the breakwater.
The Sawyer Public Library Prioritize Security While Remaining Open to All
Library to employ uniformed Security Officers as a part of its safety upgrade plan
Gloucester, MA – – Along with the busy nature of libraries come safety concerns. As a part of their continuing efforts to make one of the largest free and publicly accessible indoor spaces in Gloucester more secure and welcoming, the Gloucester Lyceum and Sawyer Free Library (SFL) have announced that it has employed full time uniformed safety/security officers. The trained and vetted security officers from SafeOfficer Blue, Inc. are expected to officially begin on February 5, 2019.
This important initiative is another step in SFL’s overall comprehensive plan to curb recent unwanted and illegal activities and improve overall safety and security. The added safety/security officers along with upgrades to security cameras, a ramped-up and continued visible police presence, specialized staff training, and targeted physical modifications inside the building are part of a coordinated effort to make the library safer for patrons and library staff. These efforts have been instituted while remaining steadfast to the library’s core mission of providing a welcoming place for all.
“The safety of our patrons and staff is Sawyer Free Library’s highest priority,” stated John T. Brennan, the Sawyer Free Library’s Board of Trustees President. “We continue to strive to strike a balance between offering a broad open door policy for all community members and ensuring a safe, secure environment. People of all ages from across Gloucester count on Sawyer Free Library to be a warm and welcoming place and feel safe to pursue their informational, educational, and recreational needs from reading books with children to accessing technology like computers and the Internet to enjoying its diverse programming.” Brennan continues by saying, “We hope that the security officers and the other recent upgrades will be a welcome addition to SFL. The fact is that people can and should feel safe at their local library and it is an important message we need to send out to the community.”
Safety/Security officers will be a visible presence at SFL during all regular operating hours. Their responsibilities will include working with library staff to ensure the security and safety of all library patrons and staff members, treating everyone with respect and flexibility while maintaining order. The security team will monitor the interior and exterior of the facility including the parking lot along with visitors’ behavior using guidelines established in library policies. The officers are professionally trained to de-escalate situations, deter unwanted behavior and serve as a reassuring presence for all patrons. Local police will support all security efforts and continue to be an active presence at the library.
The SFL Board of Directors made it a priority by working with SafeOfficer Blue, Inc. to secure retired police officers, who are friendly and approachable as well as familiar with the Cape Ann community. It is the hope that their presence will be less likely to meet with concern and they can apply their knowledge of local resources and social services available in the Gloucester area and beyond to help address the needs of at-risk individuals using the library. Their efforts will help to alleviate some of these burdens on the librarians and allow SFL staff to focus on their work and provide much-needed library related services and engaging programming to patrons without constant worry about managing behavior.
Recently to great success, SFL also implemented a new policy’s concerning bathroom access which has dramatically helped to reduce the number of adverse incidents occurring onsite. Patrons can also now find SFL’s code of conduct posted at every entrance, making behavior expectations clear to all.
Public hearing Thurs. night Jan 31 in support of Cape Ann Lanes
A message from Nic & Cailtin Pszenny & Jim Frontiero, owners of Cape Ann Lanes
You probably already heard our plans to add a larger kitchen and brewpub within the existing footprint of our business. Click here to read the GDT article.
(ed. note: and recent article in Cape Ann Beacon)
The last step in the approval process is to get a special permit for our brewpub from the Zoning Board of Appeals. Thank you to all of you that have show such amazing support since the GDT article was released last week. If we can get this approval, we can finally make this a reality.
You can attend the public hearing THIS Thursday, January 31st at 7 PM in the Kyrouz auditorium at Gloucester City Hall (upstairs).
Some things that we want everyone to know about our plans:
-We will always be a family friendly candlepin bowling alley
-We already have a food establishment permit
-We already have our Federal, State and city license to have a Brewpub
-We already serve food and beer/wine, we are just looking to improve and increase capacity to serve our customers
-We need to improve our capacity and offerings for food and beverage to keep up with demand and other entertainment options
-We still run birthday parties for people of all ages and all kinds of events
-This will help keep locals on the Island to have fun AND attract people from off the island to increase revenue for the CIiy of Gloucester
-We love this city, this business and this community and we are here for the long haul!
Nic & Cailtin Pszenny & Jim Frontiero
Owners of Cape Ann Lanes
Tagged Bowling, Caitlin Pszenny, candlepin bowling, Cape Ann Beacon, Cape Ann Lanes, Cape Ann Veterans Services, City Council, Gloucester Daily Times, Jim Frontiero, Just for fun!, public hearing, public meeting1 Comment	
Retired police officers hired to help at Sawyer Free Library | Public meeting January 30 for proposed new building
The next meeting about the proposed new library building will be held this week on Wednesday January 30, 2019 from 4:00 PM – 6:00 PM. Then monthly: 01/30/2019, 02/27/2019, 03/27/2019, 04/24/2019. Confirm the meeting location whether Friend Room or one of two rooms upstairs/downstairs in Saunders.
“Retired Officers to Police City Library” by Ray Lamont, Gloucester Daily Times, January 29, 2019 Click here to read the front page article
Tagged Gloucester Daily Times, January 29 2019, proposed building plans, public meetings, Ray Lamont, Retired police officers, Sawyer Free LibraryLeave a comment	
Our busy schedules and racing from rink to rink and activity to activity often leads to eating on the road, late take out dinners, and tons of money spent. I used to be much, much better about packing food, but that ship has sailed.
Last week, after an 8:00-9:00 pm practice, we yet again phoned Mike’s Place for a late dinner.
I ordered up some pizza, chicken fingers, and french fries and for the assortment of boys who were landing at our house for the night and I got the Protein Power Salad. It was phenomenal. Not only was it delicious, but it was so packed with great stuff that there was a ton left over of the “regular” size for Freddy to finish it once he and Thatch got home from an even later game.
NEW! Protein Power Salad
Grilled chicken tenders, avocado, and sliced hard boiled egg, over a bed of baby spring mix. Topped with crumbled goat cheese and walnuts.
Check out Mike’s Place HERE
The photos don’t do it justice, but you should give it a try.
One of the biggest obstacles people face purchasing a new home is the down payment. It’s not that people can’t save, it’s the amount they need to save to buy a home here in Eastern Massachusetts. Prices are high, and therefore the down payments tend to be higher because down payments are a percentage of the home price.
Most people think that you need 20% to purchase a home, but that couldn’t be furthest from the truth. In fact, most mortgages require as little as a 3-3.5% down payment. The more you put down, the better the terms. 5% is better than 3%, 10% is better than 5%, and so on. So that’s why you hear about 20% down being required, because that’s when it’s the best terms. However, if everyone waited for 20% down, we would not have over 60% of the population homeowners. It’s just not realistic.
Al Fresco at Blue Collar
Brrr……it was cold down on the water last week.