NEW YORK — A tiny book from 1640 believed to be the first ever printed in what is now the United States is going up for auction, and it could sell for as much as $30 million. Only 11 copies of the Bay Psalm Book survive in varying degrees of completeness. Members of Boston’s Old South Church have authorized the sale of one of its two copies at Sotheby’s Nov. 26. “It’s a spectacular book, arguably one of the most important books in this nation’s history,” said the Rev. Nancy Taylor, senior minister and CEO of the church, which was established in 1669. Samuel Adams was a member and Benjamin Franklin was baptized there. At one time, the church owned five copies of the 6-by-5-inch hymnal. One is now at the Library of Congress, another at Yale University and a third at Brown University. (read more at Portland Press Herald)
EVERETT, Mass. — Las Vegas gambling magnate Steve Wynn’s firm on Wednesday unveiled a rendering of a $1.2 billion riverfront casino proposal that will compete with two others for the sole eastern Massachusetts resort casino license. The rendering envisions a 19-story hotel and casino with a glass facade rising on the banks of the Mystic River, connected to what appear to be restaurants and retail stores along a riverwalk on either side of the main building. The proposed casino would sit on 37 acres of land at the site of a former chemical plant in Everett, a city of about 41,000 residents just north of Boston. (read more at Lewiston Sun Journal)
Mar 28 2013 | Posted in
featured,
Massh*les |
Read More »
CARACAS, Venezuela — President Hugo Chavez was a former paratroop commander and self-styled “subversive” who waged continual battle for his socialist ideals. He bedeviled the United States and outsmarted his rivals time and again, while using Venezuela’s vast oil wealth to his political advantage. Chavez led one coup attempt, defeated another and was re-elected three times. Almost the only adversary it seemed he couldn’t beat was cancer. He died Tuesday in Caracas at age 58, two years after he was first diagnosed. The son of schoolteachers, he rose from poverty in a dirt-floor, mud-walled house, a “humble soldier” in the battle for socialism. He fashioned himself after 19th-century independence leader Simon Bolivar and renamed his country the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. (read more at Portland Press Herald)
New-home construction in southern Maine has jumped 35 percent in 2012, a rebound from last year when housing starts in the region hit a 20-year low. While the news is good, it does not necessarily signal a recovery, builders say. They caution that the figures mark mainly prime locations in southern coastal towns and that new construction in the rest of the state remains stagnant. The number of new-home permits in southern Maine is still well below pre-recession levels and some builders fear this year’s growth is just a temporary uptick after last year’s depressed numbers. “There are definitely pockets of growth, especially in coastal areas in York County. West of I-95, things are really slow,” said Larry Duell, president of the Home Builders and Remodelers Association of Maine. “Statewide, new-home permitting is weak.” (read more at Portland Press Herald)
BANGOR, Maine — If there was a Hulk version of Queen Anne’s lace, giant hogweed would be it. The invasive plant species can tower up to 14 feet tall with flower heads up to 1 foot wide, but it’s far more malevolent than its kin: The stem’s sap can cause serious burns on your skin and in some cases blindness. “Of all the ones I’ve seen, this one scares me the most,” said Ronald Lemin Jr., a vegetation management sales consultant with CPS Timberland who has volunteered time to help eradicate hogweed from an area in Bangor. The invasive species expert said there is a massive hogweed infestation site in Bangor on land between Ohio Street and Finson Road. The thousands of plants situated around a tributary could spread the infestation to Kenduskeag Stream and into the Penobscot River because of hogweed’s floatable seeds, which are produced by the hundreds during germination. For this reason, Lemin said he wants to warn anyone in the area to be wary of the giant plants. The expert said the plant’s surface is harmless to touch, but its fragile, hollow stem is full of dangerous sap that can burn the skin. “I would just stay away from it,” Lemin said. (read more at BangorDailyNews)
PORTLAND— The port of Portland has lost scheduled container shipping again, nine months after the start of weekly service connecting Boston and Halifax, Nova Scotia. New York-based American Feeder Lines announced late last week that it suspended operations, citing a lack of volume and loss of private investment. It now is announcing that the company is closing. “We’re very disappointed, we thought the timing was right,” Rudy Mack, the company’s chief operating officer, told The Portland Press Herald. The move is a blow to Portland, which is in the midst of rebuilding and expanding cargo facilities at the International Marine Terminal. The $5 million, federally funded project will be done this summer. American Feeder Line’s demise also represents a financial loss for the Maine Port Authority. In early March, the authority approved a $200,000 loan to the company to help pay for operations.The money came from lease and dockage revenues, not tax dollars. Boston and Halifax made similar loans. That investment now appears to be gone. (read more at PortlandPressHerald)
NEW YORK — A tiny book from 1640 believed to be the first ever printed in what is now the United States is going up for auction, and it could sell for as much as $30 million. Only 11 copies of the Bay Psalm Book survive in varying degrees of completeness. Members of Boston’s Old South Church have authorized the sale of one of its two copies at Sotheby’s Nov. 26. “It’s a spectacular book, arguably one of the most important books in this nation’s history,” said the Rev. Nancy Taylor, senior minister and CEO of the church, which was established in 1669. Samuel Adams was a member and Benjamin Franklin was baptized there. At one time, the church owned five copies of the 6-by-5-inch hymnal. One is now at the Library of Congress, another at Yale University and a third at Brown University. (read more at Portland Press Herald)
