Field Notes

CYCLE-LOGICAL RUMBLINGS No longer must cyclists navigate the heavy traffic of Old South Road, nor must those on foot walk a dangerous narrow trail along the roadside to reach their destinations.

The Old South Road bike path, having been partially ready and open since last summer, is now complete from the Rotary out to the intersection of Old South Road and Macy's Lane. The town will have a ribbon-cutting ceremony this Friday at 2 p.m. at the aforementioned intersection.

On hand will be the Nantucket Planning & Economic Development Commission, the County Commissioners and Cape & Islands State Representative Eric Turkington. Munchies will be served. Future bike paths currently in the works include a connector path between Hinsdale Road and Milestone Road running northsouth on Nantucket Islands Land Bank property just west of Small Friends, the Nantucket New School and Strong Wings. The design of that path is just starting. Extension of the Bartlett Road bike path from Mizzenmast to Raceway Drive will be done this fall and the Prospect Street sidewalk built by the end of the summer.

HARBORING SUCCESS Nantucket's new and improved harbors plan pleased the Board of Selectmen enough at its meeting on May 16 for it to endorse the plan. That means the 189-page document is being sent to the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management and the state's Department of Environmental Protection for what will likely be at least 12 months of review.

If you want to see what the selectmen saw, go to www.nantucketharborplan. com/ to download the plan and find updates on the state's reviewing process.

PARKING KUDOS Despite resistance from two of its members at the May 14 meeting, the Planning Board found enough to like about the Manor House's proposed free-standing addition to its 14-room guesthouse to recommend a positive letter of conditions at the board's next meeting on May 31. Although members John McLaughlin and Sylvia Howard wanted to see more parking than just five spaces beneath the new 10-room annex, the rest of the board praised Center Street ACKquisitions, LLC for its off-street pick-up and drop-off area next to the building that was designed to alleviate congestion on Chestnut Street.

HOMEBUYER SCHOOL Daunting as it may seem, buying a house on Nantucket is no different than in any other part of the country except for, possibly, the price.

If you are in the process of buying your first house or are interested in doing so, the Nantucket Housing Office wants to help with its prospective homeowners' class. The class will meet May 31, June 7 and 14 for three hours, from 6 to 9 p.m. at Nantucket High School.

This free three-night class covers credit reports, budgeting, getting a mortgage, working with a real estate broker, the legal process from offer to close, home inspections, appraisals and insurance, successful homeownership and housing opportunities on Nantucket in general. Bankers, real estate agents and lawyers will be on hand to make presentations and answer questions.

Register by calling Aaron Marcavitch at 228-4422 or email: aaron@nantuckethousingoffice.org.

OCEAN LOSING ABSORPTION ABILITY The ocean, which has absorbed some excess carbon dioxide from the atmosphere for centuries, may be losing that ability, a new report says.

The buildup of carbon dioxide in the air since the beginning of the industrial revolution has raised concerns that it would trap solar energy and cause a warming of the climate. The oceans are believed to absorb about one-quarter of human-related carbon emissions.

But researchers reporting in the journal "Science" say at least one large ocean area - the Southern Ocean that surrounds Antarctica - seems to be losing its ability to take up the gas. Their fouryear study concluded that an increase in winds over the Southern Ocean is preventing it from absorbing more carbon and is causing the sea to release some of

the gas that it had stored. I