etcetera
PLANNING BOARD UPHOLDS INTENSITY CONDITION AT 1 NORTH BEACH ST. At its Jan. 14 meeting, the Planning Board told Amber and David Cantella that their proposal to occupy an 800-square-foot space at 1 North Beach St. with Epernay, a high-end wine shop, would intensify the use of that building beyond what the board allows for the neighborhood.

Planning Board members John McLaughlin, Sylvia Howard and Barry Rector defended the board's 4-1 April 10, 2006 approval of George Nyren's Major Commercial Development special for a 1,704-square-foot addition that includes a condition prohibiting certain intense uses. Fellow members Nat Lowell and Chairman Frank Spriggs voted against this effort. Condition 2 says that: "taverns, bars, take-out establishments, restaurants, t-shirt shops and other high-intensity retail uses such as video stores shall be prohibited at the premises."

The Cantella's needed the board to modify this condition to help them get their liquor license from the Board of Selectmen at its meeting tonight. If their effort fails, Spriggs said the Cantella's can reopen Nyren's hearing and attempt a modification of this special permit.

THREE MORE CANDIDATES TAKE OUT NOMINATION PAPERS As of Tuesday morning, seven candidates have taken out nomination papers from the Town Clerk's office with a Feb. 19, 5 p.m. deadline to return them with a minimum of 40 registered voter signatures. Historic District Commission incumbent associate member Diane Coombs took out papers for one of the two open full member seats. Others vying for the HDC terms are Deborah Timmerman and David Barham. Gerald Eldridge took out papers on Friday for the Wannacomet Water Commission. The first candidate in line when papers became available on Jan. 7 was incumbent Selectman Brian Chadwick who is running for his second term. Chadwick was followed by Christine Elahi, running for another term on the School Committee and Selectman Michael Kopko who is running for the single open seat on the Planning Board. Town elections are Tuesday, April 15.

CHANGING VIEWS ON UNDERAGE DRINKING Are you concerned about underage drinking on the island? Do you feel that underage drinking is unacceptable and inappropriate? Would you like to see a healthier Nantucket community in the future? Do you want to help make some changes?

If you answered "yes" to any or all of these questions, then the Communities Mobilizing for Change on Alcohol project - a program of the Alliance for Substance Abuse Prevention, Inc. funded through a grant by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Bureau of Substance Abuse Services - would like to hear from you. Call 508.228.1362 for more information.

SMALL FRIENDS REACHES $3 MILLION MARK The Nantucket Golf Club Children's Charity Classicinformed Small Friends of Nantucket earlier this month that its Capital Campaign had received one of its 2007 grants. The golf club's donation brought Small Friends' campaign up to the $3 million mark.

RECLAIM AUTHORITY WITH CHILDREN The Nantucket Lighthouse School, with support from the Nantucket Atheneum and Community Network for Children Massachusetts Family Network, presents free workshops for educators and parents featuring Lynne Griffin, RN, MEd, titled, Negotiation Generation: Take Back Your Parental Authority Without Punishment. The educator workshop will take place Wednesday, Jan. 23, from 3 to 5 p.m. at Nantucket Lighthouse School. The parent workshop is Thursday, Jan. 24 at 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. at Lighthouse School. Free childcare and pizza will be offered.

Lynne Reeves Griffin writes about issues affecting family life. She is the author of "Negotiation Generation: Take Back Your Parental Authority Without Punishment" (Penguin, 2007) and she is a nationally recognized speaker on child development, temperament and behavior. She is a faculty member in the Social Work and Family Studies graduate program at Wheelock College in Boston and a regular television and radio guest expert.

Griffin's workshop is intended to help parents and caregivers reclaim positions of authority with a proactive approach. Griffin will teach attendees how to influence children's behavior without controlling it, predict and prevent challenging behavior, let go of time-outs, groundings, spankings and other punishments, and lead by example. With true stories from more than 20 years of parent counseling, Griffin will teach parents and caregivers how to, "step out of the negotiation generation and step back into control."

Learn more about Lynne Griffin at www.lynnegriffin.com. I