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Other News May 14, 2008
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etcetera
1. A number of unspecified additional things; 2. pl. additional items, odds and ends

SOMETHING NATURAL HOLDS SIXTH NONPROFIT DAY On June 10, Something Natural will hold its sixth annual Nonprofit Day. From now until the end of May, stop by Something Natural at 50 Cliff Road and cast your vote for your favorite island charitable organization. The nonprofit with the most votes will receive all the bakery's retail income that comes in on June 10 as well as a percentage of proceeds from t-shirt sales and sometimes employee tips that are donated. The nonprofits may set up an information table on the Something Natural porch for the day and are welcome to do a little work behind the counter to encourage votes for their organization. Last year's winner was the Nantucket New School. The 2006 winner was The Lighthouse School; before them it was the Maria Mitchell Association and for the first two years it was Small Friends on Nantucket. The amount raised averages between $1,000 to $1,500, said Something Natural owner Matt Fee.

NHS STUDENTS WIN CULINARY COMPETITION Bob Buccino's team of students in the Nantucket High School culinary arts class took home the gold in last weekend's culinary competition at the Johnson and Wales institute in Rhode Island. This was the island students'first Pro Start contest and they walked away with first place against the talents of five other schools. Each participating NHS student received a scholarship to either the Culinary Institute of America, Johnson and Wales or Connecticut Culinary. The team was made up of Brittany Watson, Haley Cabre, Carl Johnson and Karla Gomes. The students practiced with Buccino after school and on weekends for two months in preparation for the competition. The Friends of Nantucket Public Schools lent financial support for cooking supplies and food for the event.

MORE GREEN FOR GREEN The Small Friends Building Dreams Capital Campaign hosted the Second Annual "Spring Down the House" fundraiser in 'Sconset on April 26. The event raised over $70,000 for the Capital Campaign, which The Weezie Foundation is matching. All proceeds from the Building Dreams Capital Campaign go toward building Nantucket's first LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified environmentally friendly Early Care and Education center for Nantucket's year round working families. The new center will open in September.

DR. DUCKLOW KICKS OFF BIODIVERSITYWEEK What will happen when the sea ice disappears from Antarctica? If anyone can answer this question, Hugh Ducklow, Director of the Palmer Antarctic Long Term Ecological Research project can. Dr. Ducklow, a climate change expert, will kick off the 3rd Nantucket Biodiversity Initiative week with his talk entitled "There is no Scientific Debate about Global Warming (The scientific background, politics and predictions about climate change)."

Dr. Ducklow is Director of the Ecosystems Center at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. His yearly journeys to Antarctica's Palmer project site inform his understanding of climate change as it affects ecosystem functions. In the 1950s, according to Dr. Ducklow, average winter temperatures in Palmer were 11 degrees colder than they are today. He has watched glaciers recede and grasses and mosses move into this area where change is occurring very rapidly. The scientist sees a time not far from now when the sea ice around Palmer will be gone.

Dr. Ducklow, who has earned both undergraduate and graduate degrees from Harvard College, will speak in the Great Hall of the Atheneum Sunday, May 25 at 7 p.m. His talk will open the weeklong biodiversity activities that bring scientists, naturalists and the Nantucket community together to document and study the biodiversity of our island as well as to conserve it over time. On the days following this opening event, many free field trips and talks will be offered to the community, some of these particularly designed for school-age children.

The keynote address is free and open to the public. A wine and cheese reception will follow at Maria Mitchell Association, 2 Vestal Street.

For more information about this week of science and nature hosted by the conservation organizations of Nantucket and partnering agencies and individuals, please visit the web site: www.nantucketbiodiversityinitiative.org. For background about Hugh Ducklow, the MBL and The Ecosystems Center, visit http://ecosystems.mbl.edu/. Contact: Kathy Butterworth, co-chair Nantucket Biodiversity Initiative Week at kathybutterworth@hotmail.com, or 774-994-0746.

PARKING DISCOUNTS OFFERED AT AIRPORT The Nantucket Memorial Airport Commission has voted to adopt a trial program to provide residents an opportunity to purchase a three-day parking pass, similar to the winter program that has been in place for the past two years. The winter program runs from October 15 to May 15. This new program will be in place for the rest of the year.

This pass will provide residents a 50 percent savings and provide a way to park for up to three consecutive days in the overnight parking lot at the airport for $30.00, instead of the regular price of $20.00 per day. During the construction of the new terminal expansion and renovation the Commission felt it would be beneficial to offset the inconvenience. Residents must show proof of residence through car registration and be listed in the Nantucket street address book. Only one three-day pass can be purchased at a time. Consecutive passes will not be permitted. This is designed to

allow residents to tend to short trips off Island. I