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Boston Globe
2 days ago
- Boston Globe
What if visitors got to the Cape bridges and just stopped — on purpose?
I usually have a lot of company on those peaceful two-lane paths: other walkers with and without dogs, runners, cyclists, moms with strollers, even one roller-blader pushing a large ginger cat in a net-enclosed carriage. Saltwater fishermen seeking striped bass, bluefish, and more dot the rocky shore, competing with cormorants and blue herons. Grassy areas at each outlet and along the way are dotted with people in beach chairs, picnicking, reading, chatting, or just watching the busy boat traffic and, occasionally, large visiting marine life. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up For many locals and visitors, the canal is simply their waterfront recreation area. Private boaters ride through for the experience, or the chance — like the many commercial vessels — to cut off dozens of miles from the trip around the Outer Cape. On land, there are two large campgrounds on the north side, woodsy walking trails, parks, state and town beaches, historic museums, and easy restaurant access on either end. Advertisement While there's much to see and do on the 65-mile Cape stretch that lies beyond, probably only a small percentage of people stewing in bridge traffic realize that maybe they should stop alongside the canal first — or maybe their visit doesn't need to go any farther. Cutting the Cape from the mainland The canal was an idea for centuries before planners finally got it right. (See sidebar.) For Native American tribes and early colonists, the area was where two rivers flowed for travel. It wasn't until the early 20th century that dredging and dynamiting joined the ocean on both sides of Massachusetts. During the Depression, the canal became a federal work project with hundreds of jobs, and the current canal and bridges created an easier way to get to the Cape, or, for ships to avoid wrecking in treacherous Outer Cape waters. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers oversees the canal, and 1,100 acres of federal land around it. It also operates the Advertisement Saltwater fishing is a popular pastime at the Cape Cod Canal. Ron Driscoll For a different look at history, a nature trail off the Capeside walking path in Bourne takes the curious to the That replica — as well as a train station used by President Grover Cleveland to get to his Bourne summer home known as Gray Gables, and a windmill that served as an art studio for 19th-century actor Joseph Jefferson — is open Thursdays through Sundays from mid-May to mid-October. While the grounds can be visited anytime, we found it's worth going inside the buildings for the full story, and hearing details from historians and interpreters. How to get to the paths and scenic views To view the canal from above, there are a couple of scenic overlooks off roads on both sides of the canal. To access restrooms and pathways, parking is available at multiple recreation areas. Signs helpfully point out that it's 1.25 miles from the Railroad Bridge in Buzzards Bay to the base of the Bourne Bridge, 3.25 miles from there to the Sagamore Bridge, then 2 (south side) or 2.5 (north side) miles more to the canal's east end in Sandwich. The large Advertisement Two miles east on the mainland side's canal path, Pathways along both sides of the canal, with the mainland side ending at Buzzards Bay Recreation Area, are popular with walkers, cyclists, runners, and roller-bladers. Ron Driscoll Yes, you can go to the beach While there's no swimming in the canal, there are sandy beaches on both sides in Sandwich as the canal meets Cape Cod Bay. The largest — just a few minutes drive east from traffic at the Sagamore Bridge on the mainland side — is the 1.5-mile stretch of Across the canal is Sandwich-owned First Beach, which is sandy by its breakwater, but becomes rocky farther on. The rocks could be worth traversing, though, for those who want to get to the Cape location of Advertisement On the Bourne end, town-owned Where to sleep canalside For those who want to spend their nights right along the waterway, there are two camping areas, with land rented from the Army Corps. The nearly 75-year-old Getting out on the water, or railroad bridge For boaters, there are various rules, tides, and details it's important to know before trying to traverse the canal. If, like us, you don't own a boat, it's still possible to get out on canal waters. Advertisement Hy-Line's two- and three-hour canal cruises run from mid-May to mid-September, and offer views, snacks, and a guided history lesson. From May through Labor Day weekend, Hy-Line also has music cruises (including yacht rock and family tunes), a sunset cocktail cruise, and ones featuring musical bingo or trivia. For those who prefer to stay on land, If you don't feel like bringing your own food for a picnic, there are three seafood restaurants — While July and August are the busiest times on the Cape, canalside activities can be enjoyed for much of the year as a diversion from traffic or part of a destination on its own. Morrill says beautiful fall weather makes it one of the busiest times at
Otago Daily Times
2 days ago
- Sport
- Otago Daily Times
Annual games a community effort
Children came from Southland, Upper Clutha and Dunedin on Saturday to compete in Central Otago's biggest primary school tournament in one of the region's smallest villages. Millers Flat, population 90, boasts the blue bridge, a primary school with fewer than 30 pupils and an annual sports tournament that has run for 123 years, through both world wars, the Depression and centralisation of rural services. Millers Flat primary school secretary Brooke Reichel said on Saturday 120 rugby and 40 netball teams descended on the village bringing 1500 children along with coaches and extended family. It was a true community effort as locals of all ages in Hawkeswood Mining-sponsored hi-vis vests did everything from time-keeping and updating the draw to manning the barbecue and serving the endless queues of people at the canteen hot chips and pies. Teachers Paula Bissett and Gillian Beel were well wrapped up as they supervised time-keeping at the netball courts. Hats, hotties and horse blankets had all been piled on to keep them warm as the temperatures were well below freezing when the first teams took to the courts and fields. They even had a flask of hot water to top up the hotties, Ms Bissett said. Mrs Reichel said teams had come from Dunedin, Balclutha, Waikaka, Wānaka and Alexandra. It was a big commitment for such a small school, she said. The draw was done manually and former school parent Deidre Perkins had been helping with it again this year. Former pupils home for the weekend were acting as runners between the games and those adding results to the draw, Mrs Reichel said. A big hit with the younger children was the Sport Central Loose Parts play trailer, which contained lots of equipment ready to be used for whatever activity the children wanted to do, from agility games to balance walks. While every conceivable space was commandeered for carparking by 10am, normal service was returned to Millers Flat by 4pm and locals could safely stop their vehicles for a chat in the middle of the main street again.
Bloomberg
5 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Trump Wins a Second Chance for Smoot and Hawley
Time will tell if punishingly high tariffs play out the same as in the Depression. Save To get John Authers' newsletter delivered directly to your inbox, sign up here. We are about to discover whether Reed Smoot and Willis Hawley were right all along. Donald Trump said he was a protectionist, and he has delivered effective levies to match the infamous tariffs named for the Depression-era US legislators. That's illustrated by Capital Economics:
Hindustan Times
6 days ago
- Business
- Hindustan Times
Donald Trump thinks he's winning on trade, but America will lose
MORE than 100 days after President Donald Trump's 'Liberation Day', the new global trading order is becoming clear. It is a system of imperial preference. Canada has angered the president, partly by planning to recognise Palestine as a state, and so it faces a duty of 35%. Because Mr Trump reckons that exporters unfairly cheat America, on July 31st he said he would impose 'reciprocal' tariffs on many trading partners, ranging from 10% to 41%. Meanwhile, in order to ward off tariff threats the European Union, Japan and South Korea have all struck deals with Mr Trump, where they promise to open their markets and invest hundreds of billions of dollars in America, in return for levies on their exports of 15%. A seductive idea is settling in that America is winning from all this. The president has, after all, got his biggest trading partners to make deals that are closer to his demands than theirs. Financial markets have shrugged off higher duties, the real economy shows little sign of damage and all the time tariff revenues are rolling in. But that thinking is deeply misguided. The game is not over. And it is one that America cannot win. For all the crowing about how Trump Always Chickens Out, the president has pressed forward with tariffs. America's effective tariff rate is due to rise to 18% on August 7th, according to the Yale Budget Lab, nearly eight times the prevailing rate last year, and back to levels last seen in the Depression. The way MAGA paints it, this is a triumph for Mr Trump, because America's trading partners are eating higher tariffs, helping US Customs rake in nigh on $30bn in revenues a month. Unfortunately, that idea is gaining currency even outside America. Soon after the eu struck its deal with Mr Trump, opponents in European capitals lamented the fact that the bloc would have to pay. This is a fundamental misunderstanding of trade economics. Years of experience show that tariffs do not harm the sellers of goods as much as they harm the buyers. The more the president raises tariffs, the more his own compatriots will be deprived of choice at low prices. Even though foreign suppliers are lowering their prices more steeply than after Mr Trump's first-term tariffs, analysts at Goldman Sachs reckon that fully four-fifths of tariff costs have so far been borne by American firms and consumers. Just ask Ford, or GM: the carmakers reckon they paid $800m and $1.1bn in tariff costs, respectively, in the second quarter of this year alone. What of the muted economic and financial market reaction so far? The IMF has raised its projections for both global and American economic growth this year, compared with forecasts it made in April. Although it has fallen since Mr Trump signed his order, the S&P 500 remains nearly 12% higher than it was on Liberation Day; the dollar, though down, has strengthened in recent weeks. The answer is that the economy is being buffeted by various forces, including heavy stockpiling before tariffs came into effect—delaying the pain, but not eliminating it—as well as an extraordinary boom in artificial-intelligence-based capital spending. According to Renaissance Macro Research, capital investments in AI have contributed more to America's gdp growth in the past two quarters than all of consumer spending. Partly propelled by this, stockmarkets have gone from strength to strength. Perhaps, too, investors believe that companies will adapt to higher tariffs. The incentive to route trade through places with relatively low duties will be strong—even though Mr Trump has vowed to punish such 'trans-shipment' with tariffs of 40%. An uncomfortable dynamic has also set in: because investors think that the president will eventually chicken out, they are emboldening him to press ahead. As he does so, however, the long-term costs to the economy will mount. In the name of fairness Mr Trump is discarding a multilateral system in which tariffs were charged on the same goods, regardless of where they came from. In its place is a bilateral system where products can face differential rates depending on their origin. These new rates are not just higher; they are subject to ceaseless bargaining over almost any issue. Just this week, those issues included the Brazilian courts' pursuit of a Trump ally and a border war between Thailand and Cambodia. Because tariff policy is set by one man alone, the bargaining will be subject to lobbying and presidential whim. Because of who he is, Mr Trump will consider exemptions when he is next flattered, and threaten duties when he is next displeased. American shoppers will pay the price. Once they were spoilt for choice, as both domestic and foreign producers competed to sell to them. Now the companies that succeed will do so not only because they are the most innovative, but also because they are the cleverest at playing the system. And remember that a ratchet effect is at work here. When—or rather, if—future presidents want to restore tariffs to their original level, they will be met by furious lobbying from American firms that got used to sheltering behind tariff barriers and have thereby become uncompetitive in world markets. Everything about this is harmful. And, whatever Mr Trump says, nothing about it is fair.
Winnipeg Free Press
6 days ago
- Business
- Winnipeg Free Press
The flying farmer
Alvin Hein joked he would go all over the province to pay $100 for a hamburger. That's because Alvin, who was 89 when he died on July 19, was a farmer who learned to fly when he was younger. And, after retiring, Alvin bought a Piper Arrow and flew with his wife to visit their relatives in western Canada or to go on day trips to various places, including the International Peace Gardens, Grand Forks, Morden, and Altona. Advertisement Why this ad? 'He spent many days flying for pure enjoyment and joked about his $100 burgers at different stops around the province,' his family said in his obituary. Alvin wouldn't have been able to afford those burgers earlier in life. He was born in a farmhouse near Brunkild and grew up during the Depression. As his family said, 'life was hard and money was scarce.' Alvin Hein Alvin was 17 when he helped his cousin bring in the harvest before leaving for Winnipeg and working for five years in the Eaton's mail order section, in the building where CityPlace is today. By his mid-20s, Alvin was able to buy his first 80 acres of land in the area where he grew up. He farmed cereal and oil crops during the growing season, while during winter he worked at a sugar beet processing plant and later still worked as the head of security at the Winnipeg airport from 1970 to 1973. Even after Alvin got married, in 1970, and lived in River Heights with his family, he still farmed. He just commuted to the farm every day. But Alvin may have been interested in flying longer than farming. He was only six when he would see RCAF pilots flying overhead while training for the Second World War. When Alvin was hospitalized for six weeks with rheumatic fever in 1966, he decided he would learn to fly. By 1967, he had his private pilot's licence. Flying is also how Alvin started a business. He bought a new Bellanca Scout in 1976 and began a crop dusting business. Overall, Alvin had more than 3,000 hours of flying under his belt. Even after Alvin retired from both farming and aerial spraying, he found a way to continue combining his two loves of farming and aviation. He sold the farm and bought a hangar at Lyncrest Airport to continue to fly. But Alvin also brought along his John Deere tractor and mower from the farm to become 'the unofficial runway grass cutter.' Besides his wife, Elma, of 54 years, Alvin is survived by his son and several nieces, nephews and cousins. Read more about Alvin. How They Lived It would have been tough for Eleanor Huband to be Winnipeg's first baby of 1935 — our archives show that baby came 10 seconds into the new year. But while her parents missed out on the gifts local businesses contributed, Eleanor, born Jan. 1, went on to become a teacher. Later, after marrying, she became active with the Junior League of Winnipeg, led a troop of Brownies, worked as a real estate agent, and even sold many of the paintings she created at local art shows. Read more about Eleanor. Eleanor Huband Ingo Schroedter was a welder when he decided to change careers. Ingo, who was 67 when he died on July 19, worked as a welder at Motor Coach Industries before going back to school at Red River Community College. He graduated as a medical laboratory technician and worked under Dr. Henry Friesen — whose work on infertility led to the creation of a fertility-enhancing drug — at the University of Manitoba before going to the Health Sciences Centre, where he was a pioneer in bringing molecular genetics and diagnostic research testing into the clinic. Read more about Ingo. Ingo Schroedter Jean McCormack was a nurse who worked for years in hospitals. Jean, who died on July 21 at 89 years of age, was working at the Vancouver General Hospital, becoming a head nurse, before moving to Winnipeg, where she nursed first at the Grace Hospital and then the Victoria Hospital. In the 1990s, Jean moved into education, first creating a health and child-care program at Miles Macdonell Collegiate, before leading the school's costume department for theatre shows. Read more about Jean. Marilyn (Jean) McCormack David Ross volunteered a lot of his time in Dauphin. David, who was 91 when he died on July 11, served as president and life member of the Dauphin Men's Curling Club, secretary-treasurer of Manitoba Junior Curling, and sat on the board of the Dauphin District Community Foundation and Lorray Manor. He had also been involved with Meals on Wheels, the Dauphin United Church, and the Royal Canadian Legion. Read more about David. David Evans Ross Dolores Simpson competed at the Special Olympics. And while we don't know what sports Dolores, who died on July 19 at 76 years of age, competed in, we do know she participated in several sports including swimming, cycling, curling and rollerblading. She also enjoyed dancing, polka music and horror movies — and she was adored by all her nieces and nephews and great-nieces and great-nephews. Read more about Dolores. Dolores Anne Simpson A Life's Story While Rita Menzies didn't teach art at Kelvin High School — she taught math and English — she later made her mark in the world of musical arts. Rita, who was 83 when she died in June, left teaching to become the first general manager of the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra. Rita Menzies in Reykjavik, Iceland (Jeannette Menzies photo) Rita was with the orchestra for 24 years and, when she retired, she became the interim head of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, taking it from a deficit to a surplus in a year. She retired again, but again a musical organization came calling: she soon was the director of the annual Agassiz Summer Chamber Music Festival, staying for 11 years and also serving as board president until she died. 'She was described as kind of having a calming effect on an organization,' Rita's daughter Jeannette Menzies said. 'I saw her as a trailblazer.' Read more about Rita's life. Until next time, I hope you continue to write your own life's story.
