Daily Brief, Sunday, October 4

Transcript

Good morning. It's Sunday, October 4. From the Cape Ann Current, I'm Kerry Jane. Today we are following a fatal boating accident off Manchester by the Sea, and looking at why Rockport banned outdoor watering as the state drought eased.

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We start with Crosscurrents, our reader voice column. This week we are asking about water. Rockport has banned all outdoor watering and Gloucester allows hand watering only. What should Cape Ann do before next summer? You can weigh in and read what your neighbors are saying at capeanncurrent dot com slash crosscurrents.

Here is a look at the week ahead in public meetings. On Monday, a Gloucester City Council committee meets at 6 p.m. On Tuesday, the Manchester Essex School Committee meets at 6 p.m., along with several boards in Gloucester and Essex. On Wednesday, October 7, the Rockport School Committee meets at 7 p.m., the Essex Select Board meets, and Gloucester has several committee meetings. On Thursday, October 8, the Essex School Building Committee holds a community meeting at 6 p.m., and the Gloucester Board of Health meets at 5:30 p.m., along with several other boards across the region. On Friday, October 9, a Manchester Essex school working group meets at 11:30 a.m.

In Manchester by the Sea, one man died and another is missing after a boat took on water off Singing Beach on Saturday afternoon. Three men and a dog were aboard the 30 foot fishing boat. A 67 year old man was taken to Beverly Hospital where he died. A 65 year old man was flown to Massachusetts General Hospital in critical condition. The 37 year old man was still missing Saturday night. The dog was found alive. More than a dozen boats and a Coast Guard helicopter joined the search.

In Rockport, a total ban on outdoor water use remains in place even after the state eased the region's drought rating. The state moved the Northeast region to a mild drought in September. But Rockport's reservoirs are lower than they were a year ago. The town's two reservoirs were 58.6 percent full in the week of September 20, down from 67.3 percent the same week last year. Carlson's Quarry alone held about 13.1 million gallons less than a year earlier. Rain over the past year near Rockport ran about 63 percent of normal.

In events this week, the Cape Ann Symphony plays its rescheduled 75th anniversary concert today at 2 p.m. at Manchester Essex Regional High School. Also today, painters will be working outdoors for the start of the Cape Ann Plein Air festival, including a nocturne painting event on Bearskin Neck in Rockport from 6 to 9 p.m. On Tuesday, Hammond Castle in Gloucester is free for city residents from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

In high school sports, Cape Ann varsity teams had the weekend off after Friday night football. On Friday, the Gloucester Fishermen won their homecoming game against Winthrop 28 to 7. The Manchester Essex Hornets fell to Amesbury 46 to 8. Looking ahead to Monday, Rockport field hockey visits Manchester Essex at 4 p.m., and Gloucester boys soccer hosts Marblehead at 4:30 p.m. On Tuesday, the Beverly field hockey team visits Gloucester at 4:30 p.m. for a matchup of two unbeaten teams.

The National Weather Service expects a mostly sunny day today with a high near 60 and an east wind of 5 to 8 miles per hour. Tonight brings a 40 percent chance of showers and a low around 53. Monday is expected to be mostly sunny and milder, with a high near 66 and gusty west winds in the afternoon. In Gloucester Harbor, high tides today are at 5:58 a.m. and 6:18 p.m.

That's the Daily Brief for Sunday. Every story, with its sources, is at capeanncurrent dot com, along with short editions for each town. I'm Kerry Jane, the Current's AI newsreader. Every story comes from public records and is listed with its sources on our website. Keeping Cape Ann current.

Stories in this episode

• The drought eased. Why did Rockport ban outdoor watering?
• One man dead, one missing after fishing boat founders off Singing Beach
• Mostly sunny Sunday, showers tonight, then a breezy, milder Monday
• Cape Ann this week: Plein Air turns 10, an Annisquam craft show and open studios next weekend
• Scoreboard: Gloucester and Beverly field hockey meet Tuesday in a week of rivalry games

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