Sunday, March 25, 2012

After a long -- but successful -- battle, PI grandmother changes her mind

Plum Island woman won’t rebuild house lost to the sea

By Taryn Plumb / Globe Correspondent
March 25, 2012

 A widow and grandmother who very painfully - and very publicly - lost her seaside Plum Island home to the ocean more than three years ago has chosen to sell her property rather than rebuild.
After a long and protracted fight, Geraldine Buzzotta, 82, recently won state approval to construct a new house at 16R Northern Blvd. in Newbury. The family had been expected to break ground this spring, but the .12-acre lot is now up for sale for $349,900.
The real estate listing, in addition to photos of the beach view, includes a schematic of the environmentally sensitive building plan that was approved by local boards and the state Department of Environmental Protection. Newbury building inspector Sam Joslin said the next step for Buzzotta would have been to seek a building permit.
After a battle to rebuild that lasted for more than three years - and that included multiple permit applications, approvals and denials, appeals, studies and reports, and, ultimately in December, approval from the state environmental agency’s commissioner, Kenneth Kimmell - Buzzotta’s family said she simply was exhausted and chose to move on.
“This has been a six-year ordeal for my mother, who was in her late 70s when the erosion first began, and while the outcome was ultimately a positive one, the toll it has taken in terms of her energy and enthusiasm was not so favorable, resulting in her losing the desire to rebuild,’’ her son, Paul Buzzotta, said in a brief written statement. He declined to comment further.
Geraldine Buzzotta, who has been living in a senior housing complex while awaiting approval to rebuild, did not wish to be interviewed for this story, nor did other family members. Their lawyer, Robert L. Brennan Jr. of Brennan, Dain, Le Ray, Wiest, Torpy & Garner PC, in Boston, also did not return calls seeking comment.
According to the real estate listing, the land was assessed at $542,700 in 2011, and all permits, besides a building permit, are in place. Town officials say that means the long-fought approvals from the town Zoning Board of Appeals, the Conservation Commission, and the Department of Environmental Protection’s final order of conditions, a document that governs work on the site, will go with the land. Prospective buyers who want to deviate from the approved plans might have to restart the process.
Joslin said it will all come down to engineering. “If they can engineer it, most likely they’ll be able to build it,’’ he said, also noting that a prospective buyer would probably want to get a building permit prior to purchase.
A building permit requires sign-offs from the Board of Health, Conservation Commission, treasurer/collector, Planning Board, Fire Department, Highway Department, and zoning board of appeals in Newbury, according to the town website, and the water and sewer departments in Newburyport. Prospective builders are also required to provide plot, foundation, framing and floor plans, exterior elevations, energy conservation information, and, particularly for Plum Island, certain information regarding flooding.
In a saga that started over Thanksgiving weekend in 2008, Buzzotta’s house was deemed unsafe after the ocean rapidly consumed the sand beneath it: Its front portion was left dangling over open air. Within hours, the home that she had lived in for more than 35 years with her late husband, Mario, was torn down. Almost immediately, she started the process of rebuilding.
And while some might question that decision, it’s not at all uncommon: Thousands who live in coastal regions of the United States have reconstructed on the same plots where their homes were flooded, ripped apart by winds, or taken away by the tide.
On Plum Island, a house at 27 Annapolis Way in Newbury (just a few hundred yards from Buzzotta’s property) owned by builder Gary Litchfield was razed in January 2011 and has since been rebuilt as a single-family home. Under Newbury’s zoning bylaws, residents of the barrier island can “rebuild as of right’’ a nonconforming single- or two-family residential structure that is either demolished or destroyed as the result of catastrophe, provided that it is not larger or taller than the torn-down home. The structure must be rebuilt within two years of the demolition or catastrophe, although that timeline can be extended with written request from the building inspector.
In Buzzotta’s case, the two-year time limit was extended because she was legally tied up in the process, according to Joslin.
But that time allowed for several projects that ultimately improved - if only temporarily - the integrity of the beach, which has been plagued by erosion problems for years. Giant sandbags several feet high were stacked in front of houses along the beach, and a long-anticipated, $5.5 million Army Corps of Engineers dredging project pumped a water-sand slurry onto the beaches at both Salisbury and Plum Island in late 2010.
Further - and what some say, more permanent - help will come later this year, when the Army Corps starts another long-awaited endeavor: a $3.5 million repair of the south jetty along Plum Island, funded through the Disaster Relief Appropriations Act.
Ultimately, though, Joslin and others are not confident that the ongoing issues on the erosion-afflicted barrier island will ever truly be solved.
“Is there a permanent fix? I wish there was,’’ he said. “But I have the feeling that Mother Nature is going to do what she’s going to do.’’
Although Joslin noted that he has “some concerns’’ when it comes to rebuilding on the beach, dependent on location, it ultimately comes down to “common sense.’’
“You want to make sure you have a structure that, regardless of the land or what’s happening with the ocean, it stays,’’ he said.
According to an environmental notification form provided to the state by Buzzotta’s team of lawyers, engineers, and consultants, the plan was to replace the former three-bedroom, 1,680-square-foot house with a 1,572-square-foot structure set more inland.
The new house would have been elevated above the dune on pilings set behind the giant sandbags. Cantilevered decking would be made from a material that allows 40 to 60 percent of light to pass through so vegetation can grow beneath.
Meanwhile, bare areas would be planted with native vegetation, according to the proposal, and any disturbance to native vegetation or dunes during the construction process would be repaired or replanted.
“We really made a lot of efforts to minimize the footprints of the building,’’ explained Tom Hughes of Newburyport-based Hughes Environmental Consulting, who performed the permitting and environmental work for Buzzotta and her family over the long process. “It’s as sensitive a design as we could possibly have in that location.’’
And just as importantly, the plan would provide more protection for the house; if erosion took sand out from beneath it, Hughes said, the structure would continue to stand.
“It won’t have an effect one way or the other on how fast the dune erodes or what happens during a storm,’’ said Hughes. “The sand dunes will move around or erode as they would without the house.’’
Ultimately, the state environmental approval was a victory in what had been a protracted process: The town’s zoning board gave approval to Buzzotta in the summer of 2009, and the Conservation Commission in fall 2009. But neighbors and state environmental officials appealed the decision under the Wetlands Protection Act.
They argued the site was in a “highly vulnerable’’ storm erosion area, and that building could potentially result in additional degradation and deterioration of the dune, according to the appeal document. There were also concerns about building size, and stabilization of vegetation, both of which have since been addressed.
Responding to those initial concerns, the family withdrew its application, then refiled a new design with the Conservation Commission in September 2010 as the dredging project got underway.
The application was approved locally, and again appealed by the state and a smaller group of neighbors.
The state environmental agency denied the application last August. The family appealed, and ultimately won that appeal in December.
Throughout the process, as Hughes explained, the state requested various analyses, surveys, engineering, and project details, as well as a structural piling plan, performed by both him and Salisbury-based Millennium Engineering.
“The amount of time it took was unfortunate,’’ said Hughes. “But I do believe that in the end we got the right decision. It was a relief after nearly three years of an awful lot of work, and a lot of patience from the family.’’

© Copyright 2012 Globe Newspaper Company

Thursday, March 22, 2012

Breaking up the Band

When the music stops

Local fans mount campaign to save Air Force band at Hanscom

By Taryn Plumb

Globe Correspondent / March 22, 2012 

It all started with Benny Goodman.
Growing up in a “loud and obnoxious’’ musical household - all six of her older siblings played instruments - Jennifer Dashnaw started out wanting to play drums. But then she saw a TV special featuring Goodman with his clarinet, and soon enough she was wailing away on the reed instrument.
Today, the 42-year-old master sergeant is a full-time clarinetist, playing hundreds of concerts, parades, and ceremonies each year with the US Air Force Band of Liberty, based at Hanscom Air Force Base.
But now they’re breaking up the band. Early this month, the Air Force announced that the Band of Liberty, a mainstay in the region for nearly 35 years, will be deactivated next year as part of servicewide cost-cutting measures. All of the band’s 45 members will be reassigned (or, if they’re eligible, they can choose to retire), and their coverage area - New England, New York, and New Jersey - will be taken over by the Virginia-based Band of Heritage.
Although it seems all but inevitable - the plan has been approved by the Air Force’s chief of staff, General Norton Schwartz, and Air Force Secretary Michael Donley - the decision has sparked a grass-roots civilian effort to save the band for cultural and economic reasons.
Band members, meanwhile, say they are saddened by the decision, which will require that they leave a community they’ve come to call home, sell their houses and uproot their families, but as military personnel they have resigned themselves to their orders.
“I love the area; I became a huge Red Sox fan,’’ said Technical Sergeant Jeremy Grant, a 36-year-old trombonist from Louisiana who is the band’s director of operations. However, he said, “I grew up moving. Moving is what I know. It’s part of the job.’’
“I’m torn,’’ agreed Captain David Alpar, commander and conductor of the band since October 2007. “Right now these are the orders that we have, and we’re going to move forward with them.’’
Still, he said, “It concerns me that this area isn’t going to get what it deserves.’’
Those are sentiments shared by Susan Hagen, who is heading up the grass-roots campaign despite having no affiliations with the military.
“It’s heartbreaking to a lot of the people,’’ she said, noting that the band has quite a local following. “They do a huge service.’’
The band has been in operation in New England since 1978 - based first at Pease Air Force Base in New Hampshire as the Band of New England, then moving to Hanscom in 1991.
Its several ensembles - including, among others, a jazz band, rock band, ceremonial marching band, brass and woodwind quintets, and clarinet and trombone quartets - perform in 400 to 450 concerts, ceremonies, and parades a year for both the military and the community. (This year, the schedule includes Patriots Day parades in both Lexington and Concord.)
Many laud the organization as a conduit between the community and the military, rallying support for troops, fostering diplomacy, boosting morale, and helping with community relations and recruitment efforts.
Hagen, a musician herself - she plays the double bass - has taken on the cause to save the ensemble not only for music’s sake and to keep an asset in the community, but for the economic implications. She has started up a website, www.savethebandofliberty.com, and a Facebook page, and is asking supporters to send letters to the Bay State’s two senators, Scott Brown and John Kerry, as well as Lieutenant Governor Tim Murray.
To start, she said, “I hate to see bands being shut down and the message being sent that music isn’t important.’’
Beyond that, Hagen is asking for a cost analysis showing the benefits of deactivating the band; she said she wonders just how much money will be saved when the reassigned members will continue to be paid salaries, the military will have to pay to relocate them, and the Virginia band will more than likely spend more money on touring.
Beyond that are the larger potential repercussions: There’s long been talk about closing Hanscom, and she said she fears that a shutdown could become a reality if the band is broken up and the base is further diminished in personnel.
The implications of that could be devastating, she said, as the base generates about $5 billion in revenue for the state every year, according to its website, www.hanscom.af.mil. It also has long-term relationships with technology and science companies and other area businesses.
Ultimately, she said, “my hope is if we can get people to make enough noise, they’ll stop the closure.’’
But until that happens, the band will proceed as directed. They’ll continue performing through June 2013, according to Alpar; then the deactivation procedure will start. At the same time, the Air Force plans to deactivate or downsize four other bands across the country.
Alpar said the plan is to have one last, spectacular concert combining the Band of Liberty’s current, reassigned, and retired members, and “go out in style.’’
But inevitably, “it’s going to be a stressful time for everybody,’’ said Master Sergeant Paul Perez, a 41-year-old percussionist from Texas.
He’s been a military musician for 22 years, but arrived at Hanscom just last March. He lamented that the move disrupted the education of his three sons, and the difficulties will be repeated when he’s relocated next year.
Perez and his wife, who is originally from Burlington, were hoping that this would be their last stop during his military career. Since he is eligible for retirement benefits, he said, he’ll have to make that decision with his family over the coming months.
In the end, though, the military has given him the opportunity to have a viable career as a musician.
“I mean, let’s get real,’’ he said, “I get to play drums for a living.’’
Other members noted the same; whatever happens, their stint with the ensemble has allowed them to share their talent for, and love of, music.
“When people listen to music, they tend to forget everything else,’’ Dashnaw, who’s played with the Air Force for 17 years, said from her seat in a conference room at Hanscom, dressed in military fatigues, her dark-blond hair in a tight bun. “I love being able to do that for people.’’

© Copyright 2012 Globe Newspaper Company

Monday, March 19, 2012

It's all a matter of "Taste"

The new "Taste of the Seacoast" magazine is out.
Check out my profile of Portsmouth, N.H.-based The District restaurant here.
And my Q&A with UNH Conferences and Catering chefs here.

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

What does friendship really mean?

Social media sites get a lot of criticism slung their way — sure, they connect people (virtually, at least), but can they really serve as a stand-in for the complex, face-to-face relationships that have defined humanity for thousands of years?

Maine artist Tanja Alexia Hollander has set out to answer that question by personally meeting -- and photographing -- all 626 of her Facebook friends.

Read (part of) my story on her quest here in Artscope Magazine (and be sure to pick up the full issue!)

For more on the project, go here.

Thursday, March 1, 2012

Quick minds (and reflexes) (#3)

For them, buzz word is redemption

Acton-Boxborough students recall narrow loss in TV quiz show last year

By Taryn Plumb

Globe Correspondent / March 1, 2012 

The Acton 17-year-old is an information omnivore: He reads anything he can in encyclopedias, books, textbooks, and on Wikipedia, studies various fields of science, and is particularly intrigued by US history.
“I love to learn everything I can,’’ said Ken Davidson, an Acton-Boxborough Regional High School senior who plays trumpet and is a Boy Scout. “I know a lot of random facts.’’
Which is just the quiver of intellectual arrows his team needs, fighting for Acton-Boxborough’s honor in the third season of WGBH’s “High School Quiz Show.’’
A battle of brainpower, a skirmish of synapses, the Emmy Award-winning program matches 16 teams from public high schools across the state in a single-elimination tournament with a “Jeopardy!’’ format.
Hosted by ubiquitous TV and radio personality Billy Costa, this season’s competition premiered Feb. 12, and the field will continue to be pared down each week until the two surviving schools meet in the championship round on May 20. The shows air at 6:30 p.m. Sundays on WGBH (Channel 2), with several repeats on 2 and Channel 44 during the week.
Acton-Boxborough’s team, composed of Davidson, Victor Pavao, and brothers John and Tom Russell, have advanced to the second round of play, after knocking Beverly High School out of the action in the match that aired Sunday.
Brookline High and Hamilton-Wenham Regional (the defending champs from last year) have also moved up, after bumping off Seekonk and Sharon, respectively.
Counting Acton-Boxborough and Brookline, half of the 16 schools are in communities west of Boston. Lincoln-Sudbury Regional will face Lexington on March 18, Arlington will square off against Belmont on March 25, and Weston will face Shrewsbury on April 1. Remaining squads are from Hingham, Milton, Rockport, and Somerville. All were selected from an initial 90 schools in a qualifying event last fall.
In Acton-Boxborough’s case, it’s a chance for redemption after last year’s narrow defeat: The team lost to Natick High School by just 5 points in a game that came down to the final seconds of play. As Costa asked the last question - In what year did the United States enter World War II? - members from both teams buzzed in within a split second of each other, resulting in an instant replay scenario.
“It was a nail biter,’’ said 17-year-old senior John Russell, Acton-Boxborough’s only returning player.
With their sights set on a better showing this year, Russell and his teammates made sure they came prepared. Twice a week, they met through the school trivia team, asking each other questions, researching topics, and testing their buzzer technique with trick questions.
There was some personal preparation as well - Davidson, for his part, created lists of authors, and also read through glossaries of various books.
In the last week before the first-round taping, he noted, “we felt the pressure was on.’’ But ultimately, he said, “it all comes down to what we did months ahead of time, rather than days ahead of time.’’
Each student’s strengths and weaknesses also are part of the equation.
Davidson, for instance, believes he excels in US history, technology, biology, and “pretty much any science,’’ but isn’t so good with “doing math quickly,’’ he said with a laugh, or “anything spelling-related.’’
Tom Russell, a 15-year-old sophomore, is strong with some sciences, as well as literature and authors, but not so much with chemistry, physics, geography, or the “latter half of our country’s history,’’ he said. (Russell is taking an Advanced Placement US history course this semester, but as of the taping had only made it to James Madison’s presidency.)
What about his brother? John Russell is the history and geography buff. He particularly likes studying maps, and has also taken up the personal hobby of analyzing and drawing out his own airline routes. (His “dream job,’’ he said, would be chief executive of a commercial airline.)
“All of us are prepared,’’ said 15-year-old sophomore Pavao, who’s looking at a career in computer science or engineering, and who also plays tuba, piano, and guitar, as the team gathered at WGBH studios in Brighton for the Jan. 28 taping of Acton-Boxborough’s match against Beverly. “I’m feeling pretty confident.’’
Before the game got underway, team members each spent a couple minutes getting poofs brushed over their faces in a makeup chair, stood still as techs clipped on microphones, posed for promotional shots, and got a run-down of the ground rules: Buzz in with the heel of the hand, not the flat; wait for your name to be called before giving the answer; only first answers will be accepted; no signaling allowed between players and coaches; and, if contesting a question, wait until the end of the round.
After that, they waited, dressed in sweaters, suit pants and ties, in a giant, bay-like room (called the “green room,’’ but it’s really bright, shiny, and black); coaches Susan Bohmiller and Maria Anthony showed their team pride with blue shirts emblazoned with yellow “AB’’ logos. Across the room, their adversaries, in bright orange T-shirts, chatted and milled about.
“I’m excited, a little bit nervous,’’ said Davidson, seated with his teammates, “but I’m ready to take on questions, to take on Beverly.’’
“We’ve been preparing for a long time, we know a lot of stuff,’’ agreed Tom Russell. “I’m anxious to get the show started.’’
And soon, they did.
A woman with headphones and a clipboard escorted the students single-file to the studio.
Inside, a packed crowd of several dozen cheered the teams on with pom-poms, signs, and other symbols for support.
Then it was game time.
Four fast-paced rounds of play - toss-up, head-to-head, category, and lightning - featured questions ranging from lederhosen to Buddhism, and Jane Austen to Bernie Madoff.
Question card in hand, Costa asked: What element has the symbol “Au’’?
Answer: Gold.
Costa: In 1959, who became the first Soviet head of state to visit the United States?
Answer: Nikita Khrushchev.
However, the players missed questions on Francis Ford Coppola’s “The Godfather’’ trilogy, the soap opera “All My Children,’’ and aging Rolling Stone rocker Keith Richards.
Between rounds, Costa (in a nod to “Jeopardy!’’) took a moment to get to know the contestants - but with an unusual twist.
If an alien race observed human behavior for a day, he asked them, what adjectives would they use to describe earthlings?
“Sanguineous, sassy, and omniscient,’’ Pavao replied, taking the opportunity to show off his vocabulary.
Davidson: Swanky, groovy, and carbon-based.
John Russell: Promiscuous, chichi, “smart as heck.’’
In other lags between filming (due to technical issues), stage manager Ron Milton kept the audience busy with dance competitions and sing-offs.
After two rounds of fierce play, Acton-Boxborough ultimately pulled ahead, winning 550 to 270.
Davidson, a clutch player who helped boost his team’s score, was happy with the win and the chance to play again - but ultimately, he has broader challenges in mind. “I want to hopefully clean up the world somehow,’’ said the teenager, who will go to Franklin & Marshall College in Pennsylvania next fall with a goal to study environmental science. “I want to make the world a greener place.’’
Acton-Boxborough will play again on April 15, facing the winner of Sunday’s match between Rockport and Somerville. To follow the competition, visit www.wgbh.org/quizshow.