Beaches will Close

The Amity Beaches will be closed tomorrow for at least 24 hours due to the unsuspected and brutal deaths of two Amity citizens last week on the beach. After the Amity Board of Selectmen and Chief of Police Martin Brody held a meeting yesterday afternoon, it was determined that it is just too risky to keep the beaches open.          

The deaths of Christine Watson, senior at Amity High School, and ten-year-old Alex B. Kintner, are suspected to be caused by shark attacks on Amity Beach. Police found the body of Christine Watson to be mangled by an attacker and Alex Kintner was brutally attacked while swimming in the ocean waters.

“We will be adding more deputies to overlook the beach,” said Brody at the meeting. “We will put more shark spotters on the beach and have oceanographic experts on the mainland.”

While Marion Kintner, the mother of Alex Kintner, originally offered a $3,000 reward for whoever finds and kills the shark, she now has raised the reward to $7,000.

Ben Quinn, fisherman in Amity, warned the citizens of how dangerous and deadly the potential shark could be.

“I value my neck more than 3,000 bucks,” said Quinn. “The shark will swallow you whole. I’ll catch and kill him for $10,000 – the head, tail, the whole damn thing.”

Jaws No More

                Fisherman Mike Swenson at Edgartown Harbor caught the deadly shark yesterday that viciously attacked two young people last week. Amity Beaches will remain open for the Fourth of July weekend as officials say the dangers of further shark attacks has “probably passed”.

                Swenson is receiving a $3,000 reward for his efforts in finding and killing the shark. It was determined by Matt Hooper, a marine biologist from Woods Hole, Mass. Oceanographic Institute, that the shark that lurked the waters was a nurse shark. Although nurse sharks are believed to be brutal and dangerous, according to the National Aquarium in Baltimore, they “feed mostly at night on spiny lobsters and other crustaceans, small stingrays, sea urchins, squid, and bony fishes.”

                According to Hooper, there have been “no cases reported” prior to this incident regarding deaths brought on by nurse sharks.

                Citizens and tourists today of Amity Beach hesitated to swim in the ocean at first, but eventually kids and parents alike jumped in to cool off the sting of the hot summer sun. Boats with policemen and marine patrol watched the waters to protect the swimmers.

                While some people believed to have seen a shark, it is evident that people are still jumpy from the two deaths last week. Groups of swimmers screamed and ran out of the water as it was believed by both the swimmers and officials that a shark was in the water. Instead, it was two kids playing around.

                The two boys, Wayne Winston and Brad Kapland, had no intention of creating such a scare.

                “He made me do it,” said Wayne, pointing to Brad.

                Although Chief of Police Martin Brody encourages the citizens of Amity to “swim and have fun”, there is no doubt that precautious measures still need to be taken. Patrolling the beaches this holiday will be the Coast Guard, the Marine Partol, the Massachusetts State Police, the U.S. Navy, Homeland Security, and the FBI.

Ny Times Reading Log 11/28-12/2

11/28/2011

In today’s Times, I read the two articles about Black Friday and the Rose Parade in Pasadena, California. Both discussed the effects of the economy on this holiday season. I really liked the photo for the Rose Parade, while it is colorful and eye catching; it also speaks to what the journalist is saying about the meaning of the parade to the town.  Some cities and companies could not afford to put in a float for the parade this year due to a tight budget, and citizens are unhappy about it. In these tough economic times, we really can’t expect companies, especially during the Christmas season to give thousands of dollars just to a float in a parade. Although I do understand the citizens’ frustration as their tradition is being broken.

                The article about Black Friday shocked me; I could not believe there were more shoppers this year than last, and sales increased significantly, with each shopper spending about $400 – but it is good for the stores and good for the economy! The reporter said that most people at Macy’s in NYC were there simply just to be a part of the action. This was similar in my hometown; many kids went to Black Friday just to see what it was all about.

11/29/2011

                I was intrigued and fascinated by the article on Stalin’s daughter, Lana Peters/Svetlana Stalin (whichever name you would go by, the writer used both interchangeably). This article would have been such a fun one to write! Not only did it explore Peters’ life and what she did, it explained her impact on the places she visited and how her father had a direct impact on her life, not just during his rule but in his death. The closing quote of the article, “I will always be a political prisoner of my father’s name”, really hit the point home. Her life was crazy and fascinating to read about: between her 5 different husbands, 3 kids all from different fathers, crazy antics like burning her Soviet passport in the US, seemingly bipolar actions, and inability to reside in a country for more than 2 years at a time, I was completely drawn into this article. The only thing I did not really like was the lead. To me, the road metaphor was just confusing and I still don’t really understand it.

                I also read the article about the “shedding” of public sector jobs hitting blacks the hardest. It was eye opening to read that since the recession, in terms of unemployment, black people struggle the most. I thought the writer’s incorporation of interviewing a black family really invoked what they were specifically feeling, as one woman described it as “frightening” to think about her job in the future.

12/1/11

                Just like Tuesday’s Times, the journalist did a profile story on a famous person who passed away, Judy Lewis. Judy was the daughter of Loretta Young and Clark Gable. It was really interesting to read this story because like the one on Tuesday, both women were shaped and influenced negatively by the decisions of their parents. The photos were so intriguing to look at because they were from the 30s and 40s and the journalist did a great job of collecting a variety of sources and opinions about the life of Judy Lewis.

                I loved the article called “Literary Cubs” in section E. The huge picture on the front page caught my eye; four college students reading books in what looks to be a bookstore. The story, which has a highlighted quote “prying open the doors of the publishing world”, was opposite to what I was expecting. A group of college graduates who hold high degrees in English Literature get together once a week to talk about literary works, because they are unable to get a job elsewhere. They hope to open up their own publishing company. I really liked how the journalist did not only focus on one person in the group, but interviewed most if not all of them, giving a full 360 degree view of the literary group.

Hampton Beach Beats the Odds

Hampton Beach Beats the Odds              

Families gathered on a steamy July day at the beach, the hot grainy sand burning beneath the toes of little ones looking to quench their thirst with a dip in the ocean. But an unexpected and vicious shark lurked the waters, leaving behind nothing but clouds of blood and a deflated yellow raft washed up on the shore.

The recent shark attack left Hampton Beach citizens speechless and dumbfounded. The last shark attack to occur off the coast of New Hampshire was seventy five years ago, according to the spokesman to the New England Aquarium, Tony LaCasse.

The chances of a shark attack on the New Hampshire coast is close to none, LaCasse said. “You have a greater chance of being killed driving to the beach then ever being bothered by a shark,” he said. These slim chances are due to the fact that the deadliest types of sharks, including Bull sharks, Tiger sharks, and the Great White sharks, will almost never come up past the Long Island shore.

“Occasionally a Great White will pop in and out of the New Hampshire coast, but the most common is the Blue Shark which does not pose a threat to people,” LaCasse added.  The Great White decided to “pop in” last week, after seventy five years of keeping its distance.

In “Beyond Jaws” in the Windsurfing Magazine, Elise MacGregor said that “drownings are 1,000 per every one shark attack in the United States”, compared with “600 to 1 in South Africa, and 50 to 1 in Australia”. People in New England are at greater risk of either drowning or getting in a car accident before a shark attack.

Although there are more species of sharks prevalent during the summertime, almost all are never seen in New Hampshire. It is expected that the Great White shark brought about the attack last week. Attacks to the head are rare, and usually consist of one massive and deadly bite to the victim, MacGregor said.

http://divingaccidents.net/images/Great-White-Shark-5.jpg

NY Times Reading Log 11/28-12/1

11/28/2011

In today’s Times, I read the two articles about Black Friday and the Rose Parade in Pasadena, California. Both discussed the effects of the economy on this holiday season. I really liked the photo for the Rose Parade, while it is colorful and eye catching; it also speaks to what the journalist is saying about the meaning of the parade to the town.  Some cities and companies could not afford to put in a float for the parade this year due to a tight budget, and citizens are unhappy about it. In these tough economic times, we really can’t expect companies, especially during the Christmas season to give thousands of dollars just to a float in a parade. Although I do understand the citizens’ frustration as their tradition is being broken.

                The article about Black Friday shocked me; I could not believe there were more shoppers this year than last, and sales increased significantly, with each shopper spending about $400 – but it is good for the stores and good for the economy! The reporter said that most people at Macy’s in NYC were there simply just to be a part of the action. This was similar in my hometown; many kids went to Black Friday just to see what it was all about.

11/29/2011

                I was intrigued and fascinated by the article on Stalin’s daughter, Lana Peters/Svetlana Stalin (whichever name you would go by, the writer used both interchangeably). This article would have been such a fun one to write! Not only did it explore Peters’ life and what she did, it explained her impact on the places she visited and how her father had a direct impact on her life, not just during his rule but in his death. The closing quote of the article, “I will always be a political prisoner of my father’s name”, really hit the point home. Her life was crazy and fascinating to read about: between her 5 different husbands, 3 kids all from different fathers, crazy antics like burning her Soviet passport in the US, seemingly bipolar actions, and inability to reside in a country for more than 2 years at a time, I was completely drawn into this article. The only thing I did not really like was the lead. To me, the road metaphor was just confusing and I still don’t really understand it.

                I also read the article about the “shedding” of public sector jobs hitting blacks the hardest. It was eye opening to read that since the recession, in terms of unemployment, black people struggle the most. I thought the writer’s incorporation of interviewing a black family really invoked what they were specifically feeling, as one woman described it as “frightening” to think about her job in the future.

12/1/11

                Just like Tuesday’s Times, the journalist did a profile story on a famous person who passed away, Judy Lewis. Judy was the daughter of Loretta Young and Clark Gable. It was really interesting to read this story because like the one on Tuesday, both women were shaped and influenced negatively by the decisions of their parents. The photos were so intriguing to look at because they were from the 30s and 40s and the journalist did a great job of collecting a variety of sources and opinions about the life of Judy Lewis.

                I loved the article called “Literary Cubs” in section E. The huge picture on the front page caught my eye; four college students reading books in what looks to be a bookstore. The story, which has a highlighted quote “prying open the doors of the publishing world”, was opposite to what I was expecting. A group of college graduates who hold high degrees in English Literature get together once a week to talk about literary works, because they are unable to get a job elsewhere. They hope to open up their own publishing company. I really liked how the journalist did not only focus on one person in the group, but interviewed most if not all of them, giving a full 360 degree view of the literary group.