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So people, show us your color!

(original title: Marketers aim for gay customers)

During what some gays jokingly call “the dark ages” a decade or two ago, companies shunned the gay market out of ignorance or fear of a backlash.

Many cities and convention-and-visitors bureaus overlooked gay travelers. Marketing people lacked hard data to target gay consumers nationwide.

Today, the market for gay and lesbian consumers is highly coveted and hitting the mainstream in a huge way, say consultants, marketing professionals and executives.

The 16 million gay consumers 18 and older in the United States boast $641 billion in buying power, or cash to spend after taxes, reported Witeck-Combs Communications and Harris Interactive.

And corporations and local governments know it.

Last year, 175 Fortune 500 companies—airlines, automakers, financial firms, retailers and others—actively courted the gay dollar through advertising, compared with 19 in 1994, reports the “2005 Gay Press Report” by the Prime Access advertising firm and Rivendell Media Co.

What’s more, dozens of cities that didn’t cater to gay travelers decades ago—including Miami, Dallas, Philadelphia, Phoenix and Bloomington, Ind.—are wooing gays to their hotels, restaurants and nightclubs.

Why now?

“We’re at a tipping point, with gays coming out in society and business,” said Andrew Freeman of Andrew Freeman & Co., a hospitality and restaurant consultancy in San Francisco. “All of a sudden, we’ve become a great market for all industries to go after.”

Recent research, based on U.S. Census data, shows that gays and lesbians live in virtually every county in the United States and aren’t segregated in big cities and “gay ghettos” such as San Francisco, New York, West Hollywood, Calif., or Provincetown, Mass. And millions are smart, technology-savvy consumers and partners with dual household incomes and no kids.

“We have more discretionary income, and we love to spend our money on travel and shopping,” said Thomas Roth, president of Community Marketing, a gay market research firm that recently hosted a gay tourism conference in San Francisco. “That’s really opening the eyes of Corporate America.”

The gay market is drawing attention from:

# Companies. Travel industry-related firms from United Airlines to Travelocity have stepped up their marketing to gays. ABC Carpet & Home in New York has a gay wedding registry for same-sex partners. Wal-Mart offers seminars to employees, called “Why Market to Gay America.”

At American Airlines, managers George Carrancho and Betty Young head a team that markets to gay travelers and small businesses. The airline sponsors community events and offers a gay-oriented Web site, http://www.aa.com/rainbow, with travel deals, an e-newsletter, podcasts and a gay events calendar.

American has focused on gay consumers since 1994, when a gay manager persuaded former CEO Robert Crandall that gay travelers were an untapped market. Crandall agreed. Since then, the company has enjoyed annual, double-digit revenue growth for gay customers.

“We’re committed to this market,” Carrancho said.

# Cities and tourism bureaus. In years past, local governments and tourism offices—aside from San Francisco and a handful of other cities—“politely ignored” gay travelers and businesses, Roth said

Now, dozens of cities and convention bureaus are going all out to lure gay visitors. They’re spending millions of dollars on print, TV and online advertising. They’re showcasing cultural and film festivals, gay parades and gay--friendly hotels and restaurants.

In Miami, tourism officials—downplaying Florida’s old image as a retirement site—use splashy travel literature and commercials to showcase the region’s nightlife, museums, the performing arts and ethnic neighborhoods. They work closely with the Miami-Dade Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, whose travel guide reads: “Miami: Diversity Celebrated Daily . . . Come feel the vibe.”

“Gays are good for business and good for our community,” said George Neary, director of cultural tourism for the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau. “The partnership works.”

# Mainstream marketing. Many more businesses engage in crossover marketing, advertising not only in gay media outlets, but also mainstream ones.

Frances Stevens, founder and publisher of lesbian magazine Curve, joked that the new ads are much classier than the old ones, which featured brawny, hairy men toting beers.

Advertisers are much more sophisticated about the buying habits of gays and lesbians. They know, for instance, that many lesbian couples live in the suburbs, raise children and are very loyal to particular brands, whether cars, cell phones or clothing.

“The old image of lesbians wearing flannel and eating granola bars is not an accurate picture of the market,” said Stevens, whose current issue of Curve features advertisers Showtime, Pepsi and Washington Mutual.

At Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants, a San Francisco-based chain of boutique hotels, consumer research has found that straight and lesbian businesswomen and vacationers share similar values, lifestyles and hobbies, said Chief Operating Officer Niki Leondakis. They like spas and fitness offerings, classy interior decor and personal service from friendly staffers. They prefer to spend on companies that support women and give to nonprofits. Also important: personal safety and good security at hotels.

Kimpton offers getaway packages and many other popular promotions to lesbians and straight women—a large and growing segment of their regular guests.

“The market has enormous potential that just now is coming to light,” Leondakis said.

Companies that cater to gays and lesbians still risk a backlash from fundamentalist religious groups, which have called for boycotts of companies that market to gays, donate to gay nonprofits or portray gays as “normal” families in ads.

In recent years, Ford Motor, Walt Disney, Kraft Foods, Procter & Gamble and other companies have felt the ire of the American Family Association and other fundamentalist groups.

Despite the potential for controversy, a recent survey by Opinion Research and Fleishman-Hilliard found that 68 percent of Americans would still buy from companies that marketed to gays.

Demographers have found that, contrary to old stereotypes, gays cut across all lifestyles, ethnic groups and generations, said Bob Witeck, head of Witeck Combs and author of “Business Inside Out: Capturing Millions of Brand-Loyal Gay Consumers.”

Many are “early adopters,” or consumers who love new technologies, from the latest laptop computers to the flashiest personal digital assistants.

Gary Humbarger, 44, a gay copywriter, travel adviser and avid online shopper, loves the special touch from companies.

On a recent trip with his partner to Santa Fe, N.M., he rented a car from Budget and was pleased to learn that he didn’t have to pay the typical charge for an extra driver. Why not? Because Budget treats gay partners like married spouses.

“If a company has a good record with gays, I’m certainly going to remember that,” Humbarger said. “I speak with my dollars.”

Publisher note: Original title is “Global warming a hot topic” Sorry but I couldn’t help renaming this ridiculous story. See my comments below.

It looked like a Hollywood disaster movie. Slide after slide showed what would happen if the world’s ocean rose by 20 feet as a result of melting polar ice caps in Antarctica, something that a majority of the globe’s scientists say is a very real possibility. Lower Manhattan would be underwater, as would much of the Netherlands. But the point was driven home by what Provincetown would look like. Much of it would be underwater.

“Global warming is very real, but it’s not too late,” said Provincetown Town Manager Keith Bergman.
The presentation before about 20 people at the Marine Lab at the Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies was the first of many for Bergman. While on vacation with his family in Tennessee, Bergman heard former Vice President Al Gore speak about global climate change.

“It was a transcendental experience,” said Bergman about the lecture Gore gave at Middle Tennessee State University.
The speech inspired Bergman to complete training to give slide show presentations designed by Gore. In addition to making his global warming documentary “An Inconvenient Truth,” Gore also created the Climate Project, a grassroots movement addressing a global problem locally.
Taking that to heart, Bergman returned from hearing the lecture and worked with Democratic U.S. Rep. William Delahunt’s office to create the Cape and Islands Renewable Fuels Partnership, a push to get the region interested in renewable energy. The presentation last Tuesday night was a further part of this regional effort to address the world’s pressing environmental issues.

Over the course of the hour-long presentation, Bergman outlined the topic of global warming, including a large amount of scientific data showing that the world is getting warmer, that weather patterns are subsequently changing and that human consumption and behaviors are contributing to the world getting warmer.

Photos and videos show disappearing ice caps and glaciers. Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa is no longer snow-capped as are mountains in the Alps, the Himalayas and the Andes. Ice shelves in Antarctica are disappearing, as are species around the world. Hurricanes are increasing in intensity and frequency as are other natural disasters related to the warming of the ocean. All of these trends directly correlate to an increase in carbon dioxide since the beginning of the industrial revolution.

Bergman, and Gore, are direct in addressing those who say there is no such thing as global warming and that it is an unproven theory.
“Doubt is the best way of establishing a controversy,” said Bergman, quoting cigarette companies in the 1960s explaining how they were going to distract the public from reports that smoking caused cancer and other serious health problems.

Corporate greed is what is trying to create a shadow of doubt around climate change and human causes. Bergman showed that 928 articles supporting global warming appeared in science journals, whereas no one published reports to the contrary.

“This kind of consensus in science is rare,” said a representative from the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration on one of the slides.
But he then showed that in the mass media, more than 50 percent of articles cast doubt on whether global warming is actually a problem requiring the limiting carbon dioxide emissions. The disagreement over global warming is something that was created by those who oppose changes to things such as emission standards and increased regulations on industry, said Bergman.

But the presentation was not all gloom and doom. Bergman finished with ways that society as a whole can makes changes that would reduce the effects of global warming and how to do that on a local level. One of the biggest things we can all do is change our way of thinking, said Bergman. Getting involved and changing everyday habits is the first step. On a somewhat larger level, Bergman and Delahunt’s office are working to have Cape Cod and the Islands shift to using renewable energy, like biodiesel and ethanol. Towns all across the Cape are examining using land-based wind turbines. At its Town Meeting on Nov. 13, Provincetown will be the first on the Cape to vote on whether to endorse the U.S. Mayors’ Climate Protection Agreement, which asks municipalities to endorse the tenets in the Kyoto Protocols. The Kyoto Treaty, which seeks to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases, was ratified by almost all nations in the world, except the United States and Australia. States, like California, and municipalities are going ahead and adopting the tenet in the treaty anyway.

Lessen your environmental footprint
.
*Use compact fluorescent bulbs
*Buy energy efficient products
*Do monthly car maintenance checks
*Take shorter showers and install low-flow showerheads
*Use recycled paper
*Make adjustments to heating and cooling in your home
*Recycle
*Buy locally produced products
*Write to your local and national representatives to let them know your opinions about the environment

Police Chief Ted Meyer on Tuesday announced his intention to retire when his contract expires in four months, citing a lack of support from selectmen.

Meyer had been in negotiations with the town to extend his five-year contract, which expires on Jan. 13, until 2008, when Meyer will reach the state police association mandatory retirement age of 65.

“However with the current state of some events beyond my control, I believe it is in the best interest of the town, the [police] department and my family to conclude my five years of service in Provincetown by retiring at the termination of my current contract,” Meyer wrote in a memo to Town Manager Keith Bergman.

Reached at his office Tuesday, Meyer said he had been told about a vote by selectmen in executive session on Aug. 28 in which he received only two of five possible votes to extend his contract.

“I lost the vote is what happened,” he said. “I don’t know why exactly because we don’t have those kinds of conversations. I was surprised.”

None of the selectmen contacted would discuss the contract talks with Meyer, citing the confidentiality of personnel negotiations. One town official, who asked not to be named, said there was a series of issues involving the police department over the past five years which eroded support for the chief.

“It’s time for the chief to go,” the official said. “That department is demoralized and has been since [former Police Chief Robert] Anthony. Ted had five years to correct that problem and he hasn’t.”

Selectman Sarah Peake, who has often been at odds with Meyer during his tenure, said she thanks him for his service and wishes him the best in his future plans. She said the Board of Selectmen would ensure a smooth transition, possibly appointing an interim acting police chief to run the department until a new town manager is hired.

Bergman’s contract expires in May and a search is currently underway for his replacement.

“That [interim acting chief appointment] will give the new town manager the chance to select one of their key department heads,” Peake said.

Cheryl Andrews, selectmen chair, said she was disappointed with the timing of Meyer’s departure, pointing out that Bergman could be leaving either before or shortly after Meyer’s departure.

“Unfortunately, we could be dealing with a turnover in the town manager’s office at the same time,” she said.

That concern was echoed by Steve Tait, president of the Provincetown Business Guild, a gay-oriented business association, who pointed out that in addition to Bergman, Peake is currently running for state representative and if she wins, would presumably resign from the Board of Selectmen, and Andrews will end her service on the board in May because of term limits.

“The town can’t really afford to have such a significant turnover of leaders,” Tait said. “We have some real challenges in town.”

Coincidently, the PBG had a board meeting scheduled for Tuesday evening where the issue of extending Meyer’s contract was on the agenda. Tait said some PBG members had expressed concerns about renewing the chief’s contract because of a perception his policing methods have hurt tourism. Tait cited examples of the department’s use of “protective custody” to crack down on disorderly behavior, arresting numerous tourists for carrying “poppers” through Provincetown Airport, and the recent effort to address a perceived problem of gays verbally harassing heterosexuals.

“He had kind of a rocky start, … there were a number of issues where the community felt the police were overzealous,” Tait said, adding that he was impressed with how Meyer addressed those concerns when they were brought to his attention.

“The chief has grown dramatically over the years. Those things are largely behind us,” Tait added. “I have a very good rapport with him and have a very good working relationship and open lines of communication.”

Candice Collins-Boden, executive director of the Provincetown Chamber of Commerce, said she was personally fond of Meyer and that he had “made great strides with the business community.” However, she said, she has been disappointed with what she perceived as a lack of police presence in town during the summer.

“Where were the summer cops? Did anyone direct traffic? During the [Carnival] parade, there weren’t enough police officers to keep the crowds back,” Collins-Boden said, adding, “The police department is a little too invisible.”

Bergman said that the next step would likely be to appoint an interim acting chief, agreeing with Peake that the new town manager should have the opportunity to choose one of key department heads. The interim chief will come from inside the police department, he said.

Bergman originally hired Meyer and he and the chief have had a close relationship over the past five years.

“I respect and support Ted Meyer’s decision to announce his retirement, and wish him all the best,” Bergman said. “My thanks to Chief Meyer for his five years of service to the town of Provincetown and best wishes upon his upcoming retirement. I have very much enjoyed working with him.”

For about 25 years, gay and lesbian tourists have been at the core of the tourism industry in Provincetown. This distinction as a gay and lesbian vacation mecca still garners national attention, as well as accolades. The popular gay-oriented website http://www.planetout.com named Provincetown the “Best Gay Resort Town” for 2006 and the widely circulated gay travel newsletter Out Traveler gave the town the same designation in 2005.

However, despite all the attention, there is increasingly more and more competition for what studies say is an $11 billion gay tourist market. Combine that with a continued decrease in business in Provincetown and town tourism officials and business leaders agree it is time to rethink the town’s marketing strategy. It’s time to go beyond just gay and lesbian tourism is a voice increasingly heard around town.

“The one thing we’re doing differently is that we’re smarter, more informed,” said Don Knuuttila, executive director of the Provincetown Business Guild, an organization that promotes the town to gay and lesbian tourists. “We got smarter about who our audience is and should be.”

Based on a variety of meetings, surveys and studies done by both the town and private organizations, and with the help of consultants and public relations professionals, Provincetown is hoping to revive its tourism industry by promoting all aspects of the town, not just its acceptance of gays and lesbians.

“We’re looking at all our available markets,” said the town’s administrative tourism director, Bill Schneider. “It’s no longer just about a niche market.”

Marketing strategy

There is a big push in the tourism office, along with the Visitor Services Board and especially the Economic Development Council, to heavily market Provincetown’s artistic and cultural attractions. With more than 60 art galleries, a still active art colony, the Fine Arts Work Center, the Provincetown Art Association and Museum and the Provincetown Theater, as well as numerous smaller productions, from drag performers to street musicians, the town is a veritable hot bed of cultural activity, much of it cutting edge, say tourism officials.

“That doesn’t require any separation of sexual orientation,” said Schneider, in regard to promoting Provincetown as a cultural destination.
Both Schneider and Knuuttila, as well as others who work in promoting Provincetown, say that gay and lesbian tourism will always be a major part of the town’s economy. Despite competition from other popular gay destinations such as Ogunquit, Maine, Rehoboth Beach, Del., and Fire Island, N.Y., Knuuttila stresses that Provincetown is still a standout.

“The experience here in Provincetown is different,” said Knuuttila, noting that other locations have gay districts that may be limited to a few blocks, while Provincetown is almost completely integrated in that gay and straight mix.

Visits to Commercial Street businesses confirm that many business owners are happy to welcome both gay and straight tourists, bucking a popular misnomer that there is significant tension between the two groups. But there does already seem to be a shift in visitor demographics.

“My customers really aren’t gay anymore,” said Steve Carrey, owner of Lady Z’s, a vintage and retro clothing shop in the East End. “Mostly, they’re straight women.”
His clientele has changed so much that next summer Carrey will no longer carry men’s clothing. Speaking candidly, Carrey echoed a sentiment most other business owners offered off-the record.
“I’ll tell you what we need here in Provincetown,” said Carrey. “I don’t care if they are gay or straight. We need a more sophisticated type of visitor.”

Changing clientele

Carrey, who has operated a business in Provincetown for about 15 years, said that he has seen the visitor shift from one that is interested in art, culture and theater to a more “suburban” crowd.

“They come here, walk around, eat fried dough and leave,” said Carrey. “They’re boring and it is dragging the town’s edgy and camp image down.”

Carrey was sure to say that his impression of the change in visitors included gay men.

“Even the gay men that visit now are more conservative and boring than those that use to come here,” said Carrey.

It appears those that are troubled by the idea of more straight tourists are gay tourists, not townspeople or business owners.

“It does bother me,” said a gay man visiting from Syracuse, N.Y. “We live in the heterosexual world every day. It’s nice to go some place where we are the majority. It seems every time I come here there are more strollers.”

The man expressed a growing sentiment and perception that Provincetown is being “neutered” and trying to shed its wild image for a more family-friendly one. That would be a big mistake, say many business owners, townspeople and tourists, as Provincetown’s wild and edgy scene is what makes the town stand out. But there is no need to worry, say Schneider and Knuuttila.

“The neutering of P’town, at least from the PBG’s perspective is not going to happen,” said Knuuttila.

But the town must find a way to attract younger visitors, said Knuuttila. That is a crucial market that is increasingly not visiting Provincetown, he said. But to attract a younger demographic, certain realities must be accepted, he said.

“Attitudes are shifting,” said Knuuttila, noting that gay and lesbian youth are increasingly more accepted by their straight peers. As such, they don’t see the need for a gay specific venue or destination as much as older gays and lesbians. That perception is supported by a study done by Community Marketing Research and paid for by the town. The San Francisco-based organization that studies gay and lesbian market trends said that to reach gay and lesbian youth, “include them, don’t target them.”

“There’s room for everybody here,” said Schneider. “We need to communicate that in Provincetown there are more things to do than just go to a circuit party.”

When gay culture goes mainstream, what does a gay mecca do?

Provincetown is looking for answers. Once among the handful of places where gays could vacation and be comfortable, the bohemian beach resort is worrying that its core market may dwindle as gay travelers discover new destinations.

As a result, the town is quietly promoting another side of itself. It is trying to reach gay families and straight audiences, playing up historical attractions and plentiful family-oriented activities.

``As gay civil rights advance, Provincetown’s exclusivity as a gay destination probably loses on the other end,” said Patrick Patrick, president of the Provincetown Chamber of Commerce, who said his group ``has been asking them to do that for years, to push more broad-based marketing.”

The town has hired a Boston public relations firm, Focus Communications, to contact travel writers about a rebranded Provincetown, one where the Pilgrims landed before sailing on to Plymouth, where pirates and writers lived, and where pristine beaches and sand dunes add up to spectacular natural beauty.

``Would love to get you out here for a visit or coordinate interviews with experts to help others understand that it is so much more than a gay/lesbian hot spot,” said an e-mail recently sent by the agency.

With its long tradition as an outpost on the Cape’s outer edge, Provincetown has long held a virtual lock on gay tourism, a haven where like-minded people could visit without worry of harrassment.

Tourism officials in the town, which drops from some 30,000 residents during the summer travel season to a tenth of that number in the winter, have worried for some time about its tourist base. Hit by the same troubles that hurt virtually all tourist areas after the terrorist attacks of 2001, it has stepped up advertising in recent years as other destinations have more aggressively promoted themselves.

``Five to 10 years ago, people were going to come here whether we advertised or not,” said Lynne Davies of the town’s Visitor Services Board, which oversees the spending of the town’s room tax dollars for tourism-related items.

``The times have changed,” Davies said. ``. . . Now we’re advertising across the board, letting folks know we’re still here.”

In recent years, room taxes levied on hotel and other overnight guests have dipped, a possible sign that tourism has fallen off, officials said.

``We certainly got the message a year ago that tourism was declining,” said Bill Schneider, Provincetown’s administrative director of tourism. ``We felt, as a leader, we really needed to do something, rather than sit back and wait for the economy to change.”

In going after a mainstream market, officials are trying to be careful to avoid alienating the gay travelers who still make up the bulk of tourism in Provincetown.

``We’re not backing off” marketing to gays, said Davies, who is gay and said the town spends about 20 percent of its tourism budget on gay-centered marketing. ``We’re recognizing who our audience is, which is significant.”

The town’s local gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered association, the Provincetown Business Guild, exclusively markets the town to that audience.

Executive director Don Knuuttila said he agrees with the grass-roots approach.

``You always have to broaden your market,” he said. ``There’s more competition out there now, more than at any other time, particularly in the GLBT market. . . . You always have to constantly look at who is coming, why they’re coming, and broadening your base. It’s vital to the success of any business.”

The Cape Cod National Seashore was intended to be a haven from development, a time capsule of what the Cape looked like in 1959, right down to the occasional cottage dotting the sweeping, virtually unbroken vistas.

But a chronic lack of funding has limited the park’s ability to enforce its own regulations, and most of the six towns within the park have zoning bylaws that are not sufficient to protect it. Park officials and others worry that expansion of the 589 existing private homes and the potential for development will spoil the look of the park, and that it may come to look more like today’s Cape than yesterday’s.

‘’I believe the Cape Cod National Seashore is at risk and the federal government has neither the will nor the vision to even try to do anything about it,’’ said Curtis Hartman, a Truro selectman and former planning board member. Hartman also works as a subcontractor for the U.S. Department of the Interior, which oversees the National Park system.

Hartman and others believe the park is in danger of becoming an enclave of rich homeowners who can afford to build bigger homes, or to subdivide their property and build new homes - even in the face of opposition from the National Park Service.

‘’I think there is a change happening, but I wouldn’t call it a lost cause,’’ said Seashore park planner Lauren McKean. ‘’There is a thrust for bigger houses and we probably need to address that.’’

Changing character

There are 589 private homes within the 44,000 acres of the park, mostly in Eastham, Wellfleet and Truro. From the beginning, Congress established zoning guidelines that allowed just one home per lot and a maximum 50 percent expansion in total square footage of a home beyond what was on record in 1959. But they also allowed towns to pass their own zoning laws governing private properties within park boundaries. Of the six towns within the park, only Eastham adopted the 50 percent expansion maximum. The other towns did pass zoning bylaws that included 3-acre minimum lot sizes, but their regulations are generally less stringent than what the park service wanted.

‘’You could be setting yourself up for a lot of trophy homes,’’ said Rex Peterson, Wellfleet’s assistant town administrator.

In 2002, then park Superintendent Maria Burks realized the preserve was not sufficiently protected from the kind of development, including the expansion of cottages into year-round homes, that was altering the character of the land outside the national seashore’s boundaries. McKean said park officials thought it was better to work with the towns to tighten up zoning bylaws than to take properties by eminent domain when land owners did something the park believed was detrimental.

They advocated for the towns to follow Eastham’s lead and adopt the 50 percent home expansion limit, but towns have been reluctant to do so. For more than a year, town representatives and park officials have been meeting to talk about how to protect the park’s future, and how towns can help with zoning.

But town officials have argued they can’t do much more than they are already doing. State laws prohibit them from dictating the size of homes, and site plan reviews cannot legally require homeowners to be considerate of the scale of building in their neighborhood.

Instead of tightening up regulations, town officials are asking park managers for more leeway to develop inside the national seashore’s boundaries.

‘’The park would love for us to adopt (the 50 percent) rule, but I don’t see how we can be fair to someone who hasn’t touched his house and would like to expand it, and someone who has already doubled his home,’’ said William Worthington, chairman of the Truro Planning Board.

Peterson said with nearly 75 percent of Wellfleet either in the park, within the Audubon sanctuary or under conservation restrictions, the rural look of the town and park is already preserved. He said park officials should be more flexible and let go of the idea of a time capsule.

‘’Over 40 years, things have changed, like the housing market and the lack of affordable housing. I’m not saying let’s build high rises, but can’t your definition of improved housing (a single-family home per lot) be more lenient so that we can do affordable housing (on park property),’’ Peterson said.

Unfair bylaw?

The Eastham Planning Board went even further in asking town meeting this spring to rescind the 50 percent expansion bylaw, arguing it was unfair to homeowners with small homes on large lots.

Planning board members wanted to replace the 50 percent expansion rule with a site plan review process they felt would have kept ‘’McMansions’’ in check while allowing people to make their homes more comfortable.

But park officials refused to back the plan, and voters turned it down, leery of removing protections they felt had preserved the park thus far.

‘’What the planning boards have experienced from the park is intense pressure to do something to arrest this development. It just isn’t fair to put that kind of burden on a local board,’’ said Ansel Chaplin, a Truro Planning Board member who has summered and lived in town since 1943. Chaplin, a real estate attorney, contends the legislation that created the park also stipulated all private properties would, sooner or later, be bought by the federal government.

Park planner McKean said that is not true, and the park was created with the idea it would be ‘’a checkerboard’’ of undeveloped and developed property.

Prohibitive cost

When property owners want to do something counter to park guidelines, park officials try to convince them to modify their plans with the threat of revoking their certificates of non-condemnation.

Banks and mortgage companies require these certificates when homeowners within the park are re-financing, or as part of a mortgage agreement when properties are re-sold.

Non-condemnation certificates serve as a guarantee the park will not take the property by eminent domain, which is the park’s ultimate enforcement tool.

Escalating property values have taken the edge off that threat, because it is now prohibitively costly for park officials to buy up private property within its boundaries. McKean said the park has received just $2.33 million toward land acquisition from the federal government since 1997.

The Park Service is required by law to pay fair market price based on comparison sales. With individual properties in the park going for millions of dollars apiece, land acquisition money doesn’t go far. And the threat of losing your non-condemnation certificate doesn’t carry much weight if you don’t need a bank to finance anything.

‘’People of wealth have been free to build whatever they want knowing that the Park Service simply doesn’t have the money to condemn their properties and they don’t need mortgages or ... banks,’’ Chaplin said.

New ruling

Truro resident Richard Haskell is not one of the new arrivals. Haskell’s in-laws have owned a 6-acre lot with a farmhouse in their family since the house was built in 1842. He and his wife are both in their 80s and wanted their daughter and son-in-law living nearby to help them in their advanced age.

‘’They’re the bad guys as far as we’re concerned,’’ Haskell said of the Park Service.

‘’We have plenty of legitimacy to do this, and we don’t think it will interfere with the park at all.’’

Haskell’s 6 acres satisfied even the large, 3-acre minimum lot size Truro requires for a buildable lot within park boundaries.

Two weeks ago, the planning board went against the wishes of park officials in allowing Haskell to subdivide his property to build another home on the new lot. That runs counter to the most fundamental of park regulations - established when the park was created in 1961 - that prohibited any new homes being built after the 1959 cut-off date established by Congress. At least 100 other homes have been condemned and taken by the park over the past 20 years for doing the same thing. But that was before land prices went through the roof.

The planning board ruling was a warning bell to many, especially when at least 23 properties within the park have enough acreage to subdivide, including three with more than 20 acres.

Hartman is particularly concerned about the rulings’ impact on a campground near Head of the Meadow beach in North Truro that has already been subdivided.

Although the owners, the Courier family, want the property to remain a campground, some believe the Haskell decision has opened the door to possible development. Park officials have been trying to purchase the campground, but can’t meet the $6.1 million asking price. They are trying to work through a private organization that raises money to purchase land for parks.

McKean said there are a dozen homes on a list of properties that have had their certificates of non-condemnation revoked, but haven’t yet been taken by the park. She said there are more property owners who haven’t even bothered to apply for the certificate because they know they will not get it.

Eastham building inspector Frank DeFelice could only marvel at another unfairness as the Eastham Planning Board was forced to reject a request for a 400-square-foot addition to an 800-square-foot cottage to make it more livable, while allowing more than 700 square feet to be added to a nearly 3,000-square-foot home as part of a renovation.

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The homeowner went on to list it for sale at more than $2.8 million.

‘’There are these people who can afford to build really atrocious buildings,’’ said Worthington, who added local officials are helpless to prevent McMansions from springing up all over the park, other than to appeal to the sensibilities of homeowners.

‘’We try to do what we can,’’ he said.

Following years of anticipation and months of planning, year-round public transportation became a reality yesterday with the launch of FlexRoute bus service operating between Harwich and Provincetown.

Under the direction of Cape Cod Regional Transit Authority, buses are running every half hour, seven days a week from 6 a.m. to about 10 p.m. through Labor Day. After then, hourly service is planned.

Twelve new buses with clean-burning engines, purchased for $3.4 million by Cape Cod National Seashore, are being used.

Flex is running along a defined route between Harwich Port and Provincetown (serving Truro, Wellfleet, Eastham, Orleans and Brewster) but also goes up to three-quarters of a mile off its route to pick up and discharge passengers who have made a reservation at least two hours ahead of time.
Passengers going to and from Provincetown change between Flex and the Shuttle at Dutra’s Market on Route 6A in North Truro through the middle of October. When the Shuttle stops operating for the season, Flex buses will run directly to/from MacMillan Pier in Provincetown.
$1 a ride or less
A Flex ride costs $1, no matter the distance traveled, 50 cents for passengers 60 and older, and people with disabilities. An off-route ride costs another $1, 50 cents for seniors and people with disabilities.
The RTA is offering riders a 20-ride pass at 25 percent off, starting July 1. The agency also is selling a monthly pass for all routes, good for unlimited travel, for $35, half price for seniors and people with disabilities.
To entice people to try Flex, the RTA has announced that rides are free for the first week of service, through June 7.
In addition to passenger fares, Flex operations will be underwritten by state and federal grants and financial support from the seven towns it serves.

Flexible schedule

Because Flex must serve regular-route passengers and an unknown number of those traveling off-route, a “flexible” schedule is being used.
There are 18 bus stops in all, broken down into eight “main stops” and 11 “in-between stops.” Flex always serves the main stops, usually within five minutes of schedule either way. It stops at in-between stops when a passenger is waiting or asks to be dropped off.
Because of the elastic nature of the schedule, the bus’s arrival at and departure from in-between stops will vary. The RTA is advising passengers to arrive at in-between stops early, ideally at the time shown for the previous main stop.

Lower/Outer Cape passengers traveling to/from Hyannis can transfer with Plymouth & Brockton coaches along the Flex route and to/from the H20 Breeze bus in Orleans and Harwich Port.
The entire Flex fleet is accessible via fold-out ramp to people with disabilities and others with limited mobility. The front of the bus also “kneels” close to the ground, making boarding easy for all. There are bike racks on all buses but capacity is limited.

Waiting benches, lamp posts and posted schedules will be installed at stops over the next few weeks. Once the popularity of stops is determined, shelters will be placed at key ones.
Some 50,000 Flex schedules, with timetables and maps, have been printed and distributed throughout the Lower/Outer Cape. There is also a comprehensive new informational web site, http://www.TheFlex.org .
How to arrange an off-route pickup
Plan ahead. If you are not close to a stop, be sure your starting point or destination is within three quarters of a mile of the usual Flex route. Please check a map in the schedule or online at http://www.TheFlex.org.  If you’re not sure, call RTA Customer Service at 800-352-7155. Keep in mind there is an extra $1 charge for off-route trips, 50 cents for seniors and people with disabilities.
Make off-route reservations at least two hours before a scheduled pick-up. For best results, make your reservationa day or two in advance since these trips will be confirmed on a first-called, first-served basis. Call RTA Customer Service at 800 352-7155 to let the RTA know your exact location and/or destination. Off-route trips are limited to ensure that reliable bus service is available to all passengers.
Because the Flex bus may not be able to travel on or turn around on some Cape roads, you may be asked to get on or off a short distance from your preferred location. Please be there at least five minutes early. If you’re late, the bus will not wait.
If you plan to make the same off-route trip regularly, you may be able to place a standing order up to two weeks in advance, subject to availability of the bus. Be sure to schedule these with RTA Customer Service at 800-352-7155. To cancel an off-route trip or standing order, contact RTA Customer Service at 800-352-7155at least two hours before the scheduled trip.

There’s one official Park & Ride lot, at Exit 10 off Route 6 in Harwich. Several municipal lots are available at Flex stops including one in Harwich Port behind the chamber of commerce headquarters building, at Eastham Town Hall and at Salt Pond Visitor Center in Eastham. Other lots may become available in the near future. Passengers are urged not to park on private property.

A pair of boots owned by the first woman Army surgeon, old pulp fiction novels of same-sex love affairs and love letters between Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas are just a few of the items featured in an exhibition of gay and lesbian historical artifacts now at the Provincetown Public Library.
Photographic panels from the archives of the James C. Hormel Gay & Lesbian Center at the San Francisco Public Library are on display until Thursday, June 8. The exhibit offers a unique look into the Hormel Center collection, one of the largest collections of gay and lesbian historical artifacts and information in the world. Reproductions of photographs, documents, and objects will provide an extraordinary historical perspective on the LGBT community, says Provincetown library director Debra DeJonker-Berry.

“A generation ago, men and women in America were just beginning to realize full political and social expression around issues of sexual orientation and identity, and the Hormel Center’s collection helps tell the story of this community,” says DeJonker-Berry, library director of the Provincetown Public Library. “San Francisco and Provincetown are almost sister communities. We have so many connections to San Francisco.”
The exhibit focuses on the past 100 years of gay and lesbian history in America, with a special focus on San Francisco. The gay and lesbian rights movement got its start in New York after the Stonewall riots of 1969. But the movement gained momentum and muscle in San Francisco, sparking social change across the country to present day. A few features include gay publications from the turn of the century, the appointment book of Harvey Milk, the country’s first openly-gay elected official, who was assassinated along with San Francisco Mayor George Moscone in 1978, and memorabilia from the days of ACT-UP and Queer Nation protests in the 1980s.
This exhibit is one of the many events and attractions that have made the Provincetown Public Library not only a home for research and information, but a tourist attraction as well.
“Between the Rose Dorothea, the Lipton Cup, our art collection, this historic building, this exhibit and our general collection, we are certainly seeing a lot of new faces in here,” said DeJonker-Berry. “It’s a very powerful exhibit. Libraries are also a community center, a community’s living room. I expect them to represent a community’s history and culture. This exhibit does that.”

P.O. Box 1017 ~ 307 Commercial Street ~ Provincetown, MA 02657

508-487-3424 Fax: 508-487-8966 e-mail:  candy@ptownchamber.com http://www.ptownchamber.com

To all Provincetown Chamber Members:

I am representing the Provincetown Chamber on the Provincetown Emergency Preparedness Committee. Both the Chamber of Commerce and the PBG are sending this survey to members to inquire about resources available should we be faced with acts of nature, terrorism, infectious disease.

Please fill in information under each category where you can help. This information will be filed with the Provincetown Health Inspector, Brian Carlson, who is the chair of the committee and who will contact you with information regarding your role.

It would be great to have a good inventory of what help is available in our community and we thank you for any information you can share.  Please return to:  Provincetown Chamber, Post Office Box 1017, Provincetown, MA 02657 Attn:  Candice Collins-Boden or e-mail:  candy@ptownchamber.com

1) Do you or any of your workers have special medical or behavioral medicine training? I.E. CPR, EMT, LSW.

2) Is your establishment willing to help by accommodating citizens and visitors during a State of Emergency where sheltering and other related activities will be necessary?

3) During high season, how many people can your establishment accommodate?

4) Does your establishment have an on-site power generation system?  If so, what type?

5) Does you establishment have refrigeration/freezer?  If so, what size i.e. walk in, trunk?

6) Does your establishment have an outdoor shower?

Thanks so much for your help,

Candice Collins- Boden

For your information, we understand that CASAS and the Town of Provincetown are currently working on emergency plans for the care of pets.