Deck

The City Council voted Tuesday to accept a $103,000 gift to help fund the design of a new deck on the Walnut Hill parking lot downtown. The donation is being made by the Woburn Development and Financial Corporation, a local business group, according to the city clerk, William Campbell. In some of its other business, the council voted 6-1 to reject a zoning ordinance proposed by Alderman at Large Richard F. Gately that would have allowed billboards in certain commercial areas of the city.

By Peter Abraham, Globe Staff PHILADELPHIA — David Ortiz said he will be playing first base tomorrow. As for tonight, Bobby Valentine laughed and said that Big Papi is "so available. " Ortiz is hoping to get a shot at Jonathan Papelbon. "He can't get a fastball by me," Ortiz said. As to other matters: ߦ Daisuke Matsuzaka felt good about his outing for Triple A Pawtucket on Thursday night (6.2 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 0 BB, 3 K) because he pitched into the seventh inning and threw 95 pitches.

The Cape Cod Baseball League is getting ready to kick off its 128th season, and the Wareham Gatemen are slated to play their first three games at home. On June 14, the Gatemen will play their season opener against the Chatham Anglers. Then they'll face the Brewster Whitecaps June 15 and the Falmouth Commodores June 16. All three games are scheduled to start at 7 p.m. at Spillane Field, which is located off Marion Road (Route 6) behind the Town Hall parking lot. For more information and the complete game schedule, visit www.gatemen.org.

Bruce Chen pitched into the seventh inning for his second straight win and the Kansas City Royals took advantage of Adrian Beltre's throwing error for a 3-1 victory over the Texas Rangers on Monday night. Chen (2-4) has won his last two starts since a four-game losing streak. The left-hander struck out seven and walked two over 6 2-3 innings, giving up only a massive homer to Nelson Cruz. Scott Feldman (0-1) allowed two unearned runs over 4 2-3 innings in his second spot start this season.

BELLINGHAM, Wash. - Travelers of all ages rushed with their stuffed backpacks to the top deck of the M/V Malaspina to secure a camping space in the open air. For years I had gazed at a clipping on my bulletin board describing adventurers pitching tents on the Alaska Marine Highway ferries. Now, my husband and I were on a three-day voyage along the Inside Passage from Bellingham to Juneau, Alaska. Since 1951, eleven ferries - the largest of which accommodates 499 passengers - have traveled 3,500 miles of routes along the marine highway.

Q. In my back yard I have a very large poplar tree that overhangs part of the roof of the house as well as a large deck. Last April, this tree dropped so many sticky pods that the deck was completely covered with them. I ended up pressure washing the deck every day for a week to get rid of them as they kept coming. Is there a better way to deal with them? MIKE, by e-mail A. The sticky stuff is resin, so treat the fallen pods with denatured alcohol to loosen, then put them in a yard bag. Keep after them, daily if necessary, so they don’t build up and leave a...

Three people were hurt when a deck with about 20 people on it collapsed last night in Walpole, a fire official said. Fire Lieutenant Paul Carter said the collapse of the 20-by-40-foot deck occurred at about 9:20 p.m. on the second floor of a raised ranch home on Hitching Post Drive. Carter said the three victims were taken to Norwood Hospital with injuries not thought to be life-threatening. He said the cause of the collapse was under investigation and that firefighters and a town building inspector were still at the site about an hour after the incident.

Q. I had my mahogany deck power washed, then treated with Thompson’s Water Seal. Not long after that, the water seal is like salad dressing, sticky and cannot be walked on. What’s wrong, and how can I fix it? DEBBIE ALMY, Needham A. Welcome to the deck season. When in the world of home improvements have so many deck owners had so many silly things done to their decks by so few “experts?’’ This is all in the name of keeping outside decks as pristine and beautiful as the highly polished floors in Victorian novels.

A 78-year-old Melrose man died yesterday afternoon after the deck he was repairing at his home collapsed on top of him, city officials said. George Carroll, of 21 Bow St., was working on the 10-by-14-foot platform that was about 6 feet off the ground when it detached from the rear of the home and fell, pinning him underneath, Melrose Fire Chief John J. O'Brien said in a phone interview. Firefighters were summoned shortly before 2 p.m. and quickly began lifting the heavy wooden structure with inflatable airbags, O'Brien said.

BAR HARBOR, Maine - I had chosen the Saltair Inn because it sits on Frenchman Bay and edges downtown Bar Harbor, and had selected the Harbor Suite for its water views and shared deck. But it was neither the inn nor the room that seduced me; it was the Adirondack-style chairs, set just so at the end of the long expanse of lawn, just before green grass gave way to blue sea. Amidst the hubbub of touristy Bar Harbor, the inn offers a reprieve. Situated on one oceanfront acre in the West Street Historic District, three blocks from downtown shops and...

The Cape Cod Baseball League is getting ready to kick off its 128th season, and the Wareham Gatemen are slated to play their first three games at home. On June 14, the Gatemen will play their season opener against the Chatham Anglers. Then they'll face the Brewster Whitecaps June 15 and the Falmouth Commodores June 16. All three games are scheduled to start at 7 p.m. at Spillane Field, which is located off Marion Road (Route 6) behind the Town Hall parking lot. For more information and the complete game schedule, visit www.gatemen.org.

The City Council voted Tuesday to accept a $103,000 gift to help fund the design of a new deck on the Walnut Hill parking lot downtown. The donation is being made by the Woburn Development and Financial Corporation, a local business group, according to the city clerk, William Campbell. In some of its other business, the council voted 6-1 to reject a zoning ordinance proposed by Alderman at Large Richard F. Gately that would have allowed billboards in certain commercial areas of the city.

The outside of this 1950s contemporary house - with wood shingles painted blue and an asphalt roof - doesn't draw a lot of attention. But inside the 2,100-square-foot home are charming light-filled rooms, cathedral ceilings, and a spacious outdoor deck - just blocks from the harbor and downtown Marblehead. Sitting on a quarter-acre, the three-bedroom, three-bath house has hardwood floors and an L-shaped galley kitchen. The kitchen has a tiled floor, plentiful cupboard space, and a view toward the wooded backyard and lattice-covered deck, which is large enough for a picnic table and grill.

No questions to start, as I want to say that I will be in the New England Home Show for the 46th straight year. If that is not a record of some kind, then I don't know what is. So come on down to the World Trade Center in the Seaport District. Show days are Feb. 23-26. Hours are Thursday and Friday, noon to 9 p.m.; Saturday 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Come on down and say hello. I'll talk about houses and homes, fix-ups and screw-ups, triumphs and delights, food and books, music and opera, but no politics, religion, or organ recitals.

JUST WHEN state transit officials and boat operators should be talking about expanding water transportation for the summer, the cash-strapped MBTA is proposing to eliminate its Boston Harbor ferry service. The T is struggling with a $161 million deficit. But there are better ways to address it than scuttling commuter ferries. Start with fuel. Two private boat operators under contract with the T provide ferry service between downtown and the South Shore, in addition to an inner harbor run between the Charlestown Navy Yard and Long Wharf.

For those interested, this information from the Red Sox: Registration for the opportunity to purchase tickets in the 2012 random drawings strarted today at noon online at redsox.com. Fans may register for the chance to purchase tickets for select Red Sox home games including Opening Day, all nine home contests against the Yankees, as well as the chance to purchase tickets to the highly sought-after Green Monster and Budweiser Right Field Roof Deck locations. The opportunity to register for the random drawing starts at noon today online at redsox.com,...

We’re sitting on the spectacular, third-floor deck of the Sea Dog Brew Pub overlooking Hull’s Sunset Bay Marina, with the Boston Harbor islands and the city skyline in the distance. It’s early on a hot summer evening, and the wind is gusting so hard the heavy table menus are blowing over. As sailboat masts and their cleated lines clang against one another and gulls surf air currents above, my lobster bib is flying out behind me like Superman’s cape. Our poor waitress is struggling to get her job done, but we’re not moving inside: It’s magnificent out here.

CASCO BAY, Maine - Kelp noodles are exactly what they sound like: seaweed in long, green strips cut to the rough dimensions of linguine. "Ingredients: Kelp," reads the package. "It's very versatile," says Tollef Olson, CEO of Ocean Approved, the Portland, Maine, company behind this anti-pasta. "Instead of a vegetable, you can use kelp. Instead of a noodle, you can use a kelp noodle. " Packages come pre-cooked and frozen. Thawed, the strips have a satisfying firmness, a mild flavor not unlike green beans and, not surprisingly, the faint, salty aroma of the ocean.

Rhode Island's governor will meet this week with the mayors and town managers of the state's 39 cities and towns in an effort to help address what he calls the municipal "pension crisis. " Gov. Lincoln Chafee (CHAY'-fee) is set to hold a two-hour strategy session on Thursday at which the leaders will discuss ways to shore up the state's municipalities, many of which are facing serious economic problems. Chafee, a former mayor of Warwick, said last week that last fall's legislative overhaul of the state's pension system was just a first step toward putting Rhode Island back on...