Pictured Left to Right: Wendy Landman, executive director WalkBoston; Stephen Winslow, Get Fit Gloucester!; Sarah Garcia, HarborWalk project manager; Mayor Carolyn Kirk, Gloucester; and Matt Lawler, vice president, WalkBoston.

By Terri Ogan, Globe Correspondent

WalkBoston has recently awarded the city of Gloucester the Golden Shoe award for its efforts to make the city more pedestrian friendly.

The non-profit organization, which aims to improve walking conditions in cities and towns across the state, has recognized Gloucester for its recent achievements, which include:

- Creating “Gloucester HarborWalk” to promote accessibility and walkability around Gloucester’s working waterfront
-Increasing funding to dramatically improve sidewalks and development of a Complete Streets Plan to identify gaps in the existing sidewalk system
-Advocating for a transportation bond to improve sidewalks around Gloucester’s elementary schools and to establish a Safe Routes to School assessment for O’Maley Middle School

With the help of WalkBoston, Gloucester also developed GloucesterWalks maps, and has distributed 2,500 maps to residents and tourists for about a year.

Gloucester was honored at WalkBoston’s annual celebration in March, along with Madison Park Development Corp. and the Barr Foundation.

By Terri Ogan, Globe Correspondent

The Enterprise Center at Salem State University has announced the finalists in the 2013 North of Boston Business Plan Competition.

One of the following will take home the $5,000 first prize; second and third place winners will receive $3,000 and $2,000, respectively:

- Apptomics LLC is a digital health firm developing mobile applications and devices for neurological conditions.

- North Shore Speech Therapy LLC is a therapist-owned pediatric speech therapy practice.

- The Bridge LLC is a social media website where Cape Ann businesses, nonprofits and community groups can raise awareness and share each other’s audience and network.

The three finalists will present their business plans on Monday May 6 to an audience of regional business leaders and interested observers in the Recital Hall on the Salem State central campus at 3 p.m. The public is welcome to attend both the presentations and the reception that follows.

The competition is designed to encourage companies to start and grow their businesses on the North Shore by offering cash prizes and, more important for most entrants, the opportunity to meet and get feedback from the judging panel of local business leaders, some of whom may be potential investors. Past winners have cited the competition as being a key factor in their success.

This year’s gold sponsors are East Boston Savings Bank, People’s United Bank and TD Bank.

Silver sponsors include North Shore Technology Council, Salem Five, Speaking of Leadership and West Hill Technology Council, along with over a dozen co-sponsors.

For more detailed information about the 2013 North of Boston Business Plan Competition, visit enterprisectr.org/bpc or call 978-542-7528.

Terri Ogan can be reached at oganglobe@gmail.com, or follow her on Twitter.

By Terri Ogan, Globe Correspondent

As part of an ongoing commitment to providing veterans with the services and resources they need, various officials and services will join forces in hosting Operation Commitment to Our Troops, a benefits fair for local veterans.

Congressman John Tierney, the Gloucester Office of Veterans’ Services, the United Veterans Council, Mayor Carolyn Kirk, and State Senator Bruce Tarr are inviting veterans from across the area to attend the fair, which will be held on Saturday April 13 in the Gloucester High School Field House from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The benefits fair will provide medical and counseling services, information on education benefits, claims and disability applications, legal assistance, job training information, and other services to local veterans who have bravely served our country.

“As our service members return from Iraq and Afghanistan, events like this one help to ensure a smooth transition to civilian life,” Tierney said in a recent announcement. “Countless veterans have shared their struggles trying to access the benefits they deserve or to find the job training or employment they need.”

Tierney added that the benefits fair will provide veterans direct access to the officials who can answer their questions and who can help them understand the resources and benefits available to them.

In addition to employers looking to hire veterans, the fair will also include resources for housing, housing assistance, and VA mortgage information, and a host of other services to Massachusetts veterans.

Terri Ogan can be reached at oganglobe@gmail.com, or follow her on Twitter.

By Terri Ogan, Globe Correspondent

The Massachusetts Cultural Council has approved Gloucester Harbortown as a cultural district, making the city the first in the state to have two such districts.

The other is Gloucester's Rocky Neck.

A cultural district is a compact, walkable area within a city or town that has a concentration of cultural facilities, activities and assets.

The boundaries of the new district include the area in between the Cape Ann Chamber of Commerce at St. Peter’s Square, to the start of Gorton’s Seafood on Rogers Street, and from the Harbor and Maritime Gloucester up to City Hall.

“This designation recognizes Gloucester for its artistic and cultural vibrancy,” said Mayor Carolyn Kirk in a recent announcement. “The Gloucester Harbortown Cultural District will serve as a center for cultural, artistic and economic activity downtown.”

The goals of the cultural district program are to attract artists and cultural enterprises, encourage business and job development, establish the district as a tourist designation, preserve and reuse historic buildings, and foster local cultural development.

The Massachusetts Cultural Council visited downtown Gloucester in February to tour the area prior to voting on the designation. The council designated the Rocky Neck area of Gloucester as a cultural district, along with the nearby Rockport Cultural District, in early 2012.

There are now 15 cultural districts state-wide, including the Fenway Cultural District, the Natick Cultural District and Lowell's Canal Way Cultural District.

Each designation lasts for five years and can be renewed.

Terri Ogan can be reached at oganglobe@gmail.com, or follow her on Twitter.

The City of Gloucester recently released a video highlighting the City’s ongoing efforts to expand and diversify the maritime economy. The video provides an overview of the recent Maritime Summit.

According to a press release from the city, 150 stakeholders gathered at the summit "to exchange ideas and advance a vision for Gloucester’s maritime economy that celebrates traditional fishing while embracing innovative opportunities in technology, life science research, and robotics.''

"More than 20 experts made presentations about the role of research, technology, and science in the future maritime economy,'' the release said. "By combining historic waterfront resources, the spirit of innovation, and an unparalleled natural setting, the city of Gloucester is ready to set sail into a brighter tomorrow.''

In other news, the city recently approved Beauport Gloucester — a $25 million, four-story, 101-room waterfront hotel on the site of the former Birdseye plant. Read the Globe story about the hotel project here.

By Terri Ogan, Globe Correspondent

In an effort to increase its ability to respond to a growing number of business inquiries, the city of Gloucester has recently appointed two new officials to head development departments.

Thomas Daniel is now the director of the community development department, while Thomas Gillett will take on the role as executive director of Gloucester’s Economic Development and Industrialization Corp. (EDIC).

“We’ve been constrained through the last couple of years as the recession took hold and it really hurt the municipal budgets,” said Gloucester Mayor Carolyn Kirk. “As the city gets financially stronger, which we are, and can fund these positions. It’s coinciding with the bounceback of the economy."

Daniel’s new position entails overseeing all city and harbor planning, as well as grant funding and the planning of various boards and commissions, which is where “all the magic happens,” Kirk said. It is also an area where his economic background comes into play, she added.

Daniel comes to Gloucester after serving as Salem’s economic development manager. He holds a master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Minnesota. He is also a National Development Council-certified housing development and economic development finance professional.

Gillett takes on a role in a separate entity of the EDIC. He is charged with overseeing the industrial parks in the city and collaborating with Daniel for business opportunities within the city and on the harbor.

He has decades of experience in public and private business management, both domestically and internationally, with companies such as AT&T and GTE. He also holds a master’s degree in management engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

“The first thing is to be responsive and efficient with handling the economic opportunities that are coming to the city,” Kirk said. “Now we have a central point and we’re more organized. We’re looking to have a company that wants to invest here have a better experience with the interface of the city.”

By Stephanie Francis, Globe Correspondent

Scott Santino, 36, remembers how loud it was last March when he led a group of hikers through the wetlands.

“The peepers were so loud you could barely hear anything else,” said Santino. “But we were lucky enough to hear a faint hoot from an owl in the background.” 

Santino works for Mass Audubon’s Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary as a Sanctuary Naturalist. Last year the sanctuary hosted a Full Moon Hike once a month. The next two-hour hike, “Vernal Pools Under the Full Worm Moon” will take place, Wednesday, March 27 at 6:30 pm and is located in the Sanctuary. Cost is $14 for members and $16 for those who aren’t. 

Santino started the program after being inspired by similar events at other sanctuaries he’s come into contact with. The name of each hike is the Native American name for each month’s full moon. Santino says that he tries to incorporate a theme with each hike. A few of the participants have been “regulars” so Santino tries to make sure that each walk includes a variety of new elements. 

“We get both male and female hikers,” said Santino. “A lot of people are from Essex, and we even get a couple of people from the metro Boston area.” 

The one thing that all of Santino’s participants have in common, though, is that they are active adults interested in the natural terrain of the region. And that’s just as he likes it; when he started working full time for Mass Audubon in 2001, one of his first responsibilities was to bring in an adult audience. 

But there are also opportunities for children to experience nature as well. Andrew Prazar, 34, is the education coordinator at the Sanctuary. He started in September of 2010, and works with family programs, after school groups and develops curriculum for homeschool programs. Prazar started full moon hikes for children and their families last winter. 

“The purpose of the family program is to help connect people with nature,” said Prazar. 

Prazar’s hikes usually have 35 to 40 participants who average from five to ten years old and are accompanied by an adult. The 2,000 acre sanctuary has a variety of habitats, and though most times he covers about half a mile, Prazar tries to incorporate all the habitats into his hikes. 

Santino finds that the number of programs drop in the winter due to the weather conditions, and Prazar had to cancel a hike in January because of freezing temperatures and harsh winds. Still, neither Prazar nor Santino say they’ve face any dangers on these hikes. In fact, Prazar claimed that the most dangerous thing could be walking around without a light. 

Both, of course, encourage hikers to do just that. Santino carries a lantern in his backpack in case of emergencies, and both allow artificial lights on their hikes, but they feel the experience—and the moonlight—is more pure without the help of a flashlight. 

“When there’s snow outside and there’s a full moon, the whole world sort of glows,” said Prazar. 

For more information, Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary <https://www.massaudubon.org/Nature_Connection/Sanctuaries/Ipswich_River/index.php> , 87 Perkins Row, Topsfield, MA 01983

ipswichriver@massaudubon.org 978-887-9264 or visit 

https://www.massaudubon.org/catalog/listing.php?program_code=1482-IP13WI1

This article is being published under an arrangement between the Boston Globe and the Gordon College News Service.

Globe Staff

A Gloucester man implicated in a decades-old fish brokering scam was one of 17 people granted pardons by President Obama Friday, according to the White House and the Wall Street Journal.

James Anthony Bordinaro, who had been charged with conspiracy to restrain, suppress, and eliminate competition and with conspiracy to submit false statements, was pardoned by the president, according to the White House. He was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment, three years supervised release and a $55,000 fine.

The Wall Street Journal described Bordinaro as a "fish broker who pleaded guilty to passing off Canadian fish as American catch as part of a bid-rigging scandal that roiled the Northeast fishing industry in the 1990s.''

A description of the case can be found at the Leagle.com site.

The New York Times reported that Obama has granted relatively few pardons, when compared with his predecessors.

“As he has in past years, the president granted these individuals clemency because they have demonstrated genuine remorse and a strong commitment to being law-abiding, productive citizens and active members of their communities,” said Matt Lehrich, a White House spokesman, according to the Times.

By Stephanie Francis, Globe Correspondent

Umesh Bhuju, 43, is a community man. As he sits in his Ipswich café, Zumi’s Espresso and Ice Cream, he greets customers by name as they walk in.

“In 10 years of business our biggest success is being able to connect with the community,” said Bhuju.

Zumi’s located in Ipswich celebrated its 10th anniversary by hosting a charity benefit on February17th for the Ipswich Food Pantry and the Ipswich Human Group. The drop in event goes from 8.am. to 4 p.m.

Umesh opened the coffee shop after being laid off from his job as a database administrator at a small Newton company. His short experience working in coffee shops in college inspired Bhuju to start his own, and ten year later he’s serving organic coffee and locally made ice cream to the Ipswich community.

Bhuju said that as a child he never knew anything besides organic food. “When I was growing up in Nepal, most of my friends, they were farmers kids,” he said. “I never learned how to do non-organic, the life style of that region where I came from was pretty much all organic.”

Bhuju feels that people should consume healthy and fair trade food, and desired to give people the opportunity to do so. He hopes to change the perception that organic doesn’t necessarily mean breaking the bank.

“People think that organic means expensive. We wanted to make it clear that that’s not true,” said Bhuju. “That’s why our prices are pretty close to what you would pay in a non-organic shop.”

Dean’s Beans Organic Coffee in Orange, MA, supplies Zumi’s with organic, fair trade and kosher coffee, sugar and cocoa. The two companies started working together in 2003 when Zumi’s first opened.

However, their exchanges aren’t completely coffee focused. Michael Skillicorn, farmer relations coordinator for Dean’s Beans, and Heather Rice of Dean’s sales, marketing and outreach division, recently were part of Zumi’s public lecture series about social justice.

“Michael and I came because Michael is going to do a talk about the work that we do at our framer partners,” said Rice. “This is primarily because Zumi’s puts a strong priority on people doing innovative and ethical work.”

Their partnership according to Rice is due to their united vision about how to work with coffee through farming communities. The organization, which will also be celebrating an anniversary this year at 20 years old, will soon be announcing a trip to as yet undisclosed location as they start a Java trip series this summer. This series is open to anyone and takes Dean’s Beans customers into the coffee villages that they work with.

The community-focused approach to coffee for both companies is, according to Skillicorn, what makes them successful and worth celebrating milestone markers.

“Community spaces like this are really important but, unfortunately, are few and far between, so people really respond to a place like Zumi's,” said Skillicorn. “Umesh decided to work with us because he agreed with the philosophy of our company. We have a similar community-oriented approach that meshes very well with Zumi’s.”

This article is being published under an arrangement between the Boston Globe and the Gordon College News Service.