While Massachusetts recipients of federal stimulus money collectively report 12,374 jobs saved or created, a Globe review shows that number is wildly exaggerated. Organizations that received stimulus money miscounted jobs, filed erroneous figures, or claimed jobs for work that has not yet started. The Globe's finding is based on the federal government's just-released accounts of stimulus spending at the end of October. ...But in interviews with recipients, the Globe found that several openly acknowledged creating far fewer jobs than they have been credited for.

When the Pilgrims arrived in America, it was the Wampanoag who greeted them peacefully so the newcomers could escape religious persecution. Now the tribe is having to fight for their own religious freedoms. The Wampanoag, also known as "The People of the First Light", have delayed the construction of America's first offshore wind farm, reports Associated Press. The Mashpee and Aquinnah Wampanoag practice sacred religious rituals which they say require an unblocked view of the horizon, in particular, the sunrise.

From a blustery perch over a Cape Cod beach, Chuckie Green gestures toward a stretch of horizon where he says construction of the nation's first offshore wind farm would destroy his Indian tribe's religion. The Wampanoag - the tribe that welcomed the Pilgrims in the 17th century and known as "The People of the First Light" - practice sacred rituals requiring an unblocked view of the sunrise. That view won't exist once 130 turbines, each over 400 feet tall, are built several miles from shore in Nantucket Sound, visible to Wampanoag in Mashpee and on Martha's Vineyard.

Massachusetts' top historic preservation officer has dealt a setback to the proposed Nantucket Sound wind farm, ruling yesterday that the body of water is eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places because of its cultural significance for two Native American tribes. In a letter released late in the afternoon, Brona Simon, state historic preservation officer, said she believes that Nantucket Sound is so culturally important to two Wampanoag tribes that it should be eligible to be listed on the National Register as a traditional cultural property.

U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said his department will "hopefully" decide by the end of the year whether to approve plans for what may be the nation's first offshore wind farm along the coast of Massachusetts. The Interior Department is working toward an "expeditious conclusion" of the approvals needed for Cape Wind in Nantucket Sound, Salazar said today. "We'll have a final decision to be made hopefully by the end of this year," he said.

The Wampanoag - the tribe that welcomed the Pilgrims in the 17th century and known as "The People of the First Light" - practice sacred rituals requiring an unblocked view of the sunrise. That view won't exist once 130 turbines, each over 400 feet tall, are built in Nantucket Sound, visible to Wampanoag in Mashpee and on Martha's Vineyard. ..."We, the Wampanoag people, who opened our arms and allowed people to come here for religious freedoms, are now being threatened with our religion being taken away for the profits of one single group of investors," Green said.

Native American rituals and beliefs have emerged as a surprising last-minute obstacle to federal approval of the nation's first offshore wind farm, threatening to significantly delay the Cape Wind project. Two Massachusetts tribes say the 130 proposed wind turbines in Nantucket Sound would disturb their spiritual sun greetings and submerged ancestral burying grounds. The Aquinnah and Mashpee Wampanoag tribes ...are pushing for the entire sound to be listed as a traditional cultural property on the National Register of Historic Places.

Final approval for Cape Wind is stalled, aggravating developers of the Massachusetts offshore wind project and igniting concerns that the latest roadblock -- over American Indian ceremonies -- could jeopardize other ocean-based energy proposals. ..."There's great concern. It should have been finished months ago," said Mark Rodgers, a spokesman for Cape Wind, noting that the delay is disrupting efforts to arrange construction contracts, line up installation barges and find buyers for the anticipated electricity.

In the scramble to harness ocean wind power, floating turbine technology may be the holy grail. Turbines that can be floated into position and anchored in deeper water are the solution to much of the politics that confronts shallow-water projects, according to proponents of the concept. A pair of announcements this month seems to herald the next step into deeper water.

Blue H USA, a Dutch-owned company that wants to anchor floating wind turbines some 20 miles southwest of Martha's Vineyard to harness offshore ocean winds, has applied for a permit from the U.S. Army Corps. The company wants to anchor a demonstration unit on the outer continental shelf approximately 23 miles off Squibnocket Point in Chilmark and about 32 miles southeast of Block Island, R.I. according to the Army Corps.

President Obama, now summering on the Massachusetts island with his family, is still at least a year away from seeing turbines take root anywhere off the U.S. coast, even though his administration promised to make offshore wind a priority and developers are lining up to string wind farms up and down the Atlantic seaboard. His administration, delayed by controversy and red tape, has yet to grant a single permit for wind or solar development on public land, onshore or off.

With plans moving forward in New Jersey and Delaware - not to mention recent progress in Cape Wind's years-long fight in Massachusetts - it's far from certain that Deepwater and Rhode Island will succeed in their quest to be first. And make no mistake, being first is important. For the developer, it means more than just bragging rights. It gives the company a leg up on its competitors as it tries to develop additional wind farms elsewhere. For the state, it means much-needed economic development and valuable green-collar jobs.

Could the proposed Nantucket Sound wind farm become obsolete before it is even built? ...technological advances in recent years are allowing developers elsewhere to consider building wind turbines farther from shore, where they would be less visible. ...If these and similar projects prove viable, some wind energy specialists and developers say, they could leapfrog closer-to-shore projects like Cape Wind.

New pressures on the nation's oceans, from wind turbines to fish farms, are increasingly sparking conflicts with more traditional activities such as shipping and recreational boating and show the need for better planning, the head of the agency overseeing federal ocean research services said Monday. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration chief Jane Lubchenco said the nation should take cues from Massachusetts, the first state to create a comprehensive planning map for its ocean waters.

Officials from two federally recognized Indian tribes say they are frustrated in their attempts to protect what they consider a sacred site from becoming part of an offshore wind farm. The two tribes want federal officials to deny a permit to Cape Wind for Horseshoe Shoal and move the proposed 130 wind turbines to another site. ..."MMS has failed its trust responsibility," said Cedric Cromwell, chairman of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Council.

The controversial and long-delayed Cape Wind project - which could become the first offshore wind farm in the United States - is inching forward. The next milestone is a decision by the Interior Department about whether to issue a lease for the project (something that Interior Secretary Ken Salazar discussed during an interview with The New York Times last week). But if Cape Wind does manage to leap over all of its hurdles, the question remains: who will make the turbines?

The Federal Aviation Administration is saying "not yet" on the proposed wind farm project for Nantucket Sound, issuing a "Notice of Presumed Hazard" Feb 13. "Initial findings of this study indicate that the structure as described exceeds obstruction standards and/or would have an adverse physical or electromagnetic interference effect upon navigable airspace or air navigation facilities," the FAA notice issued Feb. 13 reads. "Pending resolution of the issues described below, the structure is presumed to be a hazard to air navigation."

The U.S. Minerals Management Service (MMS) has extended by one month the public comment period on its final environmental report for the Cape Wind energy project. MMS, the lead federal agency to review Cape Wind's proposal to build 130 wind turbines in Nantucket Sound, released its largely favorable final environmental report on the project last month.

HYANNIS, Mass. -- After five years of strong objections by the Barnstable, Martha's Vineyard, and Nantucket airports and others on the safety of the 400,000 flights per year over Nantucket Sound, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) today formally issued a Notice of Presumed Hazard for the Cape Wind project. Cape Wind is proposing a 44 story, 25 square mile wind project centered under the flight paths between Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard, and Nantucket. The project would affect FAA radar sites in North Truro, Nantucket, and Otis Air Force Base that provide detection of aircraft for Air Traffic Control (ATC).