The Point

WCAI News Director Sean Corcoran and local journalists review the top regional news stories of the week. Sean's guests this week include Patrick Cassidy, news editor at The Cape Cod Times; Cape Cod Chronicle Editor Tim Wood; Nelson Sigelman, editor of the Martha's Vineyard Times; New Bedford Standard-Times Editorial Page Editor Jim DeArruda; and Josh Balling, assistant editor at the Nantucket Inquirer and Mirror.

More than half of the state’s school districts have switched from the MCAS (Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System) exams to PARCC (Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers).

Pollination is an essential part of the growing process for plants. Bees, along with butterflies, birds, beetles, and even bats are pollinators. Joining Mindy Todd to talk about bees, pollination and the local bee population is Marte Ayers, former president of the Barnstable County Beekeepers Association and current board member.

While many of us won’t think about planting for at least a month, others have already started sowing the seeds for this season’s flower and vegetable crops. Joining WCAI's Mindy Todd to discuss indoor seed germination is Jen Irving from Jenny’s Edibles and Blooms.

Other tips from Cape Cod Cooperative Extension.

The official start of spring is March 20th but it could be another month before we can start getting our hands dirty in our own gardens. Despite the snow on the ground there are ways for us to get a jump on spring.  Host Mindy Todd talks to landscaper and gardener Paul Miskovsky about tips for your garden, and they also preview the Boston Flower and Garden show.

An estimated 50 million Americans live with day to day pain from sports injuries, back injuries, car accidents, or health conditions. We talk about medications but also the many other treatments pain doctors are using including acupuncture, yoga, massage and much more.  Also discussed: the psychiatric approaches to pain and suffering, and the role spirituality can play.  Mindy Todd's guests include Dr. John Bete; who specializes in pain medicine at Cape Cod Healthcare; clinical psychologist Dr.

We track the prices of everything from crude oil to milk for clues about the state of the economy. But what could they tell us about the environment?

Mindy Todd sits down with Chandler Travis to talk about his new album "Bocce & Bourbon: The Comfortable Songs of Chandler Travis & David Greenberger", coming in March.
It's a compilation of 19 examples of Chandler's best work with Greenberger, his favorite lyricist. The lyrics share compassion, warmth, and inventive imagery, echoed in music that is gently but firmly idiosyncratic.

On The Point, a discussion of great classics in literature. Mindy Todd hosts Jill Erickson, Reference Librarian at Falmouth Public Library and Janet Gardner,  Cape Cod Writers Workshop Business Manager and former English Professor and Director of the Honors program at UMass Dartmouth.