CHATHAM — In an assertion of the town's “sovereign immunity” to legal nuisance claims, the board of selectmen has voted to appeal a recent Barnstable Superior Court ruling to the Massachusetts Appeals Court, over the issue of skydiving. Following Judge Robert Rufo's Sept. 13 ruling that skydiving opponents can proceed with their legal effort to block skydiving at the Chatham airport, Town Counsel Patrick Coste...

CHATHAM — Few local issues in recent memory have been more divisive than the debate over the West Chatham roadway redesign. But there was plenty of common ground in last week's meeting on how the corridor should be landscaped. The state's plan to install trees, shrubs and grasses along the renovated stretch Route 28 between George Ryder Road and Barn Hill Road is good, but more landscaping would further enha...

CHATHAM – Jacqueline Zibrat-Long is the town's newest representative on the Monomoy Regional School Committee. In a joint meeting last Thursday, the board of selectmen and Chatham members of the school committee elected Zibrat-Long to fill the unexpired term of Amy Middleton, who recently resigned. Zibrat-Long was chosen in a 5-2 vote over a second applicant, Linda Kelley. Zibrat-Long ran unsuccessfully for...

CHATHAM – Buttons for this year's First Night celebration, with the theme “ Light Up The Town,” go on sale at several locations beginning Oct. 8. The button admits wearers to a wide variety of events and performances, including concerts, children’s activities, even a circus. Information on performers and events is available at the First Night Chatham website (www.firstnightchatham.com), which will be updated ...

On Monday afternoon roughly three miles off the shores of South Monomoy Island, a vessel rocked slowly on gentle swells as those on board peered eagerly at the water, hoping for one thing: the slice of a fin through the waves. Unfortunately, it was a shark-free day aboard the OCEARCH shark research boat, but the day provided an opportunity for guests joining the crew to learn a bit about what goes on “out there.”...

CHATHAM — When it comes to senior citizens' housing needs, there's no such thing as a one-size-fits-all solution. That was the message the planning board heard from elder advocates last week. In a rare joint meeting with the council on aging board of directors last Tuesday, the planning board posed a series of questions designed to help them consider zoning changes that would encourage the development of sen...

CHATHAM – Efforts are underway to improve the playground behind the elementary school on Depot Road, beginning with the installation of a well and irrigation system early next month. The longer term project will eventually involve upgrading the existing playground equipment, but for now officials are concentrating on making the playing field on the east side of the school more usable. Currently the area is cov...

In the alphabet soup of state standardized tests, local students have once again risen to the top. Results of the spring Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) and the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) tests were released Monday afternoon, and students in the Monomoy Regional School District, Cape Cod Tech and the Cape Cod Lighthouse Charter School performed ...

CHATHAM -- State shark biologist Dr. Greg Skomal, working with the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy, tagged the season's 20th shark today. The 15-foot shark was tagged off the northern tip of North Beach Island at about 1:30 p.m. Skomal is in the third year of a five-year population study which aims to get a handle on the number of white sharks that frequent the waters off Cape Cod during the summer.  Since...

CHATHAM – U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Dan Ashe issued a statement Wednesday saying he was disappointed that the town is seeking federal legislation to resolve the dispute over the western boundary of the Monomoy Wildlife Refuge. The Fish and Wildlife Service worked “tirelessly” with the town to develop the comprehensive conservation plan for the refuge, he said, resolving significant differences th...

CHATHAM — When there's a vacancy on the department, Police Chief Mark Pawlina hires people, not robots. And because police officers are human beings, there's a risk of racial bias. The key, Pawlina said, is to be aware of that risk, to train officers to use their authority sensitively and judiciously, and to make sure the general public understands how law enforcement works. Speaking with a small group of...

CHATHAM — An unsigned pamphlet that was bulk mailed to Chatham residents this week blasts Harbormaster Stuart Smith for allowing his brother's boat mooring in Ryder's Cove to be used by Selectman Seth Taylor. In the style of a parody, the mailing advertises the “Selectmen's Choice Access Mooring Plan,” or SCAM, and encourages people to call the harbormaster to “see if you qualify to jump the line and get a m...