We love the First Amendment. We're all for both freedom of the press and freedom of speech; without either we'd be out of business. But like any freedom or rights, its application must be tempered by common sense. There's a local example that fails on that count, startlingly so. Every once and a while a controversy flares up over the location of political signs. In Chatham a few years ago, the town ordered tha...

YOU GUESSED IT Critics of proposed legislation to clarify the boundary of the Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge, authored by Congressman William Keating, need to get their facts straight before smearing the effort. The proposed legislation has been drafted to confirm Congress’ original intent that the boundary of the Refuge is the “mean-low-water” line. The 1944 Declaration of Taking, which established the R...

Leave W. Chatham Alone Editor: I just watched the Aug. 23 Chatham Selectmen's meeting. I have to say I was quite surprised that so much time was spent discussing landscaping for a project that may never come to fruition. To further throw a nail into the coffin one has to wonder why a self-appointed committee has been gathering to discuss how to landscape this project with taxpayers'funds. I find this extrem...

Although opponents continue to deride the West Chatham Roadway Project and call into question if it will ever happen, it's pretty much a fait accompli. Although the work to streamline Route 28 through the West Chatham business corridor – removing the center turning lane and installing roundabouts at the Barn Hill Road and George Ryder Road intersections – has been delayed until 2018, there's no reason to doubt th...

A short walk from my home is the newest dormitory being constructed in Harwich. It is not actually housing for college students, but it could be. Its two multi-story connected buildings fill up most of a lot at the end of a cul-de-sac, offering enough housing for 20 or more. What may become the largest private residence in Harwich sits in a congested area with no water-view or other amenities. A bit farther fr...

The great composer Jerry Herman closed his wonderful musical “La Cage Aux Folles” with the song “The Best of Times is Now.” The concept in the title of that song actually expresses the feelings of lots of Chatham residents. For many retirees and many summer residents, life in the summer in Chatham is about as good as it can get. The weather is wonderful, the beaches are beautiful and the water has warmed up, t...

  Commission Needs Mindset Change Editor: In reading my recent Airplane Owners and Pilots Association magazine, I note how frequently its writers speak against FAA recommendations and regulations. It's as if they think there's a constitutional amendment to protect whatever pilots want to do. The attitude pervades columns in my new issue. Excerpts from two suggest this mindset: “...regulations shouldn’...

Chatham's summer parking shortage is a problem that may never be solved. But that doesn't mean the search for relief from what is the most common complaint of the season should be abandoned. Two weeks ago the board of selectmen, on a split vote, rejected consideration of acquisition of the Eldredge Garage property, chiefly to expand downtown parking. The board had previously rejected even considering the prope...

Twenty five years and a day ago, at around 4 p.m., a Category 3 hurricane barreled over Cape Cod, leaving a swath of destruction that's been unmatched in the quarter century that followed. Everyone has their Hurricane Bob stories. We remember the piles of splintered boats in Allen Harbor and the countless trees and limbs left on the ground. Then there was the smell: a distinctive odor from the downed trees, mi...

The brown-orange bottle still has about a dozen more pills left in it. Small, oblong and medium brown, I haven’t taken one in a couple days. TAKE DAILY, the label says. Refillable three more times. I’ve been on them since late February. Then, diagnosed with situational depression, I had already switched health plans so I could begin seeing a therapist nearby. My MD is a good guy, knows me, treated me for a dec...

School Com Member Resigns Editor: After much discernment and with a heavy heart, I made the difficult decision on Aug. 12 to step down from the Monomoy Regional School Committee.  There are restrictions and limitations inherent to serving on the board for which I struggle.  I feel it inhibits my role to effectively advocate on behalf of the community.  I value the vital function of the school committee.  Ho...

It has been a difficult time for Brooks Free Library, the municipal library in Harwich Center, with technical problems that have nearly crippled the institution over the past couple of weeks. With failed lighting circuits, the library has had to shut off access to the building at a time of year when that library is the center of this community, serving more patrons that other libraries of similar size on the Cape...