Julie Witas, social services coordinator at the Harwich Council on Aging, has spent exactly half of her first year on the job working in challenging coronavirus pandemic circumstances. “Almost all services at the council on aging are done in person,” Witas said during a telephone interview last week. “It was a challenge to go remote, but we’ve done very well.” A major portion of the COA’s function lies in b...

Not knowing where one’s next meal is coming from causes more than just a rumble in the stomach. It turns out it can cause a host of health problems, some of which take years to manifest. Known as “food insecurity,” it’s a problem that typically afflicts around 10 percent of the population on Cape Cod, or around 28,000 people. This year, because of the pandemic and economic disaster, about 650,000 people in eas...

A local restaurateur is looking to marshal forces to advocate for a bill that would help restaurants survive the pandemic. Massachusetts Senate Bill 2655, stalled since April, requires insurance companies to pay out business interruption insurance even during a pandemic. The issue goes back to the 2002-2003 SARS outbreak. A clause added at that time excludes insurance companies from paying out on interruptions...

CHATHAM – What a time to start a new job — during a pandemic. But that is exactly what the Rev. Tracy Johnson did when she joined the Unitarian Universalist Meeting House of Chatham as its half-time minister on July 1. “It has been interesting getting up to speed with the technology to hold people together in community when we can’t be physically together,” Johnson said during a telephone interview las...

Back-to-school anxiety is perfectly normal. But this year, it’s the parents who are worried about sending their kids to classes, while the kids are anxious about not going back to school – or at least to their normal school environment. It’s more evidence of the world gone topsy-turvy thanks to COVID-19. “I would say that probably more than 50 percent of my caseload is kids and parents with anxiety, anxiety th...

ORLEANS — This is a tale of three Orleans bookstores. A new independent bookstore will open later this month, while a second will close and a third has already closed. Sea Howl Bookshop is taking over the 600-square-foot space occupied until earlier this year by the now-shuttered Main Street Books at 46 Main St. Booksmith/Musicsmith, which has been in operation since the late 1970s, will close its doors on ...

Chatham seniors have been waiting more than a decade for a new senior center, watching patiently while other town departments get new, state-of-the-art facilities. Their turn was supposed to come this past spring, but because of the pandemic, they'll have to continue to be patient. “We're in kind of a holding pattern,” said council on aging chairman Barbara Segall. In the spring, selectmen postponed a number o...

If you’ve thought about getting tested for the novel coronavirus, you’ve got some challenges to consider, and some homework to do. There are three general types of tests — molecular, antibody and antigen — and each has advantages and drawbacks. But experts say that for now, there continue to be limits on the availability of tests and the speed with which they provide results. The gold standard for testing r...

HARWICH — Does a dairy intolerance stop you when you have a craving for ice cream? Well, Sweet Izzy has a vegan alternative that will soothe that weighty dilemma. The new business that began scooping homemade ice cream last weekend is dairy-free. “What we offer is gluten-conscious, soy-free and dairy-free,” owner Michael Doucette said of the new business located along Route 28 at the Trampoline Center, whic...

William Nickerson Walker’s third spy novel, “Target Switzerland,” will be released later this month. In retirement, Walker, 82, is a prolific writer, an indefatigable golfer and an energetic vice president of the Nickerson Family Association, Inc. (NFA). In the past he was an international businessman and financier, diplomat, government official and partner in a large Wall Street law firm. Two years ago, Wa...

With COVID-19 case numbers still well under control on Cape Cod, people are once again venturing out to visit restaurants, stores and their favorite haunts, albeit while socially distancing and wearing masks. Doctors say it’s time to return for your regimen of routine medical care as well. That may not be possible everywhere yet, but under Phase 2 of Gov. Charlie Baker’s economic reopening plan, health care pr...

Opening a restaurant is no easy feat. Even for new local business owners who are taking over the reins of a successful location with a hearty customer base and making it uniquely their own, nothing about the process is simple or effortless.  Now try it in the middle of a global pandemic.  Lynne Hammatt bought the former Sandi’s Diner in March, as the seriousness of COVID-19 was becoming evident. After paint...