CHATHAM — As a concrete step toward helping young families afford to live in town year-round, selectmen are examining the possibility of offering child care vouchers to subsidize the cost of preschool care. The recommendation is one made by the town’s economic development committee in 2016 and brought to the fore by the new Chatham 365 Task Force. Though several different models are under consideration, u...

CHATHAM – A court has ordered the town to consider revised plans for use of the warehouse building at 45 Chatham Bars Ave. owned by Chatham Bars Inn. The dispute between the town, inn and neighbors over use of the 9,500-square-foot building, once a bowling alley but used as a warehouse since the 1970s, has dragged on for nearly three years. Two previous appeals were filed with the zoning board of appeals. The ...

CHATHAM – If the frigid temperatures aren't enough to remind you that the holiday season is here, then Santa's arrival on Sunday should do the trick. The Jolly Old Elf will cruise into the fish pier at 1:30 p.m. Sunday afternoon in style, aboard the historic CG36500 Coast Guard lifeboat, accompanied by a contingent of active Coast Guard personnel. The event, sponsored by the Kiwanis Club of Central Cape Cod, i...

CHATHAM — Maybe having a new council on aging at the community center site or near Volunteer Park would have allowed more interaction between seniors and young people. But in the end, selectmen heard arguments from young and old alike that a town-owned parcel off Middle Road would be the best home for a new senior center. The board voted unanimously to pursue plans for a new senior center on a wooded parcel ...

CHATHAM — Maybe having a new council on aging at the community center site or near Volunteer Park would have allowed more interaction between seniors and young people. But in the end, selectmen heard arguments from young and old alike that a town-owned parcel off Middle Road would be the best home for a new senior center. The board voted unanimously to pursue plans for a new senior center on a wooded parcel ...

This holiday season you can brighten a local family’s life by contributing to the Chronicle’s 15 th Annual Helping Neighbors Fund drive which aims to raise $60,000 for the Family Pantry of Cape Cod by Christmas. Support Helping Neighbors “The people who we serve are Cape people,” says Christine Menard, ...

CHATHAM — An ad hoc committee has released its vision for the future use of the Eldredge Garage land, and it includes a parking lot, a small wildflower meadow overlooking Mill Pond, public restrooms and a transportation center. Capping a year’s work and 17 meetings, the Eldredge Garage property planning committee presented its recommendations to the board of selectmen Monday. The detailed report will now go ...

CHATHAM — Until about a decade ago, Andrew Fitzgerald, Jr., was known to most of his family and friends only as a loving man with a keen wit, a retired sales engineer, a volunteer at his church and an avid football fan. And way back in his youth, he had been in the United States Coast Guard. What they didn’t know was Mr. Fitzgerald’s role in the greatest small boat rescue in Coast Guard history. He was th...

CHATHAM – Planning board members hope the public will provide feedback on a revised accessory dwelling unit (ADU) zoning bylaw amendment at two upcoming forums. The bylaw is designed to encourage more diverse housing choices by allowing year-round apartments in single-family homes. While the units will not have affordability restrictions, officials say allowing apartments in homes can help families meet the hi...

BARNSTABLE — In one of the final races to be decided on election night last Tuesday, Ronald Bergstrom of Chatham narrowly unseated County Commissioner Leo Cakounes of Harwich, shifting the balance of power in the county’s executive branch. “I went to bed at 11:30 and I turned off all our phones,” Bergstrom said. With one media outlet having declared the race for his opponent, Bergstrom resigned himself to a ...

CHATHAM – After several years of planning and at least two closures due to structural problems, the popular observation deck at the town-owned fish pier has gone out to bid for reconstruction. The project is expected to be finished by June 15, just as the busy summer season is ramping up. The fish pier is the town's most popular tourist attraction, drawing upwards of 200,000 people during summer, as many as...

CHATHAM – The town-owned Eldredge trap dock and the Stage Harbor Yacht Club pier, which have existed side by side for years, will be rebuilt separately and not as a single unit. Town and Yacht Club officials had held discussions aiming at reducing costs by reconstructing the two adjacent piers in tandem rather than as separate projects. But after seeing preliminary cost estimates for the town-proposed design, ...