In a story in last week's paper, Harwich Selectman Donald Howell expressed concern about his town's growing share of the Monomoy Regional School District budget. Noting the current 76.65 to 23.35 Harwich-Chatham split, Howell recalled earlier discussions when Harwich's percentage of a regional district was put at 55 percent. With the figures heading toward 80-20, he wondered if that level of financing was sustain...

No Confidence In Leadership Editor: As I read the latest comments by our town leaders relative to the existing Chatham Senior Center, it’s becoming clear to me that we need to question their ability to make cogent decisions which are in the best interest of those of us who reside here. In a clear attempt to manipulate public opinion of the previously failed new COA initiative, they are attempting to dress u...

Assigning financial responsibility to towns in a regional school district is never a simple or easy task. Numerous factors must be weighed and choices made among the many possible ways to divvy up costs. When developing the Monomoy Regional School District agreement, Chatham and Harwich officials opted to use a three-year rolling average of enrollment to determine how much of the district budget each town woul...

Sprawl Not The Problem Editor: I have heard a Housing Assistance Corporation commercial played on the radio that claims the current housing problems on the Cape are the result of “restrictive zoning” which has led to “sprawl.” I take issue with this because the “restrictive zoning” didn’t create “sprawl.” The zoning we had created neighborhoods where working families lived year-round. When I see a neighborh...

Chatham claims the title for the Cape town with the highest median sale price of single-family homes in 2022. According to the Cape Cod and Islands Association of Realtors, that figure hit $1.2 million last year, with Truro close behind at $945,000, followed by Provincetown at $877,500. Wellfleet was next, and then Orleans. While realtors and investors may rejoice at these numbers, they are not something to be...

A Really Bad Idea Editor: I grew up on the Cape, in Barnstable and have a vested interest in preserving the Cape and our planet in general. What are the real costs of decommissioning the Plymouth nuclear plant? You’re kidding me right? This falls into the department of unbelievable human behavior; that our politicians, our state and county officials and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) are thinki...

Many Brewster voters are convinced that tourism dollars are the motivation behind the town’s push to expand access to Wing Island and the surrounding coastal marshes. They’re right. The Brewster Chamber of Commerce uses “Cape Cod’s Ecotourism Destination” as its tagline. “With 5,000 acres of protected lands and an active conservation trust, Brewster is a known seasonal tourist destination to families and individ...

Critical Support For Library Editor: The South Chatham Public Library's February Love Your Library fundraiser is winding down and the library wants to thank all those who have already shown their support of the library and its service to the community. Special thanks to the Cape Cod 5 Foundation for its support of the appeal. All funds raised will be used to offset operational costs and will enable the libr...

Sewering A Narrow Answer Editor: I find the Kristin Andres article rather narrow in its approach to the wastewater issue. The statement that we have "too much nitrogen, mostly from our septic systems" and that "we've gone beyond the carrying capacity of the Cape's natural ability to attenuate the excess" seems to serve her primary proposition — build sewer systems. This is what the engineering studies wi...

The housing crisis on Cape Cod is a complex issue that requires urgent attention and action from local and state policymakers. For years, the lack of affordable housing has been a significant problem for both low- and middle-income families on the Cape. The skyrocketing cost of living, combined with a limited supply of affordable housing, has led to an increasing number of families struggling to make ends meet a...

Decisions last week by the Chatham and Harwich community preservation committees regarding affordable housing funding requests were shortsighted and not in the best interests of residents. The Harwich CPC cut in half the request of the town's affordable housing trust for $500,000, citing recent turmoil among the trust's board and with members of the board of selectmen. After recent contentious meetings, Town A...

Impediments To Tree Trimming Editor: The airport commission is presently trying to persuade 22 property owners to remove their trees at their expense. However, the real problem, documented in the airport layout plan, is the vegetation growing in the wetlands and vernal pool areas, which are very close to the southern end of the runway on the airport property itself. This vegetation penetrates the approach s...