Every month, members of the Barnstable County Human Rights Advisory Commission meet virtually with the goal of promoting and advocating for human rights across the Cape’s 15 towns and within the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe. The commission, which has been in operation since 2005, was reconstituted as an advisory panel in 2019. “There has been a very dedicated group of volunteers kind of looking out to preserve huma...

CHATHAM – With certain restrictions, shellfishing is an allowed use inside parts of the Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge. But shellfishermen say that, by placing boundary signs in different locations each season, refuge staff can put traditional shellfish flats that have been productive for many seasons off limits. Last week, select board member Shareen Davis extended an invitation to Refuge Manager Rick N...

CHATHAM – The town’s waterways advisory committee is reviewing a bill on Beacon Hill that would require education and testing for boaters in Massachusetts waters, filed after a boat accident in Dennis that claimed the life of a teenager in July. The proposed law, to be known as the David Hanson Act, would require most boaters to pass a mandatory test of boating skills and to take a boating safety course if...

CHATHAM – How can the town make a dent in the housing crisis while protecting the character of neighborhoods and the community? That’s the rather daunting conundrum facing members of the affordable housing trust, who will be responsible for helping to steer housing development on two town-owned parcels. Parcels off Meetinghouse Road in South Chatham and Main Street in West Chatham have been the subject of t...

Would it surprise you to know that at least 275 people — 45 seniors, 130 adults and 100 children — who live or work in Chatham are experiencing food insecurity? Peter Hughes, who with his wife Linda is one of the new managers of the Chatham Food Pantry, wants that reality known. "People are not aware that the problem exists here in a wealthy town like Chatham," he said recently. When longtime Pantry mana...

CHATHAM – The reprieve granted the large horse chestnut tree in front of the Eldredge Public Library several years ago may be about to come to an end. The tree was slated to be sacrificed as part of a 2019 project to reconfigure the sidewalk and lawn in front of the historic library. Town boards sought changes to the plan to save the tree, but before things progressed further, a couple of developments gave the...

CHATHAM – While expressing disappointment at the outcome of Monday’s special town meeting vote turning down a new council on aging building at 1610 Main St., select board members Tuesday expressed a willingness to explore future options for the facility. But first, they said, hit the pause button. “What I’d like to do is pause, really just pause,” said board member Shareen Davis. Jeffrey Dykens la...

Former Governor’s License Plate Added To Squire Wall CHATHAM – While friends and family paid tribute to Bill Richardson at a funeral mass in Santa Fe last Thursday, more than a dozen of the late New Mexico governor’s friends and former college classmates gathered at the Chatham Squire for a tribute of their own. Several of Mr. Richardson’s Delta Tau Delta fraternity brothers from Tufts University, their spo...

CHATHAM – Even with the largest town meeting turnout in memory, supporters of a new $11 million council on aging facility at 1610 Main St. could not muster enough votes to clear the two-thirds majority necessary for the proposal to succeed. It was the third time the project failed at town meeting. Monday’s 811-564 vote was 105 short of the two-thirds required to authorize borrowing the funding. The proposal...

Large and menacing off the Bahamas, Hurricane Lee had largely disintegrated before passing well to the east of Cape Cod Saturday, leaving a leafy mess but no appreciable damage. The storm brought down many tree limbs — including one in Searsport, Maine, that killed a motorist — causing spotty power outages on Cape Cod along with some short-lived road closures. Winds gusted to 65 mph, and about 3,000 customers ...

WEST CHATHAM – For more than 20 years, the Cape Cod Commercial Fishermen’s Alliance has lobbied for fisheries that are sustainable for the oceans and for local fishing families. Now the nonprofit group is taking steps to ensure its own sustainability. It recently announced the creation of an endowment designed to help fund the Alliance’s work in the future. Organizers have so far raised more than $1 million to...

CHATHAM – The third time wasn’t the charm for a new council on aging building at 1610 Main St. While an $11 million proposal to build a new center for active living at the site received a majority of votes at Monday’s special town meeting, it once again failed to meet the two-thirds threshold required to pass, falling 105 votes short. Controversy surrounded the end of the meeting when it was discovered, aft...