CHATHAM – Although it may have receded into the background during the coronavirus crisis, climate change remains as much a threat to the future as the current emergency. But unlike the virus, there are things people can do to help counter climate change. That was the premise of “Chatham Acts On Climate,” an online forum held Saturday by the Chatham Climate Action Network (C-CAN). About 70 participants heard ni...

CHATHAM – When he extended the state emergency order to May 18, Governor Charlie Baker also announced the formation of a reopening advisory board, which was charged with developing a phased plan to reopen the economy by May 18. The plan will likely have a big impact on how the town, and local businesses, approach the coming summer season. It's also likely that the plan will leave some decisions up to local aut...

Though the human toll of COVID-19 keeps growing, statistics show hopeful signs that the virus emergency may be reaching its peak. And with less than three weeks until the traditional start of the summer visitor season, that has heightened efforts to plan for the eventual reopening of the Cape’s economy. As of Monday, there were 960 confirmed cases on Cape Cod, but a large number of those people have recovered ...

CHATHAM — So maybe it’s a little early to be thinking about New Year’s Eve. But then again, less than halfway through the year 2020, most people wouldn’t mind a fresh start in 2021. While plans for Memorial Day and the Fourth of July remain up in the air, First Night Chatham is sounding a hopeful tone about New Year’s Eve. “We’re cautiously optimistic that it’s going to be business as usual,” albeit with ...

COVID-19 Prompts Deep Spending Cuts CHATHAM — Thanks to the pandemic, voters at the annual town meeting scheduled for June 22 will likely see some extreme social distancing, along with a warrant stripped down of big-ticket spending articles and a sobering town budget. Selectmen chose the new date for town meeting on Monday, but a provision is in place that allows the town moderator to postpone the session f...

CHATHAM — For Don St. Pierre, who turns 80 in August, digging ditches, climbing hills and bushwhacking through the puckerbrush isn't as easy as it used to be. He's stepping down as the town's herring warden after more than half a century of watching over the fish runs and their seasonal visitors. A Harwich native, St. Pierre started working on herring runs when he was a member of the sportfishing club Cape Cod...

CHATHAM – The COVID-19 pandemic is even impacting nesting shorebirds. Not the birds themselves, but the Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge's annual shorebird monitoring program. Usually by this time of year, at least two staff members have arrived to begin preparing for a summer of watching over the tern nesting colony on South Monomoy as well as the piping plovers and other species that spend the spring and sum...

CHATHAM – Life has been “a battle” for Jennie Porter ever since being diagnosed with ulcerative colitis when she was in her 20s, according to her partner Andrew Davol. Earlier this year, however, complications from a particularly bad flare up of the gastrointestinal condition led to a blood clot in her brain and a massive stroke. “It was a one-in-million chance that a clot formed in her brain,” said Davol. ...

CHATHAM – Since it launched two weeks ago, the Chatham Coronavirus Impact Fund has received 16 applications for assistance, and all have been approved, according to founder Stephen Daniel. The applications represent 29 adults, 18 children and 15 seniors who received a total of $11,784 in assistance, with the average award $737. The money has helped residents pay electric and gas bills, rent, vehicle payments a...

Joseph Galatie texted his mom and said she had to get down to the dock quick. Galatie, 21, is a fisherman and worked at the Chatham Fish Pier for Red’s Best over the summer. He knows how irresistible fresh-caught fish can be, and when he heard a local captain was bringing in scallops, it was an opportunity not to be missed. When his mom, Sarah, grabbed her youngest son, Nicholas, 11, and got to Saquatucket ...

Stay-at-home Advisory, Business Closure Extended To May 18 The human toll of COVID-19 continues to grow, but key public health indicators hint that the virus emergency could be starting to level off on Cape Cod. “We’re starting to see that plateau start to happen,” Barnstable County Health and Environment Director Sean O’Brien said Tuesday. But at the town, county, state and federal level, public health off...

CHATHAM — More than ever, fire departments need to make sure that ambulances are fully sanitized between each response, and that can be a labor-intensive process. But Chatham firefighters are trying a new way to sanitize ambulances, police cars and other vehicle interiors using an improvised aerosol system. Fire Chief Peter Connick said credit properly goes to the Tulsa, Okla., fire department, which posted a ...