CHATHAM — Its prohibition of skydiving at the airport is creating more legal turbulence for the town of Chatham. Skydive Cape Cod, which ran excursions from the Chatham airport for three years before the town shut down the operation, has filed suit against the town seeking $100,000 in damages for lost business. The town is already feeling the squeeze from both sides of the skydiving debate. It is preparin...

CHATHAM – A 108-foot revetment proposed to protect a $3 million Shore Road home should be denied because it does not meet performance standards in state wetlands laws, according to a ruling issued last week. Presiding Officer Jane A. Rothchild recommended the upholding of a state department of environmental protection order denying the revetment, which overturned the conservation commission's approval of the stru...

CHATHAM – Local and state housing officials are collaborating to try to find a way get qualified buyers into two affordable condominiums along Route 28. The two-bedroom units at Main Street Village at 1070 Main St., marketed at $135,000 each, have been vacant for a number of years, and two attempts to hold lotteries failed to find buyers who met income limits and could qualify for mortgages. A few potential...

HARWICH — These days, shellfishermen have to worry about much more than where to scratch for clams. They face competing interests within the industry, with recreational and commercial shellfishermen, wild harvesters and aquaculturists all competing for resources. And then there are the pressures from outside the fishery, in the form of shorefront development, other maritime interests, and those seeking to use ...

CHATHAM — Saying they need additional time to consider a revised North (Nauset) beach management agreement with Orleans, Chatham selectmen last week said they will ask their counterparts in Orleans to extend the current agreement for another year. The two boards are set to meet jointly on April 24 at 7 p.m. at the Chatham Town Offices Annex on George Ryder Road to discuss the management of the barrier beach,...

CHATHAM – Firefighting can be a dangerous business. But aside from the obvious risk of bodily harm, there's another, more insidious risk that firefighters face: cancer. According to a National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health study, 68 percent of firefighters are expected to develop cancer, compared to 22 percent of the general population. It's not just the smoke that firefighters are subjected to ...

Monomoy Regional High School department heads are asking for an apology from the school committee for the way several teachers were treated at the committee's March 23 meeting. At tonight's school committee meeting (Thursday, April 13), an executive session will be held to discuss the teachers' complaint. Along with the March 27 letter from the department heads, committee chairman Brian Widegren said h...

CHATHAM – Federal legislation to settle a disputed boundary at the Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge has thrust the town town into the national political scene. “We're part of the national dialog now,” said Selectman Seth Taylor, who testified on the bill last week before a House of Representatives subcommittee in Washington, D.C. last Wednesday. “This is in play at a level where they're really ripping each oth...

CHATHAM -- In a civil suit filed in Barnstable Superior Court, Skydive Cape Cod charges the town with breach of contract and discrimination for failing to renew its contract to operate out of Chatham Airport in 2013. The suit, filed in January by Hyannis attorney Robert Lawless on behalf of Skydive Cape Cod owner Jimmy Mendonca, claims the town interfered with its contract with Cape Cod Flying Circus, the airp...

CHATHAM – A state department of environmental protection hearing officer is recommending that a revetment not be allowed to protect a Shore Road home. The conservation commission approved a 108-foot revetment to protect the 498 Shore Rd. property of James and Lisa McGonigle in 2014, but the decision was overturned after an appeal filed by DEP and a group of 10 residents. The owners appealed the decision, and t...

CHATHAM – Town officials were scheduled to travel to Washington, D.C. on Wednesday to testify in a House of Representatives subcommittee hearing on legislation clarifying the boundary of the Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge. Town Manager Jill Goldsmith, Selectman Seth Taylor and Natural Resources Director Robert Duncanson were to attend the hearing of the House Committee on Natural Resources Subcommittee on Fe...

CHATHAM – Even though the April Fools Plunge was postponed from Saturday to Sunday, Justin Tavano and Gerard Smith showed up at Harding's Beach on April 1, along with one other person who couldn't make it Saturday. Together they braved the cold and wind-driven rain to take their annual swim on April Fool's Day proper. maintaining their decade-long streak. SEE A GALLERY OF PHOTOS FROM THE APRIL FOOLS PLUNGE HE...