As we pass the two-week mark after the Independence Day holiday weekend, public health officials are watching for any sign of an increase in COVID-19 cases on Cape Cod. And some evidence may be emerging. Key pandemic indicators in Barnstable County remain low, with just 13 new cases reported Monday. But the trend is beginning to rise. The rolling one-week average of new cases Monday stood at eight, up ...

Parking lots and baseball fields have become places of worship as local churches move services outdoors, providing at least some measure of personal connections to congregations that have been meeting virtually for months. Last Sunday, members of St. Christopher's Episcopal Church met in-person for the first time since the pandemic shutdown. About 110 members of the church participated in a socially distant ou...

Pop-up Testing Clinics Planned In Chatham And Harwich; Several Local Restaurants Close This story was updated at 4:20 p.m. July 24. CHATHAM –State officials have updated the number of positive cases of COVID-19 stemming from a July 12 party in Chatham to 13. A pop-up testing clinic will held Monday in Chatham to test anyone who was at the party or has been in close contact with someone who was there. H...

CHATHAM – The time frame under which town government operates, the fiscal year, runs from July 1 to June 30. The fiscal year that ended a few weeks ago was one of the most tumultuous in the town's history, beginning and ending with unprecedented natural disasters that will have local implications for years to come. A year ago today, 90-mile-per-hour winds blew through town after a tornado touched down in neigh...

CHATHAM — Selectmen Tuesday said they prefer voting on a new council on aging project at next spring’s annual town meeting rather than at a special town meeting in September. The board took no official vote on the matter, but individual members said they would prefer to have voters act on the big-ticket project at the town’s main legislative session in May. In fact, the board is considering whether any of th...

With health departments in several states and in New York City reporting a higher-than-expected prevalence of COVID-19 among Black people, and news that people of color are dying at a younger age than others afflicted with the illness, there is troubling news about race and the pandemic on Cape Cod. Using information made public after the New York Times sued the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, Barnstable...

The first two rounds of loans from the federal Paycheck Protection Program brought tens of millions of dollars to Lower Cape businesses, helping retain at least 7,000 jobs since early A pril. But a third round of funding is needed to extend that lifeline to restaurants and other seasonal businesses, officials say. Figures from the U.S. Small Business Administration show that the loans benefited...

CHATHAM – The rebuilding of two cottages on Little Beach is heading back to the drawing board after neighbors and zoning board members said the new homes were too large for the neighborhood. While the zoning board last week approved the demolition and rebuilding of a cottage at 46 Little Beach Rd., similar proposals for homes at 47 and 53 Little Beach Rd. met with concerns over expanded footprints and infringe...

CHATHAM – Stickers promoting a right-wing hate group found affixed to downtown signs are being investigated by police as both vandalism and possible hate speech. On Monday, stickers for the group Patriot Front could be seen on the back of parking signs and on telephone poles. There were several versions of the sticker; one read “One Nation Against Invasion,” another “Revolution Is Tradition.” All contained ico...

CHATHAM — At Schoolhouse Pond bathing beach, crowded conditions are nothing new. The small stretch of sand, which gets smaller when the water table is high, is Chatham’s only residents-only beach. But during the pandemic, those close quarters are a public health concern. State regulations designed to prevent the spread of COVID-19 require beachgoers to maintain six feet of social distance, and groupings of...

CHATHAM – In 2010, marine biologist Dr. Greg Skomal tagged an 18-foot white shark off the coast of the Cape. She was given the name Curly and is, to date, the largest great white shark ever tagged along these shores. While the real Curly is likely still swimming somewhere in the Atlantic, shark enthusiasts can get a sense of her impressive size by visiting the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy’s Shark Center in Ch...

Hessler Claims Retaliation Over Criticism, Senior Center Support CHATHAM – The former chairman of the zoning board of appeals is accusing the board of selectmen of not reappointing him in retaliation for his leadership of the effort to build a new senior center on Stepping Stones Road and his criticism of the selectmen's leadership. Robert Hessler, who served on the zoning board for a decade, was not reappo...