CHATHAM — Treading lightly over what they admit is a complicated issue, selectmen Tuesday opened a dialogue about the proliferation of single-serve “nip” bottles of alcohol. The 15-milliliter bottles litter area roadways, and the problem has led other towns – including Harwich – to consider banning their sale. Nip bans are already in place on the Upper Cape, Selectman Jeffrey Dykens noted. When he walks Route ...

Even If FEMA Maps Say It Won’t Time was, if you wanted to know which parts of town flooded during major hurricanes, you’d ask old timers. Then FEMA developed maps showing flood zones down to the property level. But both methods have a major shortcoming: they rely on past events to predict the future. The problem is, the environment is changing quickly, and some of the baseline assumptions used in convention...

New Owners Mum On Future Plans HARWICH — A major site remediation plan is being planned for the former Handler’s Auto Parts property along Route 28 in Harwich Port as the new owners begin to redevelop the two-acre site located above the inner Allen Harbor marsh. Future plans for the site are still not clear, but a thorough site remediation for contaminated soils and remediation of disturbed areas was presen...

HARWICH — The Conservation Law Foundation and the Wychmere Beach Club have agreed to a proposed settlement in a lawsuit filed by CLF alleging that the resort was illegally discharging pollution into marine waters. The settlement would result in reduced pollution, new efforts to address nitrogen sources and protect the Wychmere Harbor Watershed, according to a press release from CLF. It follows a U.S. Supreme C...

CHATHAM – An agreement between neighbors and a California-based renewable energy company on a buffer area has cleared the way for approval of a solar power array off Middle Road. The zoning board of appeals on Feb 27 approved a special permit for NextGrid's solar facility on the 15-acre sandpit owned by J.W. Dubis and Sons. The facility could be generating power by summer. Property owners along West Pond Ro...

CHATHAM – Honoring a commitment to be good stewards of the earth, St. Christopher's Episcopal Church will be installing solar panels on the roof of its parish hall. The historic business district commission last week unanimously approved the 86-panel, roof-mount solar array, which will be placed on the southeast-facing roof of the hall, adjacent to the Gallery building property, and will be visible from Main S...

CHATHAM – The town has been designated a Green Community by the state department of energy resources, making it eligible for grant money to pursue energy efficiency and renewable energy projects. Town staff are currently assembling a grant proposal specifying how the $134,620 award will be used. The focus will be on high-priority building projects identified as part of the Green Community Program's energy redu...

There is a lot that we do not know when it comes to plastics and their impact on the environment, animals and humans. There is much that still needs to be learned before we can determine what needs to be done to better manage or eliminate this valuable modern resource. Far more scientific data must be collected, and research completed if we are to have a better understanding of plastics, micro-plastics, and nano-...

CHATHAM – Residents who live near a proposed solar array on Middle Road are concerned about the impact of the facility on their quiet neighborhood, and recently asked the planning board for more time to study the plans before issuing site plan approval. The board concurred, noting that members had quite a few questions about details of the project. “It's very clear we need a lot more information,” said Chai...

SOUTH HARWICH — Some high-profile seasonal visitors to town will enjoy new waterfront accommodations next spring, thanks to the Harwich Conservation Trust and AmeriCorps Cape Cod. Last Thursday, volunteers erected a new osprey nesting platform on conservation land in the salt marsh behind Red River Beach. Funded by a donor to the Trust, the platform was assembled in the beach parking lot, carried across the ma...

CHATHAM – In the late 1960s and early '70s, the sand pit off Middle Road was the scene of dune buggy races every Sunday. Crowds came to cheer as local drivers races around the dirt track in custom-built vehicles that made up in power what they lacked in beauty. The sand pit may be generating a different kind of power if a plan to develop solar photovoltaic array on the property wins approval. NextGrid, a na...

CHATHAM – A sign posted at the front desk of the Chatham Agway store reassures customers that the ducks that live on the pond in front of the Main Street garden center aren't being harmed during restoration work on the small body of water. People still ask about the ducks, store employees say, but in fact, although they remain on site during the work, it's had little impact on them. When heavy equipment is ope...

EASTHAM – The results of a 100-page shark mitigation study were released to the public last week and among all the compiled data there was one clear message: There is no solution available that can guarantee the safety of beachgoers determined to venture into the water during peak shark season. The report, and its primary message, was the subject of a public forum held Oct. 16 at Nauset Regional High School, duri...

If pleas from our children, warnings from the UN, and daily evidence of increasing weather disruptions don't convince us of climate change, how about a musical? That's what inspired Cape Cod playwright Maureen Condon to write "Crude—the Climate Change Musical," which has its world premiere Thursday, Oct. 10 at the Cape Cod Theatre Company, home of the Harwich Junior Theater. With a background in science wri...

If there's one subject Cape Codders can relate to, it's water. Our lives cycle in and around local rivers, ponds, bays and sounds. How we connect to water is a subject as varied as the people. Next weekend the Blue Institute of Cape Cod will host two programs in Harwich that illuminate our connection to water. The first, on Friday evening Oct. 18, showcases the winners of the recent "Words on Water" writing co...

CHATHAM — Over centuries, rising sea levels threaten to simply wipe parts of Chatham off the map. But long before that happens, town officials are hoping that some of the world’s great scientific minds will put the town on the map as a global center for climate change research. For the past six months, a working group has been quietly meeting to discuss a broad strategy to attract the interest of an academic i...