Property Owners Likely To Appeal CHATHAM – More than a year after 62 trees were illegally cut down on a coastal bank overlooking the Mill Creek marsh, the conservation commission last week issued a final enforcement order requiring restoration of the area. It seems likely, however, that the property owners, Bryan and Maria Donohue, will appeal the order, following a contentious meeting last week during whic...

CHATHAM – The Chatham Squire, one of the town's most iconic restaurants, closed Sunday after a staf member tested positive for COVID-19. After briefly reopening Monday, the restaurant voluntarily closed again Tuesday after three more employees tested positive. Owner Todd Hearle said the iconic restaurant would remain closed until at least Thursday to allow additional deep cleaning and disinfecting. “We have...

One of the takeaways from a public meeting the Monomoy Regional School District held in 2018 to get input into its strategic planning process was that the 100 or so people in attendance weren't representative of the school population. “There was a strong majority of white faces in the room,” recalled Marc Smith, the district's director of curriculum. “Even with the work we'd done with outreach, we were mis...

CHATHAM – The owners of the Monomoy Theatre property say they have collected enough signatures to call a special town meeting and were expected to turn in petitions for certification this week. Greg Clark said he was waiting to collect a few remaining petitions before totaling the signatures. “We expect to have all of the original signatures together by Wednesday and file the paperwork by Thursday,” he wrot...

CHATHAM – After five years at the helm of the Atwood Museum and the Chatham Historical Society, Executive Director Danielle Jeanloz stepped down on Tuesday. “I have decided to retire to a more leisurely Cape Cod page,” she said in an announcement sent to historical society members Sunday, adding that she plans to remain involved “as a volunteer, member, and donor.” “It's never a good time,”...

And Aren’t Deterred By COVID-19 Protections On the roads and in Main Street shopping districts, the summer of 2020 was, not surprisingly, a bit muted. But aside from the social distancing and the face masks, things almost looked normal on the beaches. Last weekend, despite the cooler late summer weather, people flocked to the shoreline in impressive numbers. Nauset Beach in Orleans had hund...

CHATHAM — The town has raked in a $295,000 grant from the Massachusetts Seaport Economic Council to help design a new shellfish upweller facility at Stage Harbor. The grant will fund the next phase of engineering for the upweller and multi-use waterfront facility at 90 Bridge St. The funds will cover designs, permitting and bid document preparation for the projected $3.4 million project. The final plans m...

CHATHAM – It's official: Whales are more popular than sharks. Or, at least, people were willing to pay more for the painted and decorated whales on exhibit in Kate Gould Park this summer than they were for the sharks that populated similar displays in the past. Auction of the whales in this year's Chatham Merchants Association-sponsored Art in the Park brought in a total of $82,480, which beat out the previ...

CHATHAM – Owners of the Monomoy Theatre are tallying signatures collected during the past week on a petition to call a special town meeting to alter zoning to allow redevelopment of the historic Main Street property. After a drive-through signature collection Monday, owner Greg Clark of Alexandra Properties said about half of the 200 signatures necessary to call a special town meeting had been collected. “We'r...

Hopefuls Seek Nod For U.S. Senator, County Commissioner With all eyes on the November presidential election, officials are reminding voters that the state primary election is set for Sept. 1. While there aren’t many headline-grabbing races, Democrats will decide between incumbent Edward Markey and challenger Joseph Kennedy, III, for U.S. Senate, and will choose among three candidates for the chance to seek two...

CHATHAM – You are out for a quick fishing trip and unexpectedly the surf overtakes your boat, flips it over and you find yourself wet and standing on top of what was the bottom of your boat, stranded in the North Inlet connecting Pleasant Bay with the Atlantic Ocean. No other boats are around and it is late afternoon with the tide ebbing and visibility down to less than half a mile. This is not what you imagin...

CHATHAM — Whether they’re bringing Social Security checks, prescription medicines, mail-in ballots or just friendly letters, mail carriers are a lifeline, and the U.S. Postal Service needs our support. That was the message from a handful of protesters who held signs in front of the main Chatham post office Saturday, one of many similar protests held around the nation. And judging by the number of waves and h...