ORLEANS - Housing Assistance Corporation has been given control of property at 107 Main St., and the nonprofit also appears on track to secure funding necessary to bring housing to the site. Both the select board and the town's affordable housing trust board voted unanimously Dec. 15 to approve a land disposition agreement with HAC, giving it site control of the 1.3 acre parcel where the former Masonic Lodge c...

ORLEANS – The select board has host community agreements in place for two businesses seeking state licensing to operate retail marijuana businesses in town. But one of the businesses is seeking a separate agreement that would allow it to also manufacture its product. Seaside Joint Ventures, LLC, plans to operate a manufacturing facility out of the same space it will occupy to run retail operations at 14 Lots H...

ORLEANS -- For many dog owners, one of the simple pleasures of visiting or living in Orleans is being able to let their pets off their leash. The town does not currently require that dogs be leashed when out in public, but that could soon change. Orleans Police Chief Scott MacDonald came to the select board Dec. 8 with a proposal to update the town's animal control bylaw at the annual town meeting this spri...

ORLEANS -- One of the two businesses approved to open a recreational marijuana operation in town hopes to be up and running by the end of 2022. Ember Gardens plans to open a dispensary at 41 Route 6A, and officials gave an overview of their plans during a Zoom presentation on Dec. 7. CEO Shane Hyde said the company expects to undergo local and state review for much of the next year, starting with a traffic stu...

ORLEANS -- If Orleans plans to continue to pursue permitting to dredge out the Nauset Estuary, it will have to do it without Eastham's support. The Eastham Select Board voted 5-0 Monday to withdraw from a memorandum of understanding between the town and Orleans guiding how the project would unfold. The vote came during a joint meeting between the select boards in both towns at the Eastham Public Library. Pl...

ORLEANS -- "Tell us what the rules are, and we'll enforce them." That was the message Dec. 8 from Police Chief Scott MacDonald to the select board, which continues to work toward finding a happy medium between allowing outdoor entertainment and respecting the rights of abutters to the businesses that host it. The issue of outdoor entertainment has become a sticky one in town. The select board in March voted...

ORLEANS -- I arrange to meet Garrett Dutton, better known as G. Love, at his home, a cozy, Cape-style farmhouse complete with a garden, goats and chickens. It's a mild December afternoon, and I'm slightly early as Dutton pulls up behind me in a charmingly beat-up powder blue pickup. Dog in lap, he extends a hand out his window for a shake and invites me to park over on the grass. Dutton's music with G. Love an...

ORLEANS -- When it comes to bringing on new members, Orleans Fire Chief Geof Deering said Monday that his department follows a simple but important rule of thumb. "Hire for character. Train for skill," he said. The department welcomed two new firefighters during an awards ceremony Dec. 6 in the Nauset Regional Middle School auditorium. The ceremony also recognized seasoned department members, as well as oth...

ORLEANS -- The Centers for Culture and History in Orleans, better known as the CHO, has long been an ambassador and safekeeper of town history. But the organization's staff and board of directors see the potential for it to be a broader community resource. With recent renovations to the CHO Meetinghouse and abutting Hurd Chapel, that refocused mission will soon be put into practice. "We're trying to transfo...

ORLEANS -- Short-term rentals are bringing in added revenue for the town, but the lack of regulations is creating problems for residents. Count Kevin Galligan among them. The select board member said Dec. 1 that he has seen how unregulated rentals have negatively impacted his neighborhood and others around town. In particular, Galligan took issue with homes that are not being rented to vacationers but th...

ORLEANS — In a small space in the back of the lower level of Hilltop Plaza, members of the Nauset Model Railroad Club busy themselves with some last-minute preparations. Elaborate tracks and layouts, each varying in size and design, fill the room. The largest layout, an elevated "O Gauge" track, occupied the attention of Jeff Bassett. A member of the club for more than 10 years, Bassett not only knows his trai...

ORLEANS — Efforts to secure necessary funding for a proposed affordable housing development at 107 Main St. are following separate but parallel tracks. Between an application submitted to the community preservation committee seeking $1 million for the project in the spring and an earmark seeking the same amount as part of the senate's ARPA bill, local and regional housing officials are confident that the funds...