As we tuck in at our holiday tables, we know there are plenty of reasons to be thankful. And you’re one of them. That’s because, between Thanksgiving and Christmas each year, Cape Cod Chronicle readers dig deep to support the Family Pantry of Cape Cod through our Helping Neighbors campaign. Together, we’ve raised hundreds of thousands of dollars that help local families put food on the table. While there are m...

Public's Charter Input Sought Editor: A charter review committee of five members was appointed by the Chatham Board of Selectmen in conformance with our Home Rule Charter this past June. In August the committee was expanded to nine members. Current members, including me, are John Bendas, Steven Buckley, Gloria Freeman, Tom Geagan, George Lane, Rick Leavitt, Stuart Smith and Seth Taylor. The purpose of the c...

Any plan to cull seals would likely face extreme challenges, including overcoming the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the likely opposition of both local and national environmental organizations. There has been no authorized seal culling under the Act related to shark attacks since the law was passed in 1972, according to Mike Asaro, Marine Mammal and Sea Turtle Branch Chief of the National Oceanic and Atm...

A Spooktacular Good Time Editor: Thank you to all the groups and individuals who worked together to make the Halloween Happenings – The Halloween Parade, Cookout, Pumpkin Drop, Photo Booth and Monster Mash Bingo – a wonderful community event for dozens of local families. Special thanks to: Chatham Fire and Rescue, David Oppenheim and the Chatham Wayside Inn, Emily Dowal and the volunteers from Polhemus, ...

The country is divided. The political atmosphere has never been so divisive. Civil society is falling apart, and our democracy is in peril. This is what we've been hearing for months in the lead up to this week's midterm elections. It's the picture being presented by pundits in both the mainstream and fringe media and what politicians from the top on down have been spewing. While it may be true that Congress i...

It is the season of the celebrated pumpkin, in one story a Cinderella coach, in reality a perfect vehicle to transport us from the jack o’lantern to the cornucopia centerpiece. A pumpkin is a gourd, squash, vegetable or fruit, depending on which reference material you choose to employ, always the diva of every bountiful autumnal display, resplendent in traditional orange, buttery warm white, and even trendy green...

Clarifies Marconi CPA Grants Editor: In Michael Tompsett’s response (“Many Benefits of CPA,” Oct. 11) to my letter (“Ideas To Encourage More Families,” Oct. 4), he appears to have missed my point and has further misrepresented a critical fact.  While his recitation of recent CPA funds expended for affordable housing is no doubt accurate, they represent sunk costs which have not significantly furthered the o...

We don't know if election endorsements from newspapers, ours or any others, do any good, especially given the way most people regard the press today. There's not a lot to say about local races anyway, as there are few that are contested on the Tuesday, Nov. 6 ballot. All of the contests are for state or county office. The latter is growing more and more anachronistic. That's why we think Harwich resident Leo Cako...

Larry Marsland, executive director of the Lower Cape Outreach Council, speaking recently at the Federated Church of Orleans, made two comments that caught my attention. Many Council clients work in jobs that pay $8 to $12 an hour, inadequate to meet the cost of living on Cape Cod. Furthermore, even after they attain greater earning power thanks to programs the LCOC offers, they may not find housing that is afford...

The Housing Assistance Corporation's report released this week, “Housing on Cape Cod: The High Cost of Doing Nothing,” makes a solid case for the need to increase the stock of year-round housing on the Cape for middle to higher income local residents. While many local communities have concentrated on eking out a small but steady stream of affordable housing units – certainly not enough, as Chatham's recent housin...

Many Help Make House Tour Successful Editor: On behalf of St. Christopher’s Episcopal Church, we want to thank all who participated and supported our House Tour held on Oct. 6.    It truly was a community event, with local businesses showcasing flyers or signs, the Chatham Orpheum advertising in their pre-show, St. Christopher’s Gift and Consignment  Shop and Puritan selling tickets, The Chronicle publicizi...

This week The Chronicle lost a member of its extended family. Sheila Smith was a longtime advertising manager who helped grow the newspaper during the 1980s and '90s, a time when the publication was finding its niche and establishing itself as an indispensable part of the local community. Sheila helped the paper do that because she was an indispensable part of the community. She spent most of her youth in Orleans...