Can Home Rule Work? Editor: Regarding a meeting of state department of transportation officials with residents of Wellfleet to discuss a roundabout solution at Main Street and Route 6: About 100 people in Wellfleet did what over 2,000 people in West Chatham could not do – got the state to back down and promised to come back with a design the town wants. Maybe we can meet with those same officials. They back...

We humans, for the most part, love our plants. We mist, feed, and espalier them, trim their leaves and even play music to sooth their little green souls. Not only are we omnivores and dependent on them for survival, but they are aesthetically lovely and generally fun to be around. They even clean toxins from the air in our homes.  But just as humanity is comprised of the good, the bad and the ugly, so goes the...

We're constantly amazed at the amount of activity that happens in our communities. Of course, since it's the high summer season, there's a lot more going on now than there was in January or March, when we were all sheltering in our homes hoping the power wouldn't go off again. And there are a lot more people around to take advantage of the opportunities, which creates the traditional double-edged sword: more to d...

When JoAnne Clancy of Harwich retired from her work as assistant town accountant for the town of Harwich in 2009, she thought she’d have loads of time to work on her craft of decorative painting on slates, mailboxes, plates, wineglasses and barrel staves. Not so. “I’m too busy,” she says. Clancy became a volunteer for the Harwich Cranberry Festival, managing the craft fairs as well as keeping the festival’s...

ORLEANS – “The Girl from Quanset,” an operetta written for the girls at Camp Quanset in 1908, has returned for another summer vacation at the Orleans Historical Society. This staged reading of the musical features volunteer actors as playful campers, Life Savers from the Orleans Station and mischievous pirates who sing their way through jaunty and cheerful tunes. Costume changes are signaled cheekily by differ...

ORLEANS — Jan Biondi's hands are on the oars of the Chester Yawl rowing craft she built this winter, powering herself and a rider across the sun-soaked calm waters of Town Cove. It's only the fourth voyage for Summer Rose, the 15-foot, 100-pound realization of a decades-long dream. Those hands on the oars have turned many of Biondi's dreams into reality. They have sculpted and painted, dug up clams, arranged...

ORLEANS — It seemed that from the ashes of Phoenix Fruit, affordable housing might rise. Paul van Steensel of Cape Dreams Building and Design met informally with the affordable housing committee June 6 to discuss a plan to build six two-family townhouses and four one-bedroom apartments at 14 and 18 Cove Rd., now vacant office space and the former home of Phoenix Fruit. According to draft minutes of the meeti...

The days are long now and if the tide is right, shellfishermen can head out to the flats of Monomoy, spend hours harvesting and return to shore with their limit as the sun sets and turns the horizon pink and purple. But then they would lose $500 and all their hard work, because the wholesale companies they sell to close hours before the sun goes down, and shellfishermen can’t keep their product overnight – not...

Winner in Wednesday's Fourth of July parade were as follows: Business 1st: Little Codders 2nd: The Farm 3rd: Orleans Yacht Club Sailing Camp   Non-Profit 1st: Orleans Firebirds 2nd: Eastham Brownies/Girlscouts 3rd: Sharing Kindness   Family  1st: Stewart Family 2nd: Coast-to-Coast 3rd: Birdsall Family Click here for a gallery of photos from Wednesday's July 4 parade ...

Thousands crowded downtown Chatham Wednesday for the town's annual July 4 parade. The Chatham Independence Day parade committee released the award winners on Thursday. In the overall awards, third place went to the Friends of Monomoy; second place to Bog Lane Farm; and the top award winner was Phillips Farm Family. Other award winners were: Best Youth: Monomoy Regional School District. Most Patriotic:...

CHATHAM – The board of selectmen has rejected pursuing private property for a new senior center. At an executive session Monday evening, the board declined two proposals from private property owners that were the result of a request for proposals the town put for privately owned parcels that might be suitable for a new council on aging facility, according to a statement released Tuesday. “Out of fiscal prud...

CHATHAM — Contractors are hoping that the most recent adjustments to the Mitchell River drawbridge will allow it to function properly, at least through this summer season. The two-year-old bridge has been prone to swelling during humid weather, causing the center span both to stick shut and to not close completely after being opened. Last week, crews from bridge contractor SPS New England, Inc., spent three ...

CHATHAM – Vandals caused $46,000 in damage to solar panels at the town's capped landfill in May, according to police. A blunt object was used to smash 45 of the photovoltaic panels, a meter and inverter components, said Lt. Michael Anderson. Security cameras in the area were not operational at the time, and there were no witnesses to the May 4 incident. Police don't believe the incident was a random act of ...

Though the Bob Murray Housing With Love Walk might have taken its last steps in 2017, those at both the Harwich Ecumenical Council For Housing and the Chatham Ecumenical Council for Preventing Homelessness know the need is still great, which is why they've combined forces for the first Mini Love Walk. Slated for July 12, folks from CECH and HECH will be walking the Chatham to Harwich leg of the Bob Murray walk...

CHATHAM – For Stuart Varney, the sometimes-controversial host of Fox Business Network’s Varney and Co. since 2012 and a part-time Chatham resident, Chatham’s Fourth of July parade is one of the highlights of the year. “I just like that feeling of the town of Chatham coming together for this event,” he said during a telephone interview last week. “It’s a long parade; the whole town is there.” Varney will spe...

With July 4 landing on a Wednesday, this week promises to be busy on both ends. If you've arrived for the summer or are just visiting, there's plenty to do over the next several days. Beginning, of course, with Independence Day parades in both Chatham and Orleans. Chatham's parade kicks off at 9:30 a.m. while Orleans starts at 10 a.m. (see below for Orleans event details). More than 100 entries are expected...