HARWICH – You have to look really hard to find much difference in policy positions among the three candidates running for the Democratic nomination for governor. In a debate at Monomoy Regional High School Monday, the candidates outlined similar positions on issues such as affordable housing, education, immigration and transportation. Each attacked Gov. Charles Baker as ineffective and said as governor they wo...

HARWICH — Town officials admitted Monday night the four annual town meeting articles related to the retail sale of recreational marijuana can be a bit confusing. They were clear, however, on their united support for banning pot sales in town. Both Police Chief David Guillemette and Town Planner Charleen Greenhalgh pointed out it is legal for residents over 21 years of age to smoke marijuana at home and to grow...

HARWICH – It might have been unseasonably chilly for Monomoy softball's home opener against Rising Tide on April 5, but the Sharks were on fire, posting a 5-1 victory in non-league action. Sophomore pitcher Mollie Charest, who along with catcher Emma Thacher was named a Div. 3 player to watch by the Boston Herald, quickly retired the first three batters in Rising Tide's lineup, paving the way for Monomoy's lea...

HARWICH – When a seasoned team plays one that's still relatively new, games can go any number of ways, but when the Monomoy boys varsity lacrosse team hosted Martha's Vineyard on Monday, the game may have ended in a 9-6 loss, but the Sharks definitely worked to keep the Vineyarders on their toes. After Martha's Vineyard netted three goals in quick succession to take a 3-0 lead in the opening frame, Monomoy's C...

The newly-organized Cape Cod Chamber Orchestra will debut on April 15 with a concert blending music and poetry as a salute to National Poetry Month. Matthew Scinto, 27, who directs the bell choir at Pilgrim Congregational Church in Harwich Port, founded the new 25-piece orchestra consisting of friends and colleagues from the Boston area after moving with his wife Cara to Brewster last August. He will conduct t...

Courage, friendship and standing up to intimidation are the powerful themes in “Wolf Hollow,” a haunting tale of a young girl, a bully and a veteran which will premiere on Friday, April 13 at The Cape Cod Theatre Comapany/Harwich Junior Theatre ( CCTC/HJT) . “Wolf Hollow” is truly a local production in every sense of the word, adapted for the stage by local playwright Susan Kosoff from the Newber...

For Monomoy Regional High School principal Bill Burkhead, an innovative lunch hour is “the future of education.” In late winter of last year, MRHS began an experiment known as “Jawsome Hour.” This is a new lunch schedule between third and fourth period that lasts an hour and allows students to use that time in a variety of ways. Principal Burkhead said “the great thing about Jawsome Hour is that i...

It's clear that the major driver of increased water use in Chatham over the past few years has been irrigation systems. They're much more commonplace today than they were even a half decade ago; it seems wherever there is new construction, an irrigation system is installed so the new owner can enjoy a beautiful verdant lawn. Which, by the way, is completely antithetical to Cape Cod; our soil does not naturally...

Election, Town Meeting Deadlines Letters relating to the annual town meeting and election in Harwich will be accepted for publication through the issue of April 26. Letters relating to Chatham's annual town meeting and election will be accepted for publication through the issue of May 3.   Who's Advising Selectmen On Airport? Editor: Four times in Superior Court, the Chatham Selectmen have tried ...

Out for a recent woodland walk, I sensed the burgeoning presence of pussy willows, spring peepers and brave lilies defying still-present snow flurries. All of these elements of nature are cyclical, their comings and goings orchestrated by an awesome, supernatural design. All are welcome. Unfortunately, there was also evidence of a most unwelcome evil force surrounding me. I suddenly found myself on what I...

Mastering techniques of theater and art as a way of aging artfully is the aim of two new free courses at the Chatham Council On Aging (COA) this spring. “The World’s a Stage,” a drama workshop series and “Artful Aging” art classes will both begin later this month. “Seniors have to use their creativity and imagination more because of limitations life and fate impose on us,” says Elsa Bastone of Chatham, who ...

ORLEANS — The return of summer visitors – both people and white sharks – is only a few months away, and local researchers and public safety officials are thinking about a potential surge in shark ecotourism this season. A number of local businesses are already operating boat excursions for shark-watching and cage diving, and others are advertising plans to do so. Meeting in Orleans last week, members of the ...

ORLEANS — The aftermath of a death by suicide can be immobilizing for family and friends. Some can't even talk about it, yet others believe they must. “In October of 2016, we lost our youngest son Jeremy to suicide,” said Dr. Kim Mead-Walters, who practices family medicine in Orleans. “He was 16, a junior at Nauset (Regional High School). Over the following six months, we spent a lot of time with our family,...

ORLEANS — Though researchers don’t have firm numbers from 2017, it’s becoming clear that the number of individual white sharks off Cape Cod is substantial. Scientists are preparing to start the final year of the five-year population study this summer. “There’s going to be a lot of sharks once this is all said and done,” shark researcher John Chisholm said. Chisholm is painstakingly reviewing thousands of und...

Almost as inevitable as taxes is the springtime return of red tide to the Nauset estuary. “It is a fairly annual occurrence,” Natural Resources Manager Nate Sears wrote in an email. “It happens more often than not.” On April 4, Nauset estuary and parts of other areas were closed to shellfishing until further notice. Testing revealed the presence of the algal blooms that can sometimes redden the water. As...

The Massachusetts Beach Buggy Association is asking the Orleans Board of Selectmen to renew talks with their counterparts in Chatham over the joint management of Nauset (North) Beach.   In a letter sent Monday, Association President Patrick Paquette said his group helped facilitate the unique habitat conservation program that would allow the barrier beach to be open to off-road vehicles, under careful supervis...