When officials receive a call for help from a boater in trouble, the problem isn't a lack of responders; typically, the Coast Guard, harbormasters from several towns and police and fire boats get underway. A new system being put in place this summer aims to streamline and simplify the way town resources are dispatched by the Coast Guard. The system involves a smartphone app used by town harbormasters, police o...

CHATHAM — Captain Dave Murdoch was an easily recognizable figure in the town of Chatham, between driving along in his blue Jeep with its American flag waving in the wind and walks with his dog Gordon. Now, friends and fellow mariners are mourning the death of the 78-year-old, whose remains were found near the southern tip of North Beach Monday afternoon. Investigators do not yet know how Mr. Murdoch died, bu...

CHATHAM – On their first trip of the season, shark researchers were off Nauset Beach last Thursday when they got a call from spotter pilot Wayne Davis. He'd seen the first shark of the season, swimming just off the shore of Monomoy Island. Unfortunately, in the 15 minutes it took the research vessel to motor south, the shark had moved into deeper water and was lost. Davis said the shark appeared to be a small ...

In a historic agreement, selectmen in Harwich and Chatham this week voted to adopt an intermunicipal agreement for wastewater treatment. The 25-year pact was approved by selectmen in Harwich Monday night, and in Chatham on Tuesday. It will take effect on July 1 or shortly thereafter, and allows Harwich to send 300,000 gallons of wastewater per day from East Harwich for treatment at the Chatham water pollution ...

CHATHAM – More than 2,000 participants and many thousands more spectators are expected for the upcoming Fourth of July parade, the 122 nd since the event began in 1896. On Tuesday, parade committee chairman Brad Schiff announced that historian Spencer Grey had been chosen as the procession's grand marshal. “We find it very fitting that Spencer, who is so respected and has a legacy of significant contributi...

A member of the audience at the annual meeting of the Friends of the Eldredge Public Library on June 13 asked Emily Rooney, host of WGBH-TV’s “Beat the Press,” to name a hero or heroine. After a brief pause she responded, “Andy Rooney.” The standing-room-only crowd in the library’s Forgeron Room applauded. Emily Rooney, 67, is, of course, the daughter of the famous broadcast journalist Andy Rooney, who died...

CHATHAM – In 1964, the town went through a complex series of steps in order to transfer a portion of what was then airport property to the town's VFW. A portion of the land now occupied by the Brown-James-Buck Post on George Ryder Road remains under Chatham Municipal Airport ownership, but lacks a lease. That is a violation of the airport's federal obligations, according to a 2015 Federal Aviation Administrati...

CHATHAM – Mark Chester began taking the photographs that became “The Bay State: A Multicultural Landscape” in 2015, well before immigration became the hot-button issue it is today. “This is not intended to be a geopolitical project,” said Chester, who grew up in Springfield and now lives in Woods Hole, “but it seems like it's becoming more meaningful.” Chester's project involves photographing more than 400 ...

  Sean Stone hasn't had an easy life. Within his family, the Monomoy Regional High School sophomore has been exposed to abuse, violence and addiction. He found an unlikely mentor to guide him through these difficulties and help point him on a path toward a career: Sherlock Holmes. The fictional detective, Stone said, “gave me a sense of hope,” partly because even though he solves seemingly impossible crimes...

CHATHAM — Thanks to the whims of Chatham's shifting sands, boaters can now quickly travel between Nantucket Sound and the Atlantic for the first time in more than 25 years. But particularly for people in smaller boats, exploring the east side waters means taking extra safety precautions. Chatham Harbormaster Stuart Smith and other experts spoke to a large crowd of recreational boaters Saturday, updating them...

CHATHAM — In a statement released Tuesday, town officials asked the public to send letters to Gov. Charlie Baker and to key lawmakers expressing support for a bill that would negate the proposed expansion of the Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge boundary. “With the recent change in make-up of the board of selectmen, the board's subcommittee managing the town's campaign is Selectman Jeffrey Dykens and Selectma...

CHATHAM — Fisheries activist Brett Tolley of Chatham has told many people about the plight of small-scale fishermen like his father, who left the industry because he couldn't compete with big corporate interests. Last week, he told that story to world leaders in a special forum at the United Nations in New York. A proud member of a fourth-generation fishing family, Tolley works as a community organizer and p...