It's a tale of unspeakable evil, unbelievable tragedy and unforgettable heroism. And, 15 years after 9/11, it's a tale that needs to be told again and again by people like Rob Franz. Best known in Chatham as one of the organizers of the annual Memorial Day and Veterans Day commemorations, Franz was recently featured on the front page of the New York Times for his work as an interpretive ranger at the Flight 93...

CHATHAM – For the second year in a row, the historic Avis Chase cottages in the heart of the Old Village were vacant this summer. “It's sad that they're not being used,” neighbor Ken Miller said of the cottages, two of which overlook Mill Pond. Ownership of the homes – which have a combined assessed value of nearly $6 million – is currently tied up in a court battle between the former YWCA of Philadelphia, ...

It provided an interesting diversion for throngs of Labor Day weekend beachgoers and sightseers, but the storm called Hermine left the Lower Cape virtually unscathed. First a hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico, Hermine emerged in the Atlantic as a tropical storm but quickly lost its tropical characteristics, earning it the unwieldy title of “post-tropical cyclone.” It caused sustained winds of less than 50 mph, g...

For a number of years now, local boaters have been able to renew their mooring permits online. While the system has worked, in a limited way, for the public, for staff on the back end of things, it's been a nightmare. “We have not realized the efficiencies we had hoped for on the staff side,” is how Robert Duncanson, director of the department of natural resources, which includes the harbormaster's department,...

Great white sharks continue to prowl the shores of the outer Cape, with several alerts issued in the past week for sightings close to shore. Alerts were issued through the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy's Sharktivity app for sharks seen off beaches in Wellfleet, Orleans and Chatham. At one point Wayne Davis, the spotter pilot used by the Conservancy and the state division of marine fisheries for their sha...

CHATHAM – Town officials met last week with representatives from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in ongoing talks to work out a solution to the dispute over the Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge's western boundary. The agency has proposed that the two parties enter into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) calling for joint management of some of the resources within the western boundary area, which enc...

CHATHAM – Scaffolding went up over the front facade of the First United Methodist Church last week in preparation for a major restoration project on the historic Main Street structure. Work was scheduled to begin this week to remove old vinyl siding, replacing it with more durable material, and install a new front entrance on the 1849 building. The project was funded by $226,000 in community preservation funds...

Tuesday update : Storm damage from Hermine has been very light.  Trees and branches were downed in several locations overnight, including Barn Hill Road and Crow's Pond Road in Chatham and Cedardale Road in Pleasant Lake.  A tree went through the roof of a house in Brewster, and the high winds caused a number of boats to drag their moorings in Nantucket Harbor.  According to the National Weather Service ...

President Barack Obama is many things to many people. Depending upon your ideological outlook, he's either a whip-smart leader and unifier or a conniving dissembler. He's either ruined America or made the country stronger and more prosperous. In short, he's either the best or worst president ever. “The Best 'Worst President'” happens to be the title of a new book written by a former Cape Codder and illustrated...

CHATHAM – Residents will have an opportunity to comment and make suggestions on landscaping that will go along with the West Chatham Roadway Project at a public meeting to be held by the planning board and historic business district commission. For the past year, a private ad hoc committee has been working with town staff on landscaping to accompany the Route 28 roadway construction project, but Selectman Cory...

Two-week Project Renovates Historic Keeper's House On Remote Island CHATHAM – The early morning boat ride includes two U.S. Fish and Wildlife staffers, two electricians, four plastic fuel containers, two water containers, four giant rolls of insulation, various equipment, backpacks and one reporter. Everything squeezes onto the Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge's 23-foot Parker for a choppy 20-minute, seve...

CHATHAM — The feature film “The Finest Hours” is a tale of survival against tall odds. So it's appropriate that a special Sept. 15 showing of the film will be raising money for Tyra Pacheco, who survived a June 17 helicopter crash near Crow's Pond. “The fact that she survived is a miracle unto itself,” said Casey Sherman, co-author of the book that became the Disney movie. Working with a group of local real ...