As cars with out-of-state plates pop up with more frequency around the Cape, residents are expressing concerns with what they see as an unwillingness to consider the health and safety of those who live and work here year-round. The concerns seem to have been heard by state officials. On Tuesday, the state department of public health issued new guidance mandating that hotels, motels, inns, bed and breakfasts, a...

CHATHAM – The need for social isolation is one of the most difficult aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic. For residents of nursing homes and assisted living facilities, cutting off visits from families and friends, often their only social interactions, can be difficult. “It's just very limiting for us all,” said Liberty Commons resident John Shearer. “But it's a sacrifice that a few of us have to make. We're very...

Though it could not be confirmed through public health channels, the COVID-19 virus has apparently claimed the life of a retired priest who was affiliated with Christ Church, Harwich Port. According to the Rev. Brian McGurk, rector at St. Christopher’s Episcopal Church of Chatham, the Rev. Dr. Richard Ottaway, an Episcopal priest and college professor, died Sunday night at Cape Cod Hospital as as result of COV...

Recognizing that many local residents are hurting because of the closures and other restrictions imposed by the coronavirus emergency, businesses, individuals and nonprofit organizations are stepping up to the plate to provide much-needed support and services, ranging from financial donations to supplying families with diapers and other necessities to sewing protective masks for healthcare workers. “This commu...

CHATHAM — Not surprisingly, selectmen this week officially threw their support behind the plan for a new senior center at 1610 Main St. The board recommended that town meeting pass the $8.28 million article, despite the fiscal uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. “The issues with the council on aging are not going to go away after we get through this period of emergency,” Selectman Peter Cocolis s...

CHATHAM — In the short term, new electrical equipment being installed in downtown Chatham aims to help town officials charge their new electric vehicles. But in the longer term, it’s designed to reduce the number and duration of power outages in the downtown area. John Ventura, Eversource Manager of Distribution System Engineering, spoke to selectmen last week to secure permission to install two new transforme...

CHATHAM — Voters at the next annual town meeting will be asked to reserve the town-owned house at 127 Old Harbor Rd., formerly the water department offices, for affordable housing. But it’s not clear whether any specific plan is on the table for doing so. In 1971, a special town meeting voted to accept the property as a gift from the late Marion Nickerson Ellis, with the provision that the property be designat...

March is usually one of the local economy's slowest times of the year, but business and community activities have nearly ground to a halt due to the coronavirus pandemic. There's even concern that the impact could reach into the summer season. On Monday downtown Chatham was nearly deserted, with only about half a dozen shops open. Restaurants were closed per order of Governor Charlie Baker, although many were ...

CHATHAM — Presenting to a nearly empty meeting room, officials unveiled plans Monday for a $8.27 million senior center at 1610 Main St., West Chatham. It was the coronavirus, not any lack of interest, that kept the gallery empty at Monday’s selectmen’s meeting. The session was televised live and citizens could submit questions and comments by email. Featuring spacious activity rooms, a full kitchen and a lo...

CHATHAM – Redevelopment of the Monomoy Theatre property into a year-round performing arts center could depend on the adoption of a Main Street Theater Overlay District, planning board members were told last week. Michael Ford, attorney for Alexandra Properties, which bought the Main Street property last year, said the proposed overlay district is the best way to allow the uses that would be necessary to make t...

In a response that flexes both their emergency response skills and their ability to improvise, Lower Cape officials are doing what they can to prevent the spread of COVID-19 while keeping essential government services going. As of Friday morning, there were five confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in Barnstable County, but with the increased availability of test kits, public health officials expect that n...

CHATHAM — Volunteers and staff of the Chatham Conservation Foundation have seen plenty of nature in their visits to the conservation lands they protect. But when it comes to wildlife, most of the action happens at night or when nobody’s around. The Chatham Conservation Foundation’s (from left) Julie Baca, Dorothy Bassett and Antonia Porcari ex...