CHATHAM — The obvious take-away from a consultant’s report last week is that Chatham could face more than $37 million in capital projects in the next five years. But the more subtle message is that the town should think about big-ticket purchases as a yearly expense, rather than items on a finite to-do list. Selectmen last Monday received an interim report from Monica Lamboy of the Edward J. Collins Center f...

The Chatham Merchants Association's Sharks in the Park exhibit debuted on the front lawn of the Eldredge Public Library last Friday for what organizers say will be its final year. The 60 painted, sculpted and creatively decorated sharks, sponsored by local organizations, will remain on display through Aug. 17. Increased security is one reason the display is spending all summer at the library. Previously it beg...

CHATHAM — Little Beach property owners are working with town officials on a plan designed to lessen the impacts of future floods – or even prevent them. An association of property owners from Little Beach, Morris Island and Stage Island is working with town departments to seek grants and plan infrastructure improvements in the wake of severe flooding last winter that inundated some areas and isolated others ...

CHATHAM — Like the summer visitors strolling Main Streets on the weekends, a few white sharks have returned to local waters for the season. But like their human counterparts, shark visitors won’t be back in large numbers until the weather warms up a bit more. The fifth and final season of the white shark population study is underway, and acoustic receiver buoys recorded the presence of three tagged sharks of...

CHATHAM — There’s more than just sand slipping away at Cockle Cove Beach. There’s revenue. On the advice of Parks and Recreation Director Dan Tobin, selectmen Monday voted to waive the parking fees at the beach in recognition of the severe erosion that has made it nearly impossible to even walk the shoreline at high tide. But town officials say there’s hope that the beach could be nourished by the county dre...

Neighbors Protest Use Of Former CBI Chauffer's Quarters CHATHAM – Whether a building housing a group of unrelated people should be classified as a dormitory or a single-family home lies at the core of a complaint filed by neighbors of 20 Chatham Bars Ave. Last week, however, members of the zoning board of appeals turned aside the complaint, even though some had the very same concerns expressed by the neighb...

CHATHAM — Dozens of fishermen and other citizens spoke out at a public hearing Tuesday night to share a single message with regulators: large herring trawlers need to keep their distance from the Cape, to give key fish stocks – and the people who harvest them – a shot at survival. The large meeting room at the community center was filled to capacity for the hearing, held by the New England Fishery Management...

Bestselling author Anne D. LeClaire has just published her first book for children, “Kaylee Finds a Friend” (Golden Paws Publishing, 2018), illustrated with photographs by fellow Chatham resident Kim Roderiques. The genesis of this charming book that celebrates friendship was an unusual one. LeClaire, Roderiques and Paul Litwin, who owns Charlie, the golden retriever who served as the book’s canine model, sat ...

CHATHAM – Steve Kubik will be happy to talk to fellow boaters about the unique flag he'll be flying this summer on his Cape Dory 26 in Stage Harbor. The flag displays the logo of the EB Research Partnership, a nonprofit dedicated to funding research to treat and cure a rare genetic disorder, Epidermolysis Bullosa. Kubik's granddaughter Elodie was born with the affliction; her skin is so sensitive that the slig...

When Cary Marshall registered her daughter for kindergarten in the Monomoy School District, there was a box to check on the form for intra-district placement. Although she lives in East Harwich, her home is right on the town line, “practically in Chatham,” where she has close ties, attends church and where her daughter went to pre-school. “We're very much a part of that community,” she said, and she wanted her...

CHATHAM — The power’s back on, the downed trees are all removed, but boaters are still feeling the effects of the series of storms that savaged the shoreline this winter. Fueled by severe erosion on the outer beach, shoaling has threatened a number of key waterways, including the Morris Island Cut, which last year provided easy passage from Nantucket Sound to Chatham Harbor and the Atlantic. For now, that me...

CHATHAM — With summer underway and the downtown parking spaces already becoming more scarce, town officials are recruiting a private contractor to operate the town-owned Eldredge Garage lot this summer. The plan was recommended as a short-term approach until selectmen decide on the permanent use of the property. The board had previously decided to use the lot for a trial of paid municipal parking, with resid...