HARWICH — The property owners who initiated a proposed change to the Industrial Light District along the west end of Queen Anne Road have now informed the town’s planning department they have no interest in pursuing the zoning change. The request to change the zoning was made to Town Planner Charleen Greenhalgh last summer by Alan and Edward Hall. In a public hearing on the proposed zoning change before the pl...

Public health officials are sounding the alarm after it was revealed this week that 60 of the 92 patients at Brewster’s Pleasant Bay Nursing and Rehabilitation Center tested positive for the novel coronavirus. The key concern is that an outbreak of COVID-19 in nursing homes might create enough seriously ill people to overwhelm hospitals, Barnstable County Health and Environment Director Sean O’Brien said Tuesday....

HARWICH – With Governor Charlie Baker's announcement Tuesday that schools will remain closed, members of the Monomoy High School Class of 2020 face the disappointing prospect of never seeing the inside of the school again, as well as uncertainty as to when and if a graduation ceremony will be held. High school seniors throughout the Cape—indeed, throughout the nation—are in similar straits. And communities aro...

EAST HARWICH — After serving the region for more than four decades, the East Harwich fire substation on Route 137 went under the wrecking ball last week. The firehouse was built in 1975, when East Harwich was largely undeveloped.  In recent decades, it became an important response base for fire and medical response to Harwich, Chatham, Brewster and occasionally Orleans.  Stripped of salvageable equipment and mate...

Do you know someone who is going above and beyond in this extraordinary time? Let us know! For the next few weeks we'll be highlighting those who do good deeds in our local communities by selflessly helping their neighbors. Drop us an email at editor@capecodchronicle.com if you know of any good deeds you'd like to see exposed. Plants For Seniors With elder care homes putting the kibosh on visitors until...

There’s nothing like live music. With nothing but a few feet of air between you and the musicians onstage, the sensation can be felt as well as heard. The give and take between performer and audience is never the same twice, so the enjoyment of rhythm and melody is heightened by the knowledge that yours is a unique experience, never to be duplicated. In your favorite local venue, you might run into friends and ne...

In a world of grim headlines, political unease, and a global pandemic that isn’t letting up easily, it’s no wonder that people are feeling overwhelmed. But although the closures and quarantine requests have certainly altered life as we know it, not everything is bleak. In some ways, the COVID crisis has changed people’s lives for the better. Jamie Neithold-Nash, a Chatham resident and chiropractor with an offi...

Last weekend, a Cape-based conservative political group staged a demonstration in Bourne to urge Governor Charlie Baker to begin lifting business closures and other restrictions designed to slow the spread of COVID-19. Organizers argue that the Cape’s economy, and local families, can’t withstand the continued stress of these preventative measures. Protesters held signs promoting the hashtag #ReopenCapeCod. Most w...

ORLEANS —  The pandemic, which has altered familiar patterns at transfer stations in Chatham, Harwich, Orleans, and elsewhere, may have prompted dumping in the wilds of the Cape Cod National Seashore. Last week, the Seashore reported construction materials dumped near Doane Rock in Eastham and household trash found at Great Island in Wellfleet. “This is a challenging time for everyone, including the nationa...

ORLEANS — April is proving to be the cruelest month when it comes to town finances. Department heads were asked to reduce spending through June 30, the end of the fiscal year, to ensure a reserve of about half a million dollars to balance an anticipated drop in revenues from local receipts related to the effects of the pandemic. In a letter to finance committee chairman Lynn Bruneau, Finance Director Cathy ...

Nancy Lynn (Head) Whiteley (73) of Bonita Springs, Fla. and Chatham passed peacefully on April 9th, 2020 at home with her devoted husband, Tom, by her side and surrounded by her beloved family.     Born in Maryland, she moved to Chatham as a child.  After graduating from Chatham High School in 1964, she attended Newton-Wellesley School of Nursing and earned her registered nursing degree.      She married Tom, ...

Arthur Henry Loomis was more than a few words in today’s paper. He was a storyteller, a renowned NYT crossword puzzle solver, connoisseur of food and fish, spelling master, osprey lover, avid reader, clam digger, legendary (b)ass slayer, epic squash player, father of four, grandfather to 10, and best friend to his loving and patient wife, Consuelo Loomis. Arthur Loomis, or Popi (as his grandchildren knew him) was...

CHATHAM – Seniors are among the most vulnerable to the COVID-19 virus, and they can also be the most susceptible to loneliness and isolation even during normal times. In these extraordinary times, local councils on aging are working hard to maintain connections with seniors, maintaining many of their usual services and even launching new ones to try to meet changing needs. “Outreach is particularly busy at thi...

CHATHAM — A private dredging company is now clearing the Stage Harbor entrance channel, continuing the work started by the Army Corps of Engineers' dredge Currituck in January. In light of severe shoaling, the work was essential to keep the channel open for this summer's boating traffic, but the job is costing significantly more than it would have if the Barnstable County dredge had been available. Texas-bas...

With COVID-19 expected to reach its peak number of cases in Massachusetts around Monday, the death toll is climbing at an alarming rate. But public health officials are saying that people are heeding their advice to stay home and practice social distancing, and that’s helping. As of press time Tuesday, Cape Cod had 502 active cases of the virus with 17 deaths. Between Friday and Monday, the state saw a one-thi...