HARWICH — The outbuilding on the former Handler’s Auto Parts property sits on the 50-foot no-build buffer zone line established under wetland protection laws. While the conservation commission last week approved its removal, the foundation slabs will remain to allow potential future development. Jeff Handler was before the commission to provide an update of the remediation project taking place on the 3.14-acre...

HARWICH — Back in 1970, singer songwriter Joni Mitchell sang about not realizing “what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone” when she warned about losing wild places to development. Fifty years later, the words couldn’t be truer. As our paradise-to-pavement consumption of forests, meadows, and other natural lands accelerates, many of us risk never even knowing what we’ve got, never mind waiting until it’s gone. In t...

If you’re a regular reader you know I cope with stress best when I can get outside and give myself some time and space to let things settle and think things through. Others may pour a cup of tea or coffee and read a chapter of inspirational prose or poetry while others put on their running shoes. We all want to get away from the source of our angst and have a chance to regroup. Lately, there have been many c...

e end of her memoir. Every now and then, Farber has a student “in whom I saw my younger self, either with their work ethic, their love for school, or their home situations. They are the reason that I wrote the book and why I wanted to share my story.” She wants to give all kids hope for their future. “More than anything, I just wanted to share my story so that kids know that they are not alone,” Farber says...

Support Ranked Choice Voting Editor: I would like to offer an opposing view to Mr. Beaty's somewhat conspiratorial theory opinions about the ranked voting option on the ballot as Question 2. The League of Women Voters, a non-partisan, non-profit organization with a long history of deep research and dispassionate review of voting rights, supports ranked voting. When they did their research the criteria they ...

The 43 degrees in the outside shower did not deter me enough to skip shaving the other morning. The next day was forecast for 73 so I could tough it out this early October morning. NOAA’s long range forecast for the winter has switched course, calling for a warmer than normal December-January-February. That could push the draining of the shower off until after the traditional date of Nov. 1. Until then, a micr...

President Trump and his minions have done their best to question the legitimacy of and discourage people from voting by mail, even though it's an option the president himself uses. With the nation still in the grip of a pandemic, many people, especially the most vulnerable, will see mail-in voting as their best option. Absent evidence of large-scale abuse, fraud or any other negative the president wishes to apply...

The Blue Economy’s Expedition Blue initiative will be showcased through four “front porch” waystations in Chatham — but the question remains where those waystations will be placed. During its meeting on Oct. 27, the parks and recreation commission is expected again to discuss possible sites for Expedition Blue’s eight-cubic-foot modular cube. The commission rejected Oyster Pond as a site for the cube during it...

ORLEANS — Opinion is divided in the community over retail recreational marijuana sales, so it should be no surprise that the planning board couldn’t agree on a town meeting article allowing such businesses. By a vote of 2 in favor to 3 against, the board decided Tuesday not to support a zoning amendment that would allow two such establishments in Orleans and restrict them to the Limited Business, General Bus...

ORLEANS — In the midst of a pandemic, the Homeless Prevention Council has found another way to connect people in need to resources. As of Oct. 1, the Orleans-based agency is the Lower and Outer Cape outreach partner with the state for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). “We are certainly thrilled about SNAP,” HPC CEO Hadley Luddy said in an interview this week. “We have always helped people...

ORLEANS — DPW parks foreman Cheryl Esty got a boost from the Nauset Garden Club and the Orleans Improvement Association last week when the two groups helped to spruce up the village green. “They’re fantastic,” Esty said of the volunteers who turned out Oct. 6. “I noticed that when they checked in and were assigned jobs, they went right to work. No complaints.” The feeling was mutual. Esty “is a terrific l...

Peter Hallock, 89, of Touisset, Massachusetts, died peacefully on September 25 in the company of his family. Born on April 8, 1931, Pete was a kind and creative person with a passion for adventure and a knack for doing things his own way. The founder and CEO of Gripnail Corporation, Pete came from a long line of inventors, including his father, Robert Lay Hallock, who held more than 30 patents, and whom Pete cred...

CHATHAM — Treating it like an idea straight out of left field – literally – voters gathered at Veterans Field for Saturday’s special town meeting summarily rejected a zoning bylaw change linked to the redevelopment of the Monomoy Theatre property. Seated in the baseball field facing the outfield, voters could imagine the project that would have created 24 condominium units on the property next door, just behin...

CHATHAM — If you’ve been missing the experience of browsing for books or using other services at the Eldredge Public Library, your wait is almost over. Beginning Oct. 13, the Library will be open for limited, in-library services by appointment only. Patrons must call 508-945-5170 to schedule a 30-minute appointment on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. They can browse books on the first floor only, ...

CHATHAM – The owner of the historic Nickerson house on Shell Drive, thought to be one of if not the oldest house in town, will seek the town's permission to keep it on the land where it’s stood for more than 300 years. Joe Giacalone said he'd like to relocate the house, built on the shores of Bassing Harbor by the son of Chatham founder William Nickerson, to a new spot on the three-acre lot and restore it as a...