ORLEANS — There’s no question the business community faces a challenging landscape that includes a pandemic, a two-year construction project for sewers downtown, and a shift from retail store sales to online purchases. To what extent should the town play a role, beyond providing infrastructure and fair regulation, in growing the local economy? On Sept. 22, the planning board hosted a meeting with members of the f...

ORLEANS — “Class” is not the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about sewers. Ed Norton and his undershirt, yes, and perhaps escaped alligators, yet nothing particularly elevating. But DPW Director Tom Daley and the Orleans Improvement Association have put their inspired stamp on the otherwise mundane covers that will conceal access to sewer lines and drainage areas in coming years. At a conferenc...

HARWICH - At Saturday's annual town meeting, voters joined other Cape towns in approving a ban on the sale of single-use plastic bottles under one gallon. The assembly also approved a zoning amendment that puts in place regulations for the West Harwich District of Critical Planning Concern. The article drew limited debate, but another zoning amendment expanding and relaxing some provisions for multifamily dwel...

CHATHAM – Two Chatham firefighters tested positive for COVID-19 following department-wide testing Monday. All members of the department were tested, along with employees of the harbormaster department and Monomoy Regional School district, after the daughter and mother-in-law of a firefighter tested positive ( see separate story ). It did not appear that the two firefighters who tested positive were not conn...

CHATHAM – Two Chatham firefighters tested positive for COVID-19 following department-wide testing Monday. All members of the department were tested, along with employees of the harbormaster department and Monomoy Regional School district, after the daughter and mother-in-law of a firefighter tested positive. It did not appear that the two firefighters who tested positive were not connected to the cases that...

CHATHAM — A student at Monomoy Regional High School tested positive for COVID-19 last week, forcing an unknown number of students and staff to be placed in quarantine for two weeks and prompting a new round of coronavirus testing. Superintendent of Schools Scott Carpenter said school officials were notified of the positive test Friday night. The student does not appear to have contracted the virus at school, h...

CHATHAM — The health board is considering an emergency order requiring the town to publicize the names of restaurants where people have tested positive for COVID-19. Without violating the privacy of individuals who have been diagnosed with the illness, the board is seeking to inform the dining public when restaurants in town report COVID-19 cases. Restaurants are already required to notify the health departm...

CHATHAM — If you haven’t completed the U.S. Census yet, Selectmen Chairman Shareen Davis has 144 million reasons for you to do so. “It is important to fill out the census not for today but for the future,” she said. The town stands to lose $2,400 per resident who does not answer the census. In all, 6,000 year-round residents bring the town $14.4 million in federal funding annually, amounting to $144 million ...

CHATHAM – Seals have been a common sight in Aunt Lydia's Cove for years, popping their heads above the water and swimming about as they wait for a snack to tumble over the side of a fishing boat. But this summer it was different. Beginning in July, gray seals, sometimes numbering in the low hundreds, began hauling out on sand flats on the inside of Tern Island, opposite the fish pier. And instead of a few s...

CHATHAM – Form-based code, a method of zoning that, as the name suggestions, emphasizes form over use, may have gained some adherents Monday during a planning board forum on the West Chatham neighborhood center. Following the recommendations of the Cape Cod Commission, the planning board has been dabbling in form-based code as it considers zoning changes to the neighborhood center, the second of four along Rou...

A new wave of COVID-19 cases coinciding with the flu season is a nightmare scenario that officials are hoping to avoid by encouraging all residents to get flu vaccinations as soon as possible. “A dual outbreak of flu and COVID-19 will put a serious strain on our healthcare capacity,” State Senator Julian Cyr said. Gov. Charlie Baker called the need for people to get flu vaccinations “more important than eve...

HARWICH — The public safety facilities on Sisson Road may be the new location for the Barnstable County live burn training facility. Selectmen on Monday night endorsed Fire Chief David LeBlanc collaborating with the county in establishing the training center at the rear of the fire department headquarters. In a memorandum to selectmen, LeBlanc said the county’s center for public safety training is in a stat...

HARWICH — The public will have greater access to Brooks Free Library beginning next week. Changes underway include the ability for patrons to browse inside the historic library as well as several physical changes. Alcoves have been turned into more secure offices for staff and Plexiglas shields installed to separate workers from the public in compliance with COVID-19 protective measures. The COVID-19 pandem...

HARWICH — The nearly seven-acre Cedar Spring Herb Farm off Long Pond Drive has been sold to a nonprofit organization that provides breast feeding education. For the past 23 years the farm has served as an herbal sanctuary dedicated to connecting people and plants with wellness. Donna Wood Eaton has been the sanctuary steward and overseen the operation of the farm she owns with her husband, Brad, consisting of ...

HARWICH — After rejecting the Monomoy Regional School District budget two weeks ago, selectmen approved an adjusted budget presented Monday night by Superintendent Scott Carpenter. The adjusted budget of $41,261,134, with Harwich’s contribution of $26,820,046 reduced by $140,000, still has to be approved by the Monomoy Regional School Committee, which is scheduled to meet on Thursday evening. The finance commi...