HARWICH PORT— Change is coming to the center of the village with plans to develop Harwich Port Plaza in the location where Dino's Harwich Port Grille and several other shops previously served the community. The planning board has scheduled a pre-application conference on the new plans for July 12. The plans on file in the planning department show a mix of commercial and residential uses for the new 12,400-sq...

HARWICH — Approximately 40 people turned out Thursday afternoon at the Cranberry Valley Golf Course clubhouse for a farewell party for Town Planner David Spitz, who will retire on Friday. Spitz has been town planner for more than seven years and is well respected among his peers in the community development department in town hall. “It was a joy to work with him, he is a gentleman and a scholar,” Planning boar...

HARWICH — The other foot has fallen on the effort to rebuild the Lucas fishhouse on the Herring River and use the structure as a shellfish nursery. The abutting property owners have filed suit in Barnstable Superior Court challenging the conservation commission's approval of the project under the town's wetland protection bylaw. The property owners, Gwynne and David Daks of 18 Harbor Way, had previously filed ...

Housing advocate Bob Murray left some big sneakers to fill. He pounded the pavement – literally – for more than a dozen years, walking from Provincetown to Falmouth during a week each summer to raise funds for the Housing With Love Walk. Now, three years after Murray's death, the next generation of activists is lacing up to continue the tradition. As in past years, the nine partner organizations supported b...

CHATHAM ─ The first time the Chatham Anglers faced the Harwich Mariners this season, the game belonged solely to Harwich. The second time proved the charm for the Anglers, when a home run in the eighth, followed by a 1-2-3 ninth led to a 4-2 victory for Chatham on Saturday. Things got off to a tense start at Veterans Field when Chatham starting pitcher Tanner Chock allowed Ernie Clement and Pavin Smith to get ...

HARWICH ─ The Monomoy football program has seen its fair share of changes in recent years, which is why players, parents, and fans will likely be glad to see a familiar face on the sidelines this coming season. Paul “Spanky” Demanche, a man who comes with a long history of local football, will once again don the coach's cap after being named the new head of Monomoy football. If the name seems familiar, it is b...

When I was a little kid, summertime was nothing short of magical. The kind of stuff you only read about nowadays, it seems. Fireflies in glass jars, all manner of fun games with friends, and days that stretched well into the evening further enhancing our sense of freedom. The world has changed, but there is a way to capture that summertime magic in a way that is uniquely Cape Cod: baseball. Only a covert sport...

Bestselling children’s book author and illustrator Brian Lies’s new book “Gator Dad” (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) exudes charm from each of its scale-filled pages. “Gator Dad” tells the story of a stay-at-home alligator dad who has charge of three rambunctious young gators. Led by Dad, the group explores the world, then returns home safe and sound. Lies says “Gator Dad” reflects an era in his own life. When Lie...

Gilbert and Sullivan’s world-renowned comic operas were written in the late 1800s and are credited with influencing our modern-day musicals. The Chatham Drama Guild highlights five timeless works from this great Victorian-era theatrical partnership in the original production “Gilbert and Sullivan in Chatham.” Librettist W.S. Gilbert (1836-1911) and composer Arthur Sullivan (1842-1900) created 14 operettas toge...

Double click for double-barreled delirium at the Monomoy Theater this week as their multi-talented ensemble of student actors, designers, technicians, and musicians prove it's not easy having two bosses at the same time. "One Man,Two Guvnors," written by Richard Bean, is a roundabout scramble of mistaken identities based on unlikely situations and comedy of confusion.  Adapted from Carlo Goldoni's "Servant ...

A couple of times in the last week, there's been an unfamiliar sight outdoors: water droplets falling from the sky. Other than reducing the pollen clouds and temporarily rejuvenating plants and grass, the showers had no effect on the dry spell that's left Cape Cod parched. Don't be fooled into thinking that the pressure's off when it comes to conserving water. On June 15, Chatham put in place a series of vo...

I grew up spending all summer on a Long Island Sound shore in Connecticut. My family rented a cottage situated on a curved stretch of land some two miles long once owned by a person who in the early 20th century sub-divided it to allow for its development with single and groups of summer residences. Because the land was traversed by a shore road, with some properties on the south – beach – side and others on the ...

Sewer Measure Ignores Water Use Editor: With all due respect, my previous letter regarding water and sewer management was not a call for education but rather for expertise.  The voluntary water restriction should have been instituted as the increase in water usage was occurring over the course of 2015, allowing for an assessment of the situation perhaps before the water delivery system reached its maximu...

            John G. Koepper died peacefully at home on June 28, 2016.              He was born in Mt. Vernon, N.Y. and graduated from AB Davis High School and Stewart Technical Aircraft School.  He married Theodora Berberich on January 1, 1943.  In March, 1943, he enlisted in the Army Air Core and served in the 8th Air Force, 389th Bombardment Group.  He served as Technical Sergeant and flew 30 missions from H...

            June Frances James MacDonald passed away at Cape Cod Hospital on May 30.             June was the seventh child born to Francis L. James and Arabelle Cook James on June 26, 1920 on Holway St. in Chatham. Her parents were Wompanoag Indians and came from Gay Head [Aquinnah] Martha's Vineyard. Mr. James was a surfman, a member of the Life Saving Service which later became the Coast Guard, and was stat...

            HARWICH PORT: Marion Elizabeth (Monbleau) Marsh died June 22 at her home on Main Street in Harwich Port, just 10 days before her 97th birthday.             Marion was born July 1, 1919 in Waterville, Maine, to Charles and Alice (Wandless) Monbleau.             She was the fourth of five children. While she was still in school, the family moved to Plainville, Conn. Marion graduated from Plainvill...