Like his colleagues, Orleans Selectman Cecil Newcomb wasn’t happy when bids to build the downtown sewer collection system and others for the treatment plant/disposal system came in $12 million over estimates. He cast the only vote against putting that sum into a June 20 town meeting article to make up the difference. A second vote was required to put that request on the June 23 ballot for a debt exclusion. Aga...

Know Candidates' Positions Editor: Within the framework of decisions we are all making these days, determining who to vote for for selectman June 23 in the Orleans general election is an exceptionally important task. When you go to vote, educate yourself on the candidates' positions on matters of importance to the well being of the community both in the present and for the preservation of its character and ...

Once, it was pretty common for fishermen to sell whole fish right off the boat to local folks. The loss of that connection between consumers and commercial fishermen is one of the major victims of the changes the industry has undergone in the past several decades. But it's been rekindled, in a way, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. While fishermen are deemed essential and are allowed to work during the shu...

Sidewalk Needed For Safety Editor: A number of years ago the town authorized the installation of a sidewalk on Old Queen Anne from Stepping Stones to Main Street. This is the only stretch on that road that does not have a sidewalk from Lakeshore Drive to Main Street. It is dangerous to walk one side of the road. You are to always face traffic when walking on a road, but there is little escape if a car was c...

Administration Promotes Slow Opening Editor: Your editorial of April 22 accuses the Trump administration of rushing to open the economy. Get people back to work. Ignoring the consequences of starting back too soon. This is not true.  At numerous press conferences the president stated that governors of states severely impacted by COVID-19 should proceed cautiously while other parts of the country that exp...

What we know about the summer right now: No Cape Cod Baseball League; no Barnstable County Fair; no Paw Palooza; no summer concerts at Nauset Beach; no Chatham Harbor Run; no Mashpee Powwow; no Figawi. What we don't know: What other summer events—band concerts, July 4 parades, arts festivals, fireworks, theater performances—will happen and which won't, whether beaches will be open or restricted, whether we'll ...

Local residents have been extremely generous to organizations providing relief to those in need during the coronavirus crisis. But it's also important to recognize that nonresident homeowners—summer folks—are also helping in a major way, even though they weren't exactly welcomed here when the when the current situation began to unfold. Despite being admonished for leaving places like Boston, New York and New J...

Preparation Is The Best Strategy Editor: I have been told that rather than recommending that people wear masks in grocery stores towns have to mandate their use in supermarkets. Several cities and towns in Massachusetts currently  have such mandates in place.  As I walk around shopping I’m surprised how many people there are that ignore the recommendation to wear a mask. With summer coming I have a great co...

  I went to go visit my father today. One of those absurdly sunny, clear April days full of green and warmth and lies. In January, when he had gone up to my sister Meg’s place outside Boston until we could get his care sorted out, it hadn’t been bad for a winter day. The whole winter hadn’t been, except for that morning when I had gotten a call at 6 a.m. from the Chatham Police that they had brought Dad home, ...

Welcomes Airport Scrutiny Editor: Leaders in our community should welcome and expect careful scrutiny of their statements, especially when those statements are made to influence public policy.  Challenging these statements is a public duty for all citizens especially when those statements undermine the operation of our public institutions.  I am proud and grateful to be in a country where free speech is all...

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...

A Plastic-free Earth Day Editor: One might think, why talk or think about environmental issues now, after all we are in a world crisis with COVID-19. But it is our natural environment, when healthy, that keeps us healthy. The toxic chemicals that we accept in our every day lives can stress our immune systems and make us vulnerable to disease. This week I watched a Frontline documentary on WGBH about the ...