Our son had his hands full that dreary early spring day a few weeks ago. Mom was working, there was no school, the kids were bickering, and the dogs were being their usual annoying selves, having been cooped up for too long. The walls closed in and nature beckoned. He marshaled the motley group together and deftly herded a pug, a huge chocolate lab and a five and seven year old (who could have used some tethers ...

Things have changed for weekly papers over the past few years. Not only are independent community papers like The Chronicle few and far between, but the way we gather, report and publish the news has changed as well. Our weekly cycle used to consist of a Tuesday deadline, publication on Thursday, and that was it. Today we still maintain those two touchstones, but thanks to the internet and social media, when n...

Anyone who heeds the call to municipal service and runs for office should be praised for their willingness to put in the time and effort to serve and place themselves in the often unforgiving public eye. At a time when politics, both at the national and local levels, has become so divisive, all candidates should be recognized for putting their community first and contributing toward the greater good. In any el...

Playing The 'Revenue' Card Editor: Plans for landside improvements at Saquatucket Harbor continue to change. The $5 million engineering estimate on the first plan was almost 70 percent over what was expected. There are still plenty of ways to bring the price down even more. However, what some proponents are saying is that since the Harbors generate about $1 million in revenue, then they, the harbormaster de...

According to scientists and scientific research, by the year 2100 the entire shoreline of Cape Cod will be reduced by 100 feet on all sides by a rise in sea levels resulting from human-created climate change. Further losses will result from erosion caused by increasingly severe weather and some streams and ponds, and parts of the Cape's aquifer will be contaminated by seawater. Provincetown will become an island....

A Candidate Who Looks Out For All Editor: I urge Chatham voters to consider Seth Taylor in the coming election. He is a fiercely independent Chatham man who, when he speaks out strongly and clearly for what he thinks is best for the town, has been a voice for those of us who do not wish to see outside business interests that are destroying Chatham’s soul in their ongoing efforts to take over and rapac...

“Put me in coach, I’m ready to play, today Put me in coach, I’m ready to play today Look at me, I can be centerfield.”   I’ve heard John Fogarty’s “Centerfield” about 20 times in the past two weeks. Fogarty, lead singer of the Creedence Clearwater Revival, wrote a great song. It has become one of baseball’s anthems along with “Take Me Out to the Ballgame.” Spring is here, and spring and baseball are s...

We cherish our shoreline. It is the beautiful sand beaches and ocean waters that have drawn so many of us to Cape Cod; for the long-timers, it is one of the reasons generations of families remain. Take a dive into most of the clear freshwater ponds and when you surface you know how fortunate we are to live here. Walking along the miles of ocean shoreline makes us thankful for its preservation. We have an obligati...

While it's only a coincidence that the release of an administrative decision regarding a proposed revetment on Shore Road came just days after a new break was formed in South Beach a few miles to the south, both events highlight the dynamics of Chatham's eastern shoreline and provide guidance as to how officials can approach these highly complex issues. The administrative decision upholding the denial of a 108...

We love our water; we love to drink it, cook with it, wash our whitey whites in it, bathe in it and swim and fish in it. But once we’ve used it, the love affair is over. We just want to flush it out of our lives, which is what we’ve been doing for a good long time. Water conservation and its waste is not a new concept. Greek playwright Aeschylus in 470 BC penned, “By polluting clean water with slime you will ne...

Questions Need For Chatham PAC Editor: I write in response to the letter from Rick Leavitt describing a new group called Chatham Citizens for Responsible Government (CCRG), which is self-described as a Political Action Committee, a PAC.  The letter also stated that CCRG “pledges to work diligently for a responsible town government, fairly addressing the needs of one Chatham.”    That’s not wha...

Frank Bryan, author of “Real Democracy” : “A town meeting is a legislature of citizens, for citizens, and by citizens. The fact that each citizen of the town is also a legislator separates the New England town meeting from all other forms of democracy.” From Wikipedia: “A town meeting is a form of direct democratic rule, used…in New England…since the 17th century, in which…members of a community...