CHATHAM – When surf is breaking on the Chatham Bar and fishing boats are either on their way out of the harbor or coming back home, the Coast Guard has taken to positioning one of its near-shore lifeboats near the entrance channel. “We have not done this in previous months,” said Station Chatham Senior Chief Corbin Ross. Members of the commercial fleet requested the move, however, due to increased shoaling on ...

CHATHAM – Cape Cod is a great place to teach science. “We use our environment as much as we can,” said Monomoy Middle School seventh grade science teacher Melinda Forist. It's evident from her students' projects that the natural world is not just something they study in books; they do actual water quality testing, conduct energy efficiency audits and conduct experiments in the field designed to help endangered...

Local voters backed Hillary Clinton in Tuesday's presidential election, sent William Keating back to Congress and elected a first-time candidate to the state senate. Truro Democrat Julian Cyr captured the Cape and Islands Senate seat being vacated by Dan Wolf, defeating Harwich resident Anthony Schiavi. Cyr managed to beat Republican Schiavi in his hometown of Harwich as well as in Orleans, but not in Chatham....

CHATHAM -- Work being done in the immediate vicinity of the dinghy float on the east side of the boat ramp at Old Mill Boatyard will make the float inaccessible beginning Monday, Nov. 7. The float will remain in place but the gangway will be removed, according to a statement from the town, to allow installation of a new bulkhead.  Dinghies which are not in use should be removed; owners are urged to coordinate ...

CHATHAM – Shellfish from Nantucket Sound are once again safe to eat. Not that they weren't to begin with. The state division of marine fisheries closed Nantucket Sound on Oct. 10, following closures in Mount Hope By and Buzzards Bay, due to a potentially toxic phytoplankton bloom. The type of algae in the bloom, pseudo nitzschia, can build up toxins in shellfish that can cause amnesic shellfish poisoning, w...

CHATHAM – Faced with millions of dollars worth of water-related infrastructure improvements, the town is implementing a waterways user fee to supplement funding of those projects. Officials made it clear at a hearing last week, however, that the anticipate revenue from the user fee will be “a drop in the bucket” and that the majority of the funding for the infrastructure upgrades will be paid through property ...

CHATHAM — Police and family members are continuing their search for a 24-year-old Chatham man missing since last Thursday, Oct. 27. As of Tuesday afternoon, efforts to locate Matthew J. Amsler had all come up short. He was last seen on foot in the area of the Lighthouse Beach parking lot, wearing a red plaid long sleeve shirt and hooded gray or green jacket, cuffed blue jeans and black shoes. He is five feet...

CHATHAM – Citizens will be able to get a close-up look at how the town's fire and rescue department operates at the first-ever Citizens Fire Academy. The eight-week program begins in January. Participants will have a chance to see first hand the day-to-day operations of the department, enhance their knowledge of its capabilities and better understand the demands on the department and its staff. “It's the fi...

CHATHAM — A partnership of local business owners and residents has stepped up to save the former Eldredge Garage property for parking or other public uses. The consortium has signed a purchase and sale agreement for the two parcels at 365 Main St., with the goal of helping the present owners clean up any pollution at the site before razing the buildings and making the land available for the town to purchase....

CHATHAM – Tickets are now available for the “Raise the Roof” dinner and dance to benefit the Chatham VFW on Friday, Nov. 11, Veterans Day. The event will be held at the James-Brown-Buck VFW hall on George Ryder Road, with proceeds going toward the estimated $200,000 in repairs and upgrades needed by the facility. “The VFW Post in Chatham is a living monument to veterans in Chatham and all Cape Cod,” said fo...

CHATHAM – With docking space at a premium, town officials are considering ending the U.S. Coast Guard's lease at the fish pier's north jog. The Aunt Lydia's Cove committee last week voted to recommend to selectmen that the lease, which ends next fall, not be renewed. Nobody wants the Coast Guard to vacate the premises, however. The Aunt Lydia's Cove and waterways advisory committee are reviewing options for...

In a year when presidential politics is obscuring other news and the November election ballot is also crowded with a Congressional race, a State Senate contest and four ballot questions, it might be easy to miss two contested races for county office. But voters are deciding a hotly contested two-way race for Barnstable County Sheriff, and a four-way race for two seats on the board of county commissioners. Sher...