HARWICH — Employees of the Brooks Free Library fear for their lives. That is, when they're crossing the streets around the Harwich Center facility. Safety in the crosswalks in the area of the Brooks Free Library has been an issue for a number of years. It was a topic of discussion during the Harwich Center Initiative study in 2001 and it remains a concern. “In fact, a regular joke among staff members is tha...

CHATHAM – Blustery weather and soaking rain didn't stop the intrepid sailors taking part in the 2018 Chatham Yacht Club Regatta on Aug. 4 and 5, though more than a few found themselves just a little bit waterlogged. The Regatta, which featured participants aged 8 to 89, is one of the oldest annual regattas of its kind, sailing each year since 1921. According to sailor Ted Dickson, it is also one of the only fr...

HARWICH – The Harwich Mariners wanted to defeat the Chatham Anglers just one time this summer, and after taking a commanding lead in Game 2 of the opening round of the Cape League's East Division playoffs, seemed to be headed in that direction. But a blown lead and a solid Chatham bullpen led the A's to an 8-6 victory, just one night after winning Game 1 with an 8-3 final score. After a scoreless first seemed ...

CHATHAM – The Chatham Athletic Association was fined $2,500 this week and two players from the Chatham Anglers were suspended for two games due to violations of the Cape Cod Baseball League Code of Conduct regarding the use of fake IDs to purchase alcohol. A host parent of the players discovered a collection of empty alcohol containers, fake driver's licenses, and a receipt for the recent purchase of alcohol d...

CHATHAM — Researchers at the Whydah Museum in West Yarmouth and Provincetown recently used DNA tests to draw some conclusions about the human bones Whydah divers have found at the site of the 1717 shipwreck off Eastham. First, a thigh bone that had a one-in-40 chance of belonging to the Whydah’s Captain Sam Bellamy did not belong to the infamous pirate. DNA from the bone was compared to DNA from Bellamy’s re...

CHATHAM — As a little girl, Jo Ann Ritter was fascinated by color. She "colored continuously." And later in life, as an artist, this is evident in her work. Beautiful colors in harmony with each other, combined with a subtle use of shading, create a calm, peaceful mood in her oil paintings. Ritter is a plein air painter, one who paints outside and captures the scene fresh from life. Ritter initially studied ...

"All the world's a stage!" Monomoy Theater's playful production of William Shakespeare's sportive, pastoral comedy "As You Like It" is set to the Age of Regency about 1790. Autocratic Dukes and Lords continue to rule their jurisdictions with full control over their subjects including brothers, sons, and daughters, or so it seems. "And all the men and women merely players." Written in 1599, "As You Like It" ...

We didn’t want it to end! Cape Rep’s production of the Broadway musical “Mamma Mia” had us clapping, dancing in our seats and grinning for the entire two-plus hours. And we wanted more! This show is exactly what we all are craving: a silly, infectious diversion from all the pressures of this chaotic world. “Mamma Mia,” a collaboration of the ABBA songs with music and lyrics by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus...

When one hears the title “world’s longest-running musical,” Broadway blockbusters like “The Phantom of the Opera” and “Cats” come to mind. Surprisingly, “The Fantasticks” was never on Broadway but still claims the title, after running for 42 years off-Broadway, starting in 1960. This summer, the Academy of Performing Arts is paying homage to the staying-power of the musical with a heartfelt production. Mak...

On Friday night, Aug. 3, the Melody Tent in Hyannis was filled to bursting with Baby Boomers. Very, very happy Baby Boomers. They had gathered for what the Tent had promoted as “An Evening with Tommy James and The Shondells and Herman’s Hermits starring Peter Noone.” Many in this audience came to the Tent as retirees and grandparents – and left as youngsters, if only for a couple of magic hours. It was Noon...

It’s been a great week for a swim. The area beaches are pristine, the water is clean and cool, and with the mercury flirting with 90 degrees in recent days, plenty of people are in the water. It’s a quintessential Cape Cod summer. But heed this gentle reminder: the ocean is where the wild things are. The waters off the Lower and Outer Cape are particularly sharky right now. On Tuesday alone, the Atlantic Whi...

Our formal introduction to art begins early. By three, most American tots have begun their 12- to 20-year academic trek. Art exploration starts in preschool. Smocked children delightedly dibble and dabble in billowy yards of newsprint, glue (not the tasty '50s paste of our youth) tempera paint and pipe cleaners. This process ensures messy children and equally messy creations, which are then clipped to miniature ...

A Primer On Nuisance Law Editor: If one does not agree with an opinion, there is no reason to insult the writer. Both David Bixby and J. Dennis Glover begin their anti-airport letters by personally insulting Barry Fulcher. Bixby describes Fulcher’s opinion (“The Chatham airport has been here a lot longer than you have; why weren’t you aware of the proximity to your property when you bought your home here?”)...

Brigadier General Jimmy Gordon Dishner, U.S. Air Force (Ret.), of Orleans goes by “Jimmy” much like another famous Jimmy, President Jimmy Carter. The plaques and commendations on what he jokingly dubs his “I love me” wall in his home all say “Jimmy,” as do his Virginia birth certificate and his Massachusetts driver’s license. Yet when he goes for his morning take-out coffee at the Hot Chocolate Sparrow near...

ORLEANS — Remember September? Cool breezes. Fewer traffic jams. A time when year-rounders are free to roam about the Cape. “My customers in Osterville, Cotuit, Sandwich, they'll take the ride in September,” said Sue Blake, owner of Main Street's Blake & Co. But will they if Main Street is under construction from Labor Day through Columbus Day? Those and similar concerns prompted Blake to circulate a p...

ORLEANS — Planning board members have already extended until Aug. 14 their public hearing on proposed marijuana zoning amendments, but the selectmen hope they'll extend it again to Aug. 28. That would give the selectmen an opportunity to present their take on both the planning board's bylaw version and one advanced by Selectman David Currier. “We're within 95 to 96 percent of where the planning board is righ...