HARWICH — The town of Harwich became the sixth municipality on the Cape to receive approval from the Cape Cod Commission on its comprehensive wastewater management plan last Thursday. “It's a great milestone,” said David Young, P.E. of CDM Smith, Inc., the town's consultant, when the commission unanimously voted to adopt the draft decision from its subcommittee. Young pointed out the town has been working on t...

CHATHAM ─ When the Chatham Skate Park at the airport was demolished in 2013, skateboarders, scooter tricksters, BMX bikers, and roller-bladers were left with nowhere to roll, let alone catch some air, unless they wanted to travel. Thankfully, the new skate park opened at Volunteer Park in December, and has been impressing everyone from beginners to seasoned skaters since. On a recent sunny summer afternoon t...

For some students, prepping for their first year of college means a summer filled with specific books to read. For Monomoy graduate Jen Keim college prep meant a summer filled with golf, and lots of it, including several key tournament wins and finishes. “I finished my last tournament yesterday before college,” said Keim during a phone interview that took place two days before she made the trek to Florida Atla...

A few years ago Brett and Danielle Tolley learned about a group called the FisherPoets Gathering in Astoria, Ore. “Gosh, there’s nothing like that on the Cape,” Danielle Tolley of Chatham remembers saying to her husband. “Why is the public so disconnected from the fishing community?” And so in 2014 the Tolleys and their close friends Shannon Eldredge and Russell Kingman, also of Chatham, founded the Cape Co...

"Off the record, any Chronicle men around?"  Both the Star and Bulletin are in the governor's back pocket during his run for U.S. Senate in an unnamed southern state, but not the crusading Chronicle in Monomoy Theatre's production of “Johnny On A Spot.” Ellen Fiske, playing Chronicle publisher Mrs. Wigmore, marches right into the offices of Governor Jefferson Davis Upjohn to confront his chief of staff Nicky A...

CHATHAM – The last time I was on stage at Monomoy Theatre was in 1998, when I sat in as a juror in “Inherit the Wind.” Seemed about time for a return engagement. For the past two summers, my youngest son Lir has appeared in shows at Monomoy, one of the last true summer stock theaters on the Cape. This year, there were no roles for 9 year olds in any of the season's eight plays. Although disappointed, the fa...

The great composer Jerry Herman closed his wonderful musical “La Cage Aux Folles” with the song “The Best of Times is Now.” The concept in the title of that song actually expresses the feelings of lots of Chatham residents. For many retirees and many summer residents, life in the summer in Chatham is about as good as it can get. The weather is wonderful, the beaches are beautiful and the water has warmed up, t...

  Commission Needs Mindset Change Editor: In reading my recent Airplane Owners and Pilots Association magazine, I note how frequently its writers speak against FAA recommendations and regulations. It's as if they think there's a constitutional amendment to protect whatever pilots want to do. The attitude pervades columns in my new issue. Excerpts from two suggest this mindset: “...regulations shouldn’...

Chatham's summer parking shortage is a problem that may never be solved. But that doesn't mean the search for relief from what is the most common complaint of the season should be abandoned. Two weeks ago the board of selectmen, on a split vote, rejected consideration of acquisition of the Eldredge Garage property, chiefly to expand downtown parking. The board had previously rejected even considering the prope...

George Bernard Shaw once said, “No man will ever write a better tragedy than ‘Lear.’” Doing justice to Shakespeare’s words is no easy feat. Elements Theatre Company deftly portrays King Lear’s tragic life with spectacular pageantry and suspenseful swordplay befitting the grand ruler. The almost three-hour-long story begins with the aging King Lear of Britain (Brad Lussier) abdicating from his throne. Intending...

CHATHAM – Petite quahogs are off the menu, at least in Massachusetts. The state marine fisheries advisory commission has removed quahogs from a draft regulation that proposed allowing the in-state sale of undersized farm-raised oysters, surf clams and quahogs. Removing so-called “petite” or “gem” quahogs from the proposal was endorsed by Division of Marine Fisheries Director David Pierce and came at the strong...

WEST CHATHAM — Having just raised two of the walls for his new Habitat home, elbow to elbow with volunteers he'd only just met, Jean-Claude Butter said there aren't many words to describe the feeling. “It's a great experience, like seeing the birth of your child,” he said. Butter, his wife and three children came to Chatham from Haiti in 2012 and have been living in rented quarters. The prospect of living in...

CHATHAM – On a recent sunny morning, Harwich summer resident Deborah Cline was walking the loop in Chatham with her husband when she spotted a structure that resembles, from certain angles, a big bird house on a white post on the corner of Main and Water Streets. Intrigued, Cline paused to examine Enlow Free Library, two shelves of free books that tantalize from behind a glass door. Intrigued, Cline pulled out...

CHATHAM – Monomoy Regional School Committee member Amy Middleton is stepping down from the regional education panel. In announcing her resignation this week, Middleton said restrictions placed on school committee members limited her effectiveness as a representative of the community and, perhaps more importantly, as a parent. “It pains me to do it because I really felt like I could make a difference,” she s...

CHATHAM – The shark sculptures on the lawn of the Eldredge Public Library have once again proven too tempting; two were stolen earlier this week, but unlike one taken a few weeks ago, both were recovered. Sharks sponsored by Cape Cod Five and Ducks in the Window were taken down sometime during the night on Sunday or early Monday morning, according to Janice Rogers, who oversees the Sharks in the Park project f...