HARWICH — The ribbon-cutting for the new Seaside Marketplace at Saquatucket Harbor drew a crowd last Friday morning, with a number of speakers indicating that the six new artisan shacks show that Harwich is emerging as one of the more exciting arts and cultural communities in the commonwealth. The dedication at the newly renovated marina was one of many local events celebrating ArtWeek, a statewide effort to f...

HARWICH — It seems almost everybody on the Lower Cape has a story to share about a friend or family member with Alzheimer's disease or dementia, and there's a growing need for support, counseling and programs. This weekend, a special fundraiser will take place to support the grassroots Alzheimer’s Family Support Center of Cape Cod , which offers a range of services, all free of charge, covering the full range ...

HARWICH — Voters sent a strong message on the first night of town meeting that they want less spending and a better control of their tax dollars. In Monday's session voters rejected the $4.5 million reconstruction of Lower Country Road and came within 34 votes of defeating the $39.6 million operating budget. Voters also made an early statement on the use of town funds for continued construction of the controve...

HARWICH — Voters made it clear in the first night of the annual town meeting that they are dissatisfied with town spending and its impact on the tax rate. After a lengthy discussion on the budget, during which no amendments were proposed, voters approved a $39.6 million budget by only 34 votes, 267-233. They also turned aside the one major debt exclusion warrant article seeking $4.5 million for the reconstruct...

HARWICH — The selectmen did battle Monday night over the issuance of a seasonal wine and malt beverage license for the Dockside Seafood Shack, which has a 10-year lease to operate out of the new snack shack at Saquatucket Harbor. The leaseholder, Joseph W. Griffiths, was applying for the license and to serve as manager of the operation. Griffith's was the only response to a request for proposals to lease the n...

HARWICH — The pet cemetery debate is expected to be the hot topic in town meeting, with three articles addressing the burial grounds on Queen Anne Road. Town meeting will begin Monday at 7 p.m. at the community center on Oak Street with voters facing 69 articles. The major financial issue facing voters is a debt exclusion request estimated at $4.6 million for the reconstruction of 2.25 miles of Lower County Ro...

ORLEANS — Jeremy Gingras, the former executive director of the Harwich Chamber of Commerce, has been accused of embezzling funds from the chamber and its charitable foundation for years before he was fired in 2017. According to a conservative estimate from a forensic accountant, Gingras allegedly received at least $37,712.73 from the scheme. On Tuesday, Gingras was in Orleans District Court to answer two cou...

EAST HARWICH — At age 100, Isabelle Monteleone still enjoys pretty good health, still has a wry sense of humor, and still remembers spending time with the young paratroopers who fought and died in places like Normandy and Bastogne. It seems like a lifetime ago that she was a Red Cross worker embedded with a regiment of the famed 101 st Airborne Division, running makeshift clubs where they could write letters h...

HARWICH — The choppy waters surrounding the appointment of a new assistant town administrator have settled, with selectmen Monday night confirming Joseph Powers, currently town clerk/assistant town administrator in Wellfleet. He will begin his new job May 20. Powers confirmed his interest in serving as the assistant here in an email to Town Administrator Christopher Clark on April 17. “I look forward to workin...

HARWICH — They might seem like a repository of dry information, but annual town reports can shed light on a community’s values, its problems and its strengths. Now, thanks to a program of the Boston Public Library, many of Harwich’s old town reports are now just a click away. Through a portal known as Digital Commonwealth, and at no expense to the town, the reports back to 1866 have been scanned and can be v...

If you think art is something to be appreciated from afar, it’s time to roll up your sleeves, pick up a paint brush, knitting needle, or chisel and start creating. That’s the message from the organizers of ArtWeek, a 10-day, state-wide festival that gets underway tomorrow. While there are ArtWeek demonstrations, classes and lectures around the Cape, the Lower Cape—and Harwich in particular—will be a center of ...

HARWICH — Bank Street residents told selectmen last week that they do not want parking for Harwich Port employees in their residential neighborhood. Responding to a recommendation from the ad hoc parking committee to use the former fire station lot at 203 Bank St. for employee parking, several residents expressed concern for increased traffic, increased speeding, late night disturbances and the lack for pedest...