HARWICH — The waterways committee voted to deny an experimental bay scallop project proposed for an area eight-tenths of a mile off Pleasant Street Beach in Nantucket Sound. The committee’s decision came after Harbormaster John Rendon expressed concerns for potential navigational conflicts with boaters during the summer. The site has already been approved for growing kelp, but the lines required are removed ea...

This week’s troubling pandemic news is that the P.1 variant, which spreads more easily and quickly than other strains of COVID-19, has been detected on Cape Cod. The good news is that the same preventative measures in place since the start of the pandemic – the use of face masks, social distancing and other precautions – are the best defense against the new variant, public health officials say. Sometimes...

HARWICH — There seemed to be little doubt the regional Dennis-Yarmouth-Harwich wastewater partnership will be financially beneficial to Harwich, but selectmen on Monday night were hesitant to include the DHY article on the annual town meeting warrant. Residents have lost confidence because of the cost overruns on the East Harwich sewers, and more community input is needed, board members said. “We’re not rea...

HARWICH — Major traffic and pedestrian access changes, albeit temporary, will be coming to Harwich Center soon. Property and business owners were provided a detailed description of proposed changes to Main Street in Harwich Center by Town Engineer Griffin Ryder last Friday. The changes are being facilitated by a $142,021 Winter Shared Streets and Shapes grant issued to the town by the Massachusetts Departme...

HARWICH — The traditional Easter egg hunt at the community center will be a little different again this year, with the community center staff packaging take-home kits for families to hold their own hunt. Community Center Director Carolyn Carey said people will have to pre-register at the center to get a count of the number of kids who will be participating in the family hunt. The take-home kits will come in va...

HARWICH — Selectmen were pleased to learn that the Monomoy Regional School District reduced its proposed fiscal 2022 spending plan by approximately $300,000, but board members are still not happy with the town’s share of the regional school district budget. Selectmen recently made it clear that they planned to vote against the school budget without some form of mitigation related to the growing disparity in th...

With COVID-19 case numbers continuing to decline, the new single-dose vaccine helping to improve availability, and new CDC guidelines allowing vaccinated people more freedom to meet with friends in person, one would think all the pandemic-related headlines were all positive this week. But the state’s beleaguered online registration system continues to frustrate those seeking to sign up for a vaccine appo...

HARWICH — The Family Pantry of Cape Cod is always looking for new ways to reach out to Cape residents, especially now, with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic still being felt. The latest initiative will launch Sunday, March 21, when the pantry holds a drive-through “Food Grab and Go” event at Monomoy Regional High School on Oak Street between 10 a.m. and noon. The Family Pantry truck will be stationed at...

HARWICH — For a decade, the conservation commission has been doing battle over a proposed construction project at 5 Sea Street Extension along Nantucket Sound. Project proponents are back once again with a proposal to build a house on the 22,000-square-foot lot. The long, narrow lot reaching out toward the beach is constrained by a coastal dune, and where that dune begins and ends is a contentious issue. After...

HARWICH — With town meeting being held outdoors because of the continuing pandemic, should measures likely to draw considerable debate be included on the warrant? Selectman Michael MacAskill doesn't think so. MacAskill has been a strong supporter of limiting the articles presented in an outdoor town meeting setting, saying the sessions draw fewer town meeting participants. “I see no urgency to add to the wa...

HARWICH – Harwich native Jeremy Wiley recently assisted local wood ducks and the Harwich Conservation Trust (HCT) by installing two waterfront nest boxes at Cornelius Pond Woodlands, a 15-acre HCT preserve and walking trail destination. His volunteer work to attract wood ducks helps support the ecological health and biodiversity of Cornelius Pond. Wood ducks are a colorful, uncommon, cavity-nesting duck specie...

While Carefully Watching For Possible COVID-19 Resurgence Punctuated by warnings that new virus variants may set back the fight against COVID-19, public health officials are pushing to accelerate the vaccination process. On Cape Cod, a large regional vaccine clinic is expected to open perhaps as early as this week. The vaccine site is being established at Cape Cod Community College in West Barnstabl...