CHATHAM  —  With fishing boats and Coast Guard surfboats now frequently bottled up in Chatham Harbor because of severe shoaling – and with peak commercial fishing season less than three months away – mariners are demanding answers. Town officials have very few. “June is coming very close for us,” commercial fisherman and Aunt Lydia’s Cove Committee Chairman Doug Feeney told selectmen Monday. “We’re in need rig...

CHATHAM  —  More than an open space purchase, the proposed acquisition of more than four acres of undeveloped land on the shore of Goose Pond is being described as a chance to freeze in time one of the town’s last unspoiled freshwater shorelines. With support from the Compact of Cape Cod Conservation Trusts, the town’s Land Bank open space committee is recommending that town spend $1,275,000 to buy three adjoi...

CHATHAM  —  Growing up in South Chatham, Dorothy Bassett and her siblings used to play in the woods and swing down into a nearby pond to swim. When the land was suddenly cleared for house lots, Bassett felt a real sense of loss, a feeling that would eventually fuel her decision to study environmental science in college. Her goal was to return to her home town to work in land conservation – a goal she’s just achie...

CHATHAM  —  In a special meeting last Thursday, selectmen officially threw their support behind a plan to build a new senior center at a town-owned site on Middle Road.  Following a presentation by architect Joel Bargmann, the board voted unanimously to recommend passage of the town meeting article that would authorize the project, which is estimated to cost between $6.2 and $6.5 million. Responding to more...

CHATHAM – Crews began prep work for the West Chatham Roadway Project this week, and right in the middle of the section of Route 28 that's being upgraded, another crew was working on a different kind of upgrading project. A half dozen members of the Barnstable County AmeriCorps group were assisting town conservation staff in creating a meadow at the Captain George Harding Conservation Area, directly across the ...

CHATHAM – The lights are on at the historic Monomoy Point Lighthouse.  That may not sound like a big deal, but thanks to a new solar array, for the first time in its 170-year history, the light and keeper's house has electricity year-round. “For the first time ever, there's overhead lights, outlets in every room, and most importantly heat, which will keep it dry and reduce mold,” said Monomoy National Wildl...

Fund Our Future Forum Shines Light On Impact Of Budget Cuts  BARNSTABLE/HARWICH – While the Monomoy Regional School Committee again reviewed the proposed budget for fiscal year 2020 prior to its approval March 14, educators from several Cape districts shared the impacts of budget cuts in a Fund Our Future forum held at Cape Cod Community College. The Monomoy budget totaling $40,751,482 was unanimously appro...

HARWICH — With temperatures reaching above 50 degrees and the earth softening beneath our feet, we find our eyes wandering toward the garden plot in the back yard and wondering what can be done to improve on last year's harvest. Some of those questions can be answered on Saturday at the annual Meet Your Local Farmers gathering at the community center, sponsored by the Harwich Conservation Trust and the Cape an...

HARWICH — Parishioners Monday argued against the issuance of a liquor license to a restaurant located 25 feet from the Pilgrim Congregational Church in Harwich Port, saying it would be detrimental to the mission and spirit of the church and expressing concern for the safety of the congregation. Selectmen granted the license anyway on a split vote, but excluded serving hours on Sundays. Capeside Kitchen, Inc...

HARWICH — With a major focus on Harwich Center underway and town agencies looking at ways to revitalize the village, the new owner of the property at 718 Main St., a 25-unit apartment complex, has plans to upgrade the facilities. The complex, owned by 718 Main Street Realty Trust since 2001, was sold three weeks ago to 718 Main Realty LLC for $3,250,000. The property was purchased in 2001 for $1,535,000. The p...

HARWICH — The Board of Health has agreed to put forward a regulation or bylaw that will ban smoking on public beaches and other recreation department properties in town.  Recreation Director Eric Beebe made a pitch to the health board last week after the recreation and youth commission discussed banning smoking on public beaches more than a month ago, coming to the conclusion such a regulation should be implem...

HARWICH — With Deputy Police Chief Thomas Gagnon retiring in two weeks after 33 years of service, Selectmen on Monday night appointed Lt. Kevin Considine to become the next deputy police chief, effective April 7. Gagnon's retirement, scheduled for April 6, will create several vacancies in the chain of command in the police department. On Monday night, Police Chief David Guillimette put forward a series of reco...

HYANNIS – For the better part of the 2018-2019 season they were competitors, but when the opening whistle blew to signal the start of the annual Cape and Islands All-Star Basketball Game between the Upper Cape and Lower Cape girls, the players were no longer rivals, and instead became teammates, with the Lower Cape playing to an 80-61 victory against Upper Cape. The red-clad Lower Cape team included Cape Tech'...

HYANNIS – The annual Cape and Islands All-Star basketball games are always exciting, but this year's boys game came down to one free throw. That well-aimed shot gave the Upper Cape boys a one-point, 105-104 victory after the buzzer sounded. The dramatic ending followed an exciting display of athleticism from both teams, with the Lower Cape boys a mix of teams from across the region, including Cape Tech's Jack ...

HARWICH —  Sixteen-year-old Isabelle Santamauro, a Pony Club member and riding student at True North Farm in Harwich, recently competed  as a member of the Central New England Region  in the Research Project Competition at the 2019 United States Pony Clubs Equine Symposium in Stamford, Conn. Santamauro was awarded second place nationally with her project, which involved the exploration of solu...

Fishery Managers Look At Bigger Picture Fishery managers on the West Coast were already being updated about what was happening in the broader ecosystem, not just fish stocks. Then something made those reports very much in demand: the Blob. The Blob, named after a 1950s horror movie creature, is a gargantuan swath of warm water created by climate shifts that caused a cascade of environmental horrors, devasta...