We get it, the messaging is getting a bit tedious. Wash your hands, maintain social distancing, stay home when you’re feeling ill, wear a mask. Three months into the pandemic, we’re so numb to those instructions that you could almost forget that they’re there to save our lives. So think about this. Following those rules might inoculate your checkbook. Given that so many local businesses rely on 10 weeks of ...

Impressed With Reed Editor: On June 23 I will vote for Andrea Reed for the Orleans select board. I ask that you join me in placing an extremely qualified and talented woman on the board to work for the future of Orleans, and the benefit of all of its citizens. I feel confident in this recommendation especially because I know that Andrea can be trusted always to act in the public good. She has the integri...

The New York Times recently detailed how Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin blocked a $13 billion grant to the U.S. Postal Service which was to be included in the CARES Act legislation. The Washington Post reported that the president threatened to reject the bill if a bailout for the agency was included. A compromise was reached providing the postal service with a $10 billion loan from the treasury department. ...

Monday's decision by the Chatham Board of Selectmen to cancel the Fourth of July parade, fireworks and Friday night band concerts was not unexpected; there's just no way social distancing, crowd size and other restrictions likely to remain in place for most of the summer could be complied with during those events. The vote by the board of health, endorsed by selectmen, requiring the wearing of face masks downt...

Like his colleagues, Orleans Selectman Cecil Newcomb wasn’t happy when bids to build the downtown sewer collection system and others for the treatment plant/disposal system came in $12 million over estimates. He cast the only vote against putting that sum into a June 20 town meeting article to make up the difference. A second vote was required to put that request on the June 23 ballot for a debt exclusion. Aga...

Know Candidates' Positions Editor: Within the framework of decisions we are all making these days, determining who to vote for for selectman June 23 in the Orleans general election is an exceptionally important task. When you go to vote, educate yourself on the candidates' positions on matters of importance to the well being of the community both in the present and for the preservation of its character and ...

Once, it was pretty common for fishermen to sell whole fish right off the boat to local folks. The loss of that connection between consumers and commercial fishermen is one of the major victims of the changes the industry has undergone in the past several decades. But it's been rekindled, in a way, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. While fishermen are deemed essential and are allowed to work during the shu...

Sidewalk Needed For Safety Editor: A number of years ago the town authorized the installation of a sidewalk on Old Queen Anne from Stepping Stones to Main Street. This is the only stretch on that road that does not have a sidewalk from Lakeshore Drive to Main Street. It is dangerous to walk one side of the road. You are to always face traffic when walking on a road, but there is little escape if a car was c...

Administration Promotes Slow Opening Editor: Your editorial of April 22 accuses the Trump administration of rushing to open the economy. Get people back to work. Ignoring the consequences of starting back too soon. This is not true.  At numerous press conferences the president stated that governors of states severely impacted by COVID-19 should proceed cautiously while other parts of the country that exp...

What we know about the summer right now: No Cape Cod Baseball League; no Barnstable County Fair; no Paw Palooza; no summer concerts at Nauset Beach; no Chatham Harbor Run; no Mashpee Powwow; no Figawi. What we don't know: What other summer events—band concerts, July 4 parades, arts festivals, fireworks, theater performances—will happen and which won't, whether beaches will be open or restricted, whether we'll ...

Local residents have been extremely generous to organizations providing relief to those in need during the coronavirus crisis. But it's also important to recognize that nonresident homeowners—summer folks—are also helping in a major way, even though they weren't exactly welcomed here when the when the current situation began to unfold. Despite being admonished for leaving places like Boston, New York and New J...

Preparation Is The Best Strategy Editor: I have been told that rather than recommending that people wear masks in grocery stores towns have to mandate their use in supermarkets. Several cities and towns in Massachusetts currently  have such mandates in place.  As I walk around shopping I’m surprised how many people there are that ignore the recommendation to wear a mask. With summer coming I have a great co...