HARWICH — Suggestions to revitalize Harwich Center were clearly stated by the nearly 50 participants in the Harwich Center initiative committee's forum last Thursday. The session focused more on traffic and infrastructure improvements than economic vitality. Residents and business owners in and around the village spoke about the needs for improvements to three key intersections, more parking, better sidewalks ...

HARWICH — The community preservation committee has recommended approximately $825,000 in Community Preservation Act funds be approved in the annual town meeting this spring, including funds for a Red River Beach revetment, Brooks Academy repairs, affordable housing and restroom facilities at Sand Pond. The committee made its recommendations last Thursday night, approving all eight applications it had received....

HARWICH — The affordable housing trust is preparing an article for the annual town meeting seeking to transfer jurisdiction over five town-owned parcels from the board of selectmen to the trust for the development of affordable housing. “I don't see we'll be able to use multiple sites in one year, but it can help with the incredibly important issue of affordable housing over one to five years,” said Town Admin...

HARWICH — The state has put the finishing touches on the Harwich Conservation Trust's Cornelius Pond Woodlands acquisition fundraising campaign with an $85,000 grant from the Conservation Partnership Grant Program. The trust issued a notice a couple of weeks ago that it would be extending the campaign through the end of the month in an effort to raise an additional $75,000 necessary to reach the $850,000 goal ...

WEST HARWICH — Mark Kelleher has been drawn to the waters in and around the Herring River for many years. He's worked in fishing and shellfishing, and now has a new venture, a kelp farm a mile offshore, which is taking advantage of the nutrients flowing from the river into Nantucket Sound. The kelp farm is a first for Harwich. Kelleher admits it is an experiment for him. The part-time teacher, shellfisherman a...

HARWICH – When Monomoy Regional High School Principal Bill Burkhead won 2018 Massachusetts Principal of the Year, there was buzz about where such an accolade would take him. It very well could take him to Stoughton to serve as their new superintendent, as Burkhead is one of four finalists for the position. Burkhead joins fellow finalists Portia Selene Bonner, Superintendent of East Haven, Conn., Schools; John ...

HARWICH — A federal judge has ruled a lawsuit filed by the Conservation Law Foundation charging Wychmere Beach Club with discharging pollutants into Nantucket Sound can move forward. Conservation Law Foundation filed two suits in August, one against Wychmere Beach Club and the other against Wequassett Resort and Golf Club, charging the waterside resorts with illegally discharging nitrogen from sewage disposal ...

HARWICH — With the new short-term rental tax taking effect this spring, town counsel John Giorgio has laid out options the town might want to exercise that could generate additional revenues for the community. He also addressed a section of the new law relating to a water protection fund and creation of local regulations. Giorgio made it clear that there was not a lot of time remaining before the closure of th...

HARWICH — Even by reducing staff by the equivalent of eight-and-a-half full-time employees, Monomoy school officials expect a shortfall of more than a half-million dollars to meet Harwich and Chatham spending expectations for fiscal 2020. Though they are still awaiting final figures, the Monomoy Regional School Committee heard Thursday that the district may need to eliminate the equivalent of eight-and-a-hal...

PLEASANT LAKE — The heavy work was being done by the bulldozers in the background, but state officials, members of the Cape legislative delegation and the Cape Cod Regional Technical High School family provided a symbolic groundbreaking for the new high school on Friday. The morning ceremony was filled with recognition of those who saw the need and embraced the dream of a updating the tech school nine years ag...

HARWICH -- State officials, members of the Cape Cod legislative delegation, and representatives of the Cape Cod Regional Technical High School family dug in on Friday morning during a groundbreaking ceremony for the new high school that will be constructed in the Pleasant Lake section of Harwich. Brait Builders will construct the $91,376,000 school, which replace the existing Cape Tech building constructed in ...

HARWICH — Stakeholders and residents throughout the community are being urged to attend a Harwich Center initiative committee public forum and provide input on restoring the economic, aesthetic and historic vibrancy of the village. The committee, formed by the board of selectmen at the urging of residents of the village, has established a mission to develop and advocate specific, well thought-out recommendatio...