We enjoyed a very un-Cape Cod-like spring, largely without the usual cool, damp dreariness. While the calendar says summer arrived early this week, it was actually here, weather-wise, several weeks ago. Blooms are running a few weeks ahead of their usual peaks, and the temperature of the water that surrounds us is already at mid-July levels. Climate change or just a fluke? Only time will tell. Also apparently ...

Urges Action On Airport Plan Editor: The Chatham Airport Commission's master plan update (AMPU) environmental assessment plan is available for review and feedback until July 5. If you are not familiar with this plan, I encourage everyone to contact commission chair Huntley Harrison, for a printed copy of the report. Please review it and send your comments to the airport commission.  The environmental ass...

I read a thought-provoking quote recently in a Brain Pickings’ article on hummingbirds. Author/publisher Maria Popova wrote: “...[W]hat we call magic is the eternal instinct of the human mind to mistake the boundaries of its understanding for the boundaries of reality.” I’m a firm believer in magic – ask anyone who knows me. I find connections in most everything I do. I have a complicated theory about the inte...

The failure of the Chatham senior center proposal to win the two-thirds votes necessary to pass at Saturday's annual town meeting was disappointing, but in many ways not surprising. The process of finding a place for a new senior center has been fraught with controversy for years, since even before town-property on Middle Road was chosen back in 2019. Town meeting also rejected that proposal, with many decryin...

Cape Cod Deserves Better Editor: I am sending many kudos to Mary Richmond for the pre-summer wake-up call. Her “Broken Connections” is a feisty reminder that despite progress and artificial accomplishments, nature is in charge and that nature dwarfs all human achievement. She raises legitimate concerns that affect all of us and our surroundings. It’s evident that plastic containers, lawn pesticides, beac...

In stories about the housing crisis over the past four weeks, we've talked to people who have been frozen out of the tight rental market, year-round residents constantly outbid for homes by second home owners, folks who have had to move out of their hometown because they could not afford to either buy or rent, and others who have lost leases when a house is sold or an owner decides to pursue the lucrative summer ...

There is only one contested race on the ballot of next week's annual town election in Chatham. Three candidates are vying for two three-year terms on the select board. We urge voters to return incumbents Cory Metters and Dean Nicastro to office. Both have shown an ability to think critically about the issues that come before the board as well as a willingness to hold positions they believe are best for the tow...

Airport, Aquifer Link Needs Investigation Editor: In the June 3 edition of The Chronicle, it was reported that a major source of Chatham’s drinking water, well 5, has been disconnected.  That should be of concern to all Chatham residents. The reason for such drastic action is that higher than acceptable levels of per- and poly-fluoridated alkyl substances (PFAS) were detected in that well.  PFAS are man-ma...

Chatham voters head to Veterans Field on June 12 for the annual town meeting, delayed a month due to the pandemic. Scheduled to begin at noon under (hopefully) sunny skies, the session includes a number of significant measures in the 64-article warrant. Among them are nearly two dozen requests for Community Preservation Act funding (half held over from 2020), and a final resolution to the long quest to build a ne...

Plastic Bottle Ban A Moral Imperative Editor: On behalf of the Earth-Honoring Faith Committee of St. Christopher’s Episcopal Church, I am writing in support of the proposed commercial single-use plastic water bottle ban in Chatham. We at St. Christopher’s are deeply concerned about the deterioration in the quality of the town’s natural environment caused in recent years by the steadily increasing volume ...

By every estimate, the summer of 2021 will be a busy one for the Cape. Rental bookings are way up, with many families coming for longer periods of time than ever before. Retailers, restaurateurs and owners of businesses in other sectors are ready to welcome an onslaught of visitors with a pent-up appetite for fun. As Memorial Day signals the unofficial start of summer, to you, our summer visitors, we off...

Let's Have A Parade! Editor: With Gov. Baker lifting all COVID-19 restrictions, let’s push Chatham to open up July 4th and have the parade. Bring the community together, help small businesses, bring families together. It would truly be a special day if we can make this happen! Let’s have a parade! Bill Underwood New York, N.Y.   Summer Beach Services Update Editor: Dear Summer Beach Worshi...