Despite a few dire predictions, 2018 probably won't see any great surge in the numbers of disease-carrying ticks on Cape Cod. But experts say it’s as important as ever to prevent tick bites, especially in these first days of summer. Deer ticks, which can transmit Lyme and other dangerous diseases, are at a particularly dangerous stage of their life cycles in late spring and early summer. Adult ticks, which wer...

At a time when only half of all new businesses survive beyond the five-year anniversary, three local businesses are marking significant milestones. Snow & Thomson Insurance at 514 Main St., Harwich Port, is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. “We’re one of the few on Cape Cod that has made it,” says owner and president Alexander Thomson. “It’s kind of fun.” Ralph H. Snow founded the business...

Conductors need be ready when things go haywire during live concerts. This is one lesson that maestro John P. Hagon of Harwich, who has been teaching at Berklee College of Music since 1978, impresses upon his conducting students. “What do you do?” Hagon says. “You try to keep going.” Clarinets are the backbone of a band, just as violins are the backbone of an orchestra. Once when Hagon was about to condu...

You know you need more exercise to boost your energy, but you’re too tired to make dinner, much less go to the gym. It’s a vicious cycle, and one way to break it is, well, cycling. But with work and a busy schedule, who has time to go for a leisurely bike ride? Though it’s certainly not for everyone, cycling to work might be a good way to get regular exercise without consuming precious weekend time. The key, e...

The Cape and Islands’ chapter of the Service Corps of Retired Executives, or SCORE, honored 20 small businesses in its annual awards breakfast last Thursday. Among the honorees were Puritan Clothing, Chatham Cookware, Brax Landing and Talking Threads Custom Embroidery. SCORE, whose volunteers provide free mentoring for entrepreneurs, small business owners and non-profits, presented their “Better Mousetrap” awa...

Like pizza? Have questions you’d like to ask the Chatham police and police chief? Your chance to enjoy pizza while getting your questions answered will come during an informal luncheon called “Pizza with the Police” on May 11 at the Chatham Council on Aging (COA). “This is one of our community interactions that we do,” says Chatham Police Chief Mark R. Pawlina. And “what gets people together more than anyth...

When Dr. Mitch Tishler first opened his chiropractic office in Munson Meeting in October 1987, someone gave him a small ficus tree. That tree still stands in his light-filled examination room, where its branches tickle the ceiling. “All I do is water it once a week,” Tishler says of the tree. “I think it lives on love.” Like the ficus tree, Chatham Chiropractic Wellness Center has grown in place, and love i...

If you get your drinking water from a private well, a team of public health researchers would like you to volunteer for their study of harmful chemicals in the aquifer. Specifically, researchers are looking for wells that may be contaminated with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, a group of chemicals linked with chronic health problems. Often associated with airports and fire training academies ...

The Lower Cape economy relies heavily on guest workers from Eastern Europe, the Caribbean and other parts of the world, but with strict limits on the H-2B visa program – and a shortage of housing – local employers always seem to be scrambling for more staff. “I know the Cape, as a whole, is concerned,” Harwich Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Cyndi Williams said. Though she hasn’t heard specific problems...

CHATHAM – The Chatham Drama Guild (CDG) is ready to celebrate its facelift in public. During a festive gala on April 22 everyone can admire the CDG’s new stage, buffed floors, painted walls and new bathroom fixtures as well as see a sneak preview of “The Miracle Worker.” “At 85 years it deserves a makeover,” says CDG Vice President Pamela Banas of Orleans who spearheaded the two-month project. “I am so enth...

Mastering techniques of theater and art as a way of aging artfully is the aim of two new free courses at the Chatham Council On Aging (COA) this spring. “The World’s a Stage,” a drama workshop series and “Artful Aging” art classes will both begin later this month. “Seniors have to use their creativity and imagination more because of limitations life and fate impose on us,” says Elsa Bastone of Chatham, who ...

NORTH HARWICH — When it comes to fighting high blood pressure or diabetes, most people know the importance of a healthy diet rich in fresh fruits and vegetables. But healthy eating isn't always easy, since fresh produce can be expensive and junk food seems to be everywhere around us. A collaboration between the Family Pantry of Cape Cod and the Barnstable County Public Health Nurses is finding creative solut...