CHATHAM – When the splashing subsided last Friday, the 67 custom-created whales that were on display in Kate Gould Park over the summer brought in more than $110,000 in an online auction sponsored by the Chatham Chamber of Commerce and Chatham Merchants Association. Although it failed to top last year's auction total, the sale raised a considerable amount of money to support the chamber and merchants associati...

CHATHAM — Building a new senior center on the current site is fraught with challenges, and so is any plan to move council on aging programs to the community center. The alternatives aired Tuesday left town officials so uninspired that they wished they could roll back time and try again to convince voters to build a senior center on Main Street in West Chatham. After voters narrowly rejected that proposal in 20...

CHATHAM — For nearly four decades, the houses in the Chatham Housing Opportunity Program, or CHOP, have been home to a rare breed of residents: working class families with children. But with affordability protections due to expire in 2028, officials are worried about the loss of badly needed workforce housing units – and the young families that need them. CHOP was Chatham’s first affordable housing neighborhoo...

 CHATHAM — A residential tax exemption is not the solution to problems such as affordable housing and retaining young families, and may not even benefit those it is intended to help, according to the summer residents’ advisory committee. “The only purpose it serves,” said Michael Waters, head of a subcommittee that studied the issue, “is to move money from one group of taxpayers, the summer residents, to anoth...

CHATHAM – When the Coast Guard saves a life, that life is changed forever. But they rarely get to see the results. Last Tuesday, members of the Chatham Coast Guard Station got that chance when they met Jackie Hamwey. Hamwey was involved in a devastating boating accident in Stage Harbor in 2016 when a boat propeller badly injured her leg, ultimately leading to its amputation. Now, 11 surgeries and exactly si...

CHATHAM — Recent rain showers did nothing to wash away the serious precipitation deficit that’s left the Lower Cape in a severe drought. In a special session last week, the Chatham Select Board followed Harwich’s lead in banning the use of automatic lawn sprinklers and also put new restrictions on outdoor watering. As of Aug. 9, the state’s drought management task force classified Cape Cod as experiencing a Le...

Dorm, Garage To Be Demolished In The Fall CHATHAM – Beginning next week, staff will begin disconnecting utilities and removing usable items from the garage and dorm building at the Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge Morris Island headquarters in advance of the demolition of the 117-year-old structure. With erosion continuing to encroach on the former Coast Guard garage, the agency's regional maintenance and s...

WEST CHATHAM — The prevailing southwest winds, which have been blowing steadily for at least a week, have brought some unwelcome visitors to shore. Portuguese man-o-wars, jellyfish-like creatures that can deliver a powerful sting, have washed up with some regularity, prompting beach managers to warn swimmers out of the water. Harding’s Beach in Chatham has been closed to swimmers repeatedly since last week. Li...

Radio Debate Set For Sept. 1 State Rep. Sarah Peake, who is seeking her eighth term in office representing the Fourth Barnstable District, faces an unusual challenge from another Provincetown Democrat. Jack Stanton, a 30-year-old commercial lobsterman and Cape native, is seeking to unseat Peake in the Sept. 6 primary. Their positions on many issues are similar, but on issues like combating climate change an...

CHATHAM – Slowly, plans are coming into focus for the former Monomoy Theatre property at 776 Main St. Last Wednesday, the historic business district commission gave an informal nod to the latest plans for renovations and additions to the historic theater and the adjacent Washington Taylor House. Greg and Victoria Clark of Chatham Productions, owners of the property, presented revised renderings of their pla...

For the first time in many days, weather forecasters were calling for the chance of measurable rainfall this week. But even if it comes, it won’t do much to quench the drought gripping the area. Less than two weeks after Harwich officials voted to ban all automated water irrigation systems in response to the drought and complaints about low water pressure, Chatham officials adopted a similar proposal. Meeting ...

CHATHAM – Chris Doughty has a plan for Cape Cod. A candidate for the Republican nomination for Massachusetts governor in the Sept. 6 state primary, Doughty's “Cape Cod Initiative” broadly aims to end congestion, grow the blue economy, enhance water quality, travel and tourism, and increase workforce housing. “The Cape is a treasure for Massachusetts, but it's also a treasure for America,” he said in a recen...