PROVINCETOWN — Imagine the days when great nations relied on brute naval force – big guns on big ships – to stake their economic claims. Actually, in places like the South China Sea, it still happens today. Late last month, a replica of the 17 th century Swedish armed merchant ship Kalmar Nyckel visited Provincetown, taking passengers aboard for a sail and a history lesson. Actually built by the Dutch in ar...

CHATHAM – Last year, a total of 2,415 recreational shellfish permits were issued to residents, nonresidents and seniors. The permit sales generated nearly $120,000 in revenue, but the amount of shellfish harvested by those folks is a big question mark. While commercial shellfishermen are mandated to report their catch by state law, recreational shellfishers reporting is voluntary. “Some people are very dili...

CHATHAM – Again, one of the Sharks in the Park – now the Sharks on the Lawn of the Eldredge Public Library – has been stolen, just two weeks before an online auction of the artwork is slated to end. The Chatham Real Estate's shark was painted by artist Heather Labbe. Another shark painted by Labbee, sponsored by Minglewood Homes, was taken from Kate Gould Park in June but found in a nearby parking lot. The ...

CHATHAM – Town officials are willing to talk with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to try to resolve the dispute over the western boundary of the Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge, but only if both parties have an equal voice management of the area. However, federal legislation may still be the ultimate avenue the town takes to resolve the issue. Representative William Keating said last week he will submit...

CHATHAM — There are a number of steps the town needs to take to prepare for the expected surge in its senior population in the decades ahead, but the one that's likely to generate the most discussion is the replacement of the senior center on Stony Hill Road. Consultant Kathleen Schatzberg, the former president of Cape Cod Community College, is offering her services for free to the town; she analyzed the resul...

The Atlantic White Shark Conservancy will sponsoring its own “Shark Week,” kicking off with a reception and screening of “Jaws” at the Chatham Orpheum Theater Friday. “Shark Week on Cape Cod,” a week-long series of events focusing on the great white sharks that have become the region's most intriguing summer visitors, is the lower Cape's own version of the Discovery Channel's annual “Shark Week,” which happene...

  CHATHAM – Harry Potter is casting a magical spell on bookstores once again. On Saturday night, Harry Potter fans, wizards, and witches queued outside Yellow Umbrella Books to countdown to midnight—and the greatly anticipated July 31 release of “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Parts One and Two.” The timing was fitting – July 31 is the birthday of both J.K. Rowling and Harry Potter. Based on an origi...

CHATHAM – Since its construction in 1915, the former Chatham Bowling Alley building at 45 Chatham Bars Ave. has been a commercial building, and the town is wrong in trying to stop its continued use for commercial purposes, property owner Chatham Bars Inn argues in a lawsuit filed against the town last week. The inn filed suit in Barnstable Superior Court seeking to overturn the zoning board of appeals' June 30...

CHATHAM — Including the old service station and the even older livery stable, the Eldredge Garage property is rich with local history. But with more than an acre and a half of land on Main Street with a view of Mill Pond, it's also rich with development potential. Selectmen Dean Nicastro and Cory Metters toured the site Tuesday, a day before the board was expected to hold another closed-door session to discu...

CHATHAM – The view from Stage Harbor of three iconic homes – known as “The Three Sisters” – will not change much under a redevelopment proposal approved by the zoning board recently. One of the historic homes will be relocated to another site, a second will take its place and a new one will be built that will closely resemble the original, according to plans proposed by property owners John and Tanya Lund. ...

CHATHAM — On the advice of business leaders and others, the board of selectmen is revisiting its decision to turn down the possible purchase of the Eldredge Garage property. A series of speakers argued that the land at 365 Main St. represents the last good opportunity to create additional public parking in downtown Chatham. In their public meeting Tuesday, selectmen voted unanimously to reconsider the purcha...

CHATHAM – For the first time, researchers Monday documented a great white shark in Pleasant Bay, much to the surprise of a family who saw the 14-foot predator pass within a few feet of their boat. The Whaler was moored just inside the cut between North Beach and North Beach Island when the shark swam by about eight feet off the beach. The 17-foot boat was “just a little big bigger than the shark,” observed Met...