Among the local races on the Nov. 8 election ballot is the race for the Cape and Islands state senate seat and the Barnstable County Commission with  incumbent Ronald Bergstrom of Chatham and former commissioner Ronald Beaty of West Barnstable, two old foes, facing off.. We sent questions to the candidates on issues of particular concern to local residents, and their answers are printed below. Early voting con...

CHATHAM – The fact that a short-term rental bylaw proposal went down to defeat at last week's Orleans special town meeting didn't deter the select board from continuing to move toward creating a similar measure in Chatham. Last week the board moved ahead with establishing a short-term rental bylaw working group, creating a 13-member panel that will consider a bylaw for possible action at next May's annual town...

CHATHAM – Statistics on the number of landings and takeoffs at Chatham Municipal Airport will be published monthly, the airport commission announced last week. “The commission is trying to be transparent about its activities and the activities at the airport,” said commissioner vice chair Michael Geylin. The number of flights going in and out of the George Ryder Road facility is often a point of contention, he...

CHATHAM — As part of its long-term plan to further support commercial fishermen working on the Nantucket Sound side of town, the select board last week endorsed a plan to build a fish offloading shelter on the newly rebuilt trap dock at Stage Harbor. The building will provide space for fishermen to unload their catch before it is loaded on trucks, and is more of a shelter than a full-fledged building, Health a...

CHATHAM – Twenty-one property owners have been given the option of cutting trees within the airport runway approach themselves or granting easements to allow the airport commission to do the work, a key safety provision of the airport master plan update. An Oct. 3 letter from the commission gave property owners until Nov. 1 to decide which choice to make. Owners of property on George Ryder Road, Agnes Lane, Ol...

CHATHAM — Doug Kingsley, a 29-year-old police officer serving in Sherborn, Mass., thinks it’s important that people know that first responders and members of the military face a high risk of suicide. So in an effort that’s part publicity stunt and part grassroots activism, he’s laced up his sneakers and is walking west to east across the length of Massachusetts. He’s due to arrive in Chatham next week. As a me...

CHATHAM — Acknowledging that it’s a daunting task fraught with complexities, the select board this week vowed to move ahead quickly to refine a new bylaw regulating short-term rental properties. On Tuesday, health board Chair Noble Hansen presented the select board with a draft adapted from a bylaw that’s under development in Orleans. The health board’s direct interest is in making sure that property owners do...

CHATHAM – Three Morris Island property owners say existing revetments that protect their multi-million-dollar homes need to be rebuilt and enlarged to combat accelerated erosion. A bulkhead is proposed between one of the properties and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge Morris Island headquarters, where erosion has carved away dozens of feet from the bluff over the last few y...

CHATHAM – Longraking is hard work, hours in a skiff scouring for quahogs with a 25-foot pole attached to a 30-pound basket, often in miserable weather. Harvesters might get grumpy, exhausted, then dissolve into laughter when John Linnell takes a break for pushups. “Or sit ups,” said Mike Anderson, who has longraked beside Linnell for decades. “You could see his boots in the air. And he used to run home in t...

CHATHAM – Haley Rae and Nick Bober get plenty of questions when walking their pet along the bike trail. “Everyone does a double take,” said Rae. “It definitely brings a lot of smiles. People want to stop and pet him. Jack loves the attention.” What's unusual about Jack is that he's a 300-pound, three-foot-tall Jersey bull calf. The couple often walk Jack along the bike trail along with their horse, Cassie. ...

          To Mark Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Chatham Works will hold the third annual Tabata, Tatas and Treats event on Saturday, Oct. 15 from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. Proceeds from the event will benefit Cape Wellness Collaborative. Event participants will join Chatham Works owner Lindsay Bierwirth, a survivor of both breast cancer and stomach cancer, and Chatham Works’ instructors Taryn Ritchie and Amy Drew fo...

The combined powers of the Witches on the Water couldn't change the weather Saturday, with the wind and rain forcing the non-profit group's annual benefit to move to the Monomoy Regional Middle School gym. Although they weren't able to get on their paddleboards and cruise Oyster Pond, a few dozen witches, decked out in their finest regalia, held a lively fundraiser with raffles, food trucks and music by the Mike ...