Support Plastic Bottle Ban Editor: Single use PET (Polyethylene terephthalate) bottles are the third most common item found in ocean debris, almost 15 percent of total marine waste. Caps and lids from PET bottles are the fourth most common item. Plastic has been found in more than 60 percent of all seabirds and in 100 percent of sea turtle species. Sustainable Practices is working to ban commercial single...

It’s raining today, a light spring shower that was creeping into the air all morning with the spongy ground and the milk-gray sky. They’re still working on the road, putting the sewer line down and leaving cracks in the pavement where the heavy equipment sat like a ponderous dinosaur over the gash it made. It is the sort of morning one would get something warm to drink to get going. I went to Cumbies for coffe...

Failure To Listen Has Repercussions Editor: The recent letter by a self-serving, airport-connected Dennis writer stooped to a sad level of personal snideness.  Offensive attack on someone who has contributed so much to our town is uncalled for. It must stop. Beyond that, the writer does not realize that since the 1930s the once modest, friendly airport and its expanded neighborhoods have changed radicall...

And then there were two. Houses, that is. Just this week, a small house on Crowell Road in Chatham was torn down and a foundation poured for a new dwelling. Immediately in front of it, hard by the street, is another new house well along in the construction process. Where once there was one modest home on a single lot, there are now two lots and, eventually, there will be two oversized houses. That's not ...

In our sandy corner of the world, March is the most boring month. Constrained by bone chilling cold and emptied pockets, thanks to taxes and utility expenses, we are also held hostage by political blah, blah, blahs and the prospect of the influenza virus sneaking into our bodies via our unsuspecting nostrils. One of the few months with no long weekends, its only saving grace is St. Patrick’s Day, which momentar...

Let's call it a senior center stand-off. Chatham Selectmen are pushing ahead with development of plans for a new senior center at 1610 Main St. Last week, members of a working group convened to conduct a $130,000 feasibility study of the location reported that the land is suitable for a council on aging facility, although there are still some unknowns—particularly environmental and traffic issues. As of yet th...

Poor Grade For Preservation Editor: At last nights lively C-SHIP meeting the statement was made that Chatham has failed at saving its important historical touchstones. Let us take a look. 1. Old Harbor U.S. Life Saving Station which was built in 1897 was decommissioned 1944 abandoned and sold 1947. The property returned to federal ownership in 1973. It was cut in half and barged to Provincetown where it wa...

From their earliest days, Cape Codders engaged in the enslavement of human beings. Cape ships and ship captains participated in the “Triangular Trade” which from the late 16th to early 19th centuries carried slaves, cash crops, and manufactured goods between West Africa, the Caribbean, American colonies, and the European colonial powers. This commerce, along with shipping salted codfish to the Caribbean to feed t...

“I’m getting married in the morning Ding, dong, the bells are gonna chime Pull out the stopper, we’ll have a whopper But get me to the church on time.”   Lerner and Loewe included this wonderful, irreverent song as part of the great score of “My Fair Lady.” Eliza Doolittle’s father, Albert, faced with the unexpected burdens of wealth and respectability, decides he needed to be a properly married ma...

Have you ever been driving down Route 6 and found yourself utterly confused about the distance to the next exit? Neither have we. A state plan to renumber the exits on most numbered highways in Massachusetts is on its way. Perhaps before this fall, the familiar exit numbers on Route 6 will be changing to conform with a federal plan that references an exit’s milepost location, rather than its sequence. Getti...

May The Best Location Be Chosen Editor: Chatham COA Director Mandi Speakman gave a report about the COA’s good work to Chatham’s finance committee at its Feb. 18 meeting.  It was very impressive. Chatham residents are fortunate to have these needed services and support.  We all recognize that the COA needs a new facility. They have been waiting a long time. I remember at last year’s annual town meeting when...

The federal government has been likened to a vast ocean liner. Once it’s set a course, it doesn’t easily stop or turn. But last week, the U.S. Coast Guard showed its maneuverability when it comes to policies that matter to citizens. It reversed course on an earlier plan to remove a lighted whistle buoy from the Chatham Harbor entrance. The fate of the “C” buoy might not be on par with the national debate ov...