CHATHAM — Using a low-tech approach, contractors may have fixed the sticky Mitchell River drawbridge. The bridge, which has a timber superstructure, periodically did not close completely, and engineers speculated that the problem was related to the wood swelling during humid or wet weather. Last Wednesday, the contractor shaved away some of the timber on the fixed portion of the bridge where it abuts the mov...

HARWICH — Selectman Jannell Brown was in court Wednesday answering an assault charge, the second time she has done so in as many years. Brown pleaded not guilty to a single misdemeanor count of assault and battery on a family or household member, and a single charge of malicious destruction of property valued at less than $250. She was ordered to stay away from the alleged victim, and will return to court fo...

HARWICH — Nearly two years ago, Department of Public Works Director Lincoln Hooper proposed a “stand-alone” project for the reconstruction of Lower County Road. By “stand alone,” he meant town funded, without any help from state highway grants. Hooper was before selectmen Monday night to provide a status report on that project. He cited numerous deficiencies in the roadway, including poor surface conditions, s...

HARWICH — Brooks Free Library will not be getting a facelift this summer after bids for the work came in above the appropriated amount. The town has $490,000 set aside for the project. In the first round of bids, the low bidder was $143,200 above the allocated funds. A second round, which elicited a single bid, also came in too high. “There was only one bidder and the total cost of the project to include th...

HARWICH — Officials here have received word from the state Attorney General's Office that the temporary moratorium on recreational marijuana approved in May's town meeting is in compliance with the state constitution, even as the state legislature put forward changes last week to the recreational pot law approved in a ballot question in November. The town's moratorium placed a ban on the creation of recreation...

HARWICH — The sign outside now identifies the former middle school as the Harwich Cultural Center, and members of the community are being invited inside to explore the transition during an open house from Thursday to Saturday of this week. “There seems to be quite a bit of interest,” Community Center Director Carolyn Carey, who has been charged with leasing rooms in the center, said this week. “I'm excited abo...

PLEASANT LAKE — Forget canoeing and s'mores. How about a summer camp that gives kids a chance to try a career? For the second summer, Cape Cod Regional Technical High School is inviting middle school-age kids to spend a week learning vocational skills, without sparing the fun activities. In the first session, held last week, cosmetology students learned about hair care and nails, and carpentry and electrical...

HARWICH PORT — For two decades, Cove Clubhouse has been more than a place where people with mental illnesses can share meals, access services and prepare for a job or school. It's been a lifeline for hundreds of Lower Cape residents. Last Friday, Cove clients and supporters came together for a cookout to celebrate the organization's 20 th anniversary. Some of their tributes were included on a hand-out sheet...

WAREHAM ─ It was an evening of magic moments and sweet surprises when the best of the East took on the best of the West in the 2017 Cape Cod Baseball League All-Star Game at Spillane Field in Wareham Saturday. The West Division hopped to an early 3-0 lead in the traditional outing between divisions, scoring a run in the second inning and two more in the third, but the beasts from the East were not to be outd...

HARWICH ─ Members of the Monomoy High School football team had an opportunity to meet their new head coach, Brandon Perry, on Monday. While most were excited and hopeful upon meeting their fourth coach in as many years, some were more reserved, the almost constant change having left an impression. What will see them through, they said, is what has always seen them through: each other. “It's pretty tough on u...

“If I can fool a bug, I can certainly fool a man,” said the spider. Just as Mija is determined to save her pig from a slaughterhouse death in the new movie “Okja,” Charlotte the spider is resolute to save Wilbur, the Zuckerman pig, also from becoming a ham. By writing words in her web over Wilbur’s stall in the barn, “Charlotte’s Web” draws attention to Wilbur and makes him the talk of the county. Though my fa...

Seeing the world premiere of a play is not an everyday experience. It can be exciting, especially when the brand-new work is well-written and timely. Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater is known for cultivating new plays by giving playwrights the time and space to workshop their ideas, and WHAT’s stellar world-premiere comedy “The Empaths” is a testament to that process. The irreverent play is co-written by John ...

Over the years, I’ve seen “Legally Blonde: The Musical,” three times. After each performance, I’ve left the theater humming one of the show’s many silly, but catchy tunes. The Academy of Performing Arts’ current production of “Legally Blonde” was no exception. The movie “Legally Blonde” was a box office hit starring Reese Witherspoon in 2001. It spawned a musical, which opened in 2007 on Broadway and ran for a...

CHATHAM – For the past decade, the Monomoy Regional High School Animal Welfare Club (begun at Chatham High School) has been rescuing cats and dogs from abusive owners, neglect and homelessness. The club works exclusively with Pleasant Bay Animal Hospital to provide the best healthcare possible to rescued pets. Paula McMahon, the club’s advisor, says that the public is generally uninformed about what to do if t...

Airport Critic Silenced By Board Editor: Paula Lofgren had been a dedicated, hardworking, thoughtful, well-prepared Chatham Airport Commissioner for three years.  She persistently represented the town’s residents and airport abutters' point of view on the commission that seldom voiced that perspective. She was recently denied reappointment by the board of selectmen. So now there are three pilots on the c...

  “Saturday night at the movies Who cares what picture you see When you’re huggin’ with your baby In the last row of the balcony?”   About six years ago, I wrote a series of three articles for this Chronicle column about Bill, the mythical time traveler. It is the only time I’ve attempted to create a series. In my articles, Bill had grown up in Chatham and left in 1964 after finishing college. I...