This week perhaps more than most, we’re aware of the “big picture” issues that capture the attention and energy of political leaders like Sen. Elizabeth Warren. We thank the senator for visiting Chatham last weekend, and urge her to devote a little energy to an issue of local importance: reversing the downgraded surf rescue status of Coast Guard Station Chatham. When summer arrives, boaters of all kinds will b...

Support School Equity Editor: The following is an open letter to Chatham and Harwich taxpayers and voters, being published at the request of elected officials. After a decade of regionalization, it’s time for our school district to revisit the original regional agreement and make appropriate updates. At annual town meetings in both Chatham and Harwich this year, attendees will be asked to vote on propo...

At the invitation of the Chatham Community Housing Partnership, a joint meeting was held with the open space committee. The CCHP proposed a compromise, Article 62, that would put 15 of the 19 acres on Middle Road into conservation and the remaining four acres, the closest to the road, would be developed for housing. The OS chair announced he would resign if his committee endorsed such a compromise. Another member...

Harwich voters will face a 58-article annual town meeting warrant on Monday in which there are a few weighty issues, including some that are of great import to the town’s young people. Voters wills see a request for a 6.3 percent increase in the town services side of the budget, with a 2.5 percent increase in the Monomoy Regional School District budget. School budget increases are often a thorny issue in Harwi...

Support School Equity The following is an open letter to Chatham and Harwich taxpayers and voters, being published at the request of elected officials. After a decade of regionalization, it’s time for our school district to revisit the original Regional Agreement and make appropriate updates. At Annual Town Meeting in both Chatham and Harwich this year, attendees will be asked to vote on proposed changes ...

In the coming weeks, local communities will be holding town meetings and elections, the annual rites of spring when residents gather to conduct the business necessary to keep a town functioning. While there's been a lot of chatter about a lack of participation – Orleans is considering lowering its town meeting quorum so meetings don't have to be canceled due to low attendance – local residents are generally quite...

Dismayed That Path Blocked Editor: One sunny afternoon at low tide two friends and I set out on a shoreline walk from the end of Tonset Road in Orleans. We turned left following a lovely well-trodden path that I must have walked hundreds of times in my 40-odd years living in this town, but no more! In no time we came bang up to a barrier fence with its warning sign: Private Property – No Trespassing – Vi...

Police Successfully Solve Fraud Case Editor: My sister, Marcella, lives in Orleans. Last week she opened her monthly credit card bill and discovered $1,600 in fraudulent charges from liquor stores to car washes. Besides the credit card company, she also contacted the Orleans Police Department, where she met Officer Higgins. He reviewed the documentation and was able to identify the person involved, through ...

It's not often that someone comes along whose skills, interests and experience make them indispensable to the community. Florence Seldin was such a person, not just for Chatham, where she retired in 1994, but for the entire Cape. Dr. Seldin, who passed away April 6 at the age of 91, had a long and distinguished career as an educator before moving to Chatham with her husband Ira. She honored her dedication to v...

For the second year in a row, Chatham Town Meeting voters will be asked to approve a property tax exemption for year-round residential homeowners. State law allows the town to adopt an exemption of between 10 and 35 percent for residents who occupy their homes year-round, with the additional property tax burden shifted to non-resident homeowners, who in fact make up the majority of property owners in town. The ai...

Potential Gas Price Solution Editor: If Donald Trump was currently president, his solution to the record high gas prices nationwide would probably be to have officials look into the possibility of running vehicles on bleach, since Trump's suggestion of injecting bleach worked so well in eliminating COVID-19. Mike Rice South Wellfleet   Observations On Harding’s Beach Editor: I was intrigued b...

Just as certain political factions gain support by stoking the fear that their base is being replaced by “the other,” so too do critics seek to curtail operations at Chatham Municipal Airport by relying on the fear factor. The sponsors of two proposed bylaws – petitions that will appear on the May 14 annual town meeting warrant – hope to limit use of the airport by cutting back on the usable landing area of th...