Every once in a while someone steps into the local political scene and gives us the sense that this is a person who can accomplish a great deal for the community. Selectman Stephen P. Ford, who passed away April 9, was one of those people. He brought in-depth government knowledge and experience to the position, learning under the tutelage of Senator Abraham Ribicoff of Connecticut, and Congressman Gerry E. Studds...

“Did you check lost and found?”  When, as I do, you live most of your days alongside middle schoolers, those wonderful, wild people traveling the skittery suspension bridge between child and young adult, you say that phrase – “Did you check lost and found?” – a lot! Did I say “check lost and found?” The length and breadth of the trail left in the wake of 200-plus children is magnificent, filled with all ...

Levity When Most Needed Editor: Your April Fool's Day wraparound offered prize-worthy levity at a time starved for such. I do admit that the Disney segment captured my immediate attention, so relevant to current greed obsessions. Fine insight, clever satire, laudable effort. The Cape Cod Comical deserves a gold star. Long life to our local publication. Ursula Corbett Harwich   Way To Retain E...

Clarifying Word Choice Editor: I write in the hope that James Coyle might allow himself a deep breath and a review of what he presents as fact. Then-president Trump never banned flights from China. He restricted travel of some non-Americans, but planes from China arrived here every day in the month following his Jan. 31 “travel ban,” and they carried tens of thousands of passengers. Most of these were Ameri...

This week, the US Senate's top Republican, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, came down hard on Major League Baseball and other corporations that have either pulled their business from Georgia in reaction to the state's newly passed voting law or criticized the new restrictions the legislation imposes. He accused businesses of using “economic blackmail” in reaction to the “Outrage-Industrial Complex.” Didn't McConne...

In less than two weeks, most adults will be eligible to receive COVID-19 vaccines. There are a lot of people betting that, once they get their shot, life will return to normal. Think for a minute before you lay down that wager. It will be a real triumph when everyone eligible to receive a vaccine gets one. The speedy development and deployment of COVID-19 vaccines is a public health victory the likes of whi...

Elementary School Vs. New Senior Center Editor: I know a new senior center has been before the community for a long time, but the recent idea regarding housing it in part of the elementary school building has great merit. Things to consider: cost savings of probably $5 million, location near downtown and the community center and outdoor activities – very important that seniors would be able to be near an...

We have a precarious relationship with nature around here. To be sure, it made Cape Cod what it is today, both literally and figuratively; natural processes shaped the Cape – and continue to do so – and nature is also why most of us are here, either calling the place home or stopping by for a short time. Nature hasn't been kind to us lately, however. Specifically, erosion is once again causing significant chan...

Different Meaning Of Success Editor: In response to Ms. Avellar’s letter opposing a surtax on the “successful” who buy multi-million dollar homes (“Don't Punish Homebuyers With Surtax,” March 18), I’d argue that funds generated by a surtax would preserve the best of Chatham. My family has roots in Chatham dating back to the 1920s, and while my husband and I plan to retire here, we’re currently practicing fo...

It's been nearly a decade since Skydive Cape Cod began offering tandem parachute jumps from Chatham Airport. It took a while – plus a serious landing accident and one of its planes plunging into a pond – and hundreds of jumps before controversy began to stir around the activity. Skydiving had its supporters, but the opponents were vocal, and their concerns about safety and noise – both from the increased number o...

It's important to remember that the Memorandum of Understanding between Chatham and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service does not solve the core dispute between the two: the western boundary of the Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge. It also does not provide the town and state with authority over shell and fin fish resources in the area beyond the 2031 expiration date of the refuge's comprehensive conservation plan. ...

Don't Punish Homebuyers With Surtax Editor: Concerning the proposed surtax on properties assessed at $2 million plus: Why do five persons out of a population of approximately 6,000 assume they have the right to punish persons for being successful? Is this what we have come to in Chatham? Money, lots of money, is the override factor in our behavior and practices? How sad! Success – at any level – is ...