<Headline>Negative Impact Of Skydiving   Editor: How unfortunate that Cape Cod elected officials are promoting aviation and skydiving interests (to benefit the few) at the expense of their constituents’ quality of life. We have watched similar scenarios unfold in communities across the country. If the Citizens for a Safe Chatham Airport lose their judicial case against the town, you can rest assure...

A long stretch of light gray cloudy glass ran up the narrow inlet, thick and heavy. In the mild – as much as one should ever expect in early January, especially following a two week stretch of solidly-below 20 degree temperatures – air, the cool breeze from the southeast carried moisture. Rain had been forecast for later, and on top of the still-frozen ground, created the danger of flooding. My gravel driveway...

If you want to know what climate change and sea level rise looks like, just check out photos and videos from the winter storm that hit our area Jan. 4. Local officials would do well to pay attention to that preview. We've become inured to storms inundating certain areas along the coast; Chatham's Ryder's Cove floods regularly, as do a number of roadways hard by the water, including the intersection of Route 28...

New Year's Resolutions For Trump Editor: Some modest but important 2018 New Year’s Resolutions for Mr. Trump: Reveal your 2015/2016 taxes publicly in the press immediately. Stop seeking and accepting public adulation from your cabinet members. Listen more to Average Americans, not just to millionaires. Give Mr. Pence some real work to do, like fix Puerto Rico. Have dinner with your family eac...

Father Time, often synonymous with the Grim Reaper in appearance and philosophy, is off the hook until next year, having just transitioned us into 2018. The guy never fails…I’m not convinced the tradition of handing the New Year over to an infant is such a good idea. Would we give a baby the car keys? But the old wise guy is no fool – he’s gettin’ out while the gettin’s good. Throw enough fireworks, liquor and ...

Chatham Selectman Shareen Davis was right when she said that proposed general and zoning bylaws prohibiting the sale of recreational marijuana, as written, are too broad. The same can be said of similar bylaws that will go before voters in Harwich and other Cape towns. As Davis said recently, nobody is advocating opening up a pot shop on Chatham's Main Street. Rather, she wants to preserve the ability of local...

Many Cape Codders say there is no spring season here. Others complain about the crowds and traffic during the summer. Autumn often ends up too hectic with holiday season activities. For me, the hardest of all is winter, especially the three months of January, February, and March. Like many retirees, I knew little about winter on Cape Cod, having spent most of my visits enjoying summer or fall vacations. A few ...

There Is A Santa Claus Editor: Donald Trump beat Hillary Clinton. Yes, Virginia (the country, actually), there is a Santa Claus (and hope). Merry Christmas! Paul Nahass Harwich   First Night Takes Two Towns Editor: How does a small town like Chatham continue to produce one of the longest running and most successful First Night celebrations in the country? The answer is that it takes two to...

Been to the bank lately? Fewer and fewer people have been, it seems. This week we learned that Bank of America will be closing its Chatham branch March 27; just about a year ago, TD Bank also closed its Chatham office. One of the main reasons given for the closures is changing bank habits. A Bank of America spokesperson said that these days, people rarely visit branch offices, dropping by mostly for financial ...

Lower Cape Comes Through Editor: On behalf of the Harwich firefighters and police officers, I would like to thank everyone who donated to this year's food and toy drive, our most successful yet. I would particularly like to thank the following local businesses for their donations that made this program possible: Sheriff James Cummings, Nauset Disposal, New England Gardens, 400 East Restaurant, Red's Pizza, ...

As we close out one year and look ahead to the next, it's a good time to remember the people we lost over the past 12 months who made a difference in our lives and our communities. Chatham was stunned last February when former Selectman Tom Roper passed away unexpectedly. Known for his attention to detail and penchant for humor, he'd entered town politics as a bit of an outlier and evolved into a voice of reas...

Rows and flows of angel hair And ice cream castles in the air And feathers canyons everywhere I’ve looked at clouds that way   But now they only block the sun They rain and snow on everyone So many things I would have done But clouds got in my way   Joni Mitchell wrote the song and Judy Collins sung it on her “Wildflowers” album released in 1967. It is a wonderful song and Judy Colli...