Cape Community Comes Together for Autism Editor: The Cape Cod community joined Cape Cod Village, a non-profit organization developing innovative housing and support services in Orleans for young adults with autism, on May 5 in Brewster. UnMASKing Autism, a masquerade gala, was the organization’s inaugural “signature” fundraiser. Cape Cod Technical High School's graphic arts department generously offered th...

One of the most important pieces of unfinished business now before the town of Chatham is the disposition of the western boundary of the Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge. Legislation currently before the U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources aims to set the boundary at low water, where it has historically been understood to be. In its comprehensive conservation plan for the refuge, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife ...

  Candidate Should Be Recognized Editor: The Chronicle, of course, has the absolute right to endorse the selectman candidate of its choice. What I object to, in your editorial of May 3 is your lack of acknowledgment of the other candidate in this race. Seth Taylor is a hard-working, sometimes-too-outspoken advocate for many in Chatham whose voice would otherwise go unheard. He is diligent in seeking all...

I don’t know their species. They are roses. They’ve always been there, from my earliest memories. I could look them up, I suppose, on the pretext of seeing what they need to thrive. But they thrive on their own, more or less, with a little maintenance. They stretch along the split rail fence that runs up from the grassy end of Water Street, near the slope down to the Mill Pond. The only break is at the drivewa...

When it comes to downtown shopping district, there's no doubt – and we'll admit to being biased here – Chatham has the best on the Cape. And perhaps beyond, an opinion we apparently are not alone in sharing. Lsst week USA Today released its “10 Great American Shopping Streets,” and sharing the list along with shopping districts in Columbus, Ohio, Delray Beach, Fla., Pasadena, Calif, and Denver, Colo., was litt...

Ballantine And Howell   At last week's Harwich Town Meeting, outgoing Selectmen Peter Hughes and Angelo LaMantia were recognized for their combined 24 years of public service to Harwich. With their departure there will be a major absence of experience on the board. The three remaining selectmen – Michael MacAskill, Jannell Brown and Julie Kavanagh – have a total of five years of service on the board and a l...

Hasty action seems to be the rule of the day in Washington, where sweeping legislation is rushed through to meet an artificial deadline. Fortunately, that's not the case with the menu of ballot questions awaiting Orleans voters on May 16. They'll find five items that have been well vetted by town officials and, as of Monday night, by town meeting. That body said yes to a new DPW/natural resources facility, to ...

Against Chatham Marijuana Sales Editor: As a citizen of Chatham, I hope no one is interested in having a pot shop in our town. There are enough drug and alcohol problems on Cape Cod. We do not need to add to them. Carol Cummings Chatham   Sewer Plan Unaffordable. Editor: The question is how much will the Harwich wastewater plan really cost. Harwich Selectmen claim the next two phases of th...

Our son had his hands full that dreary early spring day a few weeks ago. Mom was working, there was no school, the kids were bickering, and the dogs were being their usual annoying selves, having been cooped up for too long. The walls closed in and nature beckoned. He marshaled the motley group together and deftly herded a pug, a huge chocolate lab and a five and seven year old (who could have used some tethers ...

Things have changed for weekly papers over the past few years. Not only are independent community papers like The Chronicle few and far between, but the way we gather, report and publish the news has changed as well. Our weekly cycle used to consist of a Tuesday deadline, publication on Thursday, and that was it. Today we still maintain those two touchstones, but thanks to the internet and social media, when n...

Anyone who heeds the call to municipal service and runs for office should be praised for their willingness to put in the time and effort to serve and place themselves in the often unforgiving public eye. At a time when politics, both at the national and local levels, has become so divisive, all candidates should be recognized for putting their community first and contributing toward the greater good. In any el...

Playing The 'Revenue' Card Editor: Plans for landside improvements at Saquatucket Harbor continue to change. The $5 million engineering estimate on the first plan was almost 70 percent over what was expected. There are still plenty of ways to bring the price down even more. However, what some proponents are saying is that since the Harbors generate about $1 million in revenue, then they, the harbormaster de...