A rare disease, monkeypox is now spreading in the United States for the first time, with cases climbing in most parts of the country. Public health officials are using a combination of public education and vaccines to try and stem the spread of the illness. The virus that causes monkeypox is related to smallpox, and while the smallpox vaccine may provide some protection, it hasn’t been widely administered in t...

HARWICH — It is a rare business that celebrates 150 years of continuous operations in the same building where it was established. But so it is with Henry T. Crosby & Son Monuments and Memorials, founded in 1872 at 672 Main St. in Harwich. Thomas J. Blute has now owned the business that he cherishes for 33 years. “It’s 100 percent been for me,” he says. “I don’t want it to end.” Blute, who is in his late...

 What is the best subject for the award-winning Chatham painter Maryalice Eizenberg? “Anything that attracts my attention,” she said during a telephone interview last week. This could be the angular foundation of a structure, or as she wrote in her artist’s statement, “a pattern of light that makes form, saturates color and creates mood.” In Sylvan Gardens, a favorite spot to paint in West Chatham, she migh...

ORLEANS – Lower and Outer Cape residents now have an urgent care option closer to home. On Saturday, Cape Cod Healthcare opened the doors of its newest urgent care center at 42 Route 6A in Orleans. The new center, located at the site of the former Lobster Claw restaurant, is the provider's sixth urgent care facility, joining others in Falmouth, Sandwich, Hyannis, Harwich and Osterville. Two days before its ...

BREWSTER — Septic systems are the greatest contributor to groundwater and freshwater pond degradation, Susan Bridges, Brewster Ponds Coalition president, told about 100 residents attending the 2022 Ponds Summit June 17 at the Brewster Baptist Church. While Brewster has been very forward-thinking about protecting the watershed around town wells, portions of town not protected by land purchases – including most ...

Mark August on Main Street, Chatham offers “something for everybody,” says co-owner Corinne Blakeney. “We really try very hard to keep our jewelry lines very contemporary and very affordable.” The store is commemorating its 30 th anniversary in business on Saturday, June 18 with a 20 percent off sale and a trunk sale. Mark August was established in 1992 by Mark West and Steve DeLeonardis. West and DeLeonar...

BREWSTER – The Cape Cod Rail Trail spans 27 miles across six towns for biking, running and walking. Bernie Meggison, the 79-year-old summer bike ranger, has the task of patrolling the path each day. Meggisson, or ranger Bernie as he is referred to on the bike path, bikes 41 miles on average per day, ensuring that each of the Rail Trail’s customers have a safe and enjoyable biking experience. Since starting ...

Our natural environment here on Cape Cod is a gift, and what could be better than getting fit in the beautiful outdoors? This is the idea behind a Healthy Parks, Healthy People collaboration between Cape Cod Healthcare and the Cape Cod National Seashore. On an as yet to be scheduled Saturday in July, Cape Cod Healthcare cardiologist Elissa Thompson and a park ranger will again team up for a two-mile ranger-...

The moment that her boyfriend proposed to her, she knew that she would be modifying her mother’s 1979 wedding gown and wearing it to her own wedding in 2012. “It was the first vintage redesign I ever did,” Jessica Kidd said during a telephone interview last week. “I redesigned it to fit and modernized it.” Although Kidd’s mother Carol Tallant passed away before Kidd’s wedding, “she was there in spirit. It was ...

You have probably seen the stunning Cape Cod statistics detailing how few houses are on the market for under $1 million — just 149 in March, down from 1,000 two years ago. The median price for a single-family home on the Cape is $650,000 — up $214,000 in just two years. In other words, it’s a sellers’ market, and problems with tight and expensive housing have been exacerbated by the pandemic. “We’ve sort...

Cape Cod Healthcare (CCHC) wants to know what you think about healthcare and related issues on Cape Cod. To that end, the group has issued a Community Health Needs Assessment. It must be completed by May 13. “It really gives you a lot of great data, specifically for Cape Cod,” Jennifer Cummings, CCHC’s associate director of development and community benefits, said in a telephone interview last week. “It rea...

When Luke Chapman, CEO and founder of Del Mar Vacations, was a teen, he had a summer job cleaning rental houses between renters. Chapman’s parents, Wes and Susan, were teachers who bought several small cottages in the 1990s to rent out in the summer. Susan Chapman also ran a B&B with three suites in Wellfleet, and Chapman, helping with those guests, observed up-close what it means to be gracious in the hos...