The theme of this end-of-year art and photography edition is “The Divine Comedy,” after Dante Alighieri’s epic poem written in the first years of the 14th century. Its three sections […]
Archives for 2021
ENVIRONMENT
Bush-Whacking With AmeriCorps
A band of eight based in Wellfleet support environmental initiatives up and down the Cape
On the afternoon of Monday, Dec. 13, the Wellfleet AmeriCorps cohort — a band of eight 20-somethings, fresh out of college — rolled up near the Shank Painter Wildlife Sanctuary, just off […]
PILGRIM NUCLEAR
Fishing Community Raises Alarm on Radioactive Water
Releases into Cape Cod Bay began as early as 2011, NRC documents show
PLYMOUTH — The Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station had slowly drifted out of the public’s consciousness in the years since the troubled reactor’s final shutdown in 2019. But the region’s residents […]
THE RAT REPORT
Town Eschews Poison in Favor of Education
Is rodent birth control the solution?
PROVINCETOWN — Rats are both intelligent and resourceful, requiring those same traits in the humans who would like to get rid of them without also poisoning pets and wildlife. On […]
EDUCATION
Nauset High Principal Will Not Be Back
A ‘very sad’ Ellsasser says he lacked support
EASTHAM — Nauset Regional High School Principal Chris Ellsasser announced last week that he was resigning as of the end of the school year. His replacement will be chosen by […]
WELLFLEET WOES
Tracking the Tangled Web of Town Finances
Looking back on Wellfleet’s fiscal annus horribilis
WELLFLEET — The town’s interim administrator and accountants like to refer to the journals and records they are working to make sense of as a “ball of yarn” that is […]
YEAR IN REVIEW: HOUSING CRISIS
2021 Saw a Growing Determination to Build
A labor crisis and lots of new money mean action is coming
PROVINCETOWN — The Covid pandemic has been called the “great accelerator,” because it took existing trends, like working from home, and societal problems, like the spread of misinformation on social […]
FROM THE LARDER
Arnaud’s French 75 for 2021’s Twilight
Creating a new ritual with a classic cocktail
I’m partial to rituals to mark the parameters of life, to give contour to my days and punctuate some moments as special, worthy of celebration. They remind me to pause […]
GROUNDWORK
Life in the Slow Lane on Route 6 in Eastham
‘Community’ is the operative word as plans are laid for the town’s future
EASTHAM — If you hadn’t been paying such close attention, you might not know how much has changed on Route 6 in Eastham this year. The cars still barrel along, […]
THE YEAR IN ECOLOGY
Salt Marshes Through the Seasons, So Far
Six months’ worth of lessons about life on the tides for bloodsuckers, turtles, grasses, and golf balls
WELLFLEET — Throughout August, the Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater spritzed the outdoor set of Nat Turner in Jerusalem with bug spray, so performers Ricardy Fabre and Robert St. Laurence could […]
NEW YEAR'S REVIEW
The Year in a Sentence
Looking back over 2021, one memorable sentence at a time
Compiled by Cam Blair Provincetown Independent writers were asked to look back over the stories we published in 2021 and choose some of their favorite sentences. Here are the results. […]
THE YEAR IN HEALTH
The Problems in the Health-Care System Are Epidemic
Weak systems become weaker when tested, as they were in 2021
What if you don’t have Covid — but you still need a doctor? This question became more urgent in 2021, when many people moved to the Outer Cape to escape […]
THE YEAR IN SPORTS
The Outer Cape’s Stories Range Far and Wide
Adventures in Sunday soccer, backyard bocce, West Coast skateboarding, Korean basketball, and bullfighting school
There were times when it seemed like 2021 would be a year without sports. But coaches and athletes found ways to keep playing. I was glad for the chance to […]
BEHIND THE WHEEL
A New Year’s Resolution for Car Owners
Whatever else you’re planning to do better this year, think ‘maintenance’
This week brought mixed reports from my customers on the season of gift giving. You really appreciate your new wool socks. They are very nice. But you are, understandably, a […]
MINISTRY
An Acupuncture Clinic in Wellfleet Seeks to Dispel Despair
A doctor offers free alternative treatment for addiction and depression
WELLFLEET — Dr. Margaret Tilton is out to change the ways people — both patients and physicians — approach treatment for depression and addiction. The starting point, she believes, is […]
