WELLFLEET — To preserve eroding property and maintain beaches, thousands of cubic yards of so-called sacrificial sand is piled on coastal banks and bay shores here. It does not stay […]
Archives for April 2022
UNRELIABLE
Fire Strikes Again at Derelict Restaurant Site on Waterfront
No clear path to secure the abandoned Old Reliable Fish House
PROVINCETOWN — At midday on Sunday, April 24, a fire in an abandoned car at the Old Reliable Fish House property at 227R Commercial St. sent clouds of dark smoke […]
CIVICS
Truro Debates Charter Change on Saturday’s Town Meeting Warrant
Can a planning board be a ‘check’ on a select board?
TRURO — Voters at Saturday’s town meeting will take on practical matters from child-care vouchers to a Proposition 2½ override. They’ll also be asked to consider at least one seemingly technical […]
FIRST RESPONSE
A Surfer from Maine Dies at Lecount Hollow Beach
Martin Mackey, 48, an educator from Brunswick, was surfing with his son
WELLFLEET — A surfer visiting from Maine died after being pulled from the ocean at Lecount Hollow Beach on April 20, according to the Cape and Islands district attorney’s office. […]
LAND USE
Truro Zoning Board Approves Ballston ‘Boathouse’ Move
ZBA issues a single special permit with multiple conditions
TRURO — It took five months and a handful of major tweaks, but the zoning board of appeals voted Monday to allow Tom and Kathleen Dennis of Springfield to move […]
THE COUNTY
Assembly of Delegates OKs Formula for ARPA Fund Allocation
Eastham will apply for money for a storm water project
BARNSTABLE — Towns may soon be able to submit requests for American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding through an application portal set up by the Board of County Commissioners, now […]
TOURISM
Publicizing Provincetown Falls Primarily to Tourism Fund
Records show it’s mostly the town’s rooms tax that pays for advertising
PROVINCETOWN — At the annual town meeting on April 4, a hearty debate broke out on the merits of spending to promote tourism and housing. The proximate cause was a […]
DOWNTOWN
Eastham Begins to Map a Village Center Master Plan
A community center, housing, green space, and entrepreneurship
EASTHAM — Back in December, the T-Time Development Committee submitted a lengthy list of recommendations for use of the town-owned parcel at 4790 State Highway, a former driving range. That […]
TOURISM
The Chamber and the Guild: The Way It Was
How Provincetown came to have two business groups
PROVINCETOWN — Eight LGBTQ business owners pooled their money in 1978 and started marketing Provincetown to gay tourists. They spent less than $1,000 on ads in New York theater magazines […]
AT THE PARK
Wellfleet Skaters Savor the Spring
‘Having the place to yourself and your best friends — there’s nothing better’
WELLFEET — Spring brings some privileges to those who’ve waited out winter here. For skaters, these cool preseason days mean the chance to tool around the park until the sun […]
MEET THE MAKER
Building a Better Bat Box
In an Eastham barn and on Etsy, a fan base for a maligned mammal grows
EASTHAM — George FitzGibbons became interested in bat boxes out of frustration. Not with bats, but with bugs. “My wife hates mosquitos,” he says. They would drive her nuts during […]
COCKTAIL HOUR
A Mouthful of Flowers
The drink for when spring inspiration eludes the cook
I’ve had my nose in the books. I spent this winter dragging the first draft of a food memoir out of the dish pits of my mind. As a counterpoint […]
THE SCUTTLEBUTT
Stop and Smell the Plankton
Of cold water, sea lice, early birds, and a few new rules
The weather this past week — the temperatures remained cooler than usual and the winds howled — was not conducive to an improvement in fishing. With the water temperature in […]
ON THE LANDSCAPE
At Dusk With the Peepers
Listening to the sound of spring in a vernal pool come to life
It happens one night in early April. The air is warm, softened, the hard edges of winter worn away by gentle rain. In the woods, a sound that had almost […]
RARA AVIS
This Week’s Bird Sightings
Confirmed bird sightings on the Outer Cape in the week preceding the Independent’s deadline on Tuesday, April 26 included the following, based on a report prepared by Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet […]
