Buying the Plaza Is Smart
To the editor:
The Eastham T-Time Committee unanimously supports the purchase of 4550 State Highway, the Town Center Plaza, and urges Eastham residents to vote in favor of Article 11 at town meeting on June 12.
Purchasing this property is smart and strategic. It would immediately protect six beloved locally owned businesses that are important to our economy; prevent any redevelopment that would not fit with our small-town rural character; and give control over development to our residents and taxpayers, allowing us to consider all the needs of our community in any redevelopment plan.
This would be done with zero property tax impact. The property would be purchased with short-term rental tax revenue, and property taxes would be covered by rents from leaseholders.
Town Center Plaza and T-Time would be worked together as one project with a single master plan, permitting a more community-focused planning effort for North Eastham. This would help the town set terms for the redevelopment of the North Eastham corridor, including transportation, wastewater infrastructure, housing across income levels, and a walkable village center.
T-Time Committee research and the 2021 Eastham Market Study (see easthamttime.org), along with the 2020-2024 Strategic Plan and other Eastham planning studies, identified many local and regional community, housing, and business needs that could be met by the Town Center property. Developing T-Time and Town Center under a single master plan would enable more of those needs to be met and with greater flexibility.
Karen Strauss
Eastham
The writer is chair of the Eastham Strategic Planning Committee.
Freedom of Expression
To the editor:
I would like to “lift my ball cap” to Chopper Young and your newspaper for publishing an article on a renowned local character who is unapologetic in expressing his opinions (right or wrong) in a world that is seemingly engulfed in “woke-ism,” cancel culture, and censorship. [“Chopper Young Can Take Care of Himself,” May 27, page A9.]
I commend your publication for having the diversity to acknowledge that, like it or not, agree or disagree, this great country we live in has afforded us the freedom of expression every American is entitled to.
Tim Trott
Eastham
Educate the Police and the Public
To the editor:
Your May 27 Open Newsroom with Wellfleet Police Chief Michael Hurley, attorney Martin Garbus, and Independent reporter Josephine de La Bruyère was both engaging and instructive, and brought much information to the surface on important issues related to reporting on policing and crime.
I wonder about a middle-ground “public service” function of a newspaper to make observations about behavior and present opinion about ways to correct it. I remember seeing mention of the disproportionate number of arrests of black drivers here on the Outer Cape, and can imagine using that as the basis for a story where the facts are presented and probed and analyzed. This could educate the police as well as the public, and bring change.
Similarly, regarding domestic abuse cases and the number of times they are dismissed, is there a way to generalize so readers can see to what extent it’s an unaddressed problem that the police can’t resolve in the middle of the night? This too can affect behavior.
I agree with your paper’s policy of not naming names or reporting minor arrests, and with Marty Garbus’s persuasive argument for “cleansing” the record when guilt is falsely ascribed. And yet I also agree with your reader who wants to know how many drunk drivers are on the road. Your report last week about rental scams was extremely helpful.
It was good to introduce New York stories, as contrast for scale, and as a way to lift up universal principles that should and can apply to both the police and the press.
Alexandra Marshall
Wellfleet and Boston
School Board Elections
To the editor:
I commend the Provincetown Independent on your reporting and making issues known to citizens of the Outer Cape. I’m referring to the article in the May 20 edition [“Critic of ‘Liberal Mob’ Recruits School Board Candidates,” page A15] regarding members or associates of the United Cape Patriots putting themselves forward as candidates for local school boards, a tactic famously used by the Tea Party Republicans about 20 years ago to push their “family values” agenda.
I find it outrageous and frightening that members of a far-right group that espouses armed militias, “medical freedom,” election “reform,” and the curtailment of school curricula to conform to their twisted ideology are trying to pack our local school boards. I would not have known about this were it not for the reporting of the Independent. These are the hallmarks of the groups we now know to have assaulted the Capitol on Jan. 6.
We need to hope there are enough good citizens of the Cape who want to serve our children and our communities by ensuring that schools can continue to teach reality-based history and science; who want to preserve openness, diversity, and school choice; who would be inspired by these values to run for school board positions. If our democratic republic, as a previous writer put it, is to survive, it will depend upon the education of our young to become enlightened critical thinkers.
Francie Williamson
Eastham
Crab Journalism
To the editor:
The article by Barbara Brennessel on horseshoe crabs and vaccine production [May 20, front page] was absolutely fascinating. Every science teacher in the nation should read it and share it with their students. Excellent journalism. Thank you.
Sheree Brekke
San Luis Obispo, Calif.
Rapid Response Team
To the editor:
Kudos to Jacqui Beebe and Silvio Genao, the Eastham town administrator and the head of DPW, respectively. On May 24 at 12:24 p.m., I sent an email describing the need for a repainted crosswalk where the bike trail crosses the turnoff roadway from Route 6 eastbound onto Nauset Road, right by the Salt Pond Visitor Center. Jacqui Beebe responded within 30 minutes, sending it on to DPW.
That afternoon, Mr. Genao sent me a picture of the area to confirm exactly where the crosswalk was needed. By the next morning, the crosswalk had been repainted, and Mr. Genao sent me another picture.
Thank you both very much for a rapid response to a dangerous situation.
Sally Digges
Eastham
Author’s Query
To the editor:
During the summers of 1946 and 1947, the Children’s Theatre of Provincetown performed two plays, Pinocchio and Cinderella.
In 1946, Pinocchio was staged at the Provincetown Playhouse, and in 1947, Cinderella was performed at the Provincetown Art Association.
For an article about the Children’s Theatre, I would like to hear from any and all who may have had a connection. Many of the young thespians are, sadly, now deceased, but if their descendants have any reminiscences or mementos, such as programs or photographs, they would be greatly appreciated for the preparation of the article.
Some of the names that appear in the material I already have: Conrad and Martha Malicoat; Wendl, David, and Holly Thomis; Eleanor and Allen Janard; Joseph Manta; Eric and Lucy Davidson; Inez Macara; Lorenda Patrick; Helen MacMahon; Patrick Hackett; John Gregory Jr; Margo Schwartz; William Seltzer; and Peter Robinson.
Write to me at [email protected].
Rachel Brown
Wellfleet
