Meetings Ahead
Most meetings are being held in person, but some are still remote or virtual. Go to eastham-ma.gov/calendar-by-event-type/16 and click on the meeting you are interested in to learn about meeting locations and any remote options that may be offered.
Thursday, July 7
- Board of Assessors, 11 a.m., Town Hall
- Zoning Board of Appeals, 5 p.m., Town Hall
Saturday, July 9
- Board of Library Trustees, 9 a.m., Eastham Library
Monday, July 11
- Select Board, 5:30 p.m., Town Hall
Tuesday, July 12
- Task Force on Residential Zoning, 4:30 p.m., virtual
- Cape Cod Commission hearing, 5:30 p.m., virtual
- Conservation Commission, 6 p.m.
Wednesday, July 13
- Board of Registrars, 10 a.m., Town Hall
- Finance Committee, 3 p.m., Town Hall
Conversation Starters
Reproductive Rights
Jamie Demetri, chair of the select board, opened the board’s June 27 meeting with a statement of support for Gov. Charlie Baker’s recent executive order that protects access to reproductive health-care services in the Commonwealth. Demetri said that she had had an abortion.
“I sit here today because of the support and freedom of choice I have had in my lifetime,” said Demetri. “My heart breaks for people in our country who are now faced with a much rockier path to seek out the freedom of choice and the right to decide their own future.”
Select board clerk Aimee Eckman thanked Demetri for her “heartfelt” words and bravery. “Every state I have lived in, I have worked with people, known people, who, for various reasons which are their own, have had to make these very difficult choices,” said Eckman. “It is just heartbreaking to think that so many women across this country aren’t going to have the opportunity.”
After Demetri’s statement, board member Suzanne Bryan proposed that the board write a letter to legislators in support of Baker’s order. Demetri agreed that such a letter was a good idea and said that she would draft one and add it to the agenda for the board’s next meeting on Monday, July 11.
Bryan said that there is currently no medical facility on Cape Cod that offers abortion services.
“I’m not entirely sure what is done about that on the legislative level,” said Bryan. “But it would be nice, at least, for [our representatives] to know that that service doesn’t exist here.”
“I am proud of our Commonwealth’s history of ensuring access to reproductive health care and find some peace in knowing it will continue to do so,” Demetri said. “I encourage the folks of our own community to reach deep for compassion and not speak softly.” —Isabelle Nobili
Editor’s note: An earlier version of this item, published in print on July 7, incorrectly reported that Jamie Demetri had proposed sending a letter to legislators on reproductive rights. It was board member Suzanne Bryan who made that proposal. Demetri supported the idea.
