Noises of the Waterfront
To the editor:
I am a commercial lobsterman fishing out of Provincetown, as my father and grandfather did before me. After a week of unfishable weather, we finally got out this past Sunday, Sept. 27. I left port at approximately 4 a.m., as I have been doing for over 40 years.
I returned to port fairly early and was cleaning up the boat in my berth when I was approached by a person who said he has resided in Provincetown for the last four or five years and lives on the waterfront. He stated that the sounds of our engines were annoying, starting up so early in the morning. This person went so far as to make a noise complaint to the Provincetown Police Dept.
I was raised on the waterfront in the family homestead, which was handed down to me. I always found the early morning sounds of the waves crashing on the beach, the Long Point horn blowing, and the many fishing boats heading out to sea very comforting.
I don’t know how much knowledge this person has about Provincetown or its heritage, but I find his actions appalling and disrespectful.
Todd M. Silva
Truro
F/V Pam & Todd, Provincetown
Name-calling Isn’t Helpful
To the editor:
Thanks to Truro’s town staff, moderator, and Select Board, who set up a well-organized, Covid-safe meeting space for Saturday’s town meeting. More than 220 residents showed up amid a pandemic, and many who couldn’t be there for health reasons watched the live stream.
The day showcased a major challenge facing Truro: have we lost the capacity to respectfully disagree and engage in meaningful conversation? Can we have civil conversations leading to creative solutions, or will we continue with negative exchanges leading to hard feelings and entrenched positions?
Truro will always face important, emotional issues. Currently, housing, especially affordable housing, is that issue. Solving this challenge isn’t simple, nor will it be done this month. There are not two sides to this or to many other issues. Rather, there is a broad spectrum of opinions, with small numbers of people at either end. Asking questions about the impact of the Cloverleaf project on water quality doesn’t make one anti-housing. Wanting more affordable housing doesn’t make one anti-clean water.
Name-calling and labeling as uncaring, racist, or stupid those who have a different position or raise questions isn’t helpful. Nor is attributing evil intentions to them.
Truro citizens share a love for this special place. Building on this, our question becomes “How do we create a more diverse housing stock in Truro that includes a range of affordable, year-round options and protects our water and environment.”
I still believe Truro can come together to creatively answer this question. We simply need to remember to treat each other with respect and disagree without being disagreeable. It’s like wearing a mask: it helps us all and it’s not hard. While there may be medical reasons for not wearing a mask, there are no medical reasons for not being civil.
Anne Greenbaum
Truro
This letter from the chair of the Truro Planning Board expresses her personal opinion only.
Three Cheers
To the editor:
I would like to thank and commend the planners of the Truro town meeting. The time and effort that went into organizing the meeting were very apparent and made for a well-orchestrated, successful, and safe town meeting.
Three cheers to you all.
Todd Schwebel
Truro
A Platform for Ospreys
To the editor:
Re: “Outer Cape Outage Revives Osprey Debate” (Aug. 27, page A5), an update with bad and good news. On Sept. 5, according to Eversource, a second Outer Cape-wide power outage was caused by continuing osprey activity on the Gross Hill transmission lines in Wellfleet, despite the nest having been removed. Sadly, this time, one osprey (likely a fledgling) was killed.
The good news is that Eversource has now installed an osprey platform adjacent to the former nesting site, which will await the adults when they return next spring.
Thanks to the Independent for bringing this story to public attention. In these desperate times, small victories are what keep us going, and good corporate deeds deserve special recognition.
Emily Achtenberg
Wellfleet and Boston
Beaty Must Go
To the editor:
I urge all Cape Codders to support both Mark Forest and Sheila Lyons on Nov. 3 for the two open seats on the board of county commissioners. Ron Beaty, the incumbent, has got to go. His hateful rants on social media are shameful.
We need credible, professional, and respectable leadership at the county. A bullet vote for just Forest or Lyons only helps Beaty. We need to vote for two — Forest and Lyons.
Tricia Aurigemma
Eastham
Talk of the Town
To the editor:
Congratulations to the Independent for a year of rich, in-depth coverage of the local scene. But when is the Independent going to acknowledge the main local story, which is the unprecedented (for most of us living) threat to our way of government and way of life posed by Trump’s increasingly clear strongman moves?
That’s the story, those are the fears, that are the talk of this and every other town, that are aired over every distanced and masked social occasion, that have all but subsumed the local issues.
What do local residents think will happen around and in the aftermath of the coming election? What state will our lives be in on, say, Feb. 1? What are those of us afraid of a Trump future doing to try to make sure Trump does not have his way? How do we think we may react if he does?
Brent Harold
Wellfleet
