Latest Stories

IN FEDERAL COURT

ORLEANS — Known for its grand church just steps away from Cape Cod Bay, the Community of Jesus (COJ), a small, tight-knit religious commune, has grown since its founding as […]

CRIME

WELLFLEET — Eight weeks after Police Chief Kevin LaRocco announced that his department had located the vehicle believed to be involved in the hit-and-run that killed 24-year-old Timothy Duval Jr. […]

COASTAL RESILIENCE

PROVINCETOWN — Ever since a powerful storm on Jan. 4, 2018 sent seawater coursing over Ryder Street Beach and down Gosnold Street, flooding numerous homes and businesses near town hall, […]

CONSERVATION

PROVINCETOWN — The Center for Coastal Studies is losing $200,000 in federal funding from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) that supports aerial surveys of right whale activity in […]

HARBOR WATCH

TRURO — Caitlin Egleson, a visitor here over the past two decades, is no stranger to Pamet Harbor. A strong swimmer, she’d recently taken to paddleboarding in a cove near […]

ON THE WATERFRONT

PROVINCETOWN — Francis “Flyer” Santos thought every kid should know how to swim and sail. And he had the chance to teach many of them in his day. Starting in […]

PARADE PREVIEW

PROVINCETOWN — The Carnival parade was eight days away, and Noah Church still needed to build a Sasquatch costume, but his order of hot pink fun fur hadn’t arrived yet. […]

MEET THE MAKER

The entrance to Mike Miller’s workshop doesn’t announce itself loudly. There’s a discreet wooden sign at street level, then a brick stairwell leading down to the store. When the store […]

ON THE GRILL

I never met a green sauce I didn’t like. And clearly, a lot of people around the world feel the same, as many cultures have a signature herbal sauce made […]

SURFING

The text came late on a Saturday afternoon in July: “Moving the Kahuna pole around and maybe putting it up if you’re keen.” Eli and I loaded up water, sweatshirts, […]

BIRDWATCHING

The heat was getting unbearable. I tried to visualize the cold water that I would soon be plunging into, but all around the air was baking and even the breeze […]

CROSSWORD #65

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BEEKEEPING

There was something amiss in my back yard. It looked, from my third-story West End window, like there was a puddle of tar on the brick courtyard below. Except that […]

MILLION-YEAR PICNIC

My parents tell me that I declared my intention to become an astronaut at age four. Books about astronomy, space exploration, and science have always lined my bookshelves. Then, there […]

THE SCUTTLEBUTT

The striped bass have been biting well all day long, defying the usual ways of these fish. They’ll normally hunker down and not eat much when the water gets too […]

CAPE LEAGUE BASEBALL

ORLEANS — The coffee was cold. That was the first indication Bob Zavorskas’s co-workers at Roy Svenningsen’s construction company had that the young shortstop from Connecticut had his mind on […]

NATURAL SELECTION

If your bunghole needs plugging, you’re going to need a bung. And a beetle to whack that bung with. And to ensure that your beetle is up to the task […]

RARA AVIS

Confirmed bird sightings on the Outer Cape in the week preceding the Independent’s deadline on Tuesday, Aug. 19 included the following, based on a report prepared by Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet […]

BOUTS

ORLEANS — Take it from Mean Mimi, Devil Velvet, and Tippi Longstocking: you don’t need ice to go skating at the Charles Moore Arena. The skaters, along with the other […]

WEATHER

The weather world has been closely tracking Hurricane Erin. The system underwent a period of remarkable intensification late last week — exploding in strength from a Category 1 hurricane with […]

FOUND AT THE FARMERS MARKET

Aug. 16, Orleans The long-anticipated season for local tomatoes is finally here. At the Orleans market, many stalls are overflowing with shiny red, orange, yellow, and green fruits. Yes, fruits. […]

DATE AND TIME

From the Aug. 21, 1907 issue of the Boston Globe, selected and edited by Kaimi Rose Lum  PROVINCETOWN — Standing on a sandy hill in this historic old town by […]

VIEWFINDER

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GOOD VIBES

On a Monday evening in late July, Commercial Street is alive with people on bicycles, parents toting children, purpose-driven townies, dawdling tourists, and be-wigged drag queens on scooters. Brian Calhoon […]

ASTRAL PROJECTIONS

This week we see the Sun transition from the sign of proud Leo into the sign of diligent Virgo. Leo is a leader by nature, exuding confidence and charisma. Virgo […]

PROVINCETOWN: THIS WEEK'S CURRENTS

Most meetings in Provincetown are held in person, typically with an online-attendance option. Click on the meeting you want to attend on the calendar at provincetown-ma.gov for a link to […]

TRURO: THIS WEEK'S CURRENTS

Meetings in Truro are often held remotely. Go to truro-ma.gov and click on the meeting you are interested in for an agenda and details on how to join. Monday, Aug. […]

WELLFLEET: THIS WEEK'S CURRENTS

Most meetings in Wellfleet are in person, typically with an online-attendance option. Click on the meeting that interests you on the calendar at wellfleet-ma.gov for details. All meetings are at […]

EASTHAM: THIS WEEK'S CURRENTS

Most meetings in Eastham are in person, typically with an online-attendance option. Click on the meeting you are interested in on the calendar at eastham-ma.gov for details. All meetings are […]

ARTISTS

Tabitha Vevers and Daniel Ranalli remember talking to each other 25 years ago at Long Point Gallery, the now-gone artist-run space on the top floor at 494 Commercial St. in […]

UKULEGEND

The ukulele is not an intimidating instrument, says Jake Shimabukuro. “Even if you’ve never played an instrument before,” he says, “you’re not afraid to pick it up and try it.” […]

CREATIVE FREEDOM

The mood in the packed room was sober, but not without humor. The crowd at Stanley — the new Twenty Summers space in the East End — was there to […]

SEE SAW

Leigh Calabrese plays a Stradivarius — but not the kind you think. It’s a musical saw — a 32-inch flexible steel blade with sharp teeth and a wooden handle. The […]

FIVE QUESTIONS

Before there was Edie, there was an eight-year-old growing up in Portland, Ore. who loved to twirl and kick. By the time she turned 17, Edie was dancing with Ballet […]

COMICS

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POETRY

The state of red Today was toxic A red tide has come ashore, Choking life beneath. Footings of Love Rev. Kate talked about walls and that Robert Frost poem from […]

POETRY

There are no borders in the national forest of being. The giant sequoia grows inside me as much as it does outside me. There is no dominion to lord over, […]

Coco Peru: Now, More Than Ever Coco Peru has been rehearsing her new show, Fucq This Sh!t, from her temporary home in Andalusia, Spain. “It’s been a little weird,” says […]

VIGNETTE

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STEAMERS

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THE YEAR-ROUNDER

The Provincetown Trolley is a curious beast. To be a killjoy stickler for veracity, it is not really a trolley but a replica of one. Real trolleys usually run on […]

NATIONAL SEASHORE

Watching the current administration eviscerate staffing and budgets in the National Park Service has horrified and sickened those of us who have spent years working in our parks. These short-sighted […]

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

Since the beginning of the current administration, reports the National Parks Conservation Association, the Park Service has lost 24 percent of its permanent workforce — and that’s on top of […]

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

‘Make America America Again’ To the editor: Carnivals around the world like Mardi Gras are community parties designed to give us a joyfully distracting break from the troubling realities of […]

TIDE CHART

Know when to hit the flats.     This page is available to subscribers. Click here to sign in or get access.

Recorded at the Barnstable County Registry of Deeds from Aug. 11 to Aug. 15, 2025.  PROVINCETOWN Aug. 11. Renova Seashore LLC [Keryn E. O’Donnell, manager] to Justine Hargreaves and Melissa […]

CLASSIFIEDS

MUSIC Music at Mean Burgers. Irish, old time, country, and more every other Tuesday indoors at Mean Burgers, Wellfleet, 6:30-8:30 p.m. Next session: Aug. 26. Family friendly fun hosted by […]

WELLFLEET HISTORICAL COMMISSION PUBLIC HEARING/MEETING Notice is hereby filed that the Wellfleet Historical Commission will hold a remote Public Hearing on WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2025 AT 5:00 PM. for the […]

BOARD OF HEALTH The Board will hold a public hearing on THURSDAY AUGUST 28, 2025, AT 4:00 P.M. in the Judge Welsh Room, Provincetown Town Hall, 260 Commercial Street, Provincetown, […]

Good Value (Thursday, Aug. 21) The Value Leaders perform at Truro Public Library (7 Standish Way) on Thursday, Aug. 21, 6:30 p.m. as part of the Truro Summer Concerts series. […]

Once Upon a Time (Thursday, Aug. 21) Weekly storytime at Eastham Public Library (190 Samoset Road) on Thursday, Aug. 21, 10:30 a.m. features stories, songs, activities, and crafts. On nice […]

A Woman Named Carlos: New Girl in Town Post Office Café & Cabaret Thurs., Aug. 21 and Thurs., Aug. 28, 10 p.m. $35-$45 plus fees at postofficecafe.net   Anita Cocktail’s […]

DROPPING IN

WELLFLEET — Colin Nobili’s amplified exclamations rang out across Mayo Beach from the Kevin J. Fitzgerald SK8 skatepark where competitors at all skill levels hit the pavement for the annual […]

COMMERCE

PROVINCETOWN — The poet Mary Oliver described Provincetown Harbor as “no more than a blue comma on the map of the world but, to me, the emblem of everything.” The […]

BLUE ECONOMY

PROVINCETOWN — Since 1997, lobstermen along the Eastern seaboard have had to throw back lobsters with a “V-notch” — a triangular cut in the tail of an egg-bearing female that […]

UNDERSTORY

PROVINCETOWN — Nine crews of firefighters from stations as far as an hour away from Provincetown answered the call to put out what was at first considered a “major brush […]

PUBLIC RADIO

This article was updated on Aug. 19, 2025. FALMOUTH — Despite being offered free rent and upgraded infrastructure, WCAI — the Cape and Islands’ National Public Radio station — will […]

THE FEMINISTAS

PROVINCETOWN — When a group of men walked into Womencrafts last month, Vicky Barstow, who was on duty in her “dream retirement job,” wanted to know why they would want […]

PUPPET MASTERS

PROVINCETOWN — Ongoing litigation among the four owners of the Pilgrim House may determine that storied hotel and entertainment venue’s future — and along with it, the future home of […]

WHERE WE ARE

Few scholars have reshaped our understanding of trauma the way Robert Jay Lifton has. Born in Brooklyn, N.Y. in 1926, Lifton attended Cornell University and New York Medical College before […]

FROM THE LARDER

My mother died this winter. Even as I write these words, believing them is like trying to imagine that something elemental like the ocean or the stars is gone. I […]

THE CAPE LEAGUE

Normally, the only thing anyone draws in baseball is a walk. But that wasn’t true for two players in the Cape Cod League this summer. Joan Lockhart, an artist who […]

ON THE BEACH

It’s been an odd year, to say the least. By my count, we’ve had more days this summer with winds out of the north and east than days with our […]

GRAVEYARD SHIFT

It will come as no surprise to readers that for this “Graveyard Shift” column and for other research, I spend considerable time in old cemeteries. They have much to recommend […]

GOOD VIBES

On a Monday evening in late July, Commercial Street is alive with people on bicycles, parents toting children, purpose-driven townies, dawdling tourists, and be-wigged drag queens on scooters. Brian Calhoon […]

MEET THE MAKER

It all started with the yellow rhinestone flip wig. “If I hadn’t made that wig, I wouldn’t be here right now,” says Laura Plad. The sparkly wig came about when […]

STREET STYLE

There was a moment last year when the word demure was on everyone’s lips. Not Momma JC’s, though. Never one to limit herself to one job, one opinion, or one […]

THE SCUTTLEBUTT

We finally got a week with consistent weather, and that resulted in some pretty good striped bass fishing — depending on what time of day you were out. Fishing was […]

RARA AVIS

Confirmed bird sightings on the Outer Cape in the week preceding the Independent’s deadline on Tuesday, Aug. 12 included the following, based on a report prepared by Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet […]

CAPE LEAGUE SOCCER

BARNSTABLE — J.J. Devine made 2 sterling stops, and Matt McAuliffe converted Nauset’s 4th and final penalty kick as the Storm won the shootout 4-1, to defeat AC Independence and […]

CAPE COD BASEBALL

ORLEANS — Something was not right at Eldredge Park late last Thursday afternoon. The berm along the first-base line, usually sporting an assortment of multi-colored blankets and chairs reserving spots […]

NATURAL SELECTION

There’s a mass of native plants competing for that good, southern sunlight along the muddy shore of Wellfleet’s Silver Spring — cardinal flowers, elderberry, bramble, swamp loosestrife, jewelweed — all […]

FOUND AT THE FARMERS MARKET

Aug. 6 and 11, Wellfleet and Truro August brings warm days and slightly cooler nights. The result? A vibrant palette of flowers is showing up at the farmers markets. Deep […]

WEATHER

We’ve seen some pretty wild temperature swings over the last week. High pressure was sitting directly overhead this past weekend, yielding beautiful daytime weather but also setting us up with […]

DATE AND TIME

From the Wellfleet section of the Aug. 18, 1875 issue of the Provincetown Advocate, selected and edited by Kaimi Rose Lum That old saying “Contrary as a hog” has been […]

VIEWFINDER

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ASTRAL PROJECTIONS

This week, the intellectual and the physical are connected in the cosmos. Mercury in Leo is sextile Mars in Libra, and this creates a positive feedback loop between the two. […]

PROVINCETOWN: THIS WEEK'S CURRENTS

Most meetings in Provincetown are held in person, typically with an online-attendance option. Click on the meeting you want to attend on the calendar at provincetown-ma.gov for a link to […]

TRURO: THIS WEEK'S CURRENTS

Meetings in Truro are often held remotely. Go to Truro-ma.gov and click on the meeting you are interested in for an agenda and details on how to join. Thursday, Aug. […]

WELLFLEET: THIS WEEK'S CURRENTS

Most meetings in Wellfleet are in person, typically with an online-attendance option. Click on the meeting that interests you on the calendar at wellfleet-ma.gov for details. All meetings are at […]

EASTHAM: THIS WEEK'S CURRENTS

Most meetings in Eastham are in person, typically with an online-attendance option. Click on the meeting you are interested in on the calendar at eastham-ma.gov for details. All meetings are […]

SELF-PORTRAITS

Anna Poor’s Truro studio, nestled amid scrub pines and tall grass, has an atmosphere of simplicity and unvarnished beauty. Inside, the studio is almost fully occupied by a large table […]

CHAMBER MUSIC

Ludwig van Beethoven’s Septet in E-flat Major, Op. 20, premiered at the Royal Imperial Court Theatre in Vienna on April 2, 1800. The concert started at 6:30 p.m. and also […]

THEATER

Theater professionals have always loved, hated, and obsessed about acting classes. The old-fashioned schooling of British academies emphasizes physical training: voice, accent, projection, movement. An actor constructs a character from […]

CAMPY

This year’s Provincetown Carnival is headlined by the drag performer and environmental campaigner Pattie Gonia. In 2018, she posted a video of herself hiking in sky-high heels. Since then, she […]

THEATER

Bernie Tiede was an assistant funeral director in his mid-30s in tiny Carthage, Texas. He was well liked for his warm, sympathetic manner with bereaved families. He lent his tenor […]

COMEDY

Comedian Paula Poundstone refuses to research Provincetown before she performs at Town Hall on Aug. 16. That would require the E-word, she says: “Effort.” She’s also been here before. “I […]

ARTISTE

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Paintings that Abstract and Reveal As her career has matured, Cynthia Packard’s paintings of human figures, flowers, dogs, and boats have become increasingly abstracted. She’s still rooted in painting from […]

VIGNETTE

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STEAMERS

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OP-ED

Most of my childhood summers were spent in the sand and salt of the Cape Cod National Seashore. I remember taking my plastic shovel down to the shore, the bucket […]

OP-ART

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RECKONINGS

It’s a funny thing that the same influx of people that overwhelms so many of us in August is also what we love about living here: everyone comes to visit. […]

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

The news gets worse. This week the president announced that he was seizing control of the Washington, D.C. police force “to rescue our nation’s capital from crime, bloodshed, bedlam, and […]

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

What Great Leaders Do To the editor: Re Carl Goveia’s “Stop the Bashing” letter [July 24, page A2]: Donald Trump will not go down as a great president. He is […]

OBITUARY

Provincetown summer resident James Piehler died on Dec. 4, 2024 from complications of a fall at his home in New Jersey. He was 94. Jim was born on Nov. 10, […]

OBITUARY

As soon as Thanksgiving was over, Mary Jane Houk’s Wellfleet home lit up in anticipation of Christmas. She carefully wrapped a string of lights around an evergreen tree that was […]

OBITUARY

When Leonard J. Goldstein wrote notes to his family and friends, he often doodled a smiling self-portrait at the bottom of the page. It was a characteristic show of good […]

TIDE CHART

Know when to hit the flats.   This page is available to subscribers. Click here to sign in or get access.