WELLFLEET — Citing what board member Beth Singer called “insurmountable” obstacles, the planning board officially ended its three-month effort to draft a joint bylaw regulating accessory dwelling units (ADUs) and […]
CABIN FEVER CURE #3
A New Cook Ventures Beyond the Kitchen Basics
Over the course of just two hours last Friday night, I used more pots and pans than I knew my kitchen had — more pots and pans than I think […]
LONELY HEARTS CLUB
For Young Singles, a Bleak Winter
In isolation on the Outer Cape, Tinder doesn’t translate
Reader, I swiped. Call it scholarship, sacrifice, pure self-indulgence. What matters is this: for nine days and eight nights, I swiped. Of the Outer Cape’s 12,370 residents, just over a […]
SELF-LOVE
On Cue, Sex Toy Sales Rise
Since the pandemic, more people have time for their valentines
PROVINCETOWN — Buying flowers this Valentine’s Day? They’ll wilt. Chocolates melt; jewelry dulls; teddy bears de-plush. Here’s another idea. Each February, salespeople at certain specialty stores see a run on […]
PIZZAZZ
Dougie Freeman Takes a Bow
He’s selling, but with no plans to stop finding beauty in everyone
PROVINCETOWN — Long story short: Dougie Freeman, who since 1982 has cut, colored, and charmed the Outer Cape, who was, he says, once young and gorgeous and 127 pounds and […]
COURT REPORT
A ‘Sextortion’ Case Reveals Silent Crisis for Teens
Abstinence-only advice on sexting is not working
EASTHAM — On Nov. 6, 2020, a girl walked into Eastham’s police station, alone. Like a growing share of her generation, she was facing a new digital form of sexual […]
PERMISSION SLIPS
Town Orders DiGiovannis to Cease and Desist
Owners bypass rules and clear Route 6 lot for septic operation
WELLFLEET — The Great White Realty Group LLC closed on the purchase of the 1.38-acre lot at the corner of Route 6 and Old Wharf Road on Friday, Jan. 8. […]
THE CLOTH
Where Faith Leaders Find Solace
Humbled by not having answers, they work, garden, and hum
PROVINCETOWN — Kate Wilkinson is tired. Which is no surprise. Who isn’t? It’s hardly controversial to write that hardly anything is going well right now. (I ask Tom Ryan, former […]
HOUSING
Planning Board Debates Changes in AADU Bylaw
Affordability in accessory dwelling units is addressed
WELLFLEET — The planning board voted 5 to 1 at its Jan. 6 meeting to draft a new umbrella bylaw regulating both accessory dwelling units (ADUs) and affordable accessory dwelling […]
THE DREDGE REPORT
Crabbing the Muck on the Codfish II
Barnstable County dredges the Outer Cape’s harbors
PROVINCETOWN — Spudded just east of MacMillan Wharf, the Codfish II is crabbing. Behind her, her pipe threads beneath two piers and floats. Ahead, her cutterhead sinks, spins. Her depth […]
THE DREDGE REPORT
Wellfleet Loses Bid to Extend Dredging
A win for the whales as their season in the bay begins
WELLFLEET — Throwing its weight behind the Balaenidae of Cape Cod Bay, the Army Corps of Engineers on Dec. 30 rejected the town’s last-ditch request for a two-week extension of […]
WORKOUT WOES
As Mass. Locks Down, Walks Are the New Squats
Gyms face reduced capacity, but not much changes
PROVINCETOWN — As statewide Covid-19 rates spiked last week, Gov. Charlie Baker tightened pandemic restrictions from the Boston State House. Designed to tamp down the carnage of the holiday season, […]
ECONOMY
For Wellfleet Shellfishermen, Farmers Market Is ‘Pure Good News’
On the town pier: oysters to go
WELLFLEET — For local shellfishermen, good news this fall was in short supply. Covid’s shuttering of restaurants across the country had wreaked havoc on the wholesale distribution chain, usually a […]
THE CLAUS COVID CHRONICLES
Encountering Santa in a Fraught Season
It’s not just about naughty and nice
TRURO — Santa Claus is used to tough questions. How, demanded one junior superfan, did Santa know to bequeath him a Star Wars figurine? Well, said Glenn Enos, a sergeant […]
EDUCATION
Scholarships Keep P’town Kids in College
But an award funded by tax-form gifts is depleted
PROVINCETOWN — For Christina Reid, 18 — a freshman at Boston’s Suffolk University, a 2020 graduate of Nauset Regional High School, and a third-through-eighth-grade alumna of Provincetown Schools — receiving […]