PROVINCETOWN — A hotel that’s taller than Whaler’s Wharf and would include a nearly 264-foot pier was heralded as “bold” and derided as “ugly” on Nov. 21 at a zoning board of appeals hearing. Christine Barker is proposing to redevelop 227R Commercial St., the condemned former Old Reliable Fish House, which still has rights to […]
loss
Leather Craftsman John Eder Dies in Provincetown House Fire
PROVINCETOWN — A fire at 86 Atkins Mayo Road on Thursday, Nov. 21 killed the home owner, John Eder, the sole occupant of a house set far back in the woods off Bradford Street. The alarm at 2:33 p.m. brought as many as 40 firefighters to one of the most remote locations in Provincetown, said […]
THE SEARCH
Town Manager Candidate Took $400K Buyout; Another Was Fired
PROVINCETOWN — There are times when consensus is impossible, according to Robin Leal Craver, who is one of three finalists for the town manager’s position. In her case, one of those times was earlier this year when she approved a host community agreement for the largest marijuana cultivation and processing facility in the country, greatly […]
PLAYERS
Spencer Keasey’s Lifelong Quest
From porn to Provincetown with the Bakker Gallery’s manager
When Spencer Keasey picked his porn name, Spencer Quest, it was because he felt as if he were actually on a quest — for sexual and spiritual freedom. For a man who had been in a monogamous relationship from the age of 18, freedom from shame and fear during the age of HIV did, at […]
LAND USE
Truro Trust Inks Deal to Buy Beach at Great Hollow
No town funds are expended in $250,000 purchase
TRURO — The Truro Conservation Trust closed on a bayside property on Nov. 1 for $250,000 — far below the original asking price for the 1.1-acre parcel next to Great Hollow Beach. The trust covered the entire cost, with no public money spent. Last year, the property at 2 Kill Devil Road was listed at […]
civics
The Next Town Manager Will Be One of Three Women
An ombudsman, a construction supervisor, and a city planner
PROVINCETOWN — The select board will choose among three women who have been named finalists in the search for the next town manager. All three will be interviewed by the board in open session on Dec. 16, and the board will vote on Dec. 17. The candidates are Marie Broadbent, town manager of Berwyn, Md.; […]
washashores
From Washington to Wellfleet: Social Justice Activists on a Mission
Kathy Fletcher, David Simpson, and their “kids” plan a residency for young artists
WELLFLEET — Before Kathy Fletcher and David Simpson founded a nonprofit to help inner-city kids go to college, as many as seven teenagers were living with them in their three-bedroom Washington, D.C. rowhouse. They were buying phones, laptops, and “thousands of phone chargers,” said Simpson. Money was flying out the door $100 at a time, […]
CANNABIS
From Russia With Cash
Local pot shop financed by Russian oligarchs
PROVINCETOWN — It turns out the marijuana industry and the end of communism have a lot in common. U.S.-born investor Boris Jordan, the major shareholder of Curaleaf, helped the Russian government privatize after the fall of communism. So he is used to fledgling legislation, a lack of traditional banking, and the complex regulatory environment that […]
THE HOMELESS
‘When Are We Going Home?’ Rocha Still Asks
David Chick says he is near giving up trying to help a homeless man
HYANNIS — Freddie Rocha greeted David Chick with his usual questions: “When are we going home?” and “Did you come to take me home?” Chick smiled and asked if he had been smoking cigarettes. Rocha said, “No, I quit.” Chick had arrived on Oct. 31 at 75 Pleasant St., the Larry Doughty House, a tired-looking […]
ENVIRONMENT
A Mountain of ‘Sacrificial Sand’ Is Dumped at Blasch House
Coastal bank is replenished as property owners challenge town in court
WELLFLEET — The Blasch property is receiving another massive amount of “sacrificial sand” in an effort to stall the mansion’s collapse over the edge of a coastal bank. The 5,817-square-foot house perched on “the Gut,” a narrow spit of sand between Cape Cod Bay and the Herring River, was only 25 feet from the edge […]
HEALTH
Come Aboard the Health Bus
New service connects Outer Cape to medical facilities
The Cape Cod Regional Transit Authority, Cape Cod Healthcare, and the Peter Pan bus company have partnered to create a bus route to bring patients from Provincetown to the hospitals and medical centers in the mid-Cape. The Peter Pan bus service already has two buses scheduled from Provincetown to Hyannis. One leaves Provincetown at 6:30 […]
CANNABIS
Town Officials Subpoenaed on Marijuana Agreements
Federal grand jury has questions for Gardner, Hoort, and Beebe
U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling has questions for towns that have issued host community agreements to marijuana businesses. Provincetown, Wellfleet, and Eastham town administrators all received subpoenas last month ordering them to produce documents, emails, and any other correspondence associated with the agreements. They must appear at the John Joseph Moakley U.S. Courthouse to testify before […]
economy
So You Want to Lease Those Shellfish Flats?
How the rights to Wellfleet’s public aquaculture grants change hands
WELLFLEET — The town’s taxpayers now own over 162 acres of shellfish flats on Indian Neck, the most productive part of the harbor, after purchasing the acreage from the How Do You Like Them Apples (HDYLTA) Realty Trust. The purpose of the $2 million purchase, finalized at a closing last week, was to protect public […]
PROVINCETOWN CURRENTS
Old Reliable Fish House Plans Include 264-Foot Pier
Developer Christine Barker’s plans to redevelop a long-shuttered restaurant include rebuilding Benjamin Lancy’s Wharf. Her proposal, which goes before the zoning board of appeals on Nov. 21, includes a 264-foot pier. The proposal for the condemned Old Reliable Fish House calls for a pier that will provide a pathway from Commercial Street over the beach […]
civics
Licensing Board Urged to Keep Art Everywhere in Provincetown
Gallery owner Ray Wiggs wants to protect the ‘gallery system’
PROVINCETOWN — Artists, gallery owners, and retailers gave resoundingly bad reviews to Ray Wiggs’s attempt to have the town ban the sale of fine art in restaurants, bars, and inns at an Oct. 22 meeting of the Provincetown Licensing Board. “I don’t think anyone here can honestly say it’s fair that someone can host a […]
