PROVINCETOWN — Gov. Charlie Baker’s reopening plan puts restaurants on one side of a line and bars on another. Restaurants can be open now for outdoor dining, indoor dining, and […]
REOPENING
Phase Three Businesses Wait for the Green Light
Museums, boats, tours, and gyms all look to July 6
PROVINCETOWN — Many of Provincetown’s most iconic experiences are phase three businesses that could, if statewide indicators stay on the right track, be reopening on Monday, July 6. Phase three […]
CORONAVIRUS
No Cases but Lots of Questions
Is it not here, or are we not finding it?
PROVINCETOWN — For four weeks now, Provincetown has detected zero new cases of coronavirus. Memorial Day weekend came and went. Phase two of the statewide reopening was announced; lodgings, retail […]
ECONOMY
With Plenty of Headaches, Relief Money Is Flowing
Three programs created a Bermuda Triangle of financial confusion
PROVINCETOWN — The $2 trillion CARES Act turns three months old this week, and the relief programs it created have all had rough rollouts. The payroll loans, disaster loans, and […]
AT RISK AT WORK
Six People, 12 Jobs, One Bathroom
Dense seasonal housing presents a new hazard
PROVINCETOWN — Short-term rentals bring in visitors and help pay the town’s bills. Year-round rentals are the endangered species that we keep trying to preserve and expand. Seasonal rentals are […]
ECONOMY
There Will Be International Workers, but Not as Many
Arriving from countries with fewer infections, seasonal workforce takes a risk to serve here
PROVINCETOWN — The Outer Cape is not a highly diverse place. When it comes to sexual orientation, Provincetown has a higher concentration of LGBTQ people than almost anywhere — but […]
THE NEW NORMAL
Contact Tracing Could Be a Challenge for Reopened Businesses
Self-isolation orders will affect employers, employees
PROVINCETOWN — The Outer Cape’s economy is opening back up. The streets are showing signs of life, as lodging, outdoor dining, and retail resume after a three-month hiatus. Workers and […]
SELECT CANDIDATES
Incumbent Wants a Larger Vision for the Town
Louise Venden’s priorities are meeting housing needs and future costs
PROVINCETOWN — After three years on the finance committee and three years on the select board, Louise Venden is running for a second term. Venden owned a nine-room guest house […]
PHASING IN
Provincetown Adopts New Policies, but No New Mask Law
Joint meeting of town boards approves reopening guidelines
PROVINCETOWN — Outdoor dining for restaurants, new picnic areas on town property, an experimental car ban on Commercial Street, and extra oversight of the excursion fleet were all approved at […]
CIVICS
Women of the Hour: Our Health Agents
They are at the center of managing towns’ pandemic response
PROVINCETOWN — The Outer Cape’s health agents’ duties range from enforcing food and water safety to supporting emotional connection. Their jobs touch on sex, rats, and sewers. And that was […]
TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS
Out-of-State Arrivals Still Told to Lie Low
Gov. Baker’s 14-day quarantine is advisory, not an order
PROVINCETOWN — On March 27, Gov. Charlie Baker issued an advisory that travelers into Massachusetts from other states should self-quarantine for 14 days. At that time, New York State was […]
THE REOPENING
Memorial Day Presages a Long, Complicated Summer
Provincetown officials are getting 10 to 15 calls a day about rental violations
PROVINCETOWN — This week and next, town governments on the Outer Cape will be rolling out changes to traffic flow, restaurant rules, bathroom arrangements, and dozens of other adjustments to […]
SEASONAL PROSPECTS
Tourist Economy Can’t Open Till Mid-June
Lodging, dining, and retail get three weeks to prepare
PROVINCETOWN — Phase one of the governor’s reopening plan began on Monday, but for the Outer Cape’s hospitality-driven economy, the big changes will come with phase two. That’s when renting […]
HEALTH
Open Enrollment Ends May 25
How to get help signing up for low-cost health insurance and care
After multiple extensions, open enrollment for health insurance is set to end on Monday, May 25. It’s not too late to get help with signups for health insurance, and people who […]
REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK
Where We Get Our Stories
The most surprising thing about this newspaper, for someone outside it, is probably how we pick what to write. The process shocked me when I first saw it, and I continue […]
