PROVINCETOWN — Paul Tasha, a renegade spirit who built houses by hand and fished for lobsters in scuba gear, died on Jan. 5, 2024 at Cape Cod Hospital. He was […]
COASTAL RESILIENCE
A Big Storm, but Less Flooding in Provincetown
Highest storm surge since 2018 meets improved defenses
PROVINCETOWN — The powerful storm that hit New England on Jan. 13 and caused major coastal flooding from Boston to Maine brought several saltwater intrusions to Provincetown.
STATE HOUSE
Outer Cape Is Whistle Stop on Senators’ Housing Policy Tour
‘This is our shot’ for real estate transfer fee, says housing committee chair
PROVINCETOWN — Sen. Lydia Edwards of Boston, who represents the third Suffolk district and cochairs the state legislature’s joint committee on housing, visited Provincetown on Dec. 22 to talk with […]
HEALTH CARE
State Expands Eligibility for Low-Cost Health Plans
But those currently uninsured face a Jan. 23 deadline to sign up
PROVINCETOWN — This year’s “open enrollment” period on the state’s Health Connector website — that is, the window of time in which people without health insurance can easily sign up […]
CONSOLIDATION
Linchris Buys Provincetown Inn for $24M
Hotel company also buys Foxberry Inn for staff housing
PROVINCETOWN — The Linchris Hotel Corp., a multi-state hotel management and investment company based in Plymouth, has bought the 102-room Provincetown Inn from the Evans family, who have owned it […]
PSYCHEDELICS
Select Board Asks State to Reconsider Supervised Use of Psilocybin
Resolution requests a simpler form of regulatory oversight
PROVINCETOWN — At its Dec. 11 meeting, the select board considered a subject that’s rarely on its agenda: psychedelic drugs. Board member Erik Borg had submitted for discussion a resolution […]
FIRE DANGER
A Second House Fire Is Sparked by Winter Storms
Damaged power lines likely ignited blaze at 674A Commercial, says fire chief
PROVINCETOWN — The winter storm of Dec. 18, 2023 that caused flooding up and down the Atlantic Coast and saltwater intrusions in Provincetown’s East End was also the cause of […]
1961
The Province Lands’ Narrow Escape
Beech Forest, Herring Cove, and the West End Moors were slated for development
The leasing contest for eight dune shacks in the Cape Cod National Seashore — and the National Park Service’s eviction of Sal Del Deo, 95, and Janet Armstrong, 71, from […]
RISING TIDES
Another Coastal Flood Hits Provincetown’s East End
Seawater intrusions were smaller and less damaging than last year’s flood
PROVINCETOWN — The unnamed winter storm that dumped heavy rain on the East Coast on Monday, killing two people in Massachusetts and one each in New York, Pennsylvania, and South […]
STATE GOVERNMENT
Housing Bill Is Still on Track, Say Cape Legislators
The ‘most significant housing legislation since 40B’ will go to hearings in January
PROVINCETOWN — The state legislature has been roasted by the Boston Globe and WBUR for its slow pace of lawmaking this year — the first in which Democrats have held […]
HOUSING
Workshop Offers a Preview of Town Meeting Agenda
Zoning changes and a ‘Lease to Locals’ program are on the docket
PROVINCETOWN — The town’s “housing workshops” — periodic joint meetings of four committees plus town staff that began in 2021 — have become a kind of drafting room for town […]
CHAPTER 91
State Regulators Face Questions on Harbor Access
The DEP’s Waterways Division is ‘still reviewing the file’ on Provincetown Marina
PROVINCETOWN — The director and assistant director of the state Dept. of Environmental Protection’s Waterways Division joined a Nov. 30 workshop in Provincetown focused on encouraging compliance with Chapter 91, […]
HOUSING MARKET
Year-Round Trust Debates Rent Hike at Harbor Hill
‘Market-rate rent’ is hard to pin down, and estimates spark disagreement
PROVINCETOWN — After discussing how quickly to raise rents at the town-owned Harbor Hill apartments at their meeting on Oct. 30, the members of Provincetown’s Year-Round Market-Rate Rental Housing Trust […]
DUNE SHACKS
2 of 8 Leases May Go to Local Applicants
But one previous dune family gives up, worn down by the process
PROVINCETOWN — The National Park Service’s public leasing contest for eight dune shacks in the Cape Cod National Seashore took a major step toward resolution on Nov. 15. The right […]
DEMOGRAPHICS
For Small Towns, Census Data Can Be a Puzzle
A peek at the numbers shows some strange results on the Outer Cape
PROVINCETOWN — For years, U.S. Census data have told a consistent story about Provincetown’s rental housing: one of vanishing inventory. In 1990, the decennial census found 1,009 renter-occupied housing units […]
