TRURO — Before the pandemic, housing and child-care access and affordability were concurrent crises for young families on the Outer Cape. The Truro Central School’s free preschool has been oversubscribed […]
AFFORDABLE HOUSING
Wellfleet’s Big Plan Goes Out for Bids
Proposed wastewater system would boost watershed protection
WELLFLEET — The largest affordable housing initiative in the town’s history reached a milestone last week with the select board’s unanimous approval on March 9 of a request for proposals […]
TOWN FINANCE
Audit Finds ‘Major Deficiencies’ in Wellfleet Accounts
The good news: Top rating for the town’s bonds
WELLFLEET — Auditors have discovered “several major deficiencies in the town’s financial and accounting activities which will require immediate mitigation measures to correct,” Town Administrator Maria Broadbent reported to the […]
COST OF BOATING
Wellfleet Marina Fees to Go Up 15%
Increases will be phased in over 3 years
WELLFLEET — Marina mooring and slip fees will increase by 15 percent over the next three years, but commercial slip holders will get an additional year to prepare for the […]
ENVIRONMENT
Study Finds Nutrients Increase Coastal Acidification
A new council is proposed in hopes of protecting shellfish
WELLFLEET — With a minus-0.6-foot low tide at 5:11 p.m. and the sun setting at 5:26, Bob Wallace and Mattias Christensen have no time to lose. Their oysters have been […]
ENVIRONMENT
Giant Seawall Plan Is Turned Down Again
Commission stands firm in face of Blasch lawsuit
WELLFLEET — The conservation commission has again denied permission for the construction of a 241-foot rock revetment in front of the Blasch house on Chequessett Neck Road. The 5,817-square-foot house, […]
CABIN FEVER CURE #1
A Watercolored Return to Beginner’s Mind
I took a luxurious vacation last week into a world filled with lapis lazuli, burnt sienna, and yellow ochre paints; hake, dagger striper, and mop brushes; flat, graded, and variegated […]
FREE EXPRESSION
National Park Fees for Filming Struck Down
Federal judge finds rules ‘impose a chilling effect’ on free speech
PROVINCETOWN — A federal judge ruled on Jan. 22 that the collection of fees by the National Park Service (NPS) for commercial filming is a violation of free speech. This […]
ALTERNATIVES
A Prickly Bikeway Debate Is About to Resume in Wellfleet
Hopes for a better process to get the Rail Trail extension back on track
WELLFLEET — On the same day almost a year ago that Gov. Charlie Baker declared a state of emergency, March 10, the select board, state officials, and more than 50 […]
ENVIRONMENT
Wellfleet Solar Array Gets Closer to Going Live
Clean energy boon is still stuck in Land Court
WELLFLEET — The array of 2,400 solar panels on Wellfleet’s capped landfill, which was installed by the renewable energy company Ameresco more than a year ago in December 2019, is […]
ENVIRONMENT
Wellfleet Harbor’s ‘Black Custard’
It’s all-natural, but you wouldn’t want to eat it
WELLFLEET — Agnes Mittermayr, a marine ecologist at the Center for Coastal Studies (CCS) in Provincetown, has coined a new term to describe the dark, sludgy material that fills Wellfleet […]
National Seashore
Biden’s Advent Kindles Hope for Advisory Commission Revival
Stalled Seashore advisory group ‘will have a lot to catch up on’
WELLFLEET — On March 4 last year, the Cape Cod National Seashore Advisory Commission hit another roadblock on the road to reauthorization. The acting deputy director of the National Park […]
NATIONAL SEASHORE
Biden’s Advent Kindles Hope for Commission Revival
Stalled Seashore advisory group ‘will have a lot to catch up on’
WELLFLEET — On March 4 last year, the Cape Cod National Seashore Advisory Commission hit another roadblock on the road to reauthorization. The acting deputy director of the National Park […]
TOWN HALL
New Accountant Takes On ‘Glaring Issues’
WELLFLEET — Nearly three months after the abrupt dismissal of the town accountant, the town has filled the position. The new accountant, Heather Michaud, began work on Dec. 14, Town […]
RECYCLING, PART 2: GLASS
With Recycling and Re-Use Rare, Glass Gets Downcycled
Crushed into PGA, glass becomes construction material
Garbage. It’s a story ripe with complexity. The Independent is dumpster diving into the subject to better understand where the Outer Cape’s garbage goes. In this second installment, we look […]
