TRURO — A 70-foot groundfishing vessel, the F/V Guardian out of New Bedford, ran aground on the back shore here on Jan. 3, about a mile north of Wellfleet’s Newcomb […]
TAXATION
Eastham Board Votes 3 to 2 Against RTE
‘Need-based alternatives’ dominate 90-minute discussion
EASTHAM — For the fifth year in a row, the select board voted 3 to 2 on Monday against adopting a residential tax exemption (RTE) for the coming fiscal year. […]
TOWN HALL
Wellfleet Gets New Assistant Town Administrator
John Bugbee, who formerly worked in Wayland and Tisbury, started on Dec. 4
WELLFLEET — Millis resident John Bugbee began work as Wellfleet’s assistant town administrator on Dec. 4, filling a key staff position that had been open for nearly a year. A […]
HAWKWATCH
Irma Penniman, Keeper of the Gate
How a sea captain’s granddaughter who grew up in Eastham saved America’s hawks
In the early 1900s, a slaughter took place every fall in the mountains above Drehersville, Pa. at the foot of Blue Mountain, a ridge of the Appalachians in the eastern […]
1936
How the Sea Turned a Bountiful Fishing Colony Into a Shoal
Watching 100 years of erosion at Billingsgate Island
WELLFLEET — “Ocean Conquers Once Prosperous Island,” blared the headline in the New Bedford Standard-Times on Feb. 16, 1936. “High Tide Now Covers Island.” It was news, but it had […]
WATER QUALITY
Sewer District Lots Exempted From Upgrades
Board of health considers triggers for fixing Wellfleet septic systems
WELLFLEET — The board of health got mixed reactions when it brought an amended version of its new septic system regulations to the select board on Dec. 10. The resulting […]
MORNING FLIGHT
When a Bird Ignores Its Zugunruhe
Looking for lingerers and finding the reasons some birds stay here for the winter
Zugunruhe is one of those perfect German words that have no equivalent in English, so we Anglophones just decided to steal it outright. The word translates as “migration-anxiety” and describes […]
DRY RUN
Town and Neighbors Join Up to Face Future Floods
DPW tests new barriers as Howland Street residents organize against rising tides
PROVINCETOWN — Serious flooding used to be rare in Provincetown, but since 2018 four major floods have struck. And after a December 2022 flood brought water as deep as five […]
RABBIT HOLES
A Rabbit Species That Once Was Lost Is Now Found
The rare New England cottontail persists, and maybe thrives, on the Outer Cape
WELLFLEET — For decades, the New England cottontail, a rare species of rabbit, appeared to be nearly wiped out here. But a new study has found evidence that these rabbits […]
RABBIT HOLES
A Rabbit Species That Once Was Lost Is Now Found
The rare New England cottontail persists, and maybe thrives, on the Outer Cape
WELLFLEET — For decades, the New England cottontail, a rare species of rabbit, appeared to be nearly wiped out here. But a new study has found evidence that these rabbits […]
PUBLIC HEALTH
Officials Want Handlers of Rabid Raccoon to Seek Care
If tests show the animal was from here, wild animals will be vaccinated in spring
EASTHAM — A dead raccoon that turned up on Smith Lane with a face full of porcupine quills on Nov. 17 tested positive for raccoon variant rabies — a variant […]
IN THE DEEP
$2M Grant to Fishermen’s Alliance Means More Boats Gathering Ocean Data
Center for Coastal Studies will install sensors to expand a measurement network
CHATHAM — Strange things have been happening in recent years in the Gulf of Maine, the 36,000 square miles of relatively enclosed ocean stretching from Cape Cod to Nova Scotia. […]
MORNING FLIGHT
Not Just Birds of a Feather
In the off-season, mixed flocks of disparate birds work together instead of apart
Winter is not easy if you’re a bird. The abundant food supply you relied on all summer is gone, you use a lot of energy keeping warm, and without leaves […]
SECURITY ONLINE
Cyberattack Shuts Down School Network for 11 Days
Hacking is becoming more common and more sophisticated, security experts say
PROVINCETOWN — A cyberattack on the Provincetown IB Schools triggered a shutdown of the schools’ network from Oct. 17 to 28. The network, servers, and Windows computers were affected by […]
SOUP’S ON
A New Chef Joins SKIP’s ‘Big Family’
Raul Garcia makes friends and 200 meals a day at Provincetown’s off-season soup kitchen
PROVINCETOWN — On a cold Monday, 200 or so guests gathered at the United Methodist Church for lunch at the Soup Kitchen in Provincetown, or SKIP. Some had been in […]
