As U.S. police forces face a reckoning, issues of transparency and racial equity are on the table at the State House in Boston. A conference committee works on a bill […]
Civics
TOWN MEETING PREVIEW
Wellfleet Voters Will Be Asked to Spend $23 Million
One big budget increase was for porta-potties
WELLFLEET — The annual town meeting is set to kick off at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 12, five months after it was initially postponed because of the Covid-19 pandemic. […]
ADMINISTRATION
Truro Hopes No. 4 Is the Charm
Select board passes over Sean O’Brien again for town manager job
TRURO — After Robert Wood, the top town manager candidate, and the select board could not agree on salary and benefits, the board met on Sept. 4 to weigh its […]
SIGNS OF THE TIMES
State Flag and Seal Question Is on Wellfleet, Truro Warrants
Critics call the coat of arms an emblem of white supremacy
For more than 100 years, Massachusetts has used as its state seal a colonial swordsman’s disembodied arm brandished over a Native American. The same coat of arms has also been […]
FALSE STARTS
Robert Wood and Truro Part Ways
Town is back in the hunt for a new manager
TRURO — The candidate selected to become the new town manager taking Rae Ann Palmer’s place turned out to be the wrong man for the job when negotiations over salary […]
TAXES
Eastham Again Nixes Resident Tax Exemption
Town officials looking for ways to help year-rounders in need
EASTHAM — While the select board once again decided not to adopt a residential tax exemption (RTE) this year, the controversial measure will be back on the table for 2022, […]
TOWN ELECTION
Wellfleet Ballot Includes $3.8 Million for Water Main
Special election Sept. 8 has 10 budget votes
WELLFLEET — A special town election taking place on Tuesday, Sept. 8 features 10 ballot questions, all involving budget overrides and exemptions from Proposition 2½ limits. Large purchases that involve […]
JOURNALISM
Commission on Local Newspapers Passes House Vote
Concern for future of journalism grows as chains take over
An amendment to an economic development bill calling for a statewide commission to look at what’s happening to local newspapers passed the Mass. House of Representatives on July 28 and […]
POLITICS
Cyr Nearly Alone in Speaking Out Against Morse Smear
Vague sex allegations have ‘chilling effect’ on gay candidates, he says
PROVINCETOWN — A Democratic congressional primary race in Western Massachusetts wouldn’t normally make the news on Cape Cod. But the race for the nomination in the rural 1st district, covering […]
ENFORCEMENT
Willy’s Owner Fined $101,000 for Wage Law Violations
Widow of tennis pro who died on the job will be compensated
EASTHAM — Barbara Niggel, the owner of Willy’s World Wellness & Conference Center, has been fined $101,466 by the state attorney general’s office for a litany of labor law violations. […]
RACISM REPORT
Black Lives Matter Signs Provoke Vandals
Wellfleet police warn of ‘zero tolerance’ for spray painting
When Barbara Rushmore’s “Black Lives Matter” sign was stolen from in front of her house on Commercial Street in Provincetown’s East End around July 4th, she assumed that someone from […]
ANIMAL KINGDOM
Bats Take Over Town Hall
Eastham learns how to gently remove flying mammals from public buildings
EASTHAM — Bats took over town hall last week, displacing town employees and moving last weekend’s early voting for the Sept. 1 primary election outdoors. Town Administrator Jacqui Beebe said […]
BALLOTS
How, When, Where to Vote on Outer Cape
Navigating a process threatened by Covid-19 and federal assault
PROVINCETOWN — While the U.S. Postal Service is being hobbled by national political forces that aim to privatize it and perhaps sabotage the upcoming federal elections during a pandemic, there’s […]
CIVICS
Texan Chosen as Next Truro Town Manager
Robert Wood was selected over Barnstable County health official
TRURO — Robert Wood, a Texan, will become the next town manager here, succeeding Rae Ann Palmer, who chose not to seek a renewal of her contract this year. Though […]
DARK OF NIGHT
Mail Slowdown Is Political, Say Critics
Trump, rejecting new funding, calls voting by mail ‘ridiculous’
Third in a series of reports on the local effects of the crisis in the U.S. Postal Service. The Trump administration’s unprecedented assault on the Postal Service, which has affected […]
