WELLFLEET — A Jan. 18 notice from the harbormaster raised eyebrows among shellfishermen here. Winter dockage fees for use of the pier, due on Jan. 31, were being increased dramatically […]
Next Generation
ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS
Enrollment Declines Steeply in Wellfleet and Truro
Wellfleet isn’t part of regionalization study with the rest of Nauset district
This article was updated on Jan. 30, 2025. WELLFLEET — With young families finding the Outer Cape increasingly unaffordable, elementary school enrollment has plunged by about 30 percent since the […]
ENVIRONMENT
Wellfleet Adopts New Septic Regulations
Priorities: upgrades, cesspool removal in stages, and case-by-case decisions
WELLFLEET — The board of health approved a new set of septic system regulations at its Jan. 22 meeting. The rules are an essential part of the town’s Targeted Watershed […]
FISCAL DUTIES
Wellfleet Debuts Joint Committee to Review Draft Budget
Guerino, foreseeing a tight squeeze, awaits free cash certification to present final figures
WELLFLEET — Town Administrator Tom Guerino is even busier than usual, says his executive assistant, as Wellfleet embarks on a new kind of financial review. For the first time, a […]
WHALE WATCH
Government Withdraws Tighter Vessel Speed Rule
Opposition focused on ferry services, but critics say NOAA was slow to adapt
PROVINCETOWN — The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) — the part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration charged with stewardship of the nation’s ocean resources and their habitats — […]
COMMUNITY
Serving Food and Fresh Clothes Amid L.A.’s Fires
Cape residents who winter in Los Angeles find ways to support neighbors
PROVINCETOWN — Michela Murphy, who owns Sal’s Place in Provincetown with her mother, Siobhan Carew, landed in Los Angeles for the winter on Jan. 6 to help manage the Italian […]
REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK
Into the Vortex
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A polar vortex swooped down from the Arctic on Monday, fueled by climate change-driven instability in the jet stream, forcing Donald Trump’s inauguration indoors. But nobody in […]
ISRAEL AND PALESTINE
After Tense Prologue, Film and Discussion Go Forward Without Incident
About 20 people protested a documentary, claiming it is anti-Semitic
WELLFLEET — The organization Wellfleet for Palestine organized a screening of the 2016 documentary film The Occupation of the American Mind on Tuesday, Jan. 14 at the Wellfleet Public Library. […]
WASTEWATER
Wellfleet Maps Its Expanded Sewer District
High-density and low-lying areas shape path to nitrogen reduction target
WELLFLEET — A map showing the town’s proposed sewer district, updated as of Dec. 11, 2024, has been posted on the board of health page of the town website. The […]
BACKLOG
Truro Select Board Takes Months to Release Minutes
Vacant positions and overwhelmed staff are said to bog down a routine duty
TRURO — The process of keeping minutes of select board meetings and getting them approved and released slowed to a crawl last year, with minutes from late August and September […]
BEACH DAY
With Exhausted Crew Asleep, Fishing Boat Runs Aground in Truro
No injuries, damage, or pollution is reported, and the boat is towed back to sea
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. […]
TRURO TREASURE
DPW Price Tag Will Be $26M to $30M, Says Project Manager
Updated cost estimates reignite concerns as design process lags
TRURO — The projected cost of an upgraded Dept. of Public Works (DPW) facility, which has been on the town’s agenda for at least 13 years, has climbed back up […]
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 […]
DRAWING LIFE
On the Hunt for Courtney Allen
The illustrator who rendered America in myth and modernity
On a long wooden table in the quiet confines of the Cobb Archive in Truro, the beasts don’t circle as much as they overlap, still menacing but yellowed with time. […]