PROVINCETOWN — At the annual town meeting on April 3, voters will consider three citizen-petitioned articles proposing amendments to Provincetown’s general bylaw that would institute new regulations on short-term rentals […]
Local Journalism Project
DPW PROJECTS
Mill Pond Road Plans Have Truro Riled Up
A road debate and a $30M building
TRURO — Residents are rallying against Dept. of Public Works Director Jarrod Cabral’s plan to replace a damaged culvert that is restricting tidal flow into Mill Pond. Cabral told the […]
TOWN MEETING
Wellfleet’s 2024 Budget Rides on Overrides
Voters will face a total of 20 Proposition 2½ overrides and debt exclusions
WELLFLEET — The town’s budgeting process this year has been anything but easy, says Town Administrator Rich Waldo. “With not having support from a permanent town accountant and assistant town […]
SCHOOLS
No Longer Interim: Goyette Named Superintendent in Provincetown
Search committee finds former principal ‘head and shoulders’ above other candidates
PROVINCETOWN — When Gerry Goyette was made interim superintendent in June 2022, the Provincetown School Committee had one major concern: Goyette, who was serving as the school’s principal, was just […]
TOWN FINANCE
Wellfleet Officials Take In State’s Fiscal Report
But they are at a loss about how to begin on DOR recommendations
WELLFLEET — When the state Dept. of Revenue presented its bleak financial management review to the select board and finance committee on Feb. 28, Deb Wagner, a director at the […]
LOCALS
Jim Zimmerman Connects Provincetown’s Past With Its Present
PAAM’s resident jack-of-all-trades is a fountain of institutional and community knowledge
Jim Zimmerman — camera around his neck — greeted me in the lobby of the Provincetown Art Association and Museum and led us through the museum’s expansive galleries with the […]
ENVIRONMENT
Reports Show Steady Deterioration in Coastal Water Quality
Center for Coastal Studies work points to need to replace septic systems
PROVINCETOWN — Reports in recent years from the Association to Preserve Cape Cod (APCC), which uses data collected by the Center for Coastal Studies (CCS) at more than 100 testing […]
LEGAL EAGLES
Nauset Mock Trial Team’s Full-Courtroom Press
Eleven students are headed to Boston for the state quarterfinals
Eastham — It requires the precision of fencing, the flexibility of gymnastics, and the strategy of football. But it doesn’t take place on a field or in a gymnasium. It […]
HISTORIES
An Almost-Forgotten Story for Our Troubled Times
Rachel Maddow’s Ultra podcast tells a grim tale of Nazi-backed sedition in the U.S.
Rachel Maddow’s hit podcast Ultra is a tightly crafted work of historical research, a fable for our current fascism-tinged political landscape, and a love letter to the Library of Congress. […]
ENVIRONMENT
A Major Wastewater Funding Source Is Drying Up
The Cape Cod and Islands Water Protection Fund has an unbalanced budget
WELLFLEET — The Cape Cod and Islands Water Protection Fund may be running dry. Financial models in last year’s annual report projected that the fund would be in arrears by […]
WALSH COMMITTEE
Citing Workload, Two Co-Chairs Step Down
Breslin and Oxtoby may replace Gaechter and Wisotzky
TRURO — “This is a very painful thing for both of us,” said Fred Gaechter at the Feb. 15 meeting of the Walsh Property Community Planning Committee as he and […]
ARTISTS
Creating a System for the Nonsensical
Two FAWC fellows forge a partnership born of frustration with the status quo
Georgia Dickie, who is from Toronto, and Tinja Ruusuvuori, who lives and works in Tampere, Finland, had never met before arriving in Provincetown for their Fine Arts Work Center fellowships […]
FIREARMS LAWS
Panel on Suicide Attracts Defenders of Gun Rights
Ties between licensing and mental health agencies could help, says one police chief
WEST BARNSTABLE — Introducing a panel discussion on guns and suicide at Cape Cod Community College last Thursday, state Rep. Michael Day of Stoneham said that Massachusetts gun laws have […]
RECREATION
Two ‘Master Plans’ for Motta Field Are Unveiled
A funding vote would be next year and construction the year after that
PROVINCETOWN — After several months of community input, Provincetown’s recreation dept. and the design firm Weston & Sampson unveiled two potential master plans for a rebuilt Motta Field at a […]
ON BEACON HILL
New House Rules Increase Access but Reject Committee Transparency
Focus on committee votes is a ‘great disservice to the citizenry,’ says Peake
PROVINCETOWN — Despite its reputation as a progressive stronghold, Massachusetts has long trailed red and blue states alike when it comes to legislative transparency at the state level, particularly in […]