ORLEANS — Carla Koehl, the executive director of the Cape Cod Foster Closet, set out one year ago to answer a simple question: how many kids living on the Cape […]
Local Journalism Project
MENTAL HEALTH
With Clinicians Overbooked, Agencies Try to ‘Triage’ the Delays
When access to therapists is months away, nonclinical care can help, leaders say
WELLFLEET — When Dikke Hansen decided to “semi-retire,” giving up her position as director of behavioral health at Outer Cape Health Services in 2021 and taking up part-time work as […]
AQUACULTURE
Off the Tides, the Work Goes On for Oystermen
Culling, sorting, tumbling, tagging, and selling are unseen tasks of the trade
WELLFLEET — Jimmy Mulpeter stands under the shade of a patio umbrella on an August afternoon, holding oyster after oyster against a metal gauge before tossing them into one of […]
MORNING FLIGHT
For Birds, Summer Is Over
Following flocks for the first signs of fall’s progression
The more time I spend in nature, the clearer it becomes that the four seasons are a myth. At the very least, they are too simplistic: how can we look […]
HEALTH CARE
Nursing Home Reform Languishes on Beacon Hill
Despite latest failure, 3 lawmakers say long-term care legislation is not dead
PROVINCETOWN — Massachusetts politicians at both the state and federal level have made recent moves toward tightening regulation of the long-term care industry, especially as private-equity firms continue to buy […]
CLIMATE CHANGE
A Test of Ocean De-Acidification Begins Next Month
Alkaline compounds could increase the ocean’s capacity to store carbon
A group of scientists from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) is planning to release 6,600 gallons of sodium hydroxide into the waters south of Martha’s Vineyard in September to […]
BIVALVES
Interested in Aquaculture? Ask a Clambassador.
On the Provincetown oyster flats, keeping visitors from disrupting farmers
PROVINCETOWN — A squad of marine educators has been deployed on the oyster flats of Provincetown in an attempt to teach the curious while protecting the livelihoods of those who […]
COVE WATCH
On and Off the Lifeguards’ Chair at Herring Cove Beach
A tight-knit team of students, entrepreneurs, and ‘lifers’ who love their Seashore jobs
PROVINCETOWN — Alan Weaver is a real estate broker in Hudson, N.Y. for most of the year, but this summer he’s a lifeguard at Herring Cove Beach in Provincetown. With […]
ALTER EGOS
Oliver Egger and the Olive Eggers
A writer meets his namesake in a chicken coop in Eastham
EASTHAM — While trying to avoid typing practice during a sixth-grade computer lab, I typed my name into Google to discover if there were any other Oliver Eggers out there […]
ON THE BALL
Beach Volleyballers Mourn Loss of Longnook
Relocated to Ballston after decades at their regular court, they hope the move is temporary
TRURO — The sun beats down on an 81-degree Sunday at Ballston Beach. The southwest wind whips, and the net writhes. It’s a battle against the elements at beach volleyball […]
WORKER HOUSING
When the Boss Is Your Landlord, It’s Complicated
The agreements keep businesses open but are legally ambiguous
PROVINCETOWN — When eight longtime employees of Marine Specialties owner Patrick Patrick arrived back on Cape Cod from Jamaica in 2019, their housing had fallen through. After a fruitless search, […]
SEASHORE POINT
Reviewers Suspect Fraud in Nursing Home Filings
Experts find evidence of hidden profits in the millions
PROVINCETOWN — Since taking over the nursing home at Seashore Point in 2019, the current owners have used a complex network of companies to pay themselves hidden profits — possibly […]
MASTER PLAN
In Eastham, Housing Plan Must Wait Until 2035
As the number of affordable units shrinks, the town has no near-term strategy
EASTHAM — It has been five years since the town bought the 11-acre T-Time property for housing and commercial development. During that time, a nine-person committee spent four years gathering […]
A MANAGEMENT ISSUE
Patients Suffer at Outer Cape’s Only Nursing Home
AdviniaCare at Seashore Point fails to meet state minimum-staffing standards
PROVINCETOWN — This past spring, a Provincetown resident who the Independent has agreed not to name to protect the person’s privacy checked into the Seashore Point nursing home for rehabilitation […]
ENVIRONMENT
Cape Cod’s Coral Gardens (Yes, We Have Corals Here) Are in Trouble
NOAA expands its research into deeper waters from Maine to North Carolina
If you were to picture coral right now, your mind’s eye would surely see tropical reefs with crystal-clear turquoise water. But that image is incomplete: the temperate seas around the […]
