PROVINCETOWN — By a margin of just 19 votes, 157 in favor, 176 against, Monday’s special town meeting rejected Fire Chief Mike Trovato’s plan for the former VFW site on Jerome Smith Road. The sole article on Monday’s warrant — initiated by Trovato’s petition, signed by 203 citizens — would have designated the town-owned 1.3-acre […]
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LIFE & DEATH
Creating a Caring Place to Die
Lily House would offer round-the-clock care so residents won’t have to die alone
PROVINCETOWN — Ever since Dawn Walsh arrived in Provincetown she has been working to take fear and ignorance out of the experience of death. She founded the Day of the Dead Festival in 2016 and soon after that began organizing “death cafés” to foster conversations on the taboo topic. (The next one is Dec. 11 […]
ENVIRONMENT
Herring to Be Protected From Big Trawlers
Local fishermen are hopeful about new NOAA rule
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) moved to protect herring on Nov. 19 when it approved a new rule restricting the operation of trawlers. Amendment 8 to the Atlantic Herring Fishery Management Plan, developed by the New England Fishery Management Council over the past several years, prohibits the use of mid-water trawl gear year-round […]
DEVELOPMENT
Water to the Cloverleaf Will Nourish N. Truro Businesses
NORTH TRURO — A water line will be coming to Highland Road to service the 40-unit Cloverleaf housing project and bring new economic development to the scrappy commercial area here. A few weeks ago the state announced a $1.2-million grant from the MassWorks Infrastructure Program to extend the Provincetown-Truro municipal water line by 1,500 feet. […]
HEALTH
It’s Open Enrollment for Health Insurance Through Jan. 23
Here’s a consumer’s guide to help you through the maze
PROVINCETOWN — Massachusetts had universal health care before it was cool. Even before Obamacare, local residents were able to get insurance regardless of their work situation, income level, or pre-existing conditions. Some people still haven’t signed up, though. And others might be paying more than they need to. The Independent talked to health care access […]
CIVICS
Consultants Will Help Decide Who Is on Walsh Land Panel
Housing and environmental preservation are seen as competing interests
TRURO — Town officials have hired a Cambridge consulting firm to help figure out what to do with the 70-acre Walsh property, whose purchase for $5.1 million was approved by town meeting in May. The Consensus Building Institute (CBI) of Cambridge will set up a process to guide the Walsh property plan. Stacie Nicole Smith, […]
EASTHAM
Select Board Renews Stewart’s Liquor License
EASTHAM — The select board voted 3-1 on Nov. 25 to approve the renewal of the liquor license for Stewart’s Restaurant on Route 6 despite questions about the character of the owner, William Stewart. Stewart was accused of sexual harassment by former female employees more than a year ago and is scheduled to be tried […]
COUNTING
2020 Census Count Will Affect Cape Infrastructure
Challenges include counting immigrants and seniors who leave for the winter
Census packages won’t arrive in mailboxes across the country until mid-March, but officials and community groups on Cape Cod are strategizing now about how to make sure everyone here is counted. Data gathered in next year’s U.S. census will be used to determine the distribution of federal funds and legislative representatives for the next 10 […]
FOWL PLAY
Hunters Take Aim at Phaseout of Pheasant Stocking
National Seashore may halt practice within five years
As upland game season wraps up on Nov. 30, many local hunters worry that a longstanding tradition of pheasant hunting will soon be ending. Following a 2002 court challenge by animal rights groups, the National Park Service is expected to begin phasing out the state’s practice of pheasant stocking, in which non-native ring-necked pheasants are […]
health
Does OCHS Have a Problem With M.D. Turnover?
Patients worry, but leaders at Outer Cape Health won’t talk about it
PROVINCETOWN — Jonathan Sperber of Truro moved to Cape Cod last spring. On Oct. 7, he filed his new patient paperwork with the Outer Cape Health Services (OCHS) clinic in Wellfleet. But he will not see a clinician until the end of December. Everyone Sperber spoke with at OCHS warned him it would take time […]
development
Old Reliable Proposal Would Exceed Building Height Limit
Boutique hotel project on beach would replace condemned fish house
PROVINCETOWN — A hotel that’s taller than Whaler’s Wharf and would include a nearly 264-foot pier was heralded as “bold” and derided as “ugly” on Nov. 21 at a zoning board of appeals hearing. Christine Barker is proposing to redevelop 227R Commercial St., the condemned former Old Reliable Fish House, which still has rights to […]
SPECIAL TOWN MEETING
New Station or Housing? The VFW Parcel’s Long, Winding Road
Six years of town meeting votes led to the current moment
PROVINCETOWN — The 1.3-acre parcel of town-owned land that was the former VFW post is once again the subject of debate. A petitioned article from Fire Chief Mike Trovato and 203 voters has triggered a special town meeting in the town hall auditorium at 6 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 2. The petitioners want the parcel […]
civics
Young Leaders Want More People to Focus on the Future Here
The vision: real villages, climate readiness, more housing, broadband
EASTHAM — Four of the youngest members of our local select boards, all elected for the first time in the last two years, met for a conversation about the future of the Outer Cape last Thursday at the Eastham library. The audience for the event, organized by the Independent, was small, but the topics that […]
loss
Leather Craftsman John Eder Dies in Provincetown House Fire
PROVINCETOWN — A fire at 86 Atkins Mayo Road on Thursday, Nov. 21 killed the home owner, John Eder, the sole occupant of a house set far back in the woods off Bradford Street. The alarm at 2:33 p.m. brought as many as 40 firefighters to one of the most remote locations in Provincetown, said […]
THE SEARCH
Town Manager Candidate Took $400K Buyout; Another Was Fired
PROVINCETOWN — There are times when consensus is impossible, according to Robin Leal Craver, who is one of three finalists for the town manager’s position. In her case, one of those times was earlier this year when she approved a host community agreement for the largest marijuana cultivation and processing facility in the country, greatly […]
