CHATHAM — Strange things have been happening in recent years in the Gulf of Maine, the 36,000 square miles of relatively enclosed ocean stretching from Cape Cod to Nova Scotia. […]
THE SCUTTLEBUTT
A Look Back on the Fishing Season
In 2024, fewer bass and blues on the bay side and the return of fluke
As we wrap up the year, there’s some recent news: the early arrival on Nov. 18 of two North Atlantic right whales. Scientists from the Center for Coastal Studies were […]
GOING IN CIRCLES
Truro DPW Project Remains Mired in Controversy
Conflicting views about a town meeting vote bog down progress
TRURO — Construction of a new Dept. of Public Works facility, which town officials had hoped to complete by 2027, appears unlikely to meet that deadline. The project is mired […]
HOUSING AT MAURICE’S
A Vision of Small Neighborhoods Comes Into Focus
Townspeople want a ‘cozy’ plan for the 22-acre campground site
WELLFLEET — Some 100 residents turned out for the Nov. 20 “visioning session” on the future of what is now Maurice’s Campground. The crowd was considerably larger than planners at […]
THE SCUTTLEBUTT
A Fisherman’s Glimpse of a Simpler Life
Awaiting whales, watching corals, and avoiding parrotfish in Tortola
Greetings from sunny, warm Tortola — a place my mate and I love so much we visit twice a year. I often write about the challenges fishermen face in our […]
THE SCUTTLEBUTT
Long Island Sound Lost Its Lobster Fishery. Is Cape Cod Bay Next?
With warmer water and a steeper thermocline, it’s hard to know where the lobsters will go
Cape Cod and lobster are as much a match as peanut butter and jelly. It’s hard to imagine a summer without lobster rolls or that quintessential Cape Cod food adventure, […]
TRANSPORTATION
CCRTA Opts Out of State Grant for Free Rides
The Cape’s transit agency is one of just two that did not apply for funds
Public transportation will be free in the new year for hundreds of thousands of riders statewide who rely on their regional transit authorities to get around. But not on Cape […]
THE SCUTTLEBUTT
Long Island Sound Lost Its Lobster Fishery. Is Cape Cod Bay Next?
With warmer water and a steeper thermocline, it’s hard to know where the lobsters will go
Cape Cod and lobster are as much a match as peanut butter and jelly. It’s hard to imagine a summer without lobster rolls or that quintessential Cape Cod food adventure, […]
THE SCUTTLEBUTT
A Look at a New Kind of Ark
Maybe floating open-water fish farming will take the pressure off wild stocks
It’s hard for me to wrap my head around fish farming. I grew up commercial fishing the old-fashioned way, for one thing. Besides, it seems to me fish farming produces […]
WELLFLEET HOUSING
After 11 Years, Construction Begins on 4 Habitat Homes
Three future homeowners are single mothers; two lived in tents before Habitat’s offer
WELLFLEET — Nash Badams learned to ride a bike in the summer of 2012. He was four years old, living with his recently divorced mother in a tent at Maurice’s […]
HOUSING
Eastham Considers Funding a ‘Lease to Locals’ Program
Unspent community housing funds would pay homeowners to switch to year-round rentals
EASTHAM — This town may follow in the footsteps of Provincetown and Nantucket and use short-term rental tax money to encourage owners to switch their properties to year-round rentals. Eastham […]
THE SCUTTLEBUTT
A Leveling Off of the Steep Right Whale Decline
Births have increased but so have deaths caused by human activities
There is some good news about the population of North Atlantic right whales: after seven years of declining numbers from 2013 to 2020, there has been a small increase in […]
HOUSING
At the Groundbreaking on Lawrence Road
WELLFLEET — State and local officials wielding shiny shovels officially broke ground at the site of the Residences at Lawrence Hill on Oct. 30. Speaking to a small group of […]
LITTLE HOUSES
An ADU Project in the Seashore Becomes a Snafu
Conflicting laws could put Seashore homeowners’ certificates at risk, Supt. Flynn said
WELLFLEET — The owners of a two-acre property at 19 School House Hill Road are overseeing the finishing touches on an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) built under the town’s still-new […]
THE SCUTTLEBUTT
Chesapeake Bay Results Are In, and They’re Not Good
Striper spawning success is low for sixth year in a row
The results are in from the annual seine in the Chesapeake Bay to determine the status of the juvenile striped bass population, and the news isn’t good. Samples of fish […]