PROVINCETOWN — The $2 trillion CARES Act turns three months old this week, and the relief programs it created have all had rough rollouts. The payroll loans, disaster loans, and […]
AT RISK AT WORK
Six People, 12 Jobs, One Bathroom
Dense seasonal housing presents a new hazard
PROVINCETOWN — Short-term rentals bring in visitors and help pay the town’s bills. Year-round rentals are the endangered species that we keep trying to preserve and expand. Seasonal rentals are […]
BUSINESS
Cumby’s Bid to Sell Alcohol Gains Steam
State court approves ballot question to create new type of liquor license
Cumberland Farms, along with other convenience stores, is one step closer to selling alcohol and upending the current system of liquor sales licenses. The Mass. Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) on […]
RENTAL HEALTH
Wellfleet Proposes New Rental Regulations
Requirements would be toughest on Outer Cape
WELLFLEET — Short- and long-term rentals might look very different next summer, and it has nothing to do with Covid-19. The town’s health and conservation dept. has drafted regulations that […]
ECONOMY
There Will Be International Workers, but Not as Many
Arriving from countries with fewer infections, seasonal workforce takes a risk to serve here
PROVINCETOWN — The Outer Cape is not a highly diverse place. When it comes to sexual orientation, Provincetown has a higher concentration of LGBTQ people than almost anywhere — but […]
HOME IMPROVEMENT
Home Repair Aid for the Asking
No one in P’town has applied this year
Laurence Young of Provincetown had windows in his condominium dating back to the early 1980s, and electric heat upstairs that was expensive no matter how sparingly used. That changed in […]
THE SCUTTLEBUTT
While Waiting for Fish, We Count Sharks, Deer, and Coyotes
Not many stripers or blues, but the flounder are fat and fine
The Provincetown waterfront remains quiet, as commercial fishing boats go about their business of lobstering and scalloping, but the rest of the fleet is essentially tied to the dock waiting for […]
UPS AND DOWNS
Packages Sit Undelivered as Customers Fume
Business owners may face losses from UPS meltdown
WELLFLEET — The UPS Customer Center at 131 Ansel Hallet Road in West Yarmouth, once busy shipping packages all around the Outer Cape, now houses halted conveyor belts, silenced machines, […]
THE NEW NORMAL
Contact Tracing Could Be a Challenge for Reopened Businesses
Self-isolation orders will affect employers, employees
PROVINCETOWN — The Outer Cape’s economy is opening back up. The streets are showing signs of life, as lodging, outdoor dining, and retail resume after a three-month hiatus. Workers and […]
THE SCUTTLEBUTT
What Not to Eat, or Be Eaten By
The seals and sharks return, and pufferfish appear
PROVINCETOWN — The hot news on the waterfront this week is that the seals are back, and so are the white sharks. A gray seal with a rather large shark […]
ON THE WATERFRONT
Attorney for Fishermen Goes After Pier Corp.
Meeting on June 11 could be a showdown
PROVINCETOWN — An attorney for two fishermen whose dockage fees were raised this year is charging the Public Pier Corp. with Open Meeting Law violations and with changing the rules […]
PHASING IN
Provincetown Adopts New Policies, but No New Mask Law
Joint meeting of town boards approves reopening guidelines
PROVINCETOWN — Outdoor dining for restaurants, new picnic areas on town property, an experimental car ban on Commercial Street, and extra oversight of the excursion fleet were all approved at […]
THE HAIL MARY
For Some, Outdoor Alcohol May Save Season
Wellfleet chiefs support restaurant plan
WELLFLEET — The Beachcomber, the Pearl, and Mac’s Shack will ask the select board on June 9 to be allowed to serve alcohol outdoors. Each restaurant hopes to set up […]
SHELLFISHING
Seasonal Permits Are Banned in Wellfleet
But more costly year-round licenses remain an option
WELLFLEET — Vacationers and visitors received another blow from the select board last week — a ban on seasonal recreational shellfishing permits. On top of the short-term rentals ban through […]
ART SEEN
Strolling by Scrolling: Provincetown Galleries Launch Website
Ptown Gallery Stroll is their response to a potentially dismal season
PROVINCETOWN — As of this week, art lovers can stroll past many of Provincetown’s galleries without getting up from their living room couches. A new website, ptowngallerystroll.com, was launched by […]
