The Virginia marsh St. John’s wort is no longer placed in the Hypericum genus with the others; its pink-blooming flowers each have three orange glands and nine stamens grouped in […]
News
Fresh local news that brings you closer to your neighbors and the community.
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RARA AVIS
This Week’s Bird Sightings
Confirmed bird sightings on the Outer Cape in the week preceding the Independent’s deadline on Tuesday, May 27 included the following, based on a report prepared by Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet […]
PROVINCETOWN: THIS WEEK'S CURRENTS
Expanded Bus Hours
Meetings Ahead Most meetings in Provincetown are held in person, typically with an online-attendance option. Click on the meeting you want to attend on the calendar at provincetown-ma.gov for a […]
TRURO: THIS WEEK'S CURRENTS
Herding Elephants
Meetings Ahead Meetings in Truro are often held remotely. Go to Truro-ma.gov and click on the meeting you are interested in for an agenda and details on how to join. […]
WELLFLEET: THIS WEEK'S CURRENTS
Changes at the Marina
Meetings Ahead Most meetings in Wellfleet are in person, typically with an online-attendance option. Click on the meeting that interests you on the calendar at wellfleet-ma.gov for details. All meetings […]
EASTHAM: THIS WEEK'S CURRENTS
What’s a DPU Hearing?
Meetings Ahead Most meetings in Eastham are in person, typically with an online-attendance option. Click on the meeting you are interested in on the calendar at eastham-ma.gov for details. All […]
EASTHAM VOTES
Bryan, Cerasale Are Re-Elected to Select Board
Higgins and Rowe win library trustee slots; duplex purchase passes
This article was updated on May 22, 2025. EASTHAM — The 569 people who turned out for Eastham’s annual town election on Tuesday, May 20 returned incumbents Jerry Cerasale and […]
BLUE ECONOMY
Rock Harbor Redevelopment Is Delayed by Weather
With a new bulkhead installed, wharf will be operational by mid-June
ORLEANS — The wharf renovation on the Orleans side of Rock Harbor that was expected to be completed by early May won’t be finished before the summer boating season begins, […]
SUMMER TRAFFIC
Beachcomber Gets Go-Ahead to Add Parking
Wellfleet bar will demolish a building to gain spots, but not ’til next year
WELLFLEET — At the Beachcomber here, as at many other Outer Cape summer spots, the menus are set, the merch is unpacked, the live music is booked, and the countdown […]
FAMILY PLOTS
A Dispute Delays Helen Haunstrup’s Burial
A permit is rescinded, and an impasse ensues
PROVINCETOWN — Helen Haunstrup and her husband, Anton “Napi” Van Dereck Haunstrup, were well known in Provincetown almost from the time they met at a sailing race here in 1955. […]
CREATIVE COMMONS
An Art Show That ‘Flips the Script’
At the COA, people over 60 teach, learn, and play
PROVINCETOWN — Maybe it was the Veterans Memorial Community Center’s past life as an elementary school, where kids once put on plays and climbed a rope to the ceiling during […]
ENFORCEMENT
As Immigration Raids Rise, Truro’s Leaders Look for Guidance
Town officials want clarity on how staff should respond to ICE warrants
TRURO — With federal immigration enforcement raids on the rise across Massachusetts, officials in Truro are weighing how staff should respond if one should take place at a town building […]
ON THE BEACH
A Cormorant Offers Some Fishing Advice
How I learned to love, or at least respect, that damn bird that stole my trout
On a balmy afternoon at the end of April, I spent a solitary hour casting from my favorite spot up the Herring River to see if any early bass had […]
THE SCUTTLEBUTT
Flounder, Basking Sharks, and Algae
Watching the ‘Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt’
I’m starting to sound like a broken record: we are still waiting for the big charge of striped bass to arrive in our waters. There have been reports of spotty […]
MILLION-YEAR PICNIC
Another Year, Another 15,285,312,000 Miles in Space
The ground might feel solid beneath our feet, but everything is in motion
Everything changes in the night sky; nothing remains the same. But the pace of change varies widely, depending on which celestial objects you’re watching. The Moon orbits Earth once every […]
