TRURO — Installing a cesspool has been illegal in Massachusetts since 1978. They are considered “failed” septic systems. But people on the Outer Cape have kept on living with them […]
News
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REORGANIZATION
Provincetown Select Board Is Set to Dissolve the Pier Corp.
Oversight of pier would move to DPW and an advisory board
PROVINCETOWN — The Public Pier Corporation, created in 2000 to receive major state funding for the renovation of the town-owned MacMillan Pier, has now served its purpose, according to Pier […]
FRICTION IN WELLFLEET
Curley Objects to Two Hires as Waldo Departs
Carboni calls his actions an ‘intrusion into the town administrator’s authority’
WELLFLEET — During Rich Waldo’s final two weeks as town administrator, he hired Wellfleet’s first-ever town planner and a new town accountant — a key municipal position that had been […]
BACK-TO-BACK
Truro Select Board Plans Two Separate Town Meetings
Special town meeting is set for May 4, with annual meeting likely on the next day
TRURO — The warrant for last fall’s special town meeting, which was repeatedly postponed amid a series of voter registration challenges and then moved from November to May when a […]
HEALTH CARE
Two Years After Approval, Injectable HIV Prevention Is Still Scarce
Insurance hurdles limit access to an effective health strategy
PROVINCETOWN — After its approval by the Food and Drug Administration in December 2021, Apretude, an injectable medication for HIV prevention, was expected to be a game-changer for several high-risk […]
TRURO LAND USE
Planning Board Still Doesn’t Like Road to Fisher Beach Lot
A decade after a first proposal, pitch and possible environmental damage are worries
TRURO — Willie and Gloria Cater bought three acres overlooking Fisher Beach in Truro in 1979. They’ve traveled a long road in pursuit of the chance to build there. The […]
MEANWHILE, IN UKRAINE
How a Whale Biologist Became a War Volunteer
Olga Shpak, who studied whales here, is now defending her home country
PROVINCETOWN — Olga Shpak is as surprised as anyone that she became a war volunteer. Growing up in Soviet Ukraine, Shpak had a hard time collaborating with other kids. She […]
PROMISES, PROMISES
Delgizzi Owes Over $500K in Truro Taxes
Town may take his property as feds threaten him with contempt
BOSTON — David Delgizzi, known across Outer Cape Cod as an absentee landlord who rents his rundown properties at substantial rates while ignoring tax bills for years on end, is […]
SHIFTING SANDS
Cape Cod’s Beach Grass Is Farm Grown
Among the turnips and pigs, Tim Friary cultivates an erosion-stopping crop
As climate change causes more frequent, more intense, and slower-moving storms, people on Outer Cape Cod are having to adjust their ideas about how quickly its beaches are eroding. A […]
MORNING FLIGHT
New Winter Birds That Are Here to Stay
Climate change has altered the birds we see as ‘ours’
Charles Townsend was an acclaimed ornithologist who lived on the North Shore of Boston. Studying the birds around him, he quickly rose to prominence as an expert on the bird […]
MIGHTY PHRAGMITES
America, the Invaded
The view across a Cape marsh in winter can be downright lyrical, with beautiful, spacious skies and amber waves of Phragmites australis, the invasive common reed. Soaring up to 20 […]
RARA AVIS
This Week’s Bird Sightings
Confirmed bird sightings on the Outer Cape in the week preceding the Independent’s deadline on Tuesday, Feb. 13 included the following, based on a report prepared by Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet […]
PROVINCETOWN: THIS WEEK'S CURRENTS
Expanding the Housing Office
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
A House Convoy
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. Thursday, Feb. […]
WELLFLEET: THIS WEEK'S CURRENTS
8 Years of Roadwork?
Meetings Ahead Most meetings in Wellfleet are remote only, but some are held in person. Go to www.wellfleet-ma.gov/calendar and click on the meeting you want to watch, then follow the […]