Shrubby lichens like the bushy beard (Usnea strigosa) are sensitive enough to air pollution to be bioindicators: the bushier the beards, the cleaner the air. Judging by the robustness of […]
News
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MORNING FLIGHT
The Art of Pishing
When songbirds are nowhere to be found, a scolding call can bring out a mob
Some days, birds just aren’t cooperative. Warblers stick to the crowns of trees, sparrows hide in the bushes, and finches won’t leave the hedges. Birds can be skulky beasts sometimes. […]
MILLION-YEAR PICNIC
Seeing the Light Under a Dark Sky
A first unforgettable look at a glorious three-dimensional mess of stars
On the Outer Cape, far from the lights of shopping centers, interstate highways, and urban downtowns, we’re used to seeing bright stars sparkle amidst hundreds of fainter ones. The ghostly […]
RARA AVIS
This Week’s Bird Sightings
Confirmed bird sightings on the Outer Cape in the week preceding the Independent’s deadline on Tuesday, Jan. 30 included the following, based on a report prepared by Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet […]
PROVINCETOWN: THIS WEEK'S CURRENTS
Dissolving the Pier Corp.
Meetings Ahead Most meetings in Provincetown are held in person, typically with an online-attendance option for both committee members and residents. Click on the meeting you want to attend on […]
TRURO: THIS WEEK'S CURRENTS
Office Hours
Meetings Ahead Most meetings in Truro are remote. Go to Truro-ma.gov and click on the meeting you are interested in. The agenda includes instructions on how to join. Thursday, Feb. 1 Climate […]
WELLFLEET: THIS WEEK'S CURRENTS
Who Will Join the WHA?
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 […]
EASTHAM: THIS WEEK'S CURRENTS
Town Meeting Decorum
Meetings Ahead Most meetings in Eastham are in person, typically with an online-attendance option for both committee members and residents. Click on the meeting you want to attend on the […]
FIGHTING BLIGHT
A Once Grand Property, Now Condemned, May Finally Get a Cleanup
Wellfleet turns to a state program to get owner to bring house up to code
WELLFLEET — A 19th-century Queen Anne-style house just off Route 6 once numbered among a cluster of grand properties owned by wealthy members of the local business community in a […]
FUNDED
Wellfleet’s Lawrence Hill Project Wins State Support
The plan to build 46 units next to the elementary school moves forward
WELLFLEET — The plan to build 46 affordable apartments at 95 Lawrence Road has cleared its last major hurdle. On Monday, the state Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities […]
PASS THE PASTA
Montano’s New Owner Has Been Eating There for 16 Years
Ed Medeiros says he doesn’t plan big changes for the North Truro restaurant
TRURO — After close to 36 years at the helm of Montano’s, a beacon for pasta lovers and Truro’s only deep-winter dinner spot, Bob Montano is selling the restaurant that […]
FUNDING
Outer Cape Towns Institute Opioid Remediation Plan
Most funds go to harm reduction and cash assistance; some expenditures have critics
The four Outer Cape towns began a joint effort on Jan. 1 to spend an unusual pool of money: $621,100 in “opioid remediation funds” that will come to the towns […]
JUMPING SHIP
Another Administrator Resigns, Leaving Wellfleet With None
Silvio Genao points to lack of select board support for town staff work
WELLFLEET — At its Jan. 9 meeting, the Wellfleet Select Board voted to appoint Assistant Town Administrator Silvio Genao to the position of interim town administrator. Genao resigned on Jan. […]
SLICE OF LIFE
Pizza Spinello Brings Dinner to Main Street
One ‘grandfathered’ spot opens for takeout, but opportunities for restaurants dwindle
WELLFLEET — A new light is flickering on Wellfleet’s ever-darkening Main Street. Pizza Spinello opened its doors on Jan. 3 to a bevy of townspeople hungry for a new dinner […]
BEACON HILL
After 9 Terms, Peake Will Give Up House Seat
Housing bill, with real estate transfer fee, is a priority for her
PROVINCETOWN — State Rep. Sarah Peake’s ninth term on Beacon Hill will be her last, she announced last week. Peake, 66, a Democrat who lives in Provincetown and whose Fourth […]
