PROVINCETOWN — Voters at the April 3 annual town meeting will consider a plan to create a 40-foot gap in the town’s West End breakwater, more formally known as the […]
News
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ENVIRONMENT
A Major Wastewater Funding Source Is Drying Up
The Cape Cod and Islands Water Protection Fund has an unbalanced budget
WELLFLEET — The Cape Cod and Islands Water Protection Fund may be running dry. Financial models in last year’s annual report projected that the fund would be in arrears by […]
WALSH COMMITTEE
Citing Workload, Two Co-Chairs Step Down
Breslin and Oxtoby may replace Gaechter and Wisotzky
TRURO — “This is a very painful thing for both of us,” said Fred Gaechter at the Feb. 15 meeting of the Walsh Property Community Planning Committee as he and […]
VIOLATIONS
Fire That Killed 6-Year-Old Was in Illegally Constructed Apartment
Orleans Select Board considers requiring inspection of rentals, but building dept. is overwhelmed
ORLEANS — The fire that killed six-year-old Kyi Odeen Bourne on Feb. 4 broke out inside an apartment constructed illegally on the second floor of 177 Route 6A in downtown […]
HOUSING
New Roofs Needed Immediately at Harbor Hill
One insurer dropped the property; the new one won’t insure two of four roofs
PROVINCETOWN — It’s been three and a half years since the first year-round tenants moved into Harbor Hill, the 28-apartment, four-building West End complex that used to be a timeshare […]
MIND THE GAP
Summit Challenges Regional Transit to Meet Its Mission
Creative solutions called for after Dial-a-Ride program fails Outer Cape
PROVINCETOWN — Cape Cod Regional Transit Authority (CCRTA) staff spent half an hour on Feb. 13 telling the Provincetown Select Board about the bounty of buses the government-funded organization offers […]
LICENSING
Zoning Board Gives Foxberry Inn a ‘Second Chance’
Hearing complaints about last summer, owners say this year won’t be a repeat
PROVINCETOWN — The owners of the Foxberry Inn at 29 Bradford St. Extension were granted a request to expand their liquor license to allow for an outdoor bar and permit […]
ELUSIVE FELINES
Wellfleet Discovers — and Freezes — Its First Bobcat
‘It was clear it wasn’t a house cat,’ says animal control officer
WELLFLEET — Provincetown has bears, Truro has its puma, and now Wellfleet has bobcats — or rather, a bobcat. Or at least it did have one. A lone bobcat was […]
MILLION-YEAR PICNIC
Pondering Comets, Asteroids, and Planets
And why Pluto got demoted
Comet ZTF made its closest approach to Earth on Feb. 1 at a distance of 26 million miles. That’s pretty close. Mars, for example, is, on average, 140 million miles […]
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. 21 included the following, based on a report prepared by Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet […]
PROVINCETOWN: THIS WEEK'S CURRENTS
Transfer Tax Heats Up
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
ZBA Seeks Alternate
Meetings Ahead Most meetings in Truro are still being held remotely. Go to truro-ma.gov and click on the meeting you want to watch. The agenda includes instructions on how to join. Thursday, […]
WELLFLEET: THIS WEEK'S CURRENTS
Cappello Named Deputy Fire Chief
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
Special Ed and Civil Rights Review
Meetings Ahead Most meetings in Eastham are in-person, typically with an online-attendance option for both committee members and residents. Go to eastham-ma.gov and click on the meeting you are interested in for details. […]
FIREARMS LAWS
Panel on Suicide Attracts Defenders of Gun Rights
Ties between licensing and mental health agencies could help, says one police chief
WEST BARNSTABLE — Introducing a panel discussion on guns and suicide at Cape Cod Community College last Thursday, state Rep. Michael Day of Stoneham said that Massachusetts gun laws have […]
