Ben Zehnder is mad at me. He’s well known as the go-to lawyer around here if you need a variance, or if you have gotten into a fight with a […]
Editorials
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
The Art of Being Free
After we sent the paper off to the printer last week, I picked up the April issue of The Atlantic that somebody left on the kitchen counter. It was folded […]
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
Madam, I’m Adam
Our once-a-month crossword, by the talented Sophia Maymudes, is very popular. And so, I have begun looking into the possibility of finding some new types of puzzles or word games […]
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
People, Not Numbers
My cousin David is a professional gambler. He fervently believes that every human problem can be expressed in mathematical terms, and thus solved with mathematical logic. He has been wildly […]
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
Sunshine Week for the Press
Two months ago, I wrote about a flap we had with the new Wellfleet town administrator, Maria Broadbent. She had given one of our reporters a hard time about releasing […]
LETTER FROM THE ARTS EDITOR
The Horror! The Horror!
Perhaps the biggest illusion perpetuated by the movie business is that film shoots — the nuts and bolts of producing movies and television — are glamorous and fascinating. In fact, […]
LETTER FROM THE PUBLISHER
Good Business, Bad Faith
The Independent’s mission is to produce truth-seeking reporting on the Outer Cape. But we have another purpose that extends beyond the Orleans rotary: to help change what is happening to […]
REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK
These Data Are Ours
Our world is built on streams of data, beaming into headsets and printers and our ever-present phones. Twitter can predict what I will read; TikTok knows how to make me […]
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
Helping and Hurting
Twenty-three years ago, I spent a memorable long weekend at the J. Erik Jonsson Center in Woods Hole, a classic old Cape Cod mansion with commanding views of Quissett Harbor […]
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
Making Sense of the RTE
Every year, each of our select boards is required to conduct a tax classification hearing and decide how to allocate the town’s property tax burden. And every year, these hearings […]
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
The Research Is Done
Truro’s new town manager, Darrin Tangeman, started work last month, having arrived here from his previous home in Woodland Park, Colo., where he was the city manager. We’re looking forward […]
LETTER FROM THE PUBLISHER
A Lot of Work to Do
The pages of this newspaper are, as I write this, being assembled from various locations, including an Eastham basement, various Provincetown and Truro bedrooms, and our dining room table in […]
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
A Truth Flow Problem
I’ve been thinking about the relationship between local newspapers and town leaders and wondering if what happens in small towns bears any resemblance to what’s been going on (and not […]
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
Time for Corrections
Mistakes were made, as they say. When newspapers make them (as we did last week, including getting the sponsor of the annual Martin Luther King Day breakfast wrong), we print […]
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
Staying Curious
Late on a Tuesday night, with the paper close to being finished, I’m doing the final top edit — the last review, to find any gaffes that have gotten by […]
