A year of isolation and mask mandates has fostered a new appreciation for fresh air. Whether it’s to find peace and quiet or a place to safely reconnect with friends, […]
Op-Eds
OP-ED
A Collective Maternity Leave
Finding the compassion we need in our stories
Sharing stories in a group of 15 friends and strangers on Mother’s Day revealed something to me about how we have been affected in different ways this past year. Let’s […]
OPEN MEETING
The Flawed Governance of the Herring River Restoration
Announcing plans isn’t the same as involving the community in planning
An article in the April 22 Independent reminded us that the Herring River Restoration Project has progressed to the phase of seeking state and federal approval. The project’s nearly completed […]
COUNTY LINE
We Need a Stronger, More Integrated Public Health System
Some powerful lessons learned from a year of pandemic
The daily Covid updates from the Barnstable County Health and Environment Dept. epidemiologist Vaira Harik continue to trend very favorably, with a few exceptions, and give us a genuine basis […]
SCHOOLS
Educating Global Citizens
Striking a balance between intellectual discipline and spiritual development
EASTHAM — I moved from Puerto Rico to New York City as an infant. My parents, like so many others, had made the difficult decision to leave their homeland and […]
MAY DAY, 1971
Storming D.C., 50 Years Ago
Remembering the largest mass arrest in U.S. history
In early May 1971, a year after six unarmed student war protestors were shot and killed by the National Guard (four at Kent State University and two at Jackson State […]
EARTH DAY
I Sing the Auto Electric
The fossil-fuel era is ending not with a bang but a whimper
There is an electric car in your future, and you’re going to buy it sooner than you may realize. How do I know this? I just bought one, after saying […]
OP-ED
Vaccine Passports and Individual Rights
Limited invasions of privacy are part of daily life
Vaccine passports are engendering a wide range of emotions and opinions. Gov. Cuomo has embraced them in New York. Gov. DeSantis has banned them in Florida. Gov. Charlie Baker has […]
COUNTY LINE
The Rising Tide of Hate
Have we reached a tipping point in addressing human rights?
Four years ago, the Barnstable County Human Rights Commission appeared to be down for the count. Its proposed operating budget was simply missing from the budget book that the Assembly […]
OP-ED
Taking Down the Wreath
Oscillating between gratitude and hesitation
“Shouldn’t the wreath come down now?” asks one voice inside my head each time I pull in the drive. “No, it still looks pretty,” says the other voice. The berries […]
THE PLAGUE YEAR
A Covid Anniversary Gift
After a year of distancing, what did I have to offer friends?
We’re coming up on a year, now — a year of confusion, isolation, sadness, and readjustment. Anniversaries are a time of reflection. What does this one mean? There has been […]
COUNTY LINE
Common Hopes Lead to Consensus on Climate Action
A local example of how government ought to work
With strident voices and violent clashes in the news at the highest levels of government, recent weeks brought a welcome dose of collaborative and functional governance on Cape Cod. The […]
BLACK AND BROWN HISTORY
Are We Like Other Towns?
Facing structural racism in a cultural oasis
A riot of culture spills forth from that hook at the end of the Cape. Provincetown is like no other place, and it seems incapable of containing itself. It expands, like […]
OP-ED
Why You Should Vote Yes on March 30
What the proposed Nauset High renovation will give us
The opposition to the proposed Nauset Regional High School renovation is relying on a confusing series of calculations based on questionable assumptions. Their main argument is that we can save […]
TRUTH AND BEAUTY
An Artist’s Vision Offers a Handhold in the Dark
Reflections of a retired English teacher
After the riot at the Capitol, we were told on the one hand that now is the time for peace and unity, and, on the other, that the violence carried […]
