A Provincetown scene in the not-too-distant future: Excitement mounts as crowds line up at the gate. The faint strains of “Mystere Rondo,” a Cirque du Soleil theme song, can be […]
Op-Eds
THE NEIGHBORHOOD
Native or Washashore — Who Cares?
Regarding Art Nickerson’s recorded statement at the end of Cam Blair’s “When Turnips Were King in Eastham” (Nov. 18, page B7), I seriously doubt that there’s anyone alive who knew […]
ZONATIONS
More Perfect Unions
Workers’ associations can be a democratic force for good
In Michigan, the United Auto Workers was the quintessential labor union. We breathed cars and trucks, and our economy rose and fell in direct correlation to auto sales. Every family […]
THIS WAS ENOUGH
The Summer and Winter Wetus of Our Predecessors
People of the First Light migrated with the seasons
We are moving deeply into November, the month now recognized as containing the National Day of Mourning for the Native Peoples of this land. Looking wistfully for optimism, or something […]
COUNTY LINE
Let’s Change the Power Structure
Short-term profits won’t allow us to strengthen our fragile electric service
The last week of October brought fierce winds, broken trees and poles, and power outages. In Provincetown, no one had electricity for the first day, and in large sections of […]
LESSONS IN HUMANITY
A Gun Owner Reckons With the Costs of Our Compulsion
And makes a plan to beat a beloved collection into plowshares
I’m a gun owner. I don’t fit the stereotype of a gun-toting Second Amender decked out in camouflage protesting in front of a state capitol — although having grown up […]
COUNTY LINE
Human Rights Begin Here
That’s why we have a commission that hears complaints about abuses
“Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home — so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any maps of the […]
PUBLIC SAFETY
Don’t Wait to Make Improvements for Pedestrians
Three things that Eastham could do before redoing its business district
EASTHAM — The redevelopment of Town Center Plaza offers an exciting opportunity to create a new destination and a more pedestrian-friendly community, but pedestrian access to Eastham’s commercial district needs […]
THE ICE MEN
And Then There Was One
Plymouth sheriff’s exit leaves Cummings as the last man standing
Plymouth County Sheriff Joseph McDonald announced last Friday that he was ending his 287(g) agreement with ICE — the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. This marked the second 287(g) […]
URINATION
Yes Wee Can: Aim for Trees, Not Toilets
‘Every man wants to piss outdoors,’ says one psychologist
I’m having dinner with a group of friends in a dark, woodsy back yard in Wellfleet. After a few glasses of wine, I feel the urge to pee. Should I […]
OP-ED
‘First, Do No Harm’
Cape Cod Healthcare waffles when asked about vaccinating its providers
Should health-care providers be required to be vaccinated against Covid-19? “First, do no harm” is taught to medical school students early in their education. That ethical principle is the bedrock […]
CLIMATE
Canaries on the Coastline
‘Think globally, act locally’ just got a lot more urgent
The ongoing pandemic has triggered all the so-called stages of grief in us (denial, anger, depression, bargaining, acceptance). Then came the United Nations climate change report on Aug. 9. Secretary-General […]
OP-ED
Jewelweed and Old Ways
On going back to the garden and other places of respite
A friend’s day off earlier this month provided an excuse for the two of us to wander Provincetown, stopping to eat at Bubala’s like we used to do, and watching […]
LITTLE THEATER
The Long Journey of Wellfleet’s Stages
How one small town has kept two theater companies alive
The passing of Carol Green earlier this month brought to mind the long journey we took together at the Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater and the subsequent birth of the Harbor […]
OP-ED
Doreen Mathilde Crow: Origins
The birth of a found-object scarecrow in an Eastham garden
I was surprised — and delighted — to see my scarecrow on the front page of the Provincetown Independent’s July 22 issue. Readers might enjoy the story behind the creation […]
