WELLFLEET — Large excavators positioned on either side of the mammoth house built on a narrow strip of coastal bank in the National Seashore between the town’s harbor and Cape […]
Top Stories
OPEN FOR BUSINESS
Where to Eat When Winter Gets Deep
The Independent’s February guide to Outer Cape restaurants that are open now
This article was updated on March 5, 2025. When the season slows, those of us who stay put on the Outer Cape savor our stay-at-home evenings — until we don’t. […]
BOOK BANS
Cyr Speaks to CLAMS Members About ‘Right to Read’ Bill
Local librarians worry but are not facing many demands for censorship
CHATHAM — A cloud of worry hung over the group of librarians gathered on Jan. 24 at the Eldredge Public Library for the CLAMS network’s annual legislative luncheon. Staff from […]
SCENES
Pride Potluck Serves Up Good Company in Eastham
COA social groups are an antidote to isolation in winter months
EASTHAM — The Chapel in the Pines was a lively scene on the evening of Feb. 1 as seniors arrived from across Cape Cod bringing with them enough walnut and […]
ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS
Enrollment Declines Steeply in Wellfleet and Truro
Wellfleet isn’t part of regionalization study with the rest of Nauset district
This article was updated on Jan. 30, 2025. WELLFLEET — With young families finding the Outer Cape increasingly unaffordable, elementary school enrollment has plunged by about 30 percent since the […]
MLK DAY 2025
‘Inaugurate Love, Not Hate’
Participants in a silent march and meditation held to celebrate the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. gathered in Wellfleet on Jan. 20. Afterward, Wellfleet Preservation Hall opened its doors […]
FROZEN
Skating Days
On a few cold afternoons, the chance to teach our children one of winter’s joys
WELLFLEET — We hear from Jacob Dalby on the fourth cold day. He’s been scouting ponds. The deep ones are still wide open, but the small, shallow ones are beginning […]
BEACH DAY
With Exhausted Crew Asleep, Fishing Boat Runs Aground in Truro
No injuries, damage, or pollution is reported, and the boat is towed back to sea
TRURO — A 70-foot groundfishing vessel, the F/V Guardian out of New Bedford, ran aground on the back shore here on Jan. 3, about a mile north of Wellfleet’s Newcomb […]
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
Zigging and Zagging Through History
You know already that this is an odd and special place. It’s one reason we — and others before us — figured Outer Cape Cod needed its own newspaper. All […]
PARENTING
Piecing Together Postpartum Care on the Outer Cape
Nurses, doulas, and support groups provide reassurance and company
TRURO — On a Thursday morning in early December, Rana O’Laughlin arrives at Jelena Duarte’s house, greeted by Pickle the cat and Duarte’s 18-month-old daughter, Vera. The atmosphere is subdued, […]
TIMELESS TOYS
Tiny Trains Traverse Miniature Worlds in Orleans
Imaginations chug along at the Nauset Model Railroad Club’s open house
ORLEANS — The grand plans of home-based hobbyists who tinker with model trains and the tiny landscapes they chug through are sometimes hindered by space limitations. But that’s not a […]
DERELICT
Condemned House Could Go Into Receivership Next Week
At Dec. 17 hearing, owner Robert Bonds is to show his progress on repairs
WELLFLEET — The owner of a sprawling house at 177 Peace Valley Road that has been abandoned for years and condemned since 2018 has been given a final chance to […]
ON POINTE
A Sweet Taste of Ballet at Town Hall
Excerpts from The Nutcracker performed by talented students, directed by one ‘nutty lady’
The bunheads took the elevator in shifts, one giggling gaggle at a time, bound for the second-floor auditorium of Provincetown Town Hall. It was Saturday, Nov. 16, and the HeartStrings […]
WAMPANOAG RECLAMATION
Budget Shortfall Looms at School Where Children Learn Wôpanâak
Federal funds support language immersion, but that’s not easy to do here
MASHPEE — Nitana Greendeer of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe knows that children are the key to preserving the Wôpanâak language. “When you haven’t got 20, 30, 40 years of English […]
WILDLIFE
Go Slow on the Straightaways – It’s Deer Crossing Season
A review of police dept. data show collision hotspots on Route 6 in all four Outer Cape towns
November is a risky time to be a deer on the Outer Cape. Besides that it’s bow-and-arrow hunting season, collisions between deer and cars are most frequent in this month.
