PROVINCETOWN — Anton “Napi” Van Dereck Haunstrup, 87, who held onto the town’s rustic, bohemian past with his vast art collection, his stock of employee housing, and his 45-year-old restaurant, died at Cape Cod Hospital on Christmas Day due to complications from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and pneumonia. In one of Provincetown’s two “Napi-villes,” a […]
Provincetown
OBITUARY
Freddie Rocha’s Life Ends in Town He Loved
Denizen of the streets will be remembered in photos and hearts
PROVINCETOWN — Frederico “Freddie” Rocha Jr. died on Dec. 29, 2019 after suffering an apparent heart attack on Shank Painter Road on his way to buy his morning coffee at Cumberland Farms, according to his friend and caretaker David Chick. He was 68. He had left home around 6 a.m. and collapsed near the Provincetown […]
REMEMBERING NAPI
Friends Reflect On Napi Van Dereck
Napi Van Dereck’s Single-Minded Pursuit Peppery, garrulous, ebullient, discerning, resourceful, crafty, steeped in local lore, and deeply rooted on the Outer Cape, Napi Van Dereck may have looked like an ornery eccentric, but he had the instincts of a master. He, his wife, Helen, and a crew of imaginative artists and artisans — Jackson Lambert, […]
REMEMBERING NAPI
An Elegy for Napi
As a boss Napi Van Dereck was a terror. At least in the old days when I bussed at the restaurant. Each evening would find him hunched like a hawk at the end of his bar freely opining to anyone who came by or sat next to him. Meanwhile we, the intrepid staff, bore his […]
PUBLIC SAFETY
Chief Wants Just One Town Rescue Squad
The question is why
PROVINCETOWN — Fire Chief Michael Trovato says this town needs its own emergency medical service to replace the Lower Cape Ambulance (LCA) Association, the nonprofit that has provided backup service to Provincetown and Truro since 1937. When the chief argued that the VFW land should be reserved for a new police and fire station at […]
Solstice
The Longest Night
An annual bonfire celebrates the solstice, the longest night of the year, with firelight, candles, and toasts. This year midwinter came on Dec. 21. As the sun set, a crowd began to arrive, walking the beach path lined with paper lanterns, then gathering around the fire to mark the fact that winter days will begin […]
DEPT. OF COMMERCE
First Cape Pot Retailer to Open in Provincetown
The first retail marijuana store on the Cape was cleared to open in Provincetown after receiving final approval from the Mass. Cannabis Control Commission on Dec. 19. Curaleaf will open at 170 Commercial St. following final state and local inspections in early 2020, according to an announcement from the company. The company, whose major […]
PROVINCELANDS
A Winter Dune Shack Vacation
Coming home is part of the magic
The driving rain and howling winds hardly registered as we moved towards our rendezvous at Race Point beach. Our excitement was too strong; no amount of inclemency could put a damper on that. Months ago, Shannon and I had applied to stay at a dune shack through the Provincetown Community Compact. Open to all and […]
PLAYERS
Rachel Bay Jones Is a Broadway Baby
But the Art House has her to welcome in the New Year
Tony Award-winner Rachel Bay Jones was born into a theatrical family. But her parents, who were both professional actors in New York City, gave up performing after they had her and moved to Boca Raton, Fla. “I always wanted to stay away from crazy show business,” Jones says of her early childhood. “I planned on […]
ARTS LISTINGS
First Light Highlights
Trip the Light Fantastic You can watch Provincetown’s First Light Fireworks off MacMillan Pier for free on Town Beach — the dazzlement begins at 5:30 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 29. If you’d rather enjoy champagne, wine, and hors d’oeuvres (4-6 p.m.) while viewing the fireworks from up at the Pilgrim Monument and Provincetown Museum at […]
GOVERNMENT
Robin Craver From Charlton Is Unanimous Pick for Town Manager
With 19 years of experience, she will be new head of government in Provincetown
PROVINCETOWN — How do you build consensus on a vision for the future in a town that needs workforce housing, a year-round economy, sustainability in the face of climate change, a new police station, and possibly an expanded fire station as well? On Tuesday, the select board voted unanimously to turn that conundrum over to […]
SOCIAL JUSTICE
Haywood Honored for Human Rights Activism
As the first McCarthy Award is made, the county revives its Human Rights Advisory Commission
PROVINCETOWN — The Rev. Brenda Haywood received the Tim McCarthy Human Rights Champion Award on Dec. 10. This week, she welcomed a reporter to her home to talk about that turn of events, which, she said, “overwhelmed and surprised” her. It seems it would be hard to find anyone else who would find the choice […]
CLIMATE
Wolf Sees Future of Cape Air in All-Electric Planes
The Alice, under development, could fly 50 percent faster and farther than gas-powered aircraft
PROVINCETOWN — Cape Air founder and CEO Dan Wolf says he is excited about the future of his fleet. At the same time that his company is replacing its aged Cessna 402s with a sleek new Italian model, the Tecnam P2012 Traveller, he is also looking ahead to an entirely new generation of all-electric planes […]
HEALTH
AIDS Support Group Hires New President
From HIV to heroin, the focus remains helping the marginalized
PROVINCETOWN — The AIDS Support Group of Cape Cod board has named Dan Gates as president and CEO. Gates, 47, replaces Joe Carleo, who resigned in late October. Spokeswoman Leslie Sandberg said Carleo’s reasons for leaving had not been discussed with her. Founded in 1983, early in the AIDS epidemic, with the name “Provincetown AIDS […]
CIVICS
VFW Building Scheduled for Demolition
Any use of the land involves removing the structure, officials say
PROVINCETOWN — The VFW building at 3 Jerome Smith Road was built entirely by veterans, says VFW post member Paul Mendes — volunteers who donated their skills as carpenters or electricians to help construct a post building that was a social center of town for generations. “It’s a very strong building — it can hold […]
