Meetings Ahead Thursday, Jan. 16 Housing Authority, 4:15 p.m., Town Hall Zoning Board of Appeals, 5:30 p.m., Town Hall Friday, Jan. 17 Commission on Disabilities, 3:30 p.m., Town Hall Monday, Jan 20 Town Hall closed for Martin Luther King Day Tuesday, Jan 21 Truro Cemetery Commission, 10 a.m., Town Hall Taxation Aid Committee, 1 p.m., […]
Truro
HOUSING
Del Gizzis Say Little, but Their Tenants Speak
Following enforcement action, some back taxes are paid
TRURO — Dana Del Gizzi said he’s been in the construction business since the age of 12. “We worked incredibly hard,” he said. “Most kids looked forward to the weekend — I looked forward to Monday.” Dana, who lives in California, is part of a family well known for its nearly 100 units of rundown […]
THE WORLD
Cyr Defends Trip Funded by Pro-Israel Group
State ethics rules make exception for travel in the ‘public interest’
TRURO — State Sen. Julian Cyr (D-Truro) was among six Massachusetts senators on a 10-day study tour of Israel in December. He defended his participation, paid for by a pro-Israel lobbying group, against criticism from Middle East peace activists. Cyr told the Independent last week that the trip gave him a greater understanding of the […]
CURRENTS
Meetings and Conversation Starters, Town by Town
Provincetown Meetings Ahead Thursday, Jan. 9 Bicycle Committee, 2 p.m., Maushop Community Room, 44 Harry Kemp Way Economic Development Committee, 11 a.m., Veterans Memorial Community Center, 2 Mayflower Lane Planning Board, 6:30 p.m., Town Hall Monday, Jan. 13 Select Board, 7 p.m., Town Hall Tuesday, Jan. 14 Public Landscaping Committee, 2 p.m., Town Hall Wednesday, […]
WINTER HOURS
It’s Cold, You’re Hungry, You Have Options
Restaurateurs say they can be creative in winter
Every restaurant is a fiefdom, each with its own miniature culture and specifics so particular that it’s difficult to write about a lot of restaurants at once. Yet we Outer Cape year-rounders can all bond instantly around a shared hunger for restaurants that stay open in winter. And an objective look at the winter eating […]
BUDGETING
DPW Proposal Causes ‘Sticker Shock’
The price per square foot is well above average
TRURO — The select board went into “sticker shock” at the price of a proposed dept. of public works facility next to the police and fire station: $20 million. While officials have been aware that the hodgepodge collection of DPW sheds and garages by town hall are inadequate, they were not pleased on Dec. 5 […]
PUBLIC SAFETY
Gun License Info Is Exempt From Records Law
Police chiefs have discretion in deciding who can have firearms
TRURO — Police Chief Jamie Calise has denied a request from the Independent for more information about the number, types, and present whereabouts of the firearms and ammunition that were confiscated from former Truro Fire Chief Brian Davis last year after a harassment prevention order was issued against him. As this newspaper reported on Oct. […]
ELECTIONS
Stephanie Rein to Run for Select Board
A local farmer hopes to help the working class
TRURO — If voters don’t know Stephanie Rein, a candidate for select board in the Feb. 18 special election, chances are all the kids in town do. Rein, 49, has lived in Truro for 30 years, beginning when she was still in college. Her civic experience includes helping found Sustainable CAPE, the nonprofit behind the […]
GRAVEYARD SHIFT
In a Truro Grove, Dead Artists Are Gathered
Snow Cemetery’s unconventional occupants and markers
In life, they (the men, at least) enjoyed a raucous, bawdy bonhomie every Saturday night at the Beachcombers Club in Provincetown. In death, many are still together, resting peacefully with members of the fairer sex in Truro’s Snow Cemetery. One wonders if, in the afterlife, this gathering of artists, writers, and patrons is any less […]
NATIONAL SEASHORE
Truro Ghost Town Still Inspires
From the Cold War to the Highlands Center to now
NORTH TRURO — In the Outer Cape’s collective memory, the fear associated with living and working at an Air Force station built to listen for incoming Soviet atomic bombs has faded. Besides being part of America’s mid-century air defense network, the place was a neighborhood. With bingo, a bowling league, softball games, and cheap drinks […]
CIVICS
Town Election: Tosh to Seek Burgess’s Seat on Truro Board
Special election for select board called for Feb. 18.
TRURO — The select board has set Feb. 18 as the date for a special election to fill the seat left open by the death of Maureen Burgess. At least two people are considering a run. Karen Tosh, 69, an attorney specializing in family law and a member of the planning board since 2017, has […]
FACT CHECK
Claims on Nitrates by Town Official Don’t Hold Water
A second look at Cloverleaf project opponents’ arguments
TRURO — Some statements made at the Dec. 5 zoning board of appeals hearing related to groundwater nitrogen levels expected to be produced by the proposed “Cloverleaf” housing development did not pass a fact check conducted by the Independent this week. The planning board’s Peter Herridge, an opponent of the plan to build 40 units […]
CIVICS
Truro Planning Board Called Out for Opposing Housing
A lobsterman takes the board to court and wins
TRURO — A local lobsterman feels vindicated after a judge reversed two conditions that the Truro Planning Board had imposed on his building proposal. Orleans District Court Judge Robert Welsh III agreed with Christopher and Heidi Townsend, who sought permission to build a 30-by-36-foot barn with an upstairs 1,000-square-foot accessory dwelling unit at their 41 […]
HOUSING
Cloverleaf Foe Raises Fears of Blue Baby Syndrome
Truro ZBA to weigh affordable housing benefits against health issues
TRURO — Several residents, including three members of the Truro Planning Board, objected to the so-called Cloverleaf affordable housing development during a zoning board of appeals hearing on Dec. 5. Developer Ted Malone has proposed building 40 units at 22 Highland Road in North Truro. To do so, he needs several waivers from local zoning […]
DEVELOPMENT
Water to the Cloverleaf Will Nourish N. Truro Businesses
NORTH TRURO — A water line will be coming to Highland Road to service the 40-unit Cloverleaf housing project and bring new economic development to the scrappy commercial area here. A few weeks ago the state announced a $1.2-million grant from the MassWorks Infrastructure Program to extend the Provincetown-Truro municipal water line by 1,500 feet. […]
