The Case of the Canteen
To the editor:
I don’t know Rob Anderson or Loic Rossignon. I have eaten at Canteen, but they would not recognize me as a regular. What is obvious to anyone who has spent any time on Commercial Street in the past 10 years is that they are among the hardest working business owners in town.
They are also deeply committed to the community. They started a winter market to spread some cheer, inspire tourism, and provide a marketplace for local artists. They work with local suppliers. They advocate actively for their staff and other small business owners. They responded to Covid in service to an isolated community, a response that included charitable outreach.
So, it was surprising to read of Provincetown’s outsized reaction to alleged compliance issues at this community-minded business [“Conservation Commission Fines Canteen Owners,” April 29, page A4]. It’s clear that whatever missteps occurred were not intentional, that the business owners were not attempting to conceal improper activity.
The purpose of a regulatory framework is to ensure that businesses and individuals act within the accepted standards of the community. Government agencies are charged with applying those standards in the interest of citizens. In this instance, there is no way to avoid the conclusion that where reasonable enforcement and accommodation were appropriate, unnecessarily harsh measures were taken without any appreciation for the context of the violations. The enforcement actions were punitive and hardly in the interest of citizens.
I recently moved from Provincetown, so perhaps my opinion is irrelevant. I do wonder if local officials understand why residents so often shake their heads reading these articles in the Independent.
Liam McElhone
Truro
‘A Great Change of Mood’
To the editor:
A warm welcome to our new town manager, Alex Morse. This writer sees his arrival as a fresh start for Provincetown.
Our country has been in turmoil and is now under leadership that vows to work both sides of the aisle. This points toward a great change of mood for our country.
I look forward now to Provincetown’s politics becoming less polarized, and to leadership that offers and supports gracious listening to one another, as well as respecting one another.
There are times when our local papers (three of them) have embarrassing stories of behavior at meetings. Much of that laundry could best be aired privately, or by filing a complaint. It is best when decorum prevails, and you can still sensibly take next steps if necessary.
I don’t do Facebook or any of the others, yet they also have their ways of stoking any fire. “I heard it through the grapevine.”
We live in a wonderful place made up of wonderful people. It is best maintained through loving kindness and seeking understanding of every individual. Willingness to understand is the key, and it takes work. It’s work, however, that ultimately saves the day.
Bruce Mason
Provincetown
A Vote for Sandberg
To the editor:
I appreciate your coverage of the election for Provincetown Select Board. While I am a longtime summer visitor to P’town, this will be my first time voting, as I moved here full-time just over one year ago. I will be voting for Leslie Sandberg.
Lots of people have good ideas, but only a few know how to implement them. Leslie is one of those few. Her deep experience in local, state, and national government, as well as her thorough understanding of public policy processes, make her the best candidate to serve on the select board at this time.
Equally important, she knows how to work constructively with other people, even those who don’t always agree with her. I hope that your readers who are Provincetown voters will join me in supporting Leslie Sandberg on May 11.
Bonnie McEwan
Provincetown
Who Was That Hitchhiker?
To the editor:
Dennis Minsky’s “The Hitchhiker, Then and Now” [April 22, page A3] appeared with impeccable timing for me.
That Thursday, I drove from Provincetown to Wellfleet to visit my friend and look at the finishing touches he was putting into his house. En route, I drove past an elderly hitchhiker in Truro. This instantly conjured up the many times in my youth I had hitchhiked between Boston and P’town while attending school at Berklee College. I didn’t pick the hitchhiker up and had momentary guilt.
On the way back to P’town, I passed this same hitchhiker again. I thought, “If it weren’t for Covid, I’d pick this fellow up.” Again, it conjured up memories of hitchhiking and the ebb and flow of human connectivity that go with it — along with more guilt.
I arrived home, grabbed the Independent from the mailbox, and walked into the kitchen to read. There was Minsky’s article about hitchhiking! Now I have questions: was the elderly hitchhiker I passed twice Minsky himself in disguise? Is Minsky a shameless self-promoter using his thumb as a modern-day roadside sandwich board? Or is Minsky some type of telepathic savant screwing with my subconscious?
Nick Busa
New York City and Provincetown
Why Is It?
To the editor:
Why is it that we can go to the Stop & Shop, to most any restaurant, to the bank, to buy gas, to most of the shops, to the post office, to art galleries, to Ruthie’s Boutique, and to the Methodist Church thrift store, but our town-operated offices, the library, and the swap shop at the transfer station are all off limits?
Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to walk into town hall to transact your business instead of going to the drop box on the town hall wall or using the mail?
Channing Wilroy
Provincetown
Golf This Summer
To the editor:
Regarding “Golf Club to Get $6.7M for Herring River Project” [April 22, page A5], the Chequessett Club has negotiated in good faith with the town of Wellfleet for many years on a plan that will have a massive impact on our facility, resulting in the agreement the club and its trustees signed with the town this past January.
We are pleased to be partners with the town and the other entities in the important work to restore the Herring River estuary. While the agreement is a big step towards the project finally getting underway, it is really only the beginning of a complex permitting process that involves multiple local, state, and federal agencies. Due to the many agencies involved and the project’s possible impact to numerous properties located adjacent to the Herring River system and Mill Creek sub-basin, the timeline to secure all necessary approvals, permits, and required funding is difficult to ascertain.
Although the golf course eventually will have to be closed for some period of time once work commences, it is certain that the Herring River restoration project will have no impact on Chequessett in 2021. We are looking forward to a robust summer of golf, tennis, pickleball, and other activities at the club. We are especially happy to welcome children back to the club for our summer camp, including six Wellfleet students awarded scholarships from the club’s Michael Kaloyanides Memorial Golf Tournament and the Grant W. Koch Scholarship Fund.
Gayle Fee
Eastham
The writer is president of the Chequessett Club’s board of governors.