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News
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IGLOO WARMTH
Restaurant Owners Re-imagine Winter Dining
Warm outdoor spaces, take-out, and the long view on losses
PROVINCETOWN — Anticipating a higher-than-normal off-season population in residence coupled with the need to restrict indoor occupancy, local restaurants are looking for creative solutions to staying open this winter. Many […]
CLOVERLEAF PROJECT
Water Quality Issues? Check Your Septic, Says Beebe.
Truro health agent points to inspections and testing
TRURO — Health and Conservation Agent Emily Beebe had a lot of things to say about water quality and the Cloverleaf affordable housing proposal, both in a letter to the […]
SCHOOLING
Nauset District Loses Students at All Levels
New state-of-the-art Cape Cod Tech is drawing away students
In early October each year, all of the state’s public schools finalize their enrollment numbers for the new school year, and school aid from the state follows. At the Nauset […]
ECONOMY
While Cape Air Struggles, Local Airport Reaps a Bonanza
Provincetown collects $2.74 million in federal aid in just 6 months
PROVINCETOWN — In February 2019, the Provincetown Municipal Airport Commission stated that the airport’s revolving account would be empty by the fiscal year 2021-2022. The commission wrote, “We are working […]
TECHNOLOGY
Baker Withholds Funds for Outer Cape Broadband
‘We’re ready to rock and roll,’ says OpenCape director
PROVINCETOWN — Gov. Charlie Baker signed a bill in August authorizing up to $1.8 billion in infrastructure investment, including $1.7 million to expand broadband coverage in Provincetown via the OpenCape […]
DEMOGRAPHICS
Census Bureau Claims 100% Response Rate
But experts have questions about data quality
PROVINCETOWN — After a slow start that saw all four Outer Cape towns lagging behind in 2020 census self-response rates, the U.S. Census Bureau now claims that every single household […]
VIRTUAL OYSTERFEST
Chefs and Shuckers Take to the Stage for the 20th Annual Wellfleet OysterFest
For the first time, staying home for the ’Fest means not missing the shuck off
WELLFLEET — Like almost everything else in 2020, the Wellfleet OysterFest will look very different this year. The town’s signature celebration, which in 2019 hosted about 23,000 visitors and routinely […]
CONTENDERS
Behind the Scenes at OysterFest 2020
Lights, cameras, masks: ‘The shuck must go on!’
There will be a shuck off at the 20th annual OysterFest. But there will be no competitive parking, no pressing through crowds on Main Street, and no lines under the […]
PROTEST
In Provincetown, Silence Speaks Louder Than Words
Bearing witness at Racial Justice Provincetown’s vigils
PROVINCETOWN — Though passers-by were chatting, bicycle bells were ringing, and the sounds of cars, strollers, and dogs filled the air, the silence from protesters still felt audible, as if […]
LEARNING
School in the Time of Covid
‘There is not one single thing that hasn’t changed’
TRURO — In a school across from Truro’s vines, stood 113 children in nearly straight lines. It was a scene that evoked the melodious words of Ludwig Bemelman’s Madeline. The […]
OUTER CAPE PORTRAIT
‘I’m Still Moving’
RICHARD BLAKELEY / SHELLFISH GROWER / WELLFLEET
Richard Blakeley has been growing clams and oysters on the Wellfleet flats since the 1980s. A year ago, he spoke of slowing down, perhaps even getting ready to pass the […]
RARA AVIS
This Week’s Bird Sightings
Confirmed bird sightings on the Outer Cape in the week preceding the Independent’s deadline on Tuesday, Oct. 13, included the following, based on a report prepared by Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet […]
TRUE CRIME
Finding Amato Dangerous, Judge Denies Bail
Defense minimizes violence with a well-worn argument
ORLEANS — At an Oct. 8 dangerousness hearing, Orleans District Court Judge Robert A. Welsh ordered Joseph Amato, 45, of Provincetown, held without bail at the Barnstable County Correctional Facility […]
THE DREDGE REPORT
They’re Out There, Digging
WELLFLEET — “Well,” said Dan Conroy, a field engineer-slash-hydrographic surveyor at Cashman Dredging and Marine Contracting, a Quincy-based company working under the supervision of the Army Corps of Engineers, “I […]
