Greed and the Common Good
To the editor:
Re “Wellfleet Offers $6.5M for Maurice’s Campground” (April 21, front page):
My wife and I tented some 45 years ago at Maurice’s and could not have had a nicer time. That same quality is being shown once again as the Gauthiers agree to sell their expansive grounds to the town of Wellfleet. It could have been some real estate developer’s dream come true, even at a much higher price. Those three brothers have successfully worked for the common good. Thank you, gentlemen.
The other side of the coin: I recently received in the mail a glossy ad from a local realtor, reading, “As buyer demand for Provincetown remains high, now is the time to maximize your home’s value. When you work with me, you can be sure I will showcase your home with superior marketing and use the latest technology for even greater impact. If you’re thinking of selling your home, please contact me to learn how I can help you achieve the highest possible price.”
Buying and selling for the “big bucks” breeds greed, which is not pretty. It tears once again at the worn fabric of a still good village. This greed takes away from those who can no longer afford a place to stay.
Who will wash your windows, cut your grass, or fix the leak? Who will be your police, your firefighters, and your children’s teachers?
Bruce Mason
Provincetown
‘A Breath of Bad Air’
To the editor:
Thank you for writing about the “artwork” on the dilapidated Nickerson service station [“Street Artists Start a Conversation in Eastham,” May 4].
Such displays are characteristic of urban decay, and this one very fittingly adorns a crumbling structure. It is garish, out of place in our community, and a breath of bad air from collapsing city neighborhoods.
Here we are on our beautiful Outer Cape, and now comes a reminder of abandoned buildings, broken windows, and crime. A dismantling of that old station would have sufficed.
Edina Kopits
Wellfleet
The ‘Whiners’ of Truro
To the editor:
Like others, I was dismayed by the behavior of some at Truro town meeting: the catcalling, the interruptions, and the overall lack of basic civility.
Like Morgan Clark [letter to the editor, May 5, page A2], I wonder if this makes them feel better. More fundamentally, I wonder why they live here.
I washed ashore nine years ago but have been coming to Truro for 60 years. I was drawn by the physical beauty but have come to appreciate the collective values here: appreciation for the environment, inclusivity, understanding the need to support younger families and those less fortunate, and the desire to maintain public safety.
A small but vocal minority appears not to share those values. Their anger is foremost as they whine about their property taxes (among the lowest in the Commonwealth), their mistrust of local government, and their fear of unfettered development in a town that is 70 percent National Seashore.
They hide behind bumper stickers and unsigned letters but show up at town meeting to display their self-righteous anger, tally (incorrectly) the effects of much needed programs and services on their taxes, and hurl accusations when they don’t get their way.
If they are so unhappy and feel so maligned, then why are they here? I’m sure that they could cash in on their investments and move to a part of the country where their vitriol and lack of concern for others is more in line with community values. Maybe then we can say goodbye to that toxic anger that serves only to divide us, contributes nothing to the general good of our community, and brings us all down.
If Kristen Roberts can cite the Gilmore Girls, then I can borrow from Dr. Seuss: “Marvin K. Mooney Will You Please Go Now!”
Kevin Grunwald
Truro
The Justice Is Incensed
To the editor:
Heavens! A leak! An inside job! Chief Justice John Roberts is incensed. Determined to uphold the honor of the Supreme Court, he has promised a full investigation.
Go for it, Mr. Chief Justice. Save the Court’s reputation and restore its integrity.
While you’re at it, take a look at Justice Clarence Thomas. You know now that his wife was present at the Jan. 6 attempted coup. You know Virginia Thomas urged officials to “stop the steal” and encouraged those who believed the lie to storm the Capitol, forcing elected officials behind barricades, shouting “hang Mike Pence,” battering police, causing the deaths of at least seven people, and nearly succeeding in keeping Congress from certifying the election.
You know that Thomas was the only Supreme Court justice to vote for Donald Trump’s attempt to deny White House records of Jan. 6 to Congress. Might Ginni’s husband have been influenced just a smidge? It doesn’t look good.
I’m with you, Chief Justice. Let no one undermine the integrity of the Supreme Court. Not on your watch.
You heard that Senator Collins is hopping mad? She thinks your colleagues lied to her during their confirmation hearings. Maybe not perjury — just clever wording to deceive senators into believing they held to legal precedent. Sister Elizabeth John convinced me long ago that such deception was a grievous sin because it required forethought and cunning. Does the perception of dishonorable judges undermine the integrity of your Court?
Plug up that leak, Chief Justice, by all means. But what about that drip, drip, drip of theocracy creeping into the judiciary? It, too, might undermine the integrity of the highest court in a democracy. You must be just as incensed about that dripping.
Now, about the right to personal privacy in a democratic republic….
Jim McDermott
Eastham
Look to the Experts
To the editor:
“Searching for Alternatives to ‘Beach Nourishment’ ” (April 28, front page) reports comments of consultants and Wellfleet officials that do not inspire confidence: “It’s up to us to figure it out”; “The Wellfleet Conservation Commission is working ‘to try something new’ ”; and “We’re trying to evaluate the best places to put the sand.”
These statements suggest that the sources are unaware of a large knowledge base on beach nourishment. For example, “Beach Nourishment — MassDEP’s Guide to Best Management Practices for Projects in Massachusetts (March 2007).”
According to the guide, “The most important factor for beach nourishment projects is the grain size distribution of the source material as compared to the native beach material, also referred to as sediment compatibility … If sediment is placed where it would not be stable due to its incompatibility, the unintended adverse impacts on eelgrass, shellfish beds, salt marshes, or dredge channel could result.”
This is just one example of the type of issue that experts understand. The plight of the shellfishermen deserves professional assistance to guide Wellfleet’s attempts to fix this problem.
Ronald A. Gabel
Yarmouth Port
