‘Don’t Cave In’
To the editors:
Re “Contractor Says Demolition Did Truro ‘a Favor’ ” [Oct. 31, front page]:
Despite the load of bluster from Thomas Pappas of Cape Cod Builders (CCB), the relevant points in the story are: (1) CCB was contracted to renovate a cottage (and was paid a deposit of $449,000 against a balance of $712,684 to complete the renovation); (2) CCB did not begin renovations but instead destroyed the cottage; (3) CCB is in violation of the terms of its contract.
What CCB could have done was simple: see that the cottage was beyond repair (if indeed it was) and make a phone call to the governing body that issued the contract. Or perhaps CCB should have made that determination before agreeing to renovate the cottage.
Instead, they chose to demolish it and then say that what they did was a favor.
Although CCB has not threatened to take Truro to court over this, the Independent detailed the company’s other lawsuits with municipalities.
Nearly half a million dollars has been spent and a cottage demolished — an expensive error. Do not let CCB touch this project again. Find another company to clean up this mess. And don’t cave in to the defiant attitude of CCB’s Pappas, who says he is “not afraid to fight the attorney general … and I don’t always lose.” This has a very familiar ring, does it not?
Jackie Barchilon
Eastham
Trustees Were ‘Undermined’
To the editor:
I have serious concerns about the communications surrounding the recent appointment of a new director of the Truro Public Library. While I and the other library trustees are genuinely excited to welcome Chris Kaufman to our team, the hiring process was unnecessarily frustrating and undermined the role of the trustees in this important transition.
While official town communications have portrayed the process as collaborative and smooth, the reality experienced by the trustees was quite different. The trustees were allowed one representative on the interview committee; we had asked for two and were denied. After much lobbying, the town manager agreed to include a member of the Friends of the Library in the group.
The hiring timeline, which changed multiple times, included a meeting in September with an agenda that had been agreed upon by all parties in August. The day before that meeting, I was uninvited to it and told that the agenda had been changed.
The trustees were not formally notified that a new library director had been chosen. We learned about it from the same press release that informed the general public.
On Halloween, I received an email asking if we wanted to co-host a meet and greet for the new director, still not saying who the person was. The public announcement went out 15 hours later, saying that the trustees and Friends were co-hosts, despite our having had no input on scheduling or format. Two trustees are teachers; the meet and greet was scheduled during school hours.
As the elected custodians of the library, we expect a fundamental level of professional respect that goes far beyond mere legal compliance.
Kait Blehm
Truro
The writer is chair of the Truro Library Board of Trustees.
Seeking Commonality
To the editor:
Re “When It’s Hard to Talk About Your Vote: Leaving the Party,” Oct. 24, page A8]:
Reading Farrukh Najmi’s comments on why he is voting for a third-party candidate is frustrating. Not because good people still disagree, but because so many don’t understand.
I worked for some years in the U.S. government, on many occasions with officials from Israel and other countries. Hamas is a terrorist organization. It does not represent most Palestinians. The current government of Israel is conducting itself as a terrorist organization, but it is not representative of the majority of Israeli citizens.
Fearing for the future of any group of people, Palestinian or Jewish, should be a commonality, not a reason to abandon the conversation.
Roger Yochelson
Truro and St. Johns, Fla.
The County Charter Question
To the editor:
During the debates over the pros and cons of ballot Question 6, which would change the rules for county budgeting, I learned something interesting: the Barnstable County charter is mandated by law to be reviewed at least once every five years. The next review is scheduled for 2025.
Although I like to think of myself as an educated citizen, I had no idea that there was a regular review of the charter. I still don’t know the mechanics of how that review is done, so I’m hoping that the Indie will keep us informed about the process and about our potential role in affecting the outcome.
Betsy Smith
Brewster
Insults and Impartiality
To the editor:
The author of the letter titled “Fairness and Balance” in your Oct. 24 issue wrote that he was insulted by a previous letter (“Advice on Voting,” Oct. 10) in which that writer stated that he hoped and prayed that Trump loses.
The insulted one opined, “It’s not a great business model for the Independent to publish gratuitous insults” about subscribers who are not “in the ‘progressive’ camp.”
The owner of the Washington Post recently tarnished his newspaper’s reputation by vetoing the publication of an endorsement of Kamala Harris for president by the editorial board. In so doing, Jeff Bezos made his values transparent — higher loyalty to his political views than the editorial excellence of his newspaper.
Impartiality in news reporting, fact-checking, and an ironclad barrier between news and opinion are among the most important qualities defining journalistic excellence. The Independent consistently demonstrates all three.
Ronald A. Gabel
Yarmouth Port
Letters to the Editor
The Provincetown Independent welcomes letters from readers on all subjects. They must be signed with the writer’s name, home address, and telephone number (for verification). Letters will be published only if they have been sent exclusively to the Independent. They should be no more than 300 words and may be edited for clarity, accuracy, conciseness, and good taste. Longer pieces (up to 600 words) may be submitted for consideration as op-ed commentary. Send letters to [email protected] or by mail to P.O. Box 1034, Provincetown, MA 02657. The deadline for letters is Monday at noon for each week’s edition.
