Monthly Archives: February 2014

South of the border: a democracy of religion? [op-ed CCT 18 February 2014]

If you had been up really early and felt inclined you could have gone recently to the San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, webcam and seen four Cape Codders—Wellfleetians to be specific– standing in the pre-dawn dark in front of an impressive little cathedral waiting to join a religious pilgrimage.   Travel is said to be […]

TOO BIG FOR OUR BRIDGES? [op-ed Cape Cod 4 February 2014]

This year is the 100th anniversary of the opening of the Cape Cod Canal, and the start of its contradictory effect on Cape life. The purpose of the canal was to save ships the time, money, and danger of going all the way around the treacherous Cape itself. Incidentally it turned us into an island […]

Pay-as-you-throw in Wellfleet: reasons for the pushback [op-ed Cape Cod Times,7 January 2014] 7 Jan 2014

Wellfleet’s new pay-as-you-throw (PAYT) transfer station policy has incurred unexpected rancor in its first month. There have been a facebook analogies to Nazi German and petitions to recall two selectmen. About 40% of Massachusetts towns (and counting) have gone PAYT, but as with the U.S. and single- payer healthcare, evidence that something works well elsewhere […]

The Christmas revolution [op-ed Cape Cod Times, 24 December 2013]

It’s the best of times, it’s the worst of times. That paraphrase from that other Dickens novel pretty much sums up Christmastime. Christmas is full of contradictions, contrasts, conflict: some of the most dismal weather of the year vs. the demand to be jolly. The darkest month, the holiday lights. Death of the year but […]

Wind turbine siting and the Falmouth cautionary tale [op-ed Cape Cod Times, 10 December 2013 ] ec 13

The state is trying to come up with guidelines for siting wind turbines to reconcile the state’s wind vision with the view from the actual towns and neighborhoods in which the turbines will be installed. Presumably they are taking notes on the ongoing cautionary tale (read siting nightmare) of Falmouth. Falmouth has been all over […]

The world unknowable [ op-ed Cape Cod Times 26 nov 2013 ]

The really big story getting so much attention on this 50th anniversary of the assassination of JFK is not the assassination itself but the fact that there is no story. At least not one story. It’s one of the great and tragic events of our history, and those of a certain age all remember it […]