Author Archives: Brent

Truro’s Kline house controversy: what it boils down to [op-ed CCT 15 May 2012]

Four years in and counting, the saga of Truro’s controversial Kline house continueth. Quick recap: In 2008 building inspector Wingard issues a permit for the largest house in town at 8333 square feet. Neighbors immediately sue, putting the project in jeopardy, you would think, but nothing daunted, the Klines proceed full speed ahead. State courts …

May 15, 2012 – 2:24 pm | By Brent | Posted in Columns | Tagged , , , | Comments (0)

The difference a voice makes [op-ed CCT 5 July 2000]

If I could start this with a few minutes of birds singing I would. Robert J. Lurtsema, host of National Public Radio’s “Morning Pro Musica,” died last month. And the world will not be the same because of how he lived in it. Yeah, I know, everybody changes the world in one way or another. …

May 14, 2012 – 6:32 pm | By Brent | Posted in Columns | Tagged , | Comments (0)

School bullying in a bullying world [op ed CCT 1 May 2012]

Presumably the heralded new movie “Bully” will soon be in local theaters, punctuating a period of heightened interest in this subject. Stopping the evil of bullying in schools has been one of the hot topics in the last couple of years. In Massachusetts a lot of the discussion was triggered by the suicide of South …

May 1, 2012 – 6:58 pm | By Brent | Posted in Columns | Tagged , | Comments (0)

The Outer Cape’s European work and play ethic [op-ed CCT 29 June 2005]

In a recent column, Thomas Friedman, the New York Times columnist, knocks European workers for “trying to preserve a 35-hour work week in a world where Indian engineers are ready to work a 35-hour day.” Lazy Germans and French have “grown used to six-week vacations.” Oh, the decadence. It’s been 15 years or more since …

April 29, 2012 – 10:58 am | By Brent | Posted in Columns | Tagged , , | Comments (0)

The sizzle and steak of the election [op-ed 23 September 2008]

Oh, I’ve tried to resist the siren call. I’ve done my best to avoid writing about the Palin phenomenon. I’d rather write about a local story. But the thing is, it is the local story, it’s all we’re talking about. It’s irresistible. I feel myself inexorably sucked into it as into a black hole. In …

April 28, 2012 – 12:13 pm | By Brent | Posted in Columns | Tagged , , | Comments (0)

Sacrificing for the greater good; or not [op-ed CCT 17 April 2012]

In recent years we’ve bought ourselves a lot of nice items here in Wellfleet. Expensive, but nice. A quantum leap of a DPW facility, $7.68 million worth of state-of-the-art fire station, a beautiful senior center about 10 times as big as the old one, a spiffy remodel of the pier with perimeter promenade for taking …

April 17, 2012 – 2:00 am | By Brent | Posted in Columns | Tagged , | Comments (0)

Free expression has built-in risks 15 feb 2006 [ CCT 15 February 2006 ]

“Can’t the cat look at the queen?” This is the saying my mother invoked to deal with surly teenage attitude. It was, of course, a rhetorical question. Darn right the cat—one’s mother—has the right to pay unsolicited attention to the self-declared royalty of a hypersensitive teen. It came to mind in connection with the controversy …

April 7, 2012 – 12:35 pm | By Brent | Posted in Columns | Tagged , , | Comments (0)

Rethinking the running movement [ op-ed CCT 3 April 2012 ]

On April 16 the famous Boston marathon will be run once again. 30 thousand or so people will be heroically pounding the hell out of their joints over 26.2 paved miles, almost all for the sheer fun—and celebration of health and vigor—of it. They will be widely admired by millions of other runners and couch …

April 3, 2012 – 2:02 pm | By Brent | Posted in Columns | Tagged , , , | Comments (0)

The great dog culture divide [ CCT 20 March 2012 ]

A persistent story in local papers focusses on The Great Dog Culture Divide. I don’t know what percentage of all the space in local papers is taken up with dog controversy stories but it’s not negligible. There was a letter in a local paper late last summer about why dogs should not be allowed on …

March 20, 2012 – 2:37 pm | By Brent | Posted in Columns | Tagged , | Comments (0)

What should we learn from Mexican suffering? [ CCT 6 March 2012 ]

Time to come clean: I’ve been in Mexico. As much as anyone actually gets away these days, given the internet apron strings. My main motivation, of course, like that of many another gringo, was to get away from the northern winter. But I’ve been noticing that the warmer more clement weather comes with, of all …

March 6, 2012 – 1:20 pm | By Brent | Posted in Columns | Tagged , | Comments (0)