Residential tax exemption, housing crisis, VNA strike: Cape Cod Times top stories

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Welcome back once again to another edition of the Cape Cod Times top news stories roundup, where we gather some of the most popular stories from the Cape Cod Times website from the past week.

Aside from this past week’s most read coverage, also on the site we have news about the endangered North Atlantic right whales population, a showcase for local songwriters, and more.

Sports is also in high gear as the fall season is underway. Check out the Cape Cod Times sports page for ongoing coverage of local high school games, including soccer. We also have numerous Player of the Week polls open for field hockey, volleyball, and more.

And, as always, there is the Things To Do page where you can find fun seasonal events on Cape Cod for the whole family.

Here are the four most popular stories on the Cape Cod Times website from this past week.

Dennis considers shifting tax burden to seasonal homes with residential tax exemption

Dennis Town Moderator Bill Carmichael introduces himself as the town’s new moderator at the Dennis fall town meeting Tuesday, Oct. 21. He was elected in May and was leading his first town meeting.

The recent Dennis special town meeting stirred up a lot of responses when Select Board member Jim Plath said the board wanted to find out how residents feel about adopting a state law that would give permanent residents a fixed-rate tax reduction on their year-round homes. The exemption would shift the tax burden from permanent residents, who now make up only 35% of the town’s 15,794 residences.

Barnstable and Mashpee have already adopted the plan along with three Outer Cape towns – Provincetown, Truro and Wellfleet.

The tax revenue would stay the same, Select Board Chair Chris Lambton said, while “full-time residents would pay a little less and part-time residents would pay a little more.”

How did Dennis residents respond to this idea? Click the story link for more details.

Dennis residential tax exemption: Dennis considers shifting tax burden to seasonal homes with residential tax exemption

After e-bike crash, woman visits Harwich firefighters who saved her life

Lynne Forester, and husband Gary, paid visit to first responders at Harwich Fire Department on Oct. 20, to thank them for their assistance after an e-bike crashed into her back in September.

On Sept. 10, Brewster resident Lynne Forester was halfway through her walk on the Cape Cod Rail Trail in Harwich when a woman on an e-bike struck her from behind. Forester fell forward. The e-bike tumbled over and one of the handlebars went into Forester’s left eye.

On Oct. 20, Forester walked into a meeting room at the Harwich Fire Department station to visit the crew who came to her aid when after the e-bike crashed into her.

What special tool did responders use to free Forester from the e-bike handlebar that entered her left eye, and what is the future of e-bikes on the rail trail? Click the story link to read more.

Cape Cod Rail Trail e-bike crash: After e-bike crash, eye injury, woman visits Harwich firefighters who saved her life

Retiring Cape Cod community leader sees ‘a lot of resistance’ to affordable housing sites

In 2017, Jay Coburn, executive director of the Community Development Partnership, runs a staff meeting at the Eastham office.

Jay Coburn, president and CEO of the Community Development Partnership, is leaving his job on June 30 after more than 13 years. While general support for affordable housing has grown, specific projects on Cape Cod still face local resistance, he says.

“There’s certainly a lot more support in general that the region needs affordable housing and recognition that it’s threatening our year-round population, but we still have a lot of resistance when we have a specific project … everyone is in support of affordable housing until it has an address,” said Coburn.

What is the Community Development Partnership, and what does Coburn say is the key to solving the Cape’s housing crisis? Click the story link to find out.

Affordable housing on Cape Cod: Retiring Cape Cod community leader sees ‘a lot of resistance’ to affordable housing sites

Visiting Nurse Association of Cape Cod starts 3-day strike after rejecting final management offer

Beck Hagist, union representative with Visiting Nurse Association of Cape Cod, wears a sign showing the decrease in visiting nurses since 2019.

Cape Cod visiting nurses gathered on the corner of Ter Heun Drive and Palmer Avenue in Falmouth Wednesday morning, Oct. 22, marking the start of a three-day strike.

The nurses were asking for the same 19% wage increase over three years that hospital nurses received in the summer. Cape Cod Healthcare states its offer is competitive and that comparing visiting nurses to hospital nurses is inaccurate.

“We’re all paying the same cost of groceries, the same cost in gas, the same housing cost, utility cost,” said Pamela Anderson, bargaining co-chair of Visiting Nurse Association of Cape Cod.

Click the story link to read more about this story and Cape Cod Healthcare’s full response.

Cape Cod nurses strike: VNA on Cape Cod starts 3-day strike after rejecting final management offer

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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Cape Cod Times top stories: VNA strike, housing crisis, e-bike injury