Editor:

It's 2026 and we still worry about losing power every time gale-force winds blow, just like our grandparents did 70 years ago. How utterly absurd.

 After years of tearing up pavement and destroying roads across Cape Cod for sewer construction, it apparently never crossed anyone’s mind that this might have been the perfect opportunity to bury power lines as well. You know, so we don’t lose electricity every time the wind blows over 50 mph. Two problems solved at once.

 This speaks to a deeper issue: why don’t utilities, towns and the state coordinate their efforts? In some areas along Route 28, sewer work has just been completed and roads freshly paved, only for gas utilities to come along and dig them up again to install new lines. The roads look like post-war Bosnia all over again. Yet we’re constantly told burying power lines is “too expensive.” Do they think taxpayers were born yesterday?

 But coordinating projects to fix multiple problems at once would require foresight, planning and competence, qualities that seem to disappear the moment government at any level gets involved. Officials have no problem spending taxpayer money on their municipal palatial palaces and pet projects, but when it comes to practical solutions that actually improve daily life, suddenly it’s always the same excuse: it’s too expensive, we need more tax money.

 No, what we really need is more thinking outside the box, fewer unnecessary regulations and more cooperation between agencies to develop meaningful, long-term solutions. Not more taxes or more excuses.

 And if politicians and bureaucrats can’t deliver results that actually work for the people, maybe it’s time voters start electing leaders who will.

Justin Alex
South Yarmouth and Chatham 

Editor:

I read with interest the article that explained the Chatham Finance Committee's proposal to delay the implementation of the residential tax exemption (RTE). I have two overall observations after reading this article.

First, I want to thank finance committee Chair Stephen Daniel and all the members of the committee for taking the initiative to stop this present plan. The finance committee's article went on to describe that there is no present plan. They are right.

The article says, “‘You’ve got to start with the definition of the problem,’ he said. ‘Let’s start with who we want to help and figure out the best way to get them that assistance, to the best extent possible. This is an extraordinarily blunt hammer,’ Daniel said.”

The article goes on to show in detail what kind of work has to be done to answer that question. None of that work has been done. Anyone reading this article can add even more details that are not considered in the present plan. This proposal, if implemented, will be looked at by every confused property owner and it would turn into a horrible mess for the town.

Secondly, this is not the first time the finance committee has had to stop the town of Chatham from getting into deep water. The committee had a huge role in changing the $11 million proposal for the council on aging. I can't imagine what would happen if these volunteers were not willing, first to volunteer, and then take these difficult stands openly. The $11 million warrant article had all the same issues as in the RTE proposal.

It is time to understand how this kind of work gets approved by Chatham's town management and the select board for implementation and funding. This is not professional, acceptable output. We should not be depending on the professionalism of the volunteers on the finance committee to back stop this poor performance. I am making my remarks based on over 40 years of executive financial management in a well-known respectable company.

George Koury 
West Chatham

Editor:

Brewster housing, which is mostly seniors, many with health problems, was without electricity for five days, causing thousands of dollars in lost food, dire threats to health, and profound emotional distress to its occupants. Though I called Eversource to ask for prioritization for the elders here, nothing was prioritized and no empathy was shown, instead they just wanted me to pay my latest bill.

This is the 21st century. That Eversource cannot meet the moment with all the technology available to provide electricity/energy without interruptions by storms is unacceptable and truly shameful.

Eversource cannot in all conscience claim this or any other storm-related outage as an "act of God" because it is shamefully irresponsible and incompetent for not putting all electric lines underground as many other utilities in many parts of the US and the world have done. Since profits apparently mean more to them than competent stewardship which benefits the community — whether by underground Capewide utilities or decentralized small scale solar panels, batteries and generators — they are responsible for outages and not God. 

They owe the community an apology, and should in all courtesy allow everyone who has been inconvenienced a rebate of at least $20 a day per day of the outage.

I suggest that no one on Cape Cod pay their electric bills for two months. Perhaps a Cape wide boycott would get Eversource to do the right thing.

Lee Roscoe
Brewster

Editor:

Trump said "I know more than the generals!" Thus he didn't heed the advice of General Caine about the possibility that the Iranians would block the Strait of Hormuz and create havoc with the world's economy. Just another example of Trump's ignorance about how the world works.

Edward Fried 
West Chatham

Editor:

Representative Seth Moulton has mounted a campaign to unseat Senator Edward Markey, one of two Democratic senators representing Massachusetts. Markey has a long tenure in Congress and has worked consistently on behalf of his constituents. I have sent a number of letters to him, Senator Elizabeth Warren and Representative Bill Keating regarding issues about which I am concerned. Markey consistently responds, not just acknowledging having received the letters but also providing detailed information about the work he’s done to address these issues.

I have heard that Moulton’s challenge to Sen. Markey is in part related to Markey’s age. For some, the eighth decade of life indicates that it’s time to retire. For me, age is a number, not an indicator that it's time to be put out to the proverbial pasture. I’ve met Markey on a few occasions and have heard him speak at conferences, presenting information in a clear, coherent way. The way he consistently responds to my letters and takes an active role in sponsoring legislation to support his constituents’ concerns indicates that he remains a viable member of Congress who can continue to work on behalf of residents of the Commonwealth despite being an octogenarian.

I encourage voters to think about Markey’s record, to remember all he has done for Massachusetts residents, and to consider that replacing him with a younger — and very competent — individual will deprive us of the dedication, commitment, talent and skill that he has used to keep our Commonwealth healthy, strong and in a position to act responsibly at a time when so much is at stake. If replaced, his seniority, as well as his knowledge base, will be lost.

Rosanne Shapiro
Harwich

Editor:

The Boy Scouts of Troop 71 raised more than $2,000 from picking up Christmas trees. We want to thank The Cape Cod Chronicle for designing and creating the ad for us. We all really appreciate your great work. We had a great time picking up trees. We donated the money to the Chatham Angel Fund and the Family Pantry of Cape Cod.

Thank you so much!

Scouts of Troop 71
Chatham 

Editor:

I’m pleased to announce that I’m running for the Brewster Select Board. Current member Ned Chatelain has decided not to run for reelection after serving the town effectively for two terms. We have greatly benefited from Ned’s expert leadership.

Brewster has inspired me to be an active community leader and volunteer. Currently, I serve on the Brewster Ladies’ Library Association finance committee, and I’m in my fourth term as president of our neighborhood homeowner’s association. I also serve on the Brewster Ponds Coalition board, and I am president of the Barnstable Amateur Radio Club. My wife Pat and I serve as two of Brewster’s poll workers on election days, and I help build homes for Habitat for Humanity on Cape Cod. I served one term as vice chair of the Brewster Energy and Climate Action Committee. I recently graduated from Brewster’s first Citizens’ Civics Academy and, through that program, became even more appreciative of Brewster’s government services and our impressive public servants.

Brewster is a remarkable community, and I’m committed to doing what I can to help keep it thriving. My priorities are aligned with those of many Brewster residents. We must budget carefully to provide essential services residents depend on, but we must find ways to do that at the lowest possible cost. We must protect our natural resources with special focus on our water resources. We need to use proven strategies to create more housing, and we should continue to move ahead with the Sea Camps plans as articulated by Brewster’s residents.

My wife Pat and I feel immensely fortunate to live in Brewster. I hope to have the opportunity to give back to my community through service on the select board.

Bruce Semple
Brewster

Editor:

In the weeks following February’s blizzard, we recognized how difficult and frustrating it was for customers who lost power for multiple days. Severe winter storms can cause widespread damage to electric infrastructure, particularly in heavily treed coastal areas like Cape Cod, and we understand the disruption outages bring to families and businesses.

During the storm, Eversource activated a large-scale emergency response and worked around the clock in extremely challenging conditions to restore service as safely and quickly as possible. Thousands of lineworkers, tree crews and support personnel were mobilized from across the region to assist local crews, working to clear debris, repair damaged equipment and restore power community by community until every customer was back online.

In addition, investments in grid modernization proved critical during the storm response, allowing automated systems to detect issues, isolate damage and restore power to approximately 22,000 customers in less than five minutes.

In the aftermath of the storm, questions have been raised about the reliability of the electric system serving the Cape. However, the claim referenced in a recent article that Eversource operates “one of the least reliable distribution systems in the country” is inaccurate.

In fact, based on industry benchmarking using standard IEEE reliability metrics, Eversource has ranked in the top decile (top 10 percent) among Northeast and Mid-Atlantic utility peers for reliability performance for seven consecutive years, with restoration performance also ranking in the top decile in recent years.

While major storms can produce widespread damage and extended outages, those events are different from the day-to-day reliability performance of the electric distribution system.

Strengthening the grid and improving resiliency for customers is a major focus of our ongoing work across Massachusetts. Eversource continues to invest in vegetation management, stronger poles and equipment, modern grid technologies that can automatically restore power after certain outages, and other system upgrades designed to reduce the number and duration of outages over time.

Reliability and safety remain our top priorities, and we remain committed to working closely with Cape communities to ensure the electric system continues to meet the region’s needs.

Olessa Stepanova
Manager, External Communications
Eversource