Paul Benson

Provincetown

Staff Reporter at The Provincetown Independent

Provincetown washashore. "A home at last." Reporter for the Provincetown Independent -- plus barman, tour guide, deckhand, and traveler. Happy to be here.

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Articles

Cloverleaf Breaks Ground; Leaders Look to Future

1 week ago | provincetownindependent.org | Paul Benson

TRURO — At a groundbreaking ceremony for the 43-unit Cloverleaf affordable housing project on April 11, the mood was equal parts festive and frustrated. Construction is expected to be complete by February 2027, according to project developer Ted Malone — but plans to build affordable rentals on the surplus state land date all the way back to a town meeting vote in 2016 and a visit to Truro by then-Lt. Gov. Kathryn Polito in 2015.
Hundreds Gather in Eastham and Provincetown to Protest Trump Administration

2 weeks ago | provincetownindependent.org | Parker Mumford |Paul Benson

About 600 demonstrators gathered along Route 6 in Eastham on Saturday, April 5 as part of a nationwide protest against the Trump administration’s cuts to government services and abuse of executive power, while at least 400 more gathered in front of Provincetown Town Hall. Other Outer Cape residents drove or took buses to Boston to join a rally that the police there estimated drew more than 25,000 people.
P’town Approves Override and 3 Petitioned Articles

2 weeks ago | provincetownindependent.org | Paul Benson

PROVINCETOWN — The 380 voters who assembled in town hall on April 7 worked through the 107-page warrant booklet with relative ease, approving 43 articles including a $1.4-million override measure to fund an expansion of the fire dept.
The Indie Wins 13 New England Press Awards

3 weeks ago | provincetownindependent.org | Paul Benson

PORTLAND, MAINE — The Provincetown Independent won 13 awards at the New England Newspaper and Press Association’s annual convention on March 29, including five first-place prizes. Reporter Sophie Mann-Shafir won first prize for government reporting in weekly newspapers for her series on a campaign by the Truro Part-Time Resident Taxpayers’ Association to persuade people to vote in Truro regardless of where they live full-time.
Fire, Housing, and Zoning Top Provincetown’s Agenda

3 weeks ago | provincetownindependent.org | Paul Benson

PROVINCETOWN — Reading the warrant for the April 7 annual town meeting feels a bit like perusing a buffet in Las Vegas: there’s a huge variety, and you must try it all. There are two fire dept. votes, two housing projects, a hotel ownership bylaw, seven zoning changes, and four petitioned articles: one on gender-inclusive bathrooms, two on building materials, and one that would cap short-term rental licenses at 1,000.
‘Seasonal Communities’ Goes to Voters in 4 Towns

3 weeks ago | provincetownindependent.org | Paul Benson

PROVINCETOWN — All four Outer Cape towns have at least one item in common on their town meeting warrants this spring: a vote on whether to accept the state’s new “seasonal communities” designation. The designation was created for towns where a significant number of houses are used as vacation properties rather than year-round residences. It was written by Cape and Islands state Sen. Julian Cyr and included in the state’s $5.1-billion Affordable Homes Act, which Gov.
Budget Cuts Could Cost MassHealth $2B Per Year

4 weeks ago | provincetownindependent.org | Brian Z. Zayatz |Paul Benson

PROVINCETOWN — A 10-year budget resolution that could strip up to $880 billion from Medicaid passed the U.S. House in February, raising the prospect of large cuts in the MassHealth program.
Why a Cold Winter Meant Higher Electric Bills on the Outer Cape

1 month ago | provincetownindependent.org | Paul Benson

YARMOUTH — More than a few Outer Cape residents have been shocked by their electric bills this winter, especially those who rely on electric baseboard heaters or heat pumps to warm their homes. The “delivery charges” on residential bills from Eversource have increased about a nickel per kilowatt-hour in the last eight months: from 16.6 cents last June to 21.7 cents in February. A nickel per kilowatt-hour may not sound like much, but on a 1,000-kilowatt-hour bill, it would mean an extra $50.
Restrooms and Rental Cap Are on the Warrant

1 month ago | provincetownindependent.org | Paul Benson

PROVINCETOWN — Town meetings here follow a fairly standard recipe — articles that fund town government at the beginning, housing measures in the middle, zoning articles at the end. It takes only 10 voters’ signatures to add a petitioned article to the warrant, however, and this year there are four: one on gender-inclusive restrooms in town-owned buildings, two on the regulation of building materials, and one that would cap the number of short-term rental licenses in town at 1,000.
Provincetown Select Board Previews a Lengthy Warrant

1 month ago | provincetownindependent.org | Paul Benson

PROVINCETOWN — Voters here are likely to be glad about their 2021 vote to add cushions to the seats in town hall auditorium — because the warrant for town meeting on April 7 is currently estimated at 150 pages. Most of those pages will be filled by eight zoning measures: six updates to existing codes and two entirely new sections, one for Shank Painter Road and one to preserve existing commercial spaces facing Commercial Street.