Opinion/Letters: Army Corps advice needed on Commonwealth Wind cable at Dowses Beach

I am strongly in favor of wind energy, and even though I am a frequent visitor of Dowses in Osterville, I am not opposed to the wind farm cable coming to the beach.

However, there are many people here in Osterville who are strongly opposed. They think it could be located elsewhere such as Covell Beach and Craigville Beach.

The people at Avangrid, the company building the Commonwealth Wind Project, believe Dowses is the best location and it cannot be, alternately, located next to either of the other two wind farm cables that are proposed for Covell Beach and Craigville Beach.

We are not so sure that we can believe the Avangrid people. We need expert advice.

I would like — or I encourage — U.S. Rep. William Keating to get the Army Corps of Engineers to give us that advice.

Avangrid has scheduled the first in-person open house on Jan. 19, 2023. It would be nice to have the information by then.

Grant "Art" Cornell. Osterville

Main Street Hyannis parcel a good place for affordable housing

A major issue that the Cape Cod Times often mentions in its newspaper is the lack of low-income housing for the working poor, the disabled and the elderly in this region.

An example of where low-income housing units could be built is on a completely empty piece of land that is being sold at the intersection of North and Stevens streets in Hyannis — next to the MassHire building at 372 North St. —which has been up for sale for many months now. Considering that all the trees have been removed from this lot, all that would be needed is for either the federal or Massachusetts state government to provide money to buy the property and pay for the construction costs on an apartment building that may have room for 15 to 20 new dwellings.

This is just one of many opportunities that I see in Hyannis where low-income housing could be built in this village. My concern is I don't know how much local politicians or citizens really want any new infrastructure used for the purpose of providing shelter for the neediest among us when many homeowners and businesses worry that housing for the poor might affect their property values or may cause local merchants to lose some of their customers.

Bram Hurvitz, Hyannis

Residents must speak out against Holtec's plan to dump radioactive water

I am taken aback by Holtec Corporation’s proposal to discharge radioactive waste into Cape Cod Bay. To anyone who swims, fishes, or sails these waters, I urge you to contact all of your federal and state legislators to have them put a stop to this.

Beyond the immediate risks, it sets a dangerous precedent for how we dispose of any waste. Holtec answers to their shareholders, not us. While we have enjoyed using electricity for decades from this plant, we must now pay the price of responsibly dealing with the residue. Such is the cost of nuclear power.

Of course, it is cheaper to dispose of this waste by dumping it. It’s easier to dump our garbage there too, but we don’t. Just because tritium is invisible doesn’t make this acceptable. During this holiday season, and time of political transition, don’t ignore this issue, lest you end up swimming and fishing next summer in this water.

Speak out now before this gets pushed through.Fritz Lauenstein, Dennis Port

Police details at wedding were paid for

The sheriff’s boat escort hadn’t seemed like such a big deal until I read George Regan’s letter (11/27) about the issue in which he described “the largest wedding police detail ever assembled on Cape Cod”. It occurred to me that, when I had been planning a wedding, the caterer would have required me to pay for an off-duty police officer to be present. I wondered if the county was fully reimbursed for this record-breaking police presence.

Tim Bayer, East Falmouth

Editor's note: George Regan told the Times he paid for the police details on the day of his wedding and at an event the night before the wedding.

This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Barnstable residents need expert information about Dowses Beach cable