Sam Houghton

On a sunny day in October, an excavator is digging into a layer of sand and cranberry plants along the Child’s River, near the border of Falmouth and Mashpee. Tree stumps are scattered about, and channels of water are diverted around up-turned dirt piles.

"Sometimes mother nature needs a helping hand, and that’s what we’re doing here,” said Gary Anderson, surveying a scene that resembled a construction site. 

It's been a year unlike any other for teachers during the pandemic.

They've had to hold remote classes while teaching students in-person at the same time; they've had to step into school buildings with the threat of the virus, wearing masks and getting their students to wear masks; and they've had to navigate new lesson plans.

Halloween is just a few days away, and no matter how you celebrate, it will be unlike any Halloween we’ve ever seen.

Some people, like residents in a popular trick or treating neighborhood in Vineyard Haven, or the organizers of an annual trunk or treat event at the Cape Cod Church in Falmouth, have decided they won’t hand out candy this year. 

The number of cases of coronavirus on Nantucket has slowed over the last week, but health officials are still keeping a close watch on daily tests.  

The island has suffered from two surges since early September, one related to the trades, and the most recent related to a potluck gathering at a local church.   

Polls were quiet around the region yesterday, but turnout was heavy for a state primary thanks in large part to mail-in voting.

School reopening plans, Native American school mascots, and events to mark the 400th anniversary of the Pilgrims landing in Provincetown cancelled due to the pandemic.  Those stories and more topping the Local News Roundup.  WCAI's Sam Houghton hosts.  His guests include: WCAI reporters Jennette Barnes and Eve Zuckoff; Noah Asimow from the Vineyard Gazette; Jessica Hill at the Cape Cod Times; George Brennan at the Martha's Vineyard Times; Tim Wood at the Cape Cod Chronicle; KC Myers at the Provincetown Independent; and Josh Balling at the Nantucket Inquirer and Mirror.

The Mashpee Police Department will become one of only a few police stations across the state to use body cameras when it begins a pilot program next month.

Ten Mashpee police officers will wear the cameras as a way to increase transparency.

Many communities and activists trying to harness the momentum that has come from the protests that erupted after the death of George Floyd and other African-Americans in police custody.

One response has been a movement to support Black-owned businesses.

The Atlantic White Shark Conservancy, a non-profit research organization out of Chatham, announced a number of new initiatives this week aimed at better understanding sharks that visit every summer.

A lot of locals have a little more free time on their hands because of the coronavirus, and with the nice weather, many are turning to the outdoors.

Many health and government officials say that knowing the extent of the coronavirus outbreak is key to reopening the economy, and the best way to know the extent of the problem is through testing.

Many people have been turning to locally sourced food during the coronavirus outbreak, as a way to avoid grocery stores.

But there is one exception: shellfish.

WCAI’s Sam Houghton reports that oysters and quahogs face a particular challenge when it comes to reaching customers.

Cape Cod's first adult recreational marijuana store opened Wednesday in Provincetown.

It's called Curaleaf and about 30 people were in line when the doors opened around noon.

Crippling cyber attacks on major cities have made recent headlines, but smaller towns, like those across the Cape and Islands, are not immune.

Buttonwood Park Zoo recently announced its newest resident. Her name is Sandy and she's the New Bedford zoo's first female, two-toed sloth.