ORLEANS Cape Cod’s economy is still reeling from COVID-19, especially the restaurant industry. But downtown Orleans businesses were suffering long before the pandemic hit.
And while residential real estate is in high demand, with record-low inventory, the commercial property market for purchases and leases is struggling badly, and has been for some time.
Enter the Orleans Planning Board, which has proposed hiring a consultant to explore options for boosting economic development in town. For Lease signs are not new in town. The bank at Skaket Corners has been empty since 2008, and the old Hearth n Kettle restaurant has been dormant since 2016. The Underground Mall is deserted, other malls have vacancies, Guapo’s and Vers are closed and the Lobster Claw shut down when its owners retired last September.
The lingering aroma of printer’s ink may be succeeded by the scent of chocolate at 5 Namskaket Rd. ED MARONEY PHOTO
ORLEANS Seventy-five years ago, Jack and Laura Johnson of Truro cooked up an idea for a weekly newspaper. Under its second owner, Malcolm Hobbs, The Cape Codder built a headquarters at 5 Namskaket Rd. in with ample space for a printery, including a giant ink tank. The building would shake as a press operator announced each run: “Caaaaape Cod-uh!”
The press is long gone, stilled and sold by an off-Cape corporation that came to own the paper. Today, the Codder is printed in Auburn, near Worcester, the old printery converted to a fitness and wellness center.
ORLEANS – Orleans is on an accelerated track o decide whether to purchase the Governor Prence Inn and use it for affordable housing.
Town meeting voters in October agreed to spend up to $29,900 on a feasibility study to determine the best uses of the property, and Orleans has hired the Barrett Planning Group to conduct it. The group must report back to the Select Board by Jan. 29.
Orleans entered a letter of intent with the owners that will allow the town to negotiate a purchase and sale agreement by the May town meeting, pending the outcome of the feasibility study.
The Governor Prence Inn operated on Route 6A in downtown Orleans from 1959 to 2019. It didn’t open last year due to the pandemic and the owners approached the town about a possible purchase.
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Nurses at UPMC Muncy pose with the Vocera devices outside the hospital. PHOTO SUBMITTED
MUNCY- Even with the cancelation of the 2020 UPMC Muncy Auxiliary Lawn Party, the UPMC Muncy Auxiliary and Lawn Party committee still received generous contributions from community members and local organizations totaling almost $17,000. Proceeds funded the purchase of Vocera badges, hands-free communications devices for clinical staff, at UPMC Muncy.
“We’re always moving and often at the bedside of our patients – we don’t really have a lot of free time even for phone calls or emails,” said Andrea Reed, director of Nursing, UPMC Muncy. “The Vocera devices help keep our staff connected and promote team communication. Rather than having to report to a nurse’s station or call someone on the phone, we can simply use the hands-free calling to talk from wherever we’re at in the hospital. These devices are a game-changer and we’re thankful to have such generous support from our commun