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☀ Fatal fire sparks Cape safety bill

☀ Fatal fire sparks Cape safety bill

Plus: Taylor Swift's Cape connection

Cape Coddah
April 25, 2025

Together with:

Good morning Cape Cod and Happy Arbor Day! While you're sipping your morning coffee, give a salute to the trees that keep our beaches from becoming deserts. 🌳

In this week’s Cape Coddah:

Multi-stream recycling for the win
Right whales get their day
Events and live music

Let’s get to it.

CAPE DIGEST

📄 Tragedy Sparks New Short-Term Rental Safety Bill

After a tragic fire killed infant Maggie Hubbard and her mother Shannon in a New York vacation rental with no working smoke alarms, grandfather Tim Waldron is channeling his grief into action. He's working with Cape & Islands Senator Julian Cyr and Orleans Rep. Hadley Luddy on the "Maggie Hubbard Rental Safety Act."

The proposed law would require short-term rental owners to get fire department inspections before listing properties on sites like Airbnb and Vrbo. Currently, many owners simply check a box claiming smoke detectors are installed, with no verification. In the Hubbards' case, the property owners now face manslaughter charges for falsely advertising smoke detectors.

While the bill is still in early stages, supporters hope it becomes a model for rental safety nationwide. Read the full story.

♻️ Multi-Stream Recycling Pays Off

Cape Cod's recycling contamination rates beat the national average of 25%, with Wellfleet at just 17% and Provincetown staying under 20%. The secret? Multi-stream recycling, where materials get sorted into separate bins.

Wellfleet's approach is paying off financially. After separating plastic and metal last summer, they now make $225 per ton on metal instead of paying $155 per ton for mixed materials. Meanwhile, P-town and Truro use single-stream recycling, which is easier but costs them $76 per ton.

County waste expert Kari Parcell says sorting makes people more mindful about what they recycle. And contrary to popular belief, about 80% of properly sorted plastic actually gets reused. Read the full story.

@THECAPECODDAH

📸 @capeimagesbyamie | 📍 Yarmouth Port

Tag @thecapecoddah to get your photos in the Coddah!

🐋 Celebrating our Rarest Whales

North Atlantic Right Whale Day brought together scientists, conservationists and the public yesterday in both Provincetown and Boston to celebrate and raise awareness about these critically endangered whales. With only about 372 individuals remaining, the Center for Coastal Studies hosted a "Whale Walk" at Herring Cove Beach, followed by a public talk featuring program director Daniel Palacios and co-founder Charles "Stormy" Mayo.

The day wrapped up with a screening of "The Last of the Right Whales" at Waters Edge Cinema. Though just in its third year as an official state observance, the event has quickly become important for highlighting these often-overlooked creatures that feed in Cape Cod Bay during winter and spring. Read the full story.

AROUND THE CAPE

Cape Cod rom-com "Mumble Bumble" seeks actor age 50-65 to play open-minded “Matt”, navigating online dating.

Commercial flights between P-town and Boston will resume on May 16 after a six-month hiatus.

Taylor Swift briefly owned a historic oceanfront Cape Cod home across from the Kennedy compound before selling it three months later.

M. Night Shyamalan and Nicholas Sparks' new supernatural love story "Remain" takes place on the Cape but will be filmed entirely in Rhode Island.

LOCAL BUSINESS

🍴 Clam Chowder to Crabcake Benedict

Right in the middle of Chatham, Viera on Main serves up local seafood and homemade pasta that locals can't stop talking about. Cape-raised Chef Ben Porter and his wife Angie decked out the place with ocean blues and white shiplap, plus there's a cool ceiling mural that gives a nod to "The Finest Hours" (which inspired their happy hour name too).

Don't miss their famous clam chowder, crabcakes, or their new weekend brunch that hotel owners kept begging them to start. You can grab dinner Tuesday through Saturday, hit their half-price raw bar from 3-5 PM, or swing by for brunch on weekends. Read the full story.

THE ISLANDS

Nantucket Community Sailing breaks barriers by providing over $100K in free programs to locals in need.

For the 33rd annual Earth Day beach cleanup, Vineyard Conservation Society volunteers collected 1,900 pounds of trash from 14 island beaches.

MV Transit Authority is offering completely free bus service across the island through September 2025.

🫙 THE TIP JAR

Celebrate our one-year anniversary and become a monthly or annual supporter. Thank you to everyone who has supported us. We love you! ❤️

CIVIL NEWS

⚖️ Sheriff's Employee on Leave After Data Breach

A Barnstable County Sheriff's Office employee allegedly sent themselves a spreadsheet containing sensitive personal information of over 100 former employees and one current employee. Sheriff Donna Buckley reported the breach on April 22, stating it was "intentional" rather than a cybersecurity failure. The employee has been placed on administrative leave during the investigation, and affected individuals are being notified in accordance with state law. Read the full story.

PET OF THE WEEK

👋 Meet: Ryder
🐾 Australian Cattle Dog
🎂 4 years old
♀︎ Male
Available to adopt at MSCPA-Cape Cod

WHAT’S HAPPENIN’

SATURDAY

LIVE MUSIC 🎸

SUNDAY

Bart Weisman Jazz @ Bleu Restaurant | 12 PM
Grandeur & Glory @ Monomoy Regional HS | 3
Spring Sing @ Arts Empowering Life | 3:30 PM
Harry A. & Rossano Sportiello @ Highfield Hall | 4

_{Nothing in this section is sponsored. We'll always let you know when something's sponsored.}

WEATHER

Friday

72 🌡️ 54 | 🌤️ | 💧4% | 💨 SW 9 mph

Saturday

58 🌡️ 48 | 🌧️ | 💧 98% | 💨 SSW 20 mph

Sunday

56🌡️ 44 | 🌥️ | 💧 55% | 💨 WNW 28 mph

💧🌡️ Water temperature = 44.1ºF

HOME OF THE WEEK

220 Dunrobin Rd Unit 220, Mashpee
Asking $2.6M
3 🛌
4.5 🛀
4,688 square feet 
0.37 acre lot

_{Nothing in this section is sponsored. We'll always let you know when something's sponsored.}

THANKS!

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