☀ Cape summer forecast

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Good morning Cape Cod. It's National Vitamin C Day, which means this newsletter is technically part of your balanced breakfast. 🍊

In this week’s Cape Coddah:

• Nantucket battles SouthCoast Wind

• Campground housing plan takes shape

• Events and live music

  
  Let’s get to it.

CAPE DIGEST

⛱️ Summer Rentals Cooling

Cape Cod's summer rental market is returning to pre-pandemic patterns, with bookings showing a more normal pace compared to the frenzied years of 2022-2023. We Need A Vacation reports 64% of their 4,000+ properties are booked for May-September, matching last year but well below the 77% booked by this time during peak pandemic demand.

The Chamber of Commerce projects visitors could drop about 15% from last year. Rental prices have stabilized but remain 20-30% higher than 2019 levels, while the rapid growth in rental inventory has also slowed, with 1,367 new units registered in Barnstable County over the past year compared to 1,875 the previous year. Read the full story.

💨 Did Feds Rush Wind Farm?

Nantucket is appealing the federal approval of the SouthCoast Wind project, alleging the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) conducted a "rushed and faulty" permitting process that ignored the wind farm's impact on the island's National Historic Landmark status. The appeal seeks to have BOEM's decision vacated and claims the agency violated key environmental and historic preservation laws.

Select Board Chair Brooke Mohr emphasized that despite repeated attempts to find balance between renewable energy goals and protecting what makes Nantucket unique, BOEM and the developer "refused to work with us and follow the law." This appeal represents a significant shift from Nantucket's previous approach - just five years ago, the town entered into a "Good Neighbor Agreement" with Vineyard Wind. Read the full story.

SPONSORED BY CHATHAM HARVESTERS

⛺️ Campground to Year-Round Housing

Wellfleet's plan for transforming the 21-acre Maurice's Campground into affordable housing is taking shape nearly three years after the town bought it. The planning committee presented their master plan to residents on April 2, featuring four alternative layouts that would create 250-290 housing units and 40-90 seasonal worker beds.

Committee members have worked with consultants to design a development that resembles traditional "Cape Cod Village" architecture while addressing local housing needs - 56% of Wellfleet's housing is seasonally vacant, and 495 households spend over 30% of their income on housing. The plan includes commercial space, open areas, and aims to create a new "village center" for North Eastham and South Wellfleet residents. Read the full story.

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☢️ Pilgrim Nuclear to Move Waste Water

Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station plans to move radioactive water from the reactor cavity and dryer-separator pit into the more enclosed torus area in April, which will reduce—but not eliminate—evaporation from the plant. While Holtec's compliance manager David Noyes couldn't quantify the reduction, he noted the torus has "considerably less" surface area and only two open hatches allowing air exchange.

Plant water volume has already decreased from 1.1 million gallons in early 2023 to about 844,000 gallons as of March 20 through evaporation, though approximately 400,000 gallons will remain in the spent-fuel pool. At Monday's Nuclear Decommissioning Citizens Advisory Panel meeting, members debated priorities with some focusing on spent fuel safety issues and others emphasizing complete decommissioning. Read the full story.

LOCAL BUSINESS

☕️ Caffeine Returns to Commercial Street

The Williams family has finally cleared the path to reopen a coffee shop at 6 Commercial Street in Wellfleet after three years without one and multiple contentious zoning board hearings. Randy and Charter Williams, who own the 190-year-old building, plan to lease part of the former Fox & Crow space to Pamela Stahl for a coffee bar.

What started as a routine permit request in February turned into a “brewhaha” when Charter Williams lost his temper at the March 13 meeting, when board members requested additional parking plans. At the follow-up meeting, attorney Ben Zehnder explained that pandemic-related permit extensions meant no new permit was actually needed, leading to unanimous board approval. Stahl, who previously ran the Red Shack in Provincetown and Day's Market in North Truro, plans to offer coffee, breakfast sandwiches and lunch items. Read the full story.

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CIVIL NEWS

⚖️ Dennis Man Arrested for Death Threats

A 62-year-old South Dennis man, Michael P. Mahoney, was arrested for allegedly making death threats against a federal official and their family members during a 12-second phone call on March 28th. According to charging documents, Mahoney called the federal official's relative while they were dining outside Massachusetts, confirmed their name, and then screamed that he was going to murder them, their spouse, and the federal official.

Phone records traced the call to Mahoney's number, and when authorities tried to approach him at his home the next day, he reportedly refused to answer his door or phone. Mahoney now faces federal charges of transmitting interstate threats to injure another person, which carries a potential sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine. Read the full story.

PET OF THE WEEK

👋 Meet: Shirley
🐾 Labrador Retriever
🎂 3 months old
♀︎ Female
Available to adopt at MSCPA-Cape Cod

WHAT’S HAPPENIN’

FRIDAY

Blood Drive @ Eastham Library | 10 AM
Whale Walk @ Herring Cove Beach | 11 AM
G. Love @ Wellfleet Preservation Hall | 5 PM
Lion, Witch & Wardrobe @ CC Theatre Co | 7 PM

SATURDAY

Annual Pond Summit @ Brewster Baptist | 9 AM
Composing Better Photos @ CC MOA | 10 AM
Stained Glass Workshop @ Cult. Cent. of CC | 10
Weave a Tote Bag @ Castle Hill | 10 AM
Writer’s Seminar @ JFK Museum | 10 AM
Pet CPR Class @ Eastham Library | 10:30 AM
Felted Easter Eggs @ Highfield Hall | 1 PM
Lion, Witch & Wardrobe @ CC Theatre Co | 2 PM
Line Dancing @ Sandwich Library | 2 PM

SUNDAY

Spring Brunch @ Color Me Mine | 10 AM
Gnome Paint Party @ Starfish Shoppe | 1 PM
CPR Course @ Osterville Library | 1 PM
Lion, Witch & Wardrobe @ CC Theatre Co | 2 PM
Comedy Night @ Cotuit Center | 6 PM

LIVE MUSIC  🎸

FRIDAY

On the Rocks @ Grumpy’s Pub | 6 PM
Sarah Burrill Band @ Chatham Squire | 6 PM
Fred Clayton Band @ Hog Island | 6 PM
Frank Sinatra Tribute @ Pelham House | 7 PM
Jayden Westland @ The Local Tavern | 7 PM
Karaoke @ Jake Rooney’s | 8 PM
Soul Purpose @ Lane’s Bowl & Bistro | 8 PM
Josh Ayala @ The Barley Neck | 8:30 PM

SATURDAY

Tim Sweeney @ Orleans Comm. Center | 1 PM
Bart Weisman @ The Vine | 5:30 PM
Nikki & The Barn Boys @ Hog Island | 6 PM
Dan Byrnes @ Naukabout | 7 PM
Crush DMB Tribute @ CC Beer | 7 PM
Fred Clayton Band @ Wellfleet Pres. Hall | 7 PM
Stephen Tharpe @ Church Transfiguration | 7:30
Linda Ronstadt Exp @ Cult. Cent. of CC | 7:30
Beethoven: The Revolutionary @ BPAC | 7:30
Walk of Shame @ Sundancer’s | 8 PM
The Jones’ @ The Barley Neck | 8:30 PM
Dirty Water Dance @ Chatham Squire | 9:30 PM

SUNDAY

Beethoven: The Revolutionary @ BPAC | 3 PM
The Songbirds @ CC MOA | 3:30 PM
Benefit Concert @ Thacher Hall | 4 PM
Rose Clancy @ Chatham Squire | 5 PM

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

WEATHER

Friday

59 🌡️ 42 | 🌤️ | 💧40% | 💨 NW 7 mph

Saturday

44 🌡️ 40 | 🌧️ | 💧 62% | 💨 ESE 10 mph

Sunday

56 🌡️ 42 | 🌧️ | 💧 84% | 💨 W 17 mph

💧🌡️ Water temperature = 41.5ºF

HOME OF THE WEEK

36 Perry Lane, West Dennis
Asking $535,000
4 🛌 
1 🛀 
960 square feet

0.25 acre lot

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

THANKS!

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