The Cape Coddah
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☀️ The Cape's Strangest Corners

☀️ The Cape's Strangest Corners

Plus: Last call at East End Tap

Cape Coddah
August 28, 2026

In partnership with

Good morning Cape Cod. Today in 1898, Caleb Bradham renamed his drink 'Brad's Drink' to 'Pepsi-Cola.' It was originally invented as a digestive aid. So the next time someone tells you soda isn't good for you, remind them it was literally created for your stomach. (Note: this is not medical advice.) 🥤

In this week’s Cape Coddah:

The J-1 summer up close
Orleans ax case reopens
Events and live music

Let’s get to it.

🛩️ A Shakeup at the Airport

Cape Cod Gateway Airport in Hyannis is dealing with a shakeup at the top. Airport Manager Mike Nelson has resigned after just over a year on the job, and two members of the Airport Commission have stepped down in recent months too.

Nelson turned in his notice in August, citing personal reasons, but he'll stay on through the end of December. He'd only been appointed last July after a long search, having previously worked there in air traffic control. The town has already posted the job, which pays between $180,000 and $215,000.

As for the commission, Joe DiGeorge left in June, and vice chair Mark Guiod resigned this month. Notably, a watchdog group had questioned whether Guiod even lived in Barnstable. The commission hopes to name a new manager by late September.
Read more»

🐬 2,000 Animals in a Single Flight

New England Aquarium scientists spotted more than 2,000 animals during a single August flight over the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine Monument, a nearly 5,000-square-mile sanctuary about 130 miles southeast of Cape Cod.

The tally was remarkable: some 1,800 dolphins across four species, plus a sperm whale, a humpback, and an endangered fin whale mother and calf feeding together. Even more striking were the warm-water visitors, 11 whale sharks, manta rays, devil rays, and hammerheads, all riding the Gulf Stream north for summer.

Scientists say the sheer diversity shows why the spot is so special, and worth protecting. Which matters right now, because the Trump administration rolled back some of the monument's protections earlier this year, opening it up to commercial fishing. Read more»

This newsletter is free to read, always will be, and it's just me behind the scenes. Reading every local story, writing every summary, hitting send every Friday.

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~Kari

🌎 The J-1 Summer, Up Close

For the more than 1,200 J-1 student workers on the Outer Cape this summer, the "cultural exchange" the program promises mostly happens with each other, not with Americans.

Take Aituar Shagirov from Kazakhstan, who works two jobs in Wellfleet, around 70 hours a week, and bikes the shoulder of Route 6 to get there. Or Khaled Osama from Egypt, juggling three jobs that sometimes push past 90 hours. Outside work, both say it can get lonely. Spotty bus service leaves them feeling stuck.

The friends they've made come from all over the world, Romania, China, Egypt, just not the US. Most got their first welcome not from the town but from local churches, which host dinners and even give away bikes.

As Osama put it, he's not having fun, but the money's good. Read more»

📸 @paddlecapecodma |📍Nauset Bay Marshes

Tag @thecapecoddah to get your photos in the Coddah!

👻 The Cape's Strangest Corners

Here's a fun one for the "you learn something new every day" file. A writer's accidental "CAPE ODD" sweatshirt sparked this roundup of the Cape's stranger, more unexpected corners.

There's the R-rated art alley off Commercial Street in Provincetown, filled with the provocative work of artist Bob Gasoi. Over in Yarmouth Port sits the Edward Gorey House, the whimsically macabre home of the famous illustrator, now a museum whose profits help animals.

For the spooky crowd, Barnstable's Old Jail is one of the oldest wooden jails in the country and said to be haunted, as is North Truro's Highland Light, the Cape's oldest lighthouse. And in Marstons Mills, the Cape Cod Airfield offers biplane rides over the coast, a peek at aviation the 1920s way. Read more»

It's Here: Pique's New Caffeine-Free Afternoon Energy

I quit my afternoon coffee. Not because I wanted to — because I found something better.

You know that wall you hit every day around 2–3 PM? I used to just accept it as the cost of doing anything. Another coffee, a quick spike, then the crash — and somehow I'd still feel dehydrated by dinner.

Then I tried X·E Fountain, Pique's brand-new electrolyte energy drink, and I genuinely wasn't ready for how good "no crash" could feel.

No caffeine jitters. No 4 PM slump. Just clean, steady energy that actually hydrates me instead of draining me. It's built with a premium Vitamin B Complex for natural cellular energy, Magnesium Malate + Taurate for real focus, and a full electrolyte blend that makes it feel like a treat, not a chore.

The cucumber-celery-lime flavor is so crisp and refreshing — it's basically stolen my afternoon coffee slot completely.

For launch, get 15% off for life

Jose Valerio of Harwich won a $4M grand prize on a Massachusetts Lottery "100X" instant ticket he bought at Harwich's Main Street Market, taking the cash option of $2.6M before taxes and planning to buy a house.

Rising Nauset senior Edith Spiegel founded "Nauset Swim to Start," a free program running through September 4 that teaches kids ages 5 to 17 to swim, born from her realization that many Cape families can't afford the steep cost of lessons.

Brewster has released a final draft of short-term rental regulations that would require the town's roughly 1,200 to 1,300 rentals to be registered and inspected for a $300 annual fee, with the rules set to take effect in January and a board vote expected August 31.

The Cape Cod Melody Tent unveiled a new mural led by Osterville artist Joe Diggs, the Arts Foundation's 2025 Artist of the Year, who guided five high school students through designing and painting a whimsical piece featuring musical Cape critters and legends like Aretha Franklin and Johnny Cash.

🍺 Last Call at East End Tap

After nearly a decade, East End Tap in East Falmouth is closing next month, with a tentative last day of September 10.

The Teaticket Highway spot became a beloved neighborhood haunt for seafood, burgers, and beer, known for Cape staples like clam chowder, stuffed quahogs, and haddock tacos alongside a big lineup of brews. In an emotional Facebook post, owner Paul Pendleton looked back on nine and a half years of what he called fun, friendship, and success, thanking his team and community.

The good news is the space won't sit empty. New owners John and Jenny Norton are taking over and turning it into Johnny's Cafe. They'll close for a few weeks to expand the kitchen first. As Pendleton put it, the name may change, but the memories won't. Read more»

Nantucket has launched Rooted Renters, a new pilot program that pays homeowners up to $18,000 over three years to keep renting their homes to year-round tenants, aiming to preserve existing local housing.

Martha's Vineyard Hospital is launching a first-of-its-kind study to unravel alpha-gal syndrome, the tick-borne red meat allergy that's exploded on the Island, by following hundreds of residents for two years.

A LendingTree analysis named Nantucket the town with the highest median home value in the country at $1.6M, but local experts say that number is almost certainly way off, with the island's true median likely closer to $2.7 to $3.5M.

Marc Brown, creator of the beloved "Arthur" children's books, has sold the Martha's Vineyard home where he wrote about half the series, a nearly 8-acre Vineyard Haven property he and his artist wife spent 37 years lovingly restoring.

⚖️ The Orleans Ax Case Reopens

The Massachusetts Appeals Court has thrown out the conviction of Jamie Hempel, the Orleans man found guilty in a violent 2015 ax attack, and ordered a new trial.

Back in March 2015, authorities say Hempel kicked his way into an Orleans apartment and attacked a woman with an ax, striking her shoulder and just missing her head. Two men there tackled him and held him in a headlock until police arrived. He was convicted in 2016 and sentenced to 20 to 22 years.

The court's 2-1 ruling didn't dispute what happened. It found that Hempel, who has only a GED, wasn't properly warned about the risks of acting as his own lawyer during part of the trial. The DA's office is reviewing whether to retry him. Read more»

👋 Meet: Bayou
🐾 English Coonhound
🎂 4 years old
♀︎ Male
Available to adopt at MSCPA-Cape Cod

SATURDAY - AUGUST 29

Arts & Crafts Fest @ Drummer Boy Park | 10 AM
Mahjong Beginners @ Eastham Library | 11 AM
Fish Feeding Fun @ Wellfleet Bay | 12 PM
Fireworks & Beach Party @ W. Dennis Beach | 6
Comedy Night @ CC Comm. College | 7 PM
All Our Best @ Cape Rep Theatre | 7:30 PM

SUNDAY - AUGUST 30

Arts & Crafts Fest @ Drummer Boy Park | 10 AM
Thrift & Pop-Up Market @ Off the Grid | 12 PM
Summer in the City @ Wellfleet Harbor Actors | 4
Line Dancing @ Hog Island | 5 PM

Plover Not a Fighter

SUNDAY - AUGUST 30

AK Cody @ CC Winery | 12 PM
Andrew DiMarzo @ Flying Bridge | 1 PM
Eva Ricci @ Love Farms | 1 PM
Jeff Lowe @ CC Coffee | 3 PM
Morrissey Blvd. @ Naukabout | 3 PM
Pokey LaFarge @ Falmouth Academy | 3 PM
The Value Leaders @ The Woodshed | 4 PM
Rossano Sportiello @ J. Wesley UMC | 4 PM
Ken Field Trio @ CC MOA | 4 PM
Shelby Donovan @ Pilot House | 5 PM
Chris Richardson @ Chapin’s Bayside | 5 PM
James Taylor Tribute @ Neptune’s CC | 5 PM
Jim Nosler @ Oliver’s & Planck’s | 5 PM
AK Cody @ Torino | 6 PM
Valerie June @ Payomet PAC | 6 PM
John Ruzicka @ Love Farms | 6 PM
Daniel Sturgis @ Margaritaville | 7 PM
Get the Led Out @ Cape Melody Tent | 8 PM
Chris Richardson @ The Woodshed | 9:30 PM

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

Friday

82 🌡️ 67 | 🌩️ | 💧 74% | 💨 S 7 mph

Saturday

74 🌡️ 63 | 🌤️ | 💧 1% | 💨 NNE 9 mph

Sunday

82 🌡️ 69 | 🌤️ | 💧 3% | 💨 SW 12 mph

💧🌡️ Water temperature = 69ºF

325 Nauset Light Beach Road, Eastham
Asking $779,000
2 🛏️
2 🛁
924 sqft
0.29 acre lot

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

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