The Cape Coddah
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☀️ Manatee Needs Ride Back to Florida

☀️ Manatee Needs Ride Back to Florida

Plus: Nantucket woman competes on Project Runway

Cape Coddah
August 08, 2025

Good morning Cape Cod. Here’s a random local fact for you;

Cape Cod has more lighthouse keepers' descendants still living here than any other coastal area in America!

In this week’s Cape Coddah:

Canadian wildfire smoke hits Cape
Dave Portnoy invades Cape pizza joints
Events and live music

Let’s get to it.

🥬 Gleaning Saves Greens From Waste

Volunteers spent hours harvesting kale, chard, and collard greens at Cape Cod Organic Farm in Barnstable to donate to local food pantries and community refrigerators. The "gleaning" effort, organized by Cape Cod Cooperative Extension's Nutrition and Food Access Program, collected leftover crops that might otherwise go to waste.

The time-honored practice helps prevent food waste while increasing access to fresh, local produce for families in need. The harvested greens ended up at locations like Harwich's People's Fridge, where they're available to anyone. The Extension team says more gleaning opportunities are planned, as the program tackles both food insecurity and waste while strengthening community connections between farms and neighbors. Read more»

🛟 Manatee Needs Ride Back to Florida

A nine-foot, 1,000-pound manatee spotted off Cape Cod on July 26 and 29 has folks from the International Fund for Animal Welfare scrambling to locate the animal for emergency transport back to Florida. The manatee beached itself near Mattapoisett but was helped back to deeper water by bystanders.

Experts say the warm-water creature is outside its optimal thermal environment and could face serious health problems if it remains in Cape waters as temps drop. Manatees need water around 72 degrees and lack adequate food sources here. A similar rescue occurred in 2016 when another wandering manatee was captured and returned to Florida. Officials ask anyone spotting the animal to call IFAW. Read more»

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🔥 Canada's Wildfires Impact Cape Air

Nearly 200 Canadian wildfires have prompted Massachusetts suits to issue air quality warnings for Cape Cod, with ground-level ozone reaching moderate levels that can be unhealthy for sensitive groups. The smoke drifts south via jet streams, creating visible haze and concerning air pollutants like PM 2.5, which can penetrate deep into lungs.

Sensitive individuals including children, older adults, pregnant women, and those with asthma or heart conditions are advised to limit outdoor activities. Sandwich Fire Chief John Burke says the town typically experiences about a week of impacted air quality each summer from wildfires, leading to increased emergency calls for breathing issues and smoke odors. Read more»

📸 @larkspur.dayscottages | 📍North Truro

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🧵 Nantucket Designer Hits Project Runway

Nantucket's Madeline Malenfant is one of 12 fashion designers competing on Season 21 of "Project Runway," which launched July 31 on Freeform. The classically trained sculptor pivoted to fashion after moving to a tiny NYC apartment that couldn't fit an art studio but could accommodate a sewing machine.

Malenfant studied costume design in London and draws inspiration from medieval themes, often working with upholstery fabric remnants due to budget constraints. Her logo features a sword-wielding rabbit from medieval manuscripts. The judges praised her first design this season, calling her construction skills "really good." She's competing for a $200,000 grand prize and industry mentorship while working on a new collection from her Nantucket base. Read more»

Two Cape Cod Canal patrol boat operators received Coast Guard certificates of appreciation for rescuing a seasick boater.

Canadian visitors to the Cape are down dramatically this summer, with some campgrounds seeing 77% fewer bookings.

"Hightown," the Starz crime drama series set in Provincetown and filmed partly on Cape Cod, is now streaming on Netflix with all three seasons available.

🍕 One Bite Reviews Hit Cape Pizzerias

Dave Portnoy brought his famous "One Bite" pizza reviews to Cape Cod in late July, visiting Pizza Shark, George's Pizza, Harwich Port House of Pizza, and Stone L'oven Pizza in Brewster. Stone L'oven scored highest with a 7.7 "real world" rating and 11 on Portnoy's Cape Cod scale, with the owner calling it "hands down the best advertising."

Pizza Shark got a 5.9 despite different pizza styles, but co-owner Sarah Koopman wasn't disappointed, saying "it's a win for us whether we got a 1 or a 10." The reviews generated hundreds of thousands of views and immediate business boosts for the featured shops. Read more»

A newborn from MV is fighting for her life at Mass General Hospital after contracting rare Powassan virus from a tick bite.

A false bomb threat shut down Nantucket's lower Main Street for hours Tuesday night, with police finding no explosive device after a thorough search.

Woods Hole residents want cleaner ferries as pollution increases, while Seattle just launched the nation's first hybrid car ferry.

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🚨 Drug Bust: Two Men, $500K & Cocaine

Two men were arrested in Hyannis after state police observed what appeared to be a drug transaction in a parking lot, recovering over half a kilo of suspected cocaine and a large sum of cash. Ilya Zinov, 36, of Hyannis, and Jermaine Dudley, 33, of New Bedford, were charged with trafficking cocaine over 200 grams.

The bust involved surveillance from New Bedford to Hyannis, followed by coordinated search warrants executed by multiple agencies including State Police, Barnstable Police, and the Cape Cod DEA Task Force. Zinov was already on probation for aggravated assault with a dangerous weapon and has a violent criminal history, including a 2009 triple shooting that earned him 12-15 years as an armed career criminal. Read more»

👋 Meet: Candy
🐾 Boxer
🎂 2 years old
♀︎ Female
Available to adopt at MSCPA-Cape Cod

FRIDAY - AUGUST 8

Feel-Good Fridays @ Cult. Cent. of CC | 10 AM
Ukulele Storytime @ Wellfleet Library | 10:30 AM
Story Wizards @ Eastham Library | 10:30 AM
Made for Each Other @ Guyer Art Barn | 5 PM
Artist Talk @ Wellfleet Pres. Hall | 6 PM
Come from Away @ Cape Playhouse | 7:30 PM

SATURDAY - AUGUST 9

SUNDAY - AUGUST 10

Chris LeBeau @ CC Winery | 12 PM
Fred Clayton @ Neptune’s CC | 1 PM
Off the Coast @ Naukabout | 3 PM
Sensible Shoes @ CC MOA | 3 PM
Micky and the Kid @ Trader Ed’s | 4:30 PM
Rose Clancy @ Chatham Squire | 5 PM
Chamber Benefit @ Belmont Beach Club | 5 PM
Chris LeBeau @ Bluewater Grille | 5 PM
Jade & String-a-ma-jigs @ Covenant Church | 5
John Ebersold @ Irish Goodbye Pinthouse | 5:30
Joanne Shaw Taylor @ Payomet PAC | 7 PM
Perfectly @ Cape Melody Tent | 8 PM

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

Friday

78 🌡️ 55 | 🌤️ | 💧0% | 💨 SE 7 mph

Saturday

77 🌡️ 58 | ☀️ | 💧 1% | 💨 E 7 mph

Sunday

82🌡️ 64 | 🌤️ | 💧 0% | 💨 E 7 mph

💧🌡️ Water temperature = 68ºF

34 Cedar Land Road, Orleans
Asking $2.275M
4 🛌
4.5 🛀
3,178 sqft
0.92 acre lot

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

Thanks for reading The Cape Coddah today. If you found something useful or entertaining, please share it with someone who watches Project Runway.