☀ This Cape baby had perfect timing

Good morning Cape Cod. Happy New Year and welcome to the first issue of 2025! 🎉

In this week’s Cape Coddah:

• Local cop receives National award

• Beacon Room listed for sale

• Events and live music

  
  Let’s get to it.

CAPE DIGEST

🍼 Right on Time: Cape's first baby of 2025

Cape Cod welcomed its first baby of 2025 when Valerie Karen Goode arrived at exactly 12:01 AM on New Year's Day. The 6-pound, 14-ounce girl was born to Brewster couple Nick and Stephanie Goode at Cape Cod Hospital, two days earlier than expected.

Her mother, who had been timing contractions since noon on New Year's Eve, made it her mission to push at exactly 12:01 after her midwife noted the timing. The couple, who chose Valerie's name after hearing an Amy Winehouse cover on their honeymoon, can't wait to introduce her to their pets Liberty and Francis. Read the full story.

🏆 National award for Cape officer's heroics

Harwich Police Officer Thomas G. Griffiths has been named Officer of the Month by the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund for rescuing a teen girl from a burning vehicle in November.

Griffiths pulled the victim from the backseat and applied a tourniquet just before the car bursted into flames. The honor runs in the family - his father received the same national award in 1998. Griffiths also received Harwich's Medal for Distinguished Service, the department's first in 13 years. Read the full story.

🏥 Cape Hospital earns trauma center status

Cape Cod Hospital has earned its first-ever trauma center designation, becoming a Level III Trauma Center with neurotrauma care. The certification means the hospital can now handle 80% of trauma cases locally and stabilize the most severe cases before transfer to Boston or Rhode Island.

Dr. C. Jeffrey Siegert, the hospital's trauma medical director, says the achievement required improved communication between departments and regular practice over three years, helping address Cape Cod's status as a "medical desert" where Boston transfers are increasingly difficult. Read the full story.

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📺 CCCC teachers feel squeeze of free tuition

Cape Cod Community College has seen enrollment spike by nearly a third since the state made community college free last fall, but faculty say they're struggling to keep up. Professor Lisa Heller Boragine, who now advises 30 students while teaching extra classes, warns that without more staff support, many students might drop out.

While the MassEducate program has attracted 9,500 new students statewide, faculty numbers remain below 2014 levels, with starting salaries in the low $50,000s making it hard to recruit new teachers. Read the full story.

🧭 Miriam MacMillan: From captain's wife to Arctic pioneer

Though best known as the wife of Arctic explorer Donald MacMillan, Provincetown's Miriam MacMillan carved out her own legacy as one of the first female Arctic explorers. Between 1938 and the 1950s, she completed nine Arctic expeditions, becoming the first woman to pilot a boat within 660 miles of the North Pole.

While her husband is remembered with a wharf and museum exhibits, Miriam's achievements - including her 1981 induction as one of the first women in the Explorers Club - are marked mainly by her memoir on the library shelf and a simple headstone. Read the full story.

LOCAL BUSINESS

🍽️ Orleans’ Beacon Room listed for $1.6M

After running the Beacon Room for nearly 25 years, Orleans restaurateurs Kate Roche and Kim Premny have listed the popular eatery for $1.6M. The married couple transformed the former Ardath's from a breakfast spot into a cozy dinner destination, but say post-COVID challenges and 40 years in the business have them ready for a new chapter.

While they hope a buyer will maintain the restaurant's vision, they'll keep operating until a sale is final - though they're already dreaming of their first quiet New Year's Eve at home in decades. Read the full story.

🫙 THE TIP JAR

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CIVIL NEWS

⚖️ Cape teen pleads guilty in racial attack

A 15-year-old Cape teen has pleaded guilty to attempted murder after a racially charged incident at Goose Pond in Chatham last July. John Sheeran admitted to repeatedly dunking a Black teenager who couldn't swim and was wearing a life jacket, while another teen mockingly called the victim "George Floyd."

Despite his attorney claiming it was "horseplay," Sheeran faces sentencing on February 5 in a rare public juvenile case due to the severity of the charges. Read the full story.

PET OF THE WEEK

👋 Meet: Kino
🐾 Pit Bull Terrier
🎂 1 years old
♀︎ Male
Available to adopt at MSCPA-Cape Cod

🗳️ Subscriber Poll

We’re thinking of putting together a Cape Coddah Card which would feature perks, discounts and deals from local restaurants and small businesses. The card would be valid for all of 2025 and likely feature 15-25 meaningful discounts at local businesses. The card would sell for $20-$25. Take our poll below. ⬇️

WHAT’S HAPPENIN’

FRIDAY

• Sci-fi & Fantasy Book Group @ Eastham Library | 2 PM

• Sketch Comedy Auditions @ Cape Media Center | Dennis Port | 6 PM

• Music Bingo @ Finn’s Craft Beer Tap House | Hyannis | 6:30 PM

SATURDAY

• Upper Cape Women’s Coalition Retreat @ Falmouth Public Library | 9:30 AM

• Winter Wonderland @ S. Dennis Free Public Library | 10 AM

• Polar Plunge @ Sea Crest Beach Resort | Falmouth | 10 AM

• Lego Club @ Brewster Ladies’ Library | 10:30 AM

• Writing Group @ Eastham Library | 11 AM

• Hiking the Camino de Santiago with Tom Leidenfrost @ Wellfllet Library | 3 PM

SUNDAY

• Sunday Knitting Circle @ Wellfleet Library | 11 AM

• Winter Book Sale @ Brewster Ladies Library | 1 PM

LIVE MUSIC  🎸

FRIDAY

• Open Mic Night @ Wellfleet Library | 5 PM

• Nikki & the Barn Boys @ CC Beer | Hyannis | 7 PM

• MC Junior @ The Auld | Hyannis | 7 PM

• Speedwagon - The REO Experience @ Irish Village | Hyannis | 8 PM

• Mr. Gotcha @ Lanes Bowl & Bistro | Mashpee | 8 PM

• Karaoke @ Jake Rooney’s | Harwich Port | 8:30 PM

• Josh Ayala @ The Barley Neck | Orleans | 9 PM

• Karaoke Dance Party @ Anchor Ale House | Falmouth | 9 PM

SATURDAY

• Kathleen Healey @ Snow Library | Orleans | 2 PM

• Epiphany Choral Evensong @ Church of Transfiguration | Orleans | 5:15 PM

• Bart Weisman Jazz Group @ The Vine | Falmouth | 5:30 PM

• The Brothers Project @ The Music Room | W. Yarmouth | 8 PM

• ARLO @ Dino’s Sports Bar | Mashpee | 8 PM

• The Jones’ @ The Barley Neck | Orleans | 9 PM

• Grab Brothers @ Lost Dog Pub | Orleans | 9 PM

SUNDAY

• Gabriella Simpkins @ Brewster Ladies’ Library | 3 PM

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

WEATHER

Friday

38 🌡️ 26 | 🌤️ | 💧0% | 💨 WSW 17 mph

Saturday

32 🌡️ 23 | ⛅️ | 💧 0% | 💨 WNW 18 mph

Sunday

33 🌡️ 23 | 🌤️ | 💧 0% | 💨 WNW 17 mph

💧🌡️ Water temperature = 42ºF

HOME OF THE WEEK

14 Quiet Street, Sandwich
Asking $1.995M
5 🛌 
4.5 🛀 
5,936 square feet

0.69 acre lot

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

THANKS!

Thanks for reading The Cape Coddah today. If you found something useful or entertaining, please share it with someone who went to bed at 10 PM on New Year’s Eve.