The Cape Coddah
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☀️ Offshore Wind Savings Are Coming (Sometimes)

☀️ Offshore Wind Savings Are Coming (Sometimes)

Plus: Sweat, Plunge, Repeat at the Beach

Cape Coddah
May 01, 2026

Presented by:

Good morning Cape Cod. Happy May 1st, or as Justin Timberlake would say: 'It's gonna be May.” 🙂

In this week’s Cape Coddah:

The fight to save Scusset Beach Pier
Wellfleet’s online town square gets ugly
Events and live music

Let’s get to it.

🔋 Offshore Wind Savings Are Coming (Sometimes)

Vineyard Wind's fixed-price energy contracts are now active, and Gov. Healey says it should save Massachusetts ratepayers $1.4B over 20 years. The price is locked at about $69.50 per megawatt-hour, which is a steal compared to this past winter when wholesale prices hit $180 per megawatt-hour.

But it's not always a win. On mildish days like we've been having, wholesale prices can dip well below that locked-in rate, meaning customers actually pay more than market price during those stretches. So your bill will fluctuate depending on the season.

Meanwhile, behind the scenes, things aren't exactly smooth. Only 55 of 62 turbines are operational, and a major contractor nearly walked off the job over $300M in alleged unpaid bills. A judge stepped in with a restraining order to keep them on the project. Read more»

🎣 A Beloved Fishing Spot Is Crumbling

The Scusset Beach Fishing Pier at the Cape Cod Canal is falling apart, and locals are fighting to save it. Built in the 1950s, the pier is partially closed off due to structural problems. Underwater wood has gone "punky," a vertical pylon is missing, and residents say it won't be long before the whole thing is shut down for good.

A petition drive launched in early April is pushing the state to make emergency repairs and commit to a full replacement. It's not just about fishing. The pier is the only ADA-accessible fishing spot along the canal's 13.5 miles of shoreline, making it critical for disabled anglers, elderly residents, and families.

Funding could come through the Mass Ready Act, a $3.94B spending bill that includes $800M for DCR properties. The Senate passed it. Now it needs the House. Read more»

PRESENTED BY:
LAPSLEY-MARTIN TEAM

☀️ No Projects, Just Living in West Harwich

Some homes are about size. This one is about being right where you want to be.

At 9 Bells Neck Road in West Harwich, you're close to beaches, the Rail Trail, restaurants, and conservation land, but tucked into a quiet neighborhood that feels like its own little world. This freestanding gambrel condo has been updated top to bottom. New kitchen, new windows, new flooring, new siding, a composite wraparound deck. You walk in and it just feels done.

Exposed beams on the first floor give it that classic Cape character. Upstairs, two generous bedrooms, the primary with a slider to its own balcony. At 1,064 square feet, it's not trying to be something it's not. It's just a smart, well-kept home that works as a year-round residence, a summer escape, or a rental property with a proven track record.

Explore this home with the Lapsley-Martin Team.

🏫 Shelter Relocation Has Hyannis on Edge

A plan to relocate St. Joseph's House, a homeless shelter in Hyannis, is stirring up a fight. The Housing Assistance Corporation and Catholic Charities want to move the 50-bed shelter from Winter Street to 460 Main Street, saying the current building is cramped and can't properly serve its elderly and frail guests.

Problem is, the new spot is right across from a beloved ice cream shop and mini golf course, and about 150 yards from Hyannis West Elementary. Neighbors aren't just worried about the location. Because it's a state-funded overnight shelter, guests are forced out by 7 AM every morning, right when kids are heading to school.

The organizations got a building permit using a religious exemption to bypass zoning, and a neighborhood group plans to appeal. A public meeting has never been held on the move. Read more»

📸 @millie.red.photos |📍Mill Creek

Tag @thecapecoddah to get your photos in the Coddah!

🛜 Wellfleet's Town Square Gets Ugly

Wellfleet's most popular Facebook group is melting down. The Wellfleet Community Space, a 12,300-member forum where locals share everything from bird sightings to town politics, has become a battleground over housing developments.

The moderators say a vocal minority has flooded the group with misinformation and personal attacks tied to two housing projects. Things got bad enough that all three admins received threatening messages, including threats of physical violence. They've since removed seven users, including a county commission candidate they accuse of posting AI-generated images and stoking conflict, and switched to pre-approving every post before it goes live.

One admin spent 15 hours last week just rewriting rules and reviewing posts. The guardrails will stay up at least through the May 19 select board election. As one admin put it, "We have really lost the respectful peace." Read more»

Bulgaria held one of only 20 U.S. polling sites for its parliamentary election right inside the Hyannis Margaritaville, where 174 Cape Cod Bulgarians showed up to vote.

Sandy Neck Cider Co., Cape Cod's first hard cider company, is gearing up for its first full summer with a lineup of hand-crafted ciders made by two engineering physics Ph.D.s who swapped the lab for the canning line.

Brewster's proposed short-term rental registration bylaw is heading to town meeting May 4, with rental owners split on whether the $300 fee, bedroom smoke detectors, and occupancy rules are reasonable safety measures or unfair targeting of STRs.

🏖️ Sweat, Plunge, Repeat at the Beach

Cape Sauna Club is a new mobile sauna operation out of Marstons Mills, started by Cape native Will Kennedy. The setup is pretty great. A barrel sauna parked at Dowses Beach in Osterville on weekends, heated to proper Nordic temps, with the Atlantic Ocean as your cold plunge.

Sessions are capped at eight people, no phones, no rush. Kennedy spent five years living abroad, sweating it out in Japanese mountain saunas, German bathhouses, and Norwegian fjords before coming home and thinking... why not here?

A single session is $35, or you can grab an unlimited weekend pass for $169 through May 17th. They also do private rentals and are partnering with the Osterville Village Library on June 13th for a free session on contrast therapy. And apparently they're the only sauna that floats, so keep an eye out at your next Cape parade. Read more»

A 23-year-old MV farm manager is making her career work by living in her grandparents' guest house, highlighting how ADUs and secondary dwellings are becoming a critical housing lifeline for young Islanders.

Nantucket is bringing back three capital projects that voters rejected last year, each with a different strategy.

Martha's Vineyard's dining scene is getting a refresh this summer, with familiar restaurant spaces reopening under new names and concepts, including Highlands General, Esh, and Jetty Beach House.

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⚖️ Veranda House Fire Lawsuits Go to Trial

The lawsuits from Nantucket's devastating 2022 Veranda House fire have finally gone to trial. Three neighbors of the historic hotel are seeking millions in damages from its owner, The Procaccianti Group, after an employee's improperly discarded cigarette sparked a fire that destroyed their homes and killed two cats.

The hotel admits responsibility for the fire but disputes the scope of damages, arguing the neighbors were safely evacuated before any direct threat to their lives. The plaintiffs say the aftermath left them with PTSD, severe depression, and years of displacement.

One neighbor fell through her damaged floor retrieving belongings. Another fractured his heel trying to fight the fire. The neighbors also accuse the hotel of dodging sprinkler requirements by underreporting the cost of a 2020 renovation. The trial is expected to wrap up by mid-May. Read more»

👋 Meet: Bennie
🐾 Labrador Retriever Mix
🎂 5 years old
♀︎ Male
Available to adopt at MSCPA-Cape Cod

Cape Cod Chamber Orchestra Presents: Legacy

🗓️ Sunday: May 3 @ 3 PM
📍 Pilgrim Congregational Church, 533 Rt. 28, Harwich Port, MA 02646

Join the Cape Cod Chamber Orchestra for a celebration of Central-Eastern European music. At the heart of the program, CCCO violinist Sophia Szokolay performs a Violin Concerto written by her Hungarian grandfather, Sándor Szokolay, just months before the 1956 Hungarian Revolution. The concerto put the young composer on the international map at a pivotal moment in Soviet history. The program also features Bacewicz's beloved Concerto for String Orchestra and Suk's Serenade for Strings, written on the recommendation of Dvorak himself. Pre-concert talk at 2:15pm with Sophia.
Click here for tickets.
(Sponsored)

FRIDAY - MAY 1

Preschool Playtime @ W. Falmouth Library | 10
Story time @ Hyannis Library | 10 AM
Lego Club @ Centerville Library | 3:30 PM
Metal Clay Mixer @ Cult. Cent. of CC | 5 PM

SUNDAY - MAY 3

Tyler Zajac @ Love Farms | 1 PM
Falmouth Jazz @ Highfield Hall | 4 PM
Andrew Dimarzo @ Hooked Bar & Grille | 4 PM
Morgan Myles @ Neptune’s CC | 5:30 PM
Darren Talbot @ Margaritaville | 7 PM

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

Friday

59 🌡️ 43 | 🌤️ | 💧 2% | 💨 NW 7 mph

Saturday

56 🌡️ 47 | 🌧️ | 💧 57% | 💨 SSW 9 mph

Sunday

50 🌡️ 40 | 🌧️ | 💧 70% | 💨 NW 13 mph

💧🌡️ Water temperature = 49ºF

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