The Cape Coddah
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☀️ Dennis Digs Into Sewers

☀️ Dennis Digs Into Sewers

Plus: Teen crafts surfboards in basement

Cape Coddah
October 10, 2025

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Good morning Cape Cod. This is The Cape Coddah, the newsletter that sees Cape news and events coming like your dog hears the treat bag crinkle. 🐶

In this week’s Cape Coddah:

Fate of golf course to be decided
Nantucket’s STR debate
Events and live music

Let’s get to it.

📖 From "Frankenstein" to Functional

The Hyannis Public Library is undergoing a major renovation to replace its failing 1970s Twombly Wing with a modern, flexible space after eight years of planning. Director Antonia Stephens calls the current building "a Frankenstein" - a stitched-together result of nearly a century of additions to an 1830s cottage.

Phase I rehabilitation of the 1930s Eagleston Wing is underway and expected to finish by year's end. Twombly Wing demolition starts early 2026, with completion by summer 2027.

The new single-level wing will feature a flexible meeting room, teaching kitchen, children's room designed like a red barn, young adult gaming area, and outdoor play spaces. The project is 52% funded toward its nearly $10M goal, including a $1M matching pledge from an anonymous donor.

During construction, services shift to the front wings with limited materials available and programs continuing off-site through community partnerships. Read more»

⛳️ Vote to Decide Fate of Golf Course

The 137-acre Cape Cod Country Club, owned by the Friel family since 1985, is slated to become a 43,056-panel solar farm under a sale agreement with ASD Cape Cod Holdings. The property would be donated to Falmouth and leased back for the project, with 82 acres hosting solar panels and 56 acres set aside for conservation.

Three articles at November Town Meeting will determine the course's fate. Golfers and neighbors want to preserve nearly a century of tradition, while owner David Friel says the club has "limped along" financially and selling was strictly business. No offers came forward to preserve it as a golf course.

The developer says the project would prevent 285,000 tons of carbon emissions over 25 years and avoid large housing developments. Opponents worry about losing recreational space, wildlife habitat, and historic character. A 2021 Town Meeting vote added the course to the town's solar overlay district with little opposition.
Read more»

SPONSORED BY CAPE SZN

Fall on the Cape Hits Different

There's something about fall on the Cape. When the summer crowds fade and the leaves turn, you get the Cape in its most honest form—quiet beaches, cozy mornings, and that feeling like you've got the whole place to yourself.

This classic crewneck sweatshirt is made for pumpkin patch runs, apple cider donuts on the deck, and all those golden October moments when you remember why you love this place year-round. Soft, relaxed, and effortlessly Cape.

🗳️ Nantucket’s Short-Term Rental Battle

Nantucket's Planning Board voted 3-2 Thursday to endorse chair Dave Iverson's short-term rental proposal that would cap STR days at 49 during peak summer season (June 15-August 31) and 70 days annually, with minimum seven-day rentals in summer. The compromise hopes to reduce investment-only STRs while allowing residents to rent their homes.

The board voted against charter captain Brian Borgeson's competing article that would allow STRs by right with no additional regulation. Finance Director Brian Turbitt estimates Iverson's proposal could cost $2.5M in annual tax revenue.

Both articles head to Special Town Meeting on November 4th following a June Land Court ruling that threw Nantucket's existing STR zoning into legal uncertainty. Supporters and opponents remain sharply divided, with concerns ranging from government revenue loss to impacts on working-class residents who supplement income through rentals. Read more»

📸 @color_me_by_the_sea | 📍Popponesset Bay

Tag @thecapecoddah to get your photos in the Coddah!

🚽 Dennis Digs Into $83M Sewer Solution

Dennis broke ground Friday on an $83M wastewater treatment plant, marking the culmination of 25 years of planning and the start of the town's first independent sewer system.

The plant is central to Dennis's $248M wastewater plan approved by voters in October 2024, which will roll out in eight phases. The first phase already began this summer, installing sewers from Swan River to Bass River and up to Route 6.

Dennis benefits from zero percent state financing, saving $100M. The project is part of Cape-wide efforts to reduce nitrogen pollution under federal Clean Water Act requirements.

Construction takes about three years for the plant and 2-2.5 years for roadwork and eight pump stations. Town Administrator Elizabeth Sullivan called it "the most important infrastructure project in the history of the town."
Read more»

A NOAA research vessel completed the first comprehensive mapping of Cape Cod Bay's seafloor in nearly a century, using advanced sonar technology to update nautical charts with high-resolution data.

The bridge spanning Muddy Creek on the Harwich/Chatham town line was dedicated Saturday to WWII Private Joseph Conrad Blute.

Cape Tech student interns help Orleans residents troubleshoot technology issues through the Device Advice program at Snow Library and the senior center, earning the Spirit of Massachusetts award for closing the digital literacy gap.

🏄‍♂️ 18-Year-Old Crafts Surfboards in Basement

Calvin Kwaak, an 18-year-old Wellfleet lifeguard, continues his father's legacy crafting custom surfboards in their Harwich basement workshop. His father William started Whitecrest Homespun Custom Surfshapes in 1991, named after White Crest Beach where he married Calvin's mom.

Calvin spends hours transforming expanded polystyrene foam into porcelain-like boards using a Japanese pull saw, layers of epoxy resin, and endless sanding. The process takes multiple days - three hours shaping, four hours glassing each side, four more hours grinding.

Whitecrest's signature shapes include the 4-foot, 11-inch Fish and the 6-foot, 4-inch Hornet. Calvin's made boards numbered 16 through 102, with his father crafting the earlier ones.

"When there's somebody who is incredible at surfing, I want you to ride my boards," Calvin says. Watching surfers on his boards beats money any day. Read more»

Ultimate Frisbee co-creators Jonny Hines and Joel Silver played pickup games with Island residents at MV Regional High School last week, 57 years after inventing the sport.

Nantucket's artificial oyster reef built in 2021 continues reducing erosion and supporting salt marsh growth while the thriving oysters filter harmful substances from the water.

Martha's Vineyard Airport's $50M terminal expansion begins October 20th to nearly double the building's size, add a second TSA screening line, and enclose the departures area.

The island community has raised over $78,000 for the family of Somwong "Wong" Kyomitmaitee, known as Nantucket's "King of Shing," who died in a paddleboarding accident in Polpis Harbor last Wednesday.

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⚖️ 18 Months for Hit-and-Run Driver

David Eldredge Jr., 33, pleaded guilty to multiple charges including negligent driving, leaving the scene of personal injury accidents, and driving with a suspended license after striking David and Sandra Fitch while they crossed Main Street in Falmouth on August 14, 2023.

Judge Mark Gildea sentenced Eldredge to 18 months at Barnstable County Correctional Facility followed by three years probation. If he violates probation, he could serve the remainder of a two-year sentence.

The couple, then ages 65 and 60, were hospitalized with serious injuries after Eldredge struck them outside Estia Falmouth around 8:48 PM. Eldredge initially moved his motorcycle aside but fled into woods near Siders Pond before police arrived.

District Attorney Robert Galibois called it "a horrible accident that will impact the victims for the rest of their lives." Read more»

👋 Meet: Odi
🐾 Rottweiler
🎂 4 years old
♀︎ Male
Available to adopt at MSCPA-Cape Cod

Barnstable Fall Walking Weekend
October 17-19

Explore Barnstable's coastal trails, historic sites, and conservation areas during this 3-day walking event.

Highlights include nature walks at Bridge Creek Conservation Area, Hathaway Ponds Mystery Walk, and Discovering the Legacy of Fred Coram's Trees at Meetinghouse Pond.

Family-friendly routes range from moderate to challenging. Free and open to all.
Click here for full schedule and details. (Sponsored)

FRIDAY - OCTOBER 10

Stone Carving @ Creative Arts Center | 12 PM
Escape Room @ Eastham Library | 1 PM
Outermost Market @ Snow Library | 2 PM

SATURDAY - OCTOBER 11

Beach Cleanup @ Kalmus Beach | 7 AM
Early Bird Walk @ Long Pasture | 8 AM
Nature Club @ Green Briar Nature Center | 9 AM
Fall Festival @ Taylor-Bray Farm | 10 AM
Yarmouth Seaside Festival @ Joshua Sears | 10
Little Library Fundraiser @ P-town Library | 10
PumpkinFest @ Sandwich Glass Museum | 10
Indigenous Peoples @ Plimoth Patuxet | 10 AM
Harvest Fest @ Hyannis Country Garden | 10:30
Fall Fest Block Party @ Mashpee Commons | 11
Claws for Cause @ Point Independence Club | 12
Nauktoberfest @ Naukabout Brewery | 12:30 PM
Costume Swap Day @ S. Yarmouth Library | 2
Barks & Brews @ CC Beer | 4 PM
Mutual Muses @ Cotuit Center | 4 PM

SUNDAY - OCTOBER 12

Outermost Roots & Blues @ Nauset Beach | 12
AK Cody @ CC Winery | 12 PM
Whiskey Princess @ Pilot House | 1 PM
LennonFest @ Local Tavern Grille | 1 PM
Lee Surette @ CC Coffee | 3:30 PM
Soulja Band @ Chapin’s Bayside | 4 PM
Tim Nickerson @ Chatham Squire | 5 PM
Karaoke @ Knockout Pizza | 6 PM
Michael Gabriel @ The Barley Neck | 8:30 PM
Bounce @ Neptune’s CC | 9 PM

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

Friday

61 🌡️ 50 | 🌤️ | 💧0% | 💨 SE 6 mph

Saturday

63 🌡️ 53 | 🌤️ | 💧 1% | 💨 SE 6 mph

Sunday

62🌡️ 57 | 🌧️ | 💧 91% | 💨 ENE 17 mph

💧🌡️ Water temperature = 64ºF

19 Avery Way, Truro
Asking $1.295M
4 🛏️
2 🛁
2,136 sqft
1.08 acre lot

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

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