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☀️ 1928 Golf Course to Become Solar Farm

☀️ 1928 Golf Course to Become Solar Farm

Plus: Dennis Gets a Grown-Up Wine Bar with Vinyl Vibes

Cape Coddah
September 12, 2025

Good morning Cape Cod. This is The Cape Coddah, the ‘weekly vitamin tablet’ of Cape news and events – we boil everything down into one, easy to swallow pill!

In this week’s Cape Coddah:

P-Town adds crisis support
Scientists monitor Cape Cod Bay's O2
Events and live music

Let’s get to it.

💰 Towns Get Millions to Fight Opioids

Cape Cod towns are getting their share of Massachusetts' $537M from a big settlement with drug companies back in 2022. The 15 towns in Barnstable County will split $8.3M over the next 23 years.

Each town's doing something different with the money. Sandwich hired a full-time social worker and started programs for mental health and housing help. Bourne gave out $5,000 grants to eight nonprofits, mostly to help people pay for sober housing. Four Outer Cape towns teamed up to share resources.

Lana Atamian runs recovery homes where about 85% of residents need help paying the bills - often from groups getting this settlement money. Her Next Chance houses give people a structured place to live while they work on staying sober, with built-in support from other residents going through the same thing. Read more»

⛳️ Historic Golf Course to Become Solar Farm

The Cape Cod Commission voted 14-1 to approve plans turning the Cape Cod Country Club in Hatchville into a massive solar farm.

The 137-acre project would install solar panels on 57 acres while preserving 42 acres as open space. PureSky Energy would operate the farm for 20 years (with a 40-year extension option) before turning it over to Falmouth.

Only Falmouth's representative opposed the plan, arguing it would end a beloved public golf course that's operated since 1928 and disrupt the village character. He suggested housing might be a better use.

Supporters said benefits include reduced fertilizer runoff near protected areas and Coonamessett Pond. The company agreed to preserve the sledding hill and create pollinator meadows.

The project still needs planning board approval and other local permits. Read more»

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🔬 Seasonal Oxygen Drop Hits Cape Waters

The Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries issued an advisory warning lobster fishers about low oxygen conditions in Cape Cod Bay. Woods Hole scientist Malcolm Scully explains this is a normal seasonal pattern - warm surface waters and cool bottom waters don't mix during summer, causing oxygen levels to drop as bacteria consume organic matter.

Current oxygen levels reached 4 milligrams per liter, which isn't dangerous yet - concern starts at 2 milligrams per liter or lower. However, in 2019 and 2020, oxygen dropped so low it killed bottom-dwelling organisms and lobsters.

Scientists believe those extreme events were caused by unusual algae blooms of a new species that created five times more biomass than ever recorded. When the algae died and decomposed, it severely depleted oxygen. The species hasn't bloomed since 2020. Read more»

📸 @geoff_cottrill | 📍Cape Cod Bay

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☎️ P-Town Adds Crisis Support After Suicide

Following the death by suicide of hospitality worker Chuck Giachinta on September 2nd, Provincetown organized grief sessions and suicide prevention training.

The town expanded mental health resources including a new online platform and a crisis response list featuring 911, the 988 suicide hotline, Bay Cove's mobile crisis team, and a community resource navigator.

Since February 2024, four Outer Cape towns share a public health nurse and therapist providing free services without insurance requirements. The therapist serves as a "bridge counselor" for 6-10 sessions while organizing longer-term care.

Residents can reach the community resource navigator at 774-209-3222 or [email protected] for immediate mental health access. Read more»

A female lobster tagged in Canada traveled more than 250 miles over eight months before being caught by a Cape Cod fisherman.

A new play about Joan Rivers is running in Dennis through September 20th, with Nicole Parker portraying the groundbreaking comedian and Melissa Rivers serving as executive producer.

Chatham voted to maintain the same tax rate for all property classes this year, but starting next fiscal year, year-round homeowners will get a 35% property tax exemption.

Wellfleet residents are debating how to fairly distribute the costs of required septic system, with proposals including creating a new public utility.

🍷 Dennis Gets a Grown-Up Wine Bar with Vinyl Vibes

The team behind The Pheasant and Dunn & Sons Wine has opened Baleine, a new wine bar at 776 Main Street in Dennis Village. The spot offers natural wines, champagne, and craft cocktails paired with small plates like oysters, crudo, cheese boards, and steak tartare.

The atmosphere blends sophistication with casual coastal vibes - think curated vinyl soundtracks, intimate bar seating, and shareable plates perfect for lingering conversations. Regular entertainment and special events are planned, plus an exclusive monthly Wine Club featuring low-intervention, small-production bottles.

Baleine aims to fill the gap for "grown-up and sophisticated yet effortlessly laid-back" evening dining on Cape Cod, offering a refined but unpretentious spot for date nights, nightcaps, or gathering with friends. Read more»

Windsurfing Hall of Fame member Nevin Sayre completed a 55-mile wing foil sail around MV, raising over $45,000 for Martha's Vineyard Community Services.

Nantucket was upgraded to Level 2 "significant" drought conditions by the state, prompting stricter water use restrictions.

The Steamship Authority unveiled proposed fare increases for 2026 to address a $7.4 million revenue shortfall.

Two Nantucket fishermen received the 2025 Lifesaving Award from Egan Maritime Institute and Nantucket Cottage Hospital for rescuing a man in his 70s whose boat had capsized off Chatham.

🚨 Rape Case Ends in 12-Year Prison Sentence

A 46-year-old Hasbrouk Heights, New Jersey man was sentenced to 12-14 years in prison after being found guilty of raping his 14-year-old relative outside her Hyannis home in 2021.

Cheldon Clare was convicted of aggravated child rape and two counts of indecent assault after a six-day trial. The victim and her mother reported the assault to Barnstable police on September 6, 2021, saying Clare had driven from New Jersey and sexually assaulted the girl in his car on August 27.

Phone records showed Clare had groomed the victim for a month before the assault, and his phone was tracked near her home on the day of the attack. DNA evidence from the victim's clothing also linked Clare to the crime.

Clare must register as a sex offender and serve five years probation after his prison sentence. Read more»

👋 Meet: Ollie
🐾 Cocker Spaniel
🎂 9 months old
♀︎ Male
Available to adopt at MSCPA-Cape Cod

SUNDAY - SEPTEMBER 14

Clyde Leaman @ CC Winery | 12 PM
Pans in Paradise @ CC MOA | 3:30 PM
So Blue @ Thacher Hall | 4 PM
Broadway: Curtain Up @ UUMH | 5 PM
Tom Rush @ Payomet PAC | 5 PM
George Spalt @ Chatham Squire | 5 PM

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

Friday

72 🌡️ 50 | 🌤️ | 💧0% | 💨 ENE 9 mph

Saturday

72 🌡️ 59 | ⛅️ | 💧 3% | 💨 SSE 7 mph

Sunday

76🌡️ 60 | 🌦️ | 💧 70% | 💨 SSW 7 mph

💧🌡️ Water temperature = 66ºF

213 Hinckley Road, Hyannis
Asking $579,000
3 🛏️
2 🛁
1,416 sqft
8,712 sqft 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 has a vinyl collection.