The Cape Coddah
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☀️ The Backlash Against Plate Readers

☀️ The Backlash Against Plate Readers

Plus: A Hyannis staple says "adios"

Cape Coddah
September 25, 2026

Presented by:

Good morning Cape Cod. Fittingly, on this day in 1965, 'The Sound of Silence' by Simon & Garfunkel was released. With a rainy weekend on the way, seems like the universe is setting the soundtrack for us. Cue the acoustic guitar, pour the coffee, and enjoy the quiet. ☕️

In this week’s Cape Coddah:

Sun-powered school buses
Influencer faces rape charge
Events and live music

Let’s get to it.

📢 Former Residents Speak Out in Orleans

A year-long CAI investigation has brought new attention to the Community of Jesus, a close-knit Christian community of about 275 people overlooking Cape Cod Bay in Orleans. Dozens of former residents allege they endured physical, mental, and sexual abuse, were forced into unpaid labor, and were separated from their parents as young children, based on a belief that a parent's love got in the way of devotion to God.

Stories have surfaced for decades, but the 2024 death of a former resident spurred more people to come forward, many through a new nonprofit called Rock Harbor Truth. Their accounts are echoed in court records, including a current labor trafficking lawsuit and a Canadian ruling tied to a linked boarding school.

The community's longtime attorney denies all wrongdoing, calling the claims vague and unverifiable. One survivor is now pushing to change Massachusetts law so abuse victims have more time to take legal action. Read more»

🎯 The Gun Range Debate Reignites

The long-debated machine gun range at Camp Edwards on Joint Base Cape Cod is back in the spotlight. Governor Healey shelved the project in September 2024 after years of pushback over health and environmental concerns.

At the heart of the fight is the Cape Cod Aquifer, the sole source of drinking water for the region. An earlier EPA review flagged potential contamination risks, and now a National Academies committee is doing its own scientific review.

The public gets a chance to weigh in at an October 7 meeting in Bourne. The National Guard says the range is needed to meet updated Army training standards, with no other suitable site in the state. Opponents, including Barnstable County and the Association to Preserve Cape Cod, say it's too big a risk to the water supply. Read more»

^{SPONSORED BY:}
^{CAPE COD POTTERY TRAIL}

THIS WEEKEND - RAIN OR SHINE

📆 Sat–Sun, Sept 26–27 | 10 AM – 4 PM | Upper Cape | Free

Join us for the 2nd annual Cape Cod Pottery Trail — a self-guided tour through 19 Cape Cod studios featuring 39 ceramic artists. Meet the artists, watch their process, and shop handmade ceramics straight from the source: wheel-thrown, hand-built and slip-cast wares, sculpture, jewelry, raku, wood-fired pieces, and more.

No set route — jump in anywhere. Off-Cape visitors often start at the Sagamore location.

Download your map (and Pottery Passport!) here — collect stamps at each stop for a chance to win a prize.

🎉 Kickoff the Weekend on Friday Night
Preview Party | Fri, Sept 25, 5–7pm | Brick Kiln Farm, Falmouth | $10
Meet the artists and preview the work to help you plan your route. Work will be available for purchase. Refreshments served.
Get tickets →

Full artist list & details: capecodpotterytrail.com

🚘 The Backlash Against Plate Readers

The backlash against automatic license plate reading cameras has swept the Cape and Islands. Barnstable and Nantucket both canceled their contracts this month, and two cameras that lingered in Dennis long after that town cut ties have finally come down.

The main target has been Flock Safety, an Atlanta company that links camera networks nationwide, letting police search a database of car locations without a warrant. Recent reports have exposed officers misusing it to track ex-girlfriends and protesters. At least 25 Massachusetts towns have dropped the company in the past 18 months.

A few cameras remain, including State Police readers on the Bourne and Sagamore bridges. Meanwhile, Wellfleet voters will decide next month whether to ban the technology outright, before it ever arrives. Read more»

📸 @davidlong3653 |📍The Knob

Tag @thecapecoddah to get your photos in the Coddah!

🚌 Sun-Powered School Buses

Cape Tech in Pleasant Lake just rolled out a green energy project that saves money, cuts carbon, and keeps diesel fumes away from students.

At the heart of it are 10 new electric buses, covering nearly all routes across the school's 12 member towns. They run quiet, produce no exhaust, and go up to 120 miles per charge. Grants from the EPA and the state helped pay for them and the chargers.

The buses sit under a big solar canopy that generates about 40 percent of the school's electricity, projected to save member towns $2.33 million over 25 years. The state also chipped in a grant for a battery storage system to keep the lights on during outages.

Folks are already calling it a model other schools should follow. Read more»

Cape Cod's oddball ice cream flavors, from Dirty Martini soft serve and caviar-topped cones are drawing curious foodies who found them on social media.

WATCH: Amateur astronomer and YouTuber Ed Ting spent a week off the grid in a dune shack on the Outer Cape, with no electricity or running water, writing short stories and shooting astrophotography under the dark night sky.

Diesel prices are squeezing Cape Cod's commercial fishermen hard, with the cost at the fish pier jumping 35 cents in a single week to $6.44 a gallon, nearly double what it was a year ago, and leaving fishermen stuck absorbing the hit.

🌮 A Hyannis Staple Says Adios

After 44 years, Sam Diego's in Hyannis is closing for good on November 15. One of the first Mexican restaurants on the Cape when it opened in 1982, it went up for sale but never found a buyer.

The Route 132 spot has always been known for its huge size and colorful decor, with two bars, four dining rooms, and about 300 seats. Even with business down since the pandemic, it still cranks out 500 or 600 dinners on a busy Saturday.

Co-owner Clarke Buchanan says the real issue is shrinking profits and rising costs, right down to the free chips and salsa. Its last big bash lands on Halloween, and the restaurant's distinctive artwork will be auctioned off online. If someone swoops in at the last minute, though, he's open to a deal. Read more»

The 9th annual Darkness Into Vineyard Light walk drew community members to State Beach before dawn Saturday, a candlelit event raising awareness for suicide prevention that may be its last, as the founders step down in hopes that others will carry the tradition forward.

The Community Foundation For Nantucket's new preschool tuition assistance pilot drew more than 110 applications, far more than the 30 to 40 expected, and the foundation is now giving each of those island children $2,600 toward preschool costs.

13-year-old Harold Harris of Edgartown has grown two giant pumpkins in his backyard, one already weighing 340 lbs and the other estimated well over 400 lbs, which the young gardening enthusiast tracks with daily measurements.

Nantucket's Select Board voted 3-2 to endorse a framework for Coastal Resilience Districts, which would let the town charge fees called betterments to the residents who benefit most from certain smaller coastal projects.

☀️ WHAT IT TAKES TO FILL YOUR FRIDAY MORNING

Every issue starts days earlier, sorting through news, town meeting notes, business openings, and event listings so you don't have to. Just me, no staff.

It's free and always will be. Readers who chip in are the reason it stays that way.

Monthly or annual, whatever works.

Thank you for your support!
~Kari

⚖ Influencer Faces Rape Charge

An online "manosphere" streamer known as Clavicular, whose real name is Braden Peters, was charged this month with rape, drugging a person for sex, and giving alcohol to a minor. The charges stem from a May 2025 incident at his family's $3M Chatham mansion.

Prosecutors say Peters lured a 17-year-old aspiring influencer there for a livestream collaboration, got her drunk on camera, and assaulted her. The young woman has also filed a separate civil suit alleging further exploitation months later in Miami.

Peters denies the claims, saying on social media she's after his money. He faces up to 20 years if convicted. Read more»

👋 Meet: Turducken
🐾 Domestic Shorthair
🎂 2 years old
♀︎ Female
Available to adopt at MSCPA-Cape Cod

SUNDAY - SEPTEMBER 27

Sam Chase @ Love Farms | 1 PM
Cape Symphony @ Barnstable PAC | 3 PM
Matt Ryan Trio @ Love Farms | 4:30 PM
Ted Wyman @ Chapin’s Bayside | 5 PM
Ayla Brown Band @ Neptune’s CC | 5 PM
Roomful of Blues @ Payomet PAC | 6 PM

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

Friday

62 🌡️ 57 | 🌧️ | 💧 97% | 💨 NE 20 mph

Saturday

61 🌡️ 59 | 🌧️ | 💧 99% | 💨 NNE 27 mph

Sunday

66 🌡️ 60 | 🌧️ | 💧 95% | 💨 ENE 17 mph

💧🌡️ Water temperature = 60ºF

89 F R Lillie Road, Falmouth
Asking $789,000
3 🛏️
2 🛁
1,226 sqft
0.46 acre lot

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

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