Summertime on Cape Cod is in full swing. Whether it involved a coffee war between Starbucks and Dunkin’, the freeing of a humpback calf, or a guide to fried clams, there was plenty of news and useful info making headlines, including all the sports and Cape League Baseball action you can handle.
In case you missed it, here are the most read stories of the week on the Cape Cod Times website.
Two stars make secret Cape Cod appearance
The rumors were true. It was discovered this past week that both former Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and music legend Sir Elton John spent time on the Cape at the Chatham Bars Inn to attend a birthday party for Anna Brown, wife of Motorola Solutions CEO Greg Brown. One of the Browns’ homes is on the Cape. Patriots owner Robert Kraft and his wife, Dr. Dana Blumberg, were there, too.
“Chatham Bars Inn did the food and Elton John performed,” said Marcy Blum, celebrity event planner who organized the party for 100 friends and relatives. “Anna and Greg danced on stage right next to Elton and he serenaded them with ‘Your Song.’ It was very sweet.”
Blum added: “Tom Brady just said hello to everyone and posed for a ton of pictures. He was very gracious.”
But how does one hire “Rocket Man” John, age 77, to perform at a private party?
“Obviously, he doesn’t do this very often,” Blum said Tuesday night in a phone interview with the Cape Cod Times. “But they (the Browns) are friends with the Krafts who are friends with Elton, so …”
Tom Brady, Sir Elton John visit Cape Cod for birthday bash: Tom Brady and Elton John were at the Chatham Bars Inn last weekend. Here’s what we know.
Popular Cape Cod beach closes due to safety concern
In a case of bad timing, it was announced this past week that access to one of Cape Cod’s most beautiful strands is temporarily closed because of safety concerns.
According to an alert issued on the town of Truro’s website, “Beach access at Longnook Beach is temporarily closed while the pathway and adjacent dunes are evaluated for safety. The Town will continue to provide updates as they are available. The public is asked to avoid Longnook Beach until it is reopened.”
Long Nook Beach is on the Atlantic Ocean side of town, and when the town’s access point is open, beachgoers must make a fairly difficult descent down a steep sand path.
The beach entrance was blocked off and a “Beach Closed” sign was prominently displayed. The parking lot was nearly empty and there was no one visible on the beach in either direction. A sign near the edge of a steep drop-off to the beach warned beachgoers to stay back from the unstable area.
As of Friday, July 5, beach access at Long Nook Beach remained closed, according to the town website.
Safety concern causes Long Nook Beach to temporarily close:No access: Path and dune concerns close popular Cape Cod beach
125 dolphins stranded on Cape Cod
In what was described as the largest single mass stranding event in International Fund for Animal Welfare’s 25-year response history, one hundred twenty-five Atlantic white-sided dolphins stranded in Wellfleet waters on Friday of the last week. 10 had died before IFAW arrived, according to the agency.
The Atlantic white-sided dolphins became stranded around the time of low tide. At about 11:30 a.m. the animals were scattered across a large area known as the Gut, between Great Island and the Herring River dike.
Many of the animals were completely out of the water, while some were visible in shallow water nearby. Many had been covered with tarps to protect them from the sun.
The size of the stranding was a big challenge for rescuers. “We usually would extract the animals, put them in our trucks and move them outside of this area, but there’s just too many animals to do that,” said Misty Niemeyer, stranding coordinator for IFAW’s Marine Mammal Rescue Team, at the scene. “So we’re going to try and refloat them as the tide comes in and try to encourage them out and try to get as many out as we can.”
Dolphins stranded as rescuers race to save them: 125 dolphins stranded on Cape Cod, rescuers reported
Hyannis businesses put internet speeds to the test
After noticing the internet speeds promised by her service provider Comcast Xfinity weren’t as advertised, Amanda Converse of the shop Love Live Local on South Street in downtown Hyannis decided she needed to do something about it. So, she has joined OpenCape CEO and Executive Director Steven Johnston and Cape Cod Technology Council Executive Director Stephen Smith to launch the Fix Cape Internet initiative. It is an effort to prove that Cape Cod has a connectivity crisis, and internet users are underserved by Comcast, the primary internet provider on the Cape.
The crisis is brought on by lack of competition with internet service providers, lack of infrastructure investment by Comcast and a need for better speed test reporting from users, the Fix Cape Internet organizers said.
The organizers want as many internet customers as possible to take speed tests on their computers and laptops before July 20. The test results will be sent to the Massachusetts Broadband Institute in the hope that federal Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) money will be directed to Cape Cod to address what the organizers consider to be an underserved community.
Comcast Director of Public Relations Marc Goodman disputed the claim that the Cape is underserved by Comcast Xfinity. Comcast and Xfinity are part of the same company. Comcast is the parent company; Xfinity provides telecommunications services.
Cape internet speeds and monopoly needs to be addressed:Hyannis businesses challenge internet speeds promised by Comcast
