Forget those winter worries by catching up on local news you may have missed from the past week. We’ve compiled a list of some of the week’s most popular stories on the Cape Cod Times website, each with a link to the full story. If you’re interested, just click on the link to read more.
In addition to news, we have a lot going on in the Cape Cod Times sports section, including a look at the Cape Cod College women’s basketball team and the complete Cape Cod and Islands 2025-26 high school winter schedule.
Here are four of the most popular stories on the Cape Cod Times website last week.
Cape Cod Restaurant News: What’s going on at Encore, The Piccadilly, Wimpy’s Seafood?
Piccadilly in South Yarmouth closed its doors for the final time on Wednesday afternoon. Photo taken on December 31, 2025
There have been some changes in Cape Cod’s dining scene recently, with a number of different restaurants set to close by the end of 2025, including The Piccadilly in Yarmouth, Encore Bistro and Bar in Dennis, and Tiki Port Restaurant in Hyannis.
Could Wimpy’s Seafood Cafe and Market in Osterville be next? Owners say that’s not the case, but they do acknowledge that change is coming. Click on the story link to learn more.
More: Cape Cod Restaurant News: What’s going on at Encore, The Piccadilly, Wimpy’s Seafood?
Bourne residents’ homes sold to state government for new Sagamore Bridge
Joyce Michaud stood in her backyard overlooking the Sagamore Bridge. Michaud lives in the Round Hill neighborhood of Sagamore. She will lose her Cecilia Terrace home due to the construction of the new Sagamore Bridge. Her home was closed on Friday, January 9. She has yet to find another home to move to. Photo taken on January 9, 2026
The home where Joyce Michaud lived for 23 years and 11 other homes in the Round Hill neighborhood off Sandwich Road has been acquired to make way for the future Sagamore Bridge, the first of two arches. As of Jan. 12, the deeds to two other properties, including the 1958 home of neighbor Mary Gallerani, 90, had been transferred to the commonwealth. A fourth property with a residence is scheduled to close, the state said.
“I never thought in a million years I would be doing this in my life,” said Michaud, now retired.
Click on the story link to learn more about the residents who were forced to give up their homes for the new bridge.
More: Bourne residents’ homes were sold to the state for the construction of the new Sagamore Bridge. “There will be no summer”
Cape Cod group uses pool noodles and hula hoops to save ocean ‘misfits’
New England Coastal Wildlife Alliance interns Tara Clinton (bottom) and Christina Dargie secure a sunfish to a floating foam mat. On the morning of Sunday, October 6, 2024, a team from the New England Coastal Wildlife Alliance rescued a sunfish from Wellfleet Harbor. It was towed into the deeper waters of Cape Cod Bay. An automatic water pump on the boat is used to help deliver water to the sunfish’s mouth as it is towed behind the boat. NECWA has responded to more than 30 strandings this season. Strandings occur in early fall and winter, when sunfish move into shallow tidal areas such as harbors. When the tide went out, they were trapped. During colder months, ocean sunfish can become cold-stunned.
Scientists say Cape Cod’s unique location is a natural trap that strands large numbers of animals. But the New England Coastal Wildlife Alliance (NECWA), which monitors Cape Cod beaches for stranded marine animals, specializes in rescuing and studying “marine life” such as ocean sunfish and torpedo rays.
IFAW focuses on marine mammals, the Massachusetts Audubon Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary focuses on sea turtles, and NECWA is the only nonprofit in the region that attempts to rescue sunfish when they become stranded, or perform necropsies if rescue arrives too late.
“To many people, these are just ‘fish’ and the ‘cute’ factor is low,” said Krill Carson, a marine biologist and founder of the alliance.
Click on the link to learn more about NECWA and the animals the organization rescues.
More: Cape Cod group uses pool noodles and hula hoops to save ocean ‘misfits’
Dennis Harbor’s rare marshland could be protected in land trust plan
Surrounded by Atlantic white cedars, Dennis Selectboard members Karin Carey (second from left), James Plath (center) and Paul McCormick (right) admire the frozen swamp area. Dennis Conservation Land Trust Executive Director David Fryxell (left) leads a group through the Marsh Preserve early Tuesday morning with TerraCorps member Charlie Raymond (second from right), who serves with the trust. The Dennis Conservation Land Trust has until Feb. 9 to secure the funds needed to purchase two parcels of conservation land in Dennis Harbor. The purchase will permanently protect the area, which includes areas of rare Atlantic white cedar swamp. The acquisition will expand Plashes Reserve, creating a 61-acre network of connected reserves. Dennisport is the only village in Dennis without a public nature trail. The second phase of the project will include trail development, creating more than two miles of walking trails and boardwalks next to the Atlantic White Cedar Swamp, similar to the Cedar Swamp Trail at Cape Cod National Seashore. Photo taken on January 6, 2026
Nearly 14 acres of land in Dennis Harbor, including an area of ​​rare Atlantic white cedar swamp, can be permanently protected by the Dennis Conservation Land Trust. Funding is currently being raised to purchase the land by February 9.
The Atlantic White Cedar Swamp is a forested wetland with a dense evergreen canopy, a deciduous shrub layer and a sparse herbaceous layer dominated by moss, according to the state Department of Fish and Wildlife. There are at least 13 in Barnstable, Bristol and Plymouth counties.
Click on the story link to learn more about efforts to protect this land.
More: Dennis Harbor’s rare marshland could be protected in land trust plan
This article originally appeared in the Cape Cod Times: Cape Cod Times Headlines: New Sagamore Bridge troop relocation, more
