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The waters of Cape Cod Bay are coming for the big brown house perched on the edge of a sandy bluff high above the beach. It’s just a matter of when. Erosion has marched right up to the concrete footings of the multimillion-dollar home where it overlooks the bay. Massive sliding doors that used to open onto a wide deck, complete with hot tub, are now barricaded by thin wooden slats that prevent anyone from stepping through and falling 25 feet to the beach below. The owner knew it. He removed the deck and other parts of the house, including a small tower that held the primary bedroom, before stopping work and falling into a standoff with the town. He’s since sold the place to a salvage company that says it won’t pay for work. Officials in Wellfleet worry the home’s collapse will damage delicate beds in their harbor where farmers grow oysters that are among New England’s most prized. A report commissioned by the town projects if nothing is done, the 5,100-square-foot home will tumble into the bay within three yearsand possibly much sooner. Its certain fate is a reminder of the fragility of building along the cape, where thanks to climate change sea level rise has accelerated in recent years. I mean, the cape has always been moving, said John Cumbler, a retired environmental history professor who also serves on the Wellfleet Conservation Commission. “The sand is moving.” History of the home The house was built in 2010 on Cape Cod on the bay side of the peninsula. Its original owners, Mark and Barbara Blasch, sought permission from the commission in 2018 to build a 241-foot-wide seawall to stave off erosion. The commission’s seven membersall volunteersrejected the seawall on the grounds that it might have unintended effects on the beach and the way water carries nutrients in the bay. They also questioned whether it would actually save the house. The property is within Cape Cod National Seashore. The National Seashore Administration supported rejection of the seawall because of the critical location within the seashore and Wellfleet Harbor area, including critical habitat and valuable shellfish operations. The Blasches appealed the rejection in state district court and lost. An appeal to the state’s Superior Court is pending. A New York man, attorney John Bonomi, bought the house in 2022 for $5.5 million, even as its future was in doubt. Bonomi’s attorneys declined to comment for this story. Threat to the bay and oyster beds A report prepared for Wellfleet last year by Bryan McCormack, a coastal processes specialist with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Sea Grant, estimates that the bluffs are eroding at a rate of 3.8 to 5.6 feet a year. The report estimated collapse in up to three years, but likely sooner. The report said a collapse could send debris into Wellfleet Harbor, where the town’s namesake oysters, well-known to shellfish lovers, take two to three years to reach maturity. The house has a lot of fiberglass insulation in it. It has toxic material in it,” Cumbler said. If that toxic material gets into Wellfleet Harbor, which is where the currents will take it, it could endanger the oyster industry in Wellfleet, our major industry outside of tourism. Standoff over what to do with the house Bonomi “came to us back in October and said, yes, we understand the house is in danger of falling into the sea, and we will give you a plan by January for what we will do with the house, Cumbler said. We asked for a plan to remove it from the danger. That plan was supposed to be presented at the commission’s January meeting. But Bonomi’s attorney, Tom Moore, wrote to the town in December to say Bonomi had sold the house to CQN Salvage, a company incorporated in October, that Moore was also representing. Moore wrote that the town “is on notice to take whatever steps it deems prudent to prevent the collapse of the embankment and the other consequences of further erosion. CQN Salvage is ready to work alongside the town in such efforts but will not fund them. It’s not clear who owns CQN Salvage. Its incorporation records in New York state don’t list any officials. Moore declined to speak with The Associated Press. At the January meeting, Moore appeared by video and told the commission that the bare minimum estimate to remove the house was at least $1 million. So, you plan to do nothing and allow it to fall into the water?” Lecia McKenna, the town’s conservation agent, asked Moore. I plan to ask you to not let it fall into the water, Moore responded. The commission voted to extend to June 1 the deadline to comply with its enforcement order. Wellfleet is left to watch and wait For now, the town is left to simply watch the house. When the AP recently visited the site, 20 mph winds were hitting the bluffs and sand could be seen trickling down. The sea level at nearby Falmouth has risen 11 inches in the past 90 years, but the pace is accelerating. An AP analysis of data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration found the sea level around Cape Cod between 1995 and 2024 was rising at an annual rate of 0.16 inch faster than the prior 30-year period. McCormack, the Woods Hole specialist who prepared the report for the town, said it’s difficult to attribute erosion at a single property to climate change and sea level rise. And he said Cape Cod has been eroding for tens of thousands of years. But he said the bluffs have receded 54 feet since 2014, and the erosion rate over the past decade has exceeded long-term rates published by the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management. By Andre Muggiati, Associated Press AP data journalist Mary Katherine Wildeman contributed to this report. The Associated Presss climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find APs standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.
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An X post recently made the rounds for its old money visuals. The video depicting weekends spent sailing Lake Como in tuxedos and candlelit dinners at impossibly long dining tables screams upper crust. Or so we thought. It was another X user who quickly shattered the illusion. Sorry to burst the fantasy, but I know one of the girls in this video, and none of this is casual or real, Louis Pisano wrote in a post. Its an Instagram club where, if you get accepted, you pay to dress up and create old money content with them. This is the Tuxedo Society, a U.K.-based members-only club promising access to experiences in the most iconic locations and a chance to elevate your network by connecting with like-minded people. Founded by classic-car dealer Riccardo Capotosti, the group markets itself as an exclusive gateway to a more glamorous, monied world with the motto Attractive people doing attractive things in attractive places. Having access to this elite club will give you the opportunity to connect with enlightened people from all over the world, the groups website states. Or, as one X user put it: So its basically Disneyland for wannabe socialites. The Tuxedo Society, also known as the Tuxedo Members Club, has two websites: one showing the luxurious lifestyle you can expect with a membership and another for applications, though the latter is still in the Coming Soon phase as of this writing. To join, you must earn more than 500,000 euros per year (that’s around $520,000) or have a seven-figure net worth (although Pisano claims this isnt true, based on his personal knowledge of one of the members). Prospective members must also pass an approval process, including an introductory video call with a board member, according to the website. An annual membership then costs 6,000 euros (about $6,200), and if you dont renew, your spot goes to someone else. Current members, including influencers like Federico di Custoza and model Chiara Basso, pose against classic cars and suited up in formal wear on tennis courts. The most notable member, who can actually claim old money status, is Eugenia Hannover, a model linked to the historic House of Hanover. Fascination with the rich and well-connected is nothing new, but in the age of social media, it’s easier than ever to cosplay as wealthy, even if just for content. The secret lives and unspoken rules of the upper classes have been the subject of countless films and TV shows, from The Great Gatsby and The Talented Mr. Ripley to Saltburn. Remember how those stories ended?
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Oracles new AI will answer employee questions about everything job-related, from hiring to retiring. Oracle has embedded artificial intelligence capabilities into its Human Capital Management software with the intention of optimizing workplace productivity, the company announced Thursday. The AI engages in human-like conversations, much like ChatGPT, but responds using truthful data that participating companies provide to Oracle. The best AI comes from the best data, says Miranda Nash, a group VP at Oracle. Using the companys data, the AI can answer questions about taxes, benefits and perks of the job, and career planning. By giving fast answers to a large variety of questions, Oracles AI will allow employees to focus more on the core mission of their jobs and become more effective workers, Nash says. And as employees turn to AIrather than HRfor answers, Nash hopes that HR leaders will be less overwhelmed in their jobs. [Image: Oracle] These AI agents are part of Oracle Fusion Cloud Human Capital Management, a cloud-based HR tool that has led the industry for a decade, according to Gartner research. Oracle will not charge any extra fees for users to access the new AI. Starting in September, Oracle began integrating artificial intelligence into its supply chain, marketing, sales, and service applications, and plans to implement it into its finance products this spring. The inclusion of AI helps Oracle connect powerful technologies to everyday folks doing their jobs, Nash says. Oracles Fusion applications have 14,000 customers across the board. Oracle is all about making our customers successful by lowering their cost of operation, Nash says. Were continually on a mission to make that cheaper and more efficient, basically using the latest technologies for our customers to make their businesses more successful. Oracle is one of three companies that President Donald Trump tapped to be part of the Stargate projecta joint venture to create hundreds of billions of dollars in AI infrastructure. After the Stargate announcement, Oracle saw its share prices rise by double digits.
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