Mary Oliver
The wind wags its many tails. And in the evening the piled firewood shifts a little, longing to be on its way. —Mary Oliver
January 15, 2010
Menemsha Fishermen Win Harborside Lot
Menemsha fishermen Tim Broderick and Alec Gale were awarded the use of a lot along the Menemsha Harbor for their mussel and fish-buying business, at a joint meeting with the Chilmark selectmen and the parks and recreation committee Tuesday night.
Two Wins and a Tie Makes for Strong Show in Weekend Sports
It was a jam-packed day of sports last Saturday on the Vineyard, as both the boys’ basketball and boys’ hockey teams posted big wins over conference rival Bishop Feehan, while the steadily-improving girls’ hockey team skated to a 2-2 tie against Marshfield.
Boys’ Basketball
Approximately 400 people jammed the Martha’s Vineyard…
After Short Hiatus, Island Cup Is Back
By JIM HICKEY
Vineyard football fans can dust off their cowbells and Harpoon the Whalers signs, because the Island Cup game is back.
After a brief one-year hiatus, the fabled football game between the Vineyard and Nantucket will return this year, scheduled to be played on the Vineyard the Saturday before…
Opening Day Pushed Back For New Hospital Facility
The Martha’s Vineyard Hospital announced this week that it will delay the opening of its new facility by about two months due to the fact that finish work is proceeding more slowly than expected. The primary culprit is adhesive being used on the flooring; the hospital is using a nontoxic adhesive which takes longer to…
A Year After the Obama Inauguration: Rethinking the Inedible
Editor’s Note: Barack Obama was inaugurated as President of the United States, elected on a platform of change, on Jan. 20, 2009. He took the oath to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution as the country confronted its gravest set of circumstances in at least a generation.
A year into the Obama presidency, the…
A Year After the Obama Inauguration: Addressing Race
Editor’s Note: Barack Obama was inaugurated as President of the United States, elected on a platform of change, on Jan. 20, 2009. He took the oath to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution as the country confronted its gravest set of circumstances in at least a generation.
A year into the Obama presidency, the…
A Year After the Obama Inauguration: Health Comes from the Ground Up
Editor’s Note: Barack Obama was inaugurated as President of the United States, elected on a platform of change, on Jan. 20, 2009. He took the oath to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution as the country confronted its gravest set of circumstances in at least a generation.
A year into the Obama presidency, the…
A Year After the Obama Inauguration: We Are In It Together
Editor’s Note: Barack Obama was inaugurated as President of the United States, elected on a platform of change, on Jan. 20, 2009. He took the oath to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution as the country confronted its gravest set of circumstances in at least a generation.
A year into the Obama presidency, the…
Police Chief Beth Toomey Steps Down
West Tisbury police chief Beth A. Toomey announced this week she is retiring after nearly three decades on the job as a police officer and 16 years as chief. Ms. Toomey made the announcement in a letter to the selectmen dated Jan. 13, which was read aloud by chairman Diane Powers during Wednesday’s regular…
Police Chief Paul Condlin Steps Down
Edgartown police chief Paul V. Condlin announced his retirement to the selectmen at their meeting Monday afternoon.
“I will forever be grateful for having the opportunity to serve the town of Edgartown as a police officer for the past 33 years,” Mr. Condlin wrote in a letter to the selectmen.
The…
MVC Approves Morning Glory Expansion
The Martha’s Vineyard Commission last Thursday unanimously approved a proposal to renovate and expand Morning Glory Farm in Edgartown, which was under review as a development of regional impact (DRI).
The plan was reviewed by the commission’s land use planning committee last Monday and approved by the full commission last Thursday after 30…
Tisbury Selectmen Urge Town to Clear Sidewalks
The Tisbury selectmen, concerned about the high number of sidewalks around town that remained impassable long after the recent storms had ended, remind residents and business owners that nonremoval of snow is a violation of a town bylaw, punishable by a fine.
Special Education
Special Education
Oak Bluffs Selectman Kerry Scott Opts Not to Run for Reelection
Oak Bluffs selectman Kerry Scott announced on Tuesday that she will not run for a third term in April.
“I have done a lot of thinking and soul-searching and have decided I will not run for reelection as selectman this spring . . . it certainly has been a privilege to serve the…
Squirrel Causes Power Loss
Squirrel Causes Power Loss
Electric power to 5,400 customers on the Island was interrupted for a few minutes on Monday morning, when an errant squirrel passed between wires in the NSTAR electrical system off the Edgartown-Vineyard Haven Road in Tisbury. The outage at approximately 7:15 a.m. lasted for only a few minutes.
Dean’s List
Dean’s List
Samantha Rabin, daughter of Karen and Steven Rabin of Edgartown, has been named to the dean’s list at Hamilton College for the 2009 fall semester.
Miss Rabin, a junior majoring in sociology, is a graduate of Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School.
250 State Road: It’s Easy Being Green
Dozens of curious Islanders turned out to take part in Saturday’s green tour of the affordable housing project under construction at 250 State Road in West Tisbury. The sun was shining on a bitterly cold day as members of the Island Housing Trust and South Mountain Company led visitors through three solar homes in various…
A Year After the Obama Inauguration: Jobs Are Job One
Editor’s Note: Barack Obama was inaugurated as President of the United States, elected on a platform of change, on Jan. 20, 2009. He took the oath to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution as the country confronted its gravest set of circumstances in at least a generation.
Letters to the Editor
VOTE TUESDAY
Editors, Vineyard Gazette:
On the last day of President Obama’s first year in office, the voters of Massachusetts have the opportunity to elect our first female senator. Attorney General Martha Coakley is the Democratic candidate to complete the term of the late Sen. Edward Kennedy and continue his ideals.
Wintertide Reflections on the Mill Pond
With snow still here and there in West Tisbury, I went walking on Wednesday along the Mill Pond. Main roads, of course, have been swept clean, but in woods and fields there remains snow to crunch through — a favorite winter pastime of mine. And it crossed my mind that there was likely to still…
Protecting the Copeland District
Protecting the Copeland District
Famous for its distinctive Victorian style, Oak Bluffs is a town of parks ringed by neighborhoods of Gothic Carpenter cottages and homes, their porches situated with views across parklands or the sea. As many people know, the history of this architectural style and village design is rooted in the…
Islanders Play Festival
Islanders Play Festival
Three Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School musicians participated in the Music Educators’ Southeast District Festival at Oliver Ames High School last weekend. Sidra Dumont and Emily Lowe sang with the choir of over 200 voices, and Madison Ibsen, second chair viola out of 14, performed with the 96-piece orchestra.
…
Permanent Endowment Accepting Grant Applications
The Permanent Endowment for Martha’s Vineyard is accepting applications for its spring grant cycle. Through its grants program, the endowment seeks to raise awareness of Vineyard issues, respond to community needs, foster collaboration among nonprofit organizations and support innovative approaches to bettering the quality of life on the Island.
The Endowment welcomes applications…
Ten-Part Food, Agriculture Education Series to Begin
Island Grown Schools begins ten free clinics for teachers next week. The winter farm-to-school afterschool clinics can be taken individually or as a series; it runs Tuesdays and Thursdays, 3:15 to 4:15 p.m. Jan. 19 through Feb. 18.
Melinda Rabbitt DeFeo will include in each clinic curriculum resources and how-to advice to help…
Census Workers Needed
Census Workers Needed
The U.S. Census Bureau is hiring for the 2010 Census. These temporary, part-time jobs offer good pay, flexible hours, paid training and reimbursement for work-related expenses, such as mileage incurred while doing census work.
Every 10 years, the Census Bureau collects data on the nation’s population. The results…
Cooking Class Introduces Flavor of France to Vineyard Kitchens
You can tell a meal is almost ready when you begin to catch the full scent wafting from the oven, instructor Carol McManus told 10 chefs-in-the-making as they sat to enjoy a bread and cheese plate in a home economics classroom at the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School Tuesday night.
This is about…
Farm Neck Grants Announced for 2009
The board of directors of the Farm Neck Foundation has announced their annual grants for the year 2009. This year’s grants total $36,000. The Farm Neck Foundation is an independent charitable corporation created by Farm Neck Golf Club to provide charitable assistance exclusively for Martha’s Vineyard.
Martha’s Vineyard Museum receives $1,500 to help…
Temperatures
Temperature: Precip.
Day Max. Min. Inches.
Fº Fº
Jan. 8 39 23 .00
Jan. 9 32 21 Trace*
Jan. 10 27 14 .00
Jan. 11 27 13 .00
Jan. 12 34 23 .00
Jan. 13 35 15 .00
Jan. 14 30 20 .00
…
Moon and Jupiter
If skies are clear, stargazing will be great into next week. Tonight will be moonless; the moon is in the New Moon phase and too close to the sun to be seen. The moon won’t interfere until late in the week.
Please Adopt Us
Please Adopt Us
Our small family of adoptable cats has been joined by Manfred, the most handsome Maine coon cat you have ever seen. He is a multi-colored gray, big boy with all the attributes of the coon cat: fluffy tail and large tufted ears; you must see him! He joins Max, the…
State Election Tuesday
State Election Tuesday
Vineyard voters go to the polls on Tuesday to cast ballots in a special statewide election to fill the seat of the late Edward M. Kennedy, who died of cancer last August.
State Attorney General Martha Coakley, a Democrat and longtime Vineyard seasonal visitor, is running against Scott…
From Principal’s Office to Front: Mr. Halt Goes to Afghanistan
A light, peaceful snow draped the West Tisbury School last Friday morning. If principal Michael Halt sees snow again in the coming months, it may be a world away, perhaps from a remote outpost in the central highlands of Afghanistan or the jagged Hindu Kush.
Vineyarders’ Ties Bring Tragedy In Haiti Home
Tuesday afternoon’s earthquake in Haiti measured seven on the Richter scale, but the tragedy it created is incalculable. Yet as cries of “Amwe! Amwe!” — ”Help me!” in Creole — were reported heard in the rubble of a primary school in a Port-au-Prince neighborhood, already Vineyarders of all ages were doing what they could to…
Nectar’s Plan Clouded by License Snafu
The phone is ringing at Nectar’s nightclub near the airport with requests to book shows for the coming summer, but the owners say before they can commit to scheduling musical acts, they need to be able to buy the place.
And they are hoping to do just that.
Change Requested in Housing Permit
Spokesmen for the Island Housing Trust found themselves on the hot seat Monday when they appeared before the West Tisbury planning board to ask for an amendment to a special permit for the eight-unit project nearing completion at 250 State Road. Required under bank lending rules, the amendment adds language that will allow the homes…
Tisbury Weighs Costs of Benefits As Some Get More Than Others
The basis of John Thayer’s complaint to the Tisbury selectmen this week was simple inequity. Mr. Thayer receives a $240 a year stipend for being a Department of Public Works commissioner, while two other commissioners receive their stipend plus health benefits worth around $20,000 a year.
Island Tribe, Cape Wind Resist Plan to Relocate Turbines to Tuckernuck
After more than eight years of controversy, a final decision on the Cape Wind development planned for Nantucket Sound will be made by the end of April, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar promised this week.
Mr. Salazar made the commitment after an exhaustive round of meetings in Washington on Wednesday involving…
Chappy
MARGARET KNIGHT
508-627-8894
(margaret02539@yahoo.com)
This past January week truly felt like winter. The cold temperatures preserved the small amount of snow on the ground for more than a week, an unusually long time for Chappaquiddick. Where the sun melted the snow in our front yard, the sodden green moss…
West Tisbury
John S. Alley
508-693-2950
(alleys@vineyard.net)
Well, we have had a run of cold weather recently that has not allowed the snow to melt as rapidly as is the usual custom. Ed Konicki reports that the cat dish full of water just inside his kitchen door in Webster froze like…
Chilmark Town Column: Jan. 15
Chilmark stands this week at what I think we can agree is midwinter. Let’s hope, anyway, that half of it is behind us! It is a very quiet time here as things are pretty much closed up, and Chilmarkers are doing their thing, whatever it may be, indoors and warm! The Menemsha Café on Basin…
Oak Bluffs
HOLLY NADLER
508-274-2329
(hollynadler@gmail.com)
It doesn’t take much in our wee community for us to receive a huge charge out of a relatively small (in the global scheme of things) event. By now most of us have probably felt the rush of driving over the new drawbridge. “Omigod, they’ve…
Gazette Chronicle: More Things Change . . .
More Things Change . . .
From Gazette editions of January, 1985:
Hello, Troy
Hello, Troy
Anastasia and Jonas Cavallo of Edgartown announce the birth of a son, Troy Cassius Cavallo born on Dec. 30, 2009, at the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital. Troy weighed 8 pounds, 14 ounces at birth.
Maximus Arrives
Maximus Arrives
Simma Rashba and Harry Parris of West Tisbury announce the birth of a son, Maximus Noah Parris, born on Jan. 6, 2010, at the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital. Maximus weighed 8 pounds, 13 ounces at birth.
Announcing Ian
Announcing Ian
Meirilucia De Paula Nunes and Fabio De Paula Nunes of Vineyard Haven announce the birth of a son, Ian Phillip De Paula Nunes, born on Jan. 6, 2010, at the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital. Ian weighed 9 pounds, 6.2 ounces at birth.
Gazette Closed Monday
The Gazette office will be closed on Monday, Jan. 18, in observance of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day. It will reopen Tuesday at the usual time.
Garden Club Meeting
Garden Club Meeting
The Martha’s Vineyard Garden Club will hold its first meeting of the new year on Tuesday, Jan. 19, at 1 p.m. at the Wakeman Center. Speaker Laura Coit will present the program, Learning About Life While Designing a Border. Hospitality hour follows the meeting. Everyone interested in gardening, flower arranging,…
Class Clowning: A Serious Business
Dudley Brooks sits cross-legged on the floor of room 405 at the regional high school, staring intently at two students in the center of the room. His eyes flicker back and forth between the performers, analyzing their movements with an expert, subtle gaze.
Special Shabbat Service
To pay homage to the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his friend and colleague Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, the Martha’s Vineyard chapter of the NAACP and the Martha’s Vineyard Hebrew Center will cosponsor their 11th annual lay service in tribute to the two men, on Friday, Jan. 22 at 5:30 p.m. at the…
Island Cineastes Start New Season
Island Cineastes Start New Season
Richard Paradise was named 2009’s best regional film festival director at last month’s International Film Festival Summit in Las Vegas. In an Oscar-speech moment with the Gazette, he shared his glory with Island filmgoers: “The success of the festival, the regional coverage, the volunteership, and the exploration of…
Hotel Deal Lets Islanders Take a Vineyard Vacation
The Mansion House is offering Vineyarders a $25 stay in the historic downtown hotel, to celebrate 25 years of ownership by Susan and Sherm Goldstein.
All guests enjoy free use of the health club, classes and pool, along with complimentary breakfast in Zephrus.
When Susan, then a teacher in the West…
She’s the Man in Twelfth Night, But Actor Shines in Many Roles
Two years ago, as Brooke Hardman made the move to what she then saw as “a remote Island,” the actress whose career had taken her to Boston, New York and Chicago resigned herself to the fact that “I wouldn’t be acting anymore.”
The Vineyard Gardener
By LYNNE IRONS
One after-Christmas holiday project I try to accomplish is a quick inspection of my pantry. I store potatoes, onions, garlic and winter squashes but there is always one rotten apple attempting to spoil the batch so to speak. Happily I only found a few soft onions and one bad spaghetti…
All Sass
Curious, it is, that while some trees evoke only a shrug, others inspire speculation, and exploration, and great trans-Atlantic expeditions, and stir the very highest of hopes. Consider the sassafras.
Sailing and Sighting
Our Southern Ocean trip is still fresh in our minds. We have visited Chatham Island with you but we still had many miles of ocean to go. The islands we visited included: Mangere, Pitt, Bounty, Antipodes, Campbell, Enderby, The Snares, Ulva and Stewart. There were special sightings and views whenever we stopped, and to tell…
