Dylan Thomas
The birds of the winged trees flying my name Above the farms and the white horses I rose in rainy autumn And walked abroad in a shower of all my days. – Dylan Thomas
November 12, 2010
Cable Future Forum
Cable Future Forum
MVTV, in cooperation with the towns on Martha’s Vineyard, is seeking input on the future of cable service, community media and technology that will be available on the Island for the next 10 years. Comcast has submitted a request to have its cable franchise agreements renewed. As a part of…
VNA’s Lena Vanderhoop, Lisa Larsen Earn Awards
Vineyard Nursing Association aides Lisa Larsen and Lena Vanderhoop have been nominated for special awards as part of the 40th annual Homecare Aide Celebration in Boston on Nov. 17.
Lisa Larsen was nominated for her exemplary service during Hurricane Earl, when she provided personal care to a medically fragile patient who was housed…
Honoring Those Who Served
Buffeted by sharp northeast winds whipping off Nantucket Sound, marchers in the annual Island Veterans Day parade yesterday were met by a burst of bright sunshine as they headed up Lake avenue in Oak Bluffs toward Ocean Park. It was the first time anyone on the Island had seen sunshine in over a week.
…
Prisoner on Work Release Finds Public Transit Handy for Sojourn
Security for prisoners on work release programs from the Edgartown house of correction is likely to be tightened up following an incident this week in which a prisoner caught a bus to visit a friend and girlfriend instead of going to work.
Quincy A. Young, who was serving a 30-month sentence for drug…
Report Urges County Reform
A state review of Dukes County has found the current county structure renders it unable to deliver “strong and cohesive management” and recommends Island leaders look to a new model, if they are serious about providing better regional services.
Instead of the current structure, it recommends a council of governments approach, under which…
Wind Rules Remain in Limbo, Putting All Projects Before MVC
From now until at least next spring, anyone who wants to put up a wind turbine — on land, except in Edgartown and at sea anywhere within three miles of the Island — must go before the Martha’s Vineyard Commission for review.
With a yearlong moratorium on large wind turbines set to expire,…
Denniston Demolition Plan Draws Calls for Intervention
If the effort to save the Denniston House in Oak Bluffs was a thorny process, demolishing it may prove just as difficult. In a unanimous vote, the Oak Bluffs historical commission determined on Wednesday that the old house meets the definition of a historically significant building.
Island Economy: Slow Growth is the New Normal
Though it may be another five years before employment fully recovers from the recession, businesses who serve high-end consumers will bounce back fastest, Martha’s Vineyard Chamber of Commerce executive director Nancy Gardella told a meeting of Island businesswomen on Tuesday.
Already some Vineyard hotels had unexpectedly reported to her that this year’s spring…
Striped Bass Quotas Unchanged
The commercial fishing quota for striped bass for the region will remain the same next year and beyond. At a meeting in Charleston, S.C., on Tuesday the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission striped bass management board voted to keep the quota the same. The commission had been poised to raise the quota.
Who’s Dog Is Most Likely to Be Governor?
The third annual Edgartown Yacht Club Dog Show was held recently at the Edgartown Yacht Club’s tennis club. More than 20 dogs entered, accompanied by more than 30 owners and spectators. Every one seemed to be happy; the dogs would have been smiling, if they could, as they enjoyed romping, sniffing and showing off. The…
Brazilian Feast Mixes Taste to Take on Racism
Seating arrangements at school lunch tables often seem right out of the movies. Students have their designated tables, their designated tablemates; it may seem peculiar to outsiders but it is a constant in the students’ day. Just as some adults feel off when they don’t have their cup of coffee in the morning, students feel…
Brazil Elects First Woman President
It was the presidential election here and Brazil was on fire. People seemed so confused about who to vote for and if I were able to vote, I wouldn’t be able to choose one myself and so I went around asking some questions. The question I asked was, who would you vote for? The first…
Words from One Who Served
Editor’s Note: What follows is an oral history recorded by Linsey Lee from Hector Asselin of Vineyard Haven. Titled Everywhere You Looked There Was an Airplane, the account is of the World War II Naval Air Station on the Vineyard. It was included in the Martha’s Vineyard Museum’s exhibit Those Who Served which ran from…
Mulling Over Options for Mill Pond
W hat should we do about Mill Pond?
The discussion presented last Saturday by Beth Lambert, the river restoration program coordinator for the commonwealth’s Division of Ecological Restoration offered a new perspective and other possibilities for us to consider. I want to thank Prudy Burt and the West Tisbury Library staff for hosting…
Families Helping Families
Families Helping Families
Recovery at a Snail’s Pace
Recovery at a Snail’s Pace
The word economy — as in “the sluggish economy” — comes across as an abstraction. But an economy is made up of people, and the Island’s economy more than ever seems to be separating into two groups of people farther and farther apart.
Warding off the Chill
Warding off the Chill
Tiny broccoli florets from the Farm Institute piled high in a bin and sold by the pound. Dark red romaine lettuce and huge heads of unblemished radicchio in shades of scarlet, cream and pale green from Morning Glory Farm. Soft white farmhouse feta from Mermaid Farm. Silky homemade cakes…
Hunting Talk
Hunting Talk
Listen, don’t shoot at Long Point Wildlife Refuge’s talk and walk on hunting traditions at the refuge.
The program begins at noon on Sunday, Nov. 21. and ends with a chowdown of venison chili. Anyone interested meet at the visitor’s center at the end of Deep Bottom Road. The…
Women in History
Women in History
Phyllis Vecchia will be teaching a women in history theatre education program for the Charter School and Tisbury School.
The program has been initially funded by Mal Jones and supported by Francie Desmone of West Tisbury. Funding was obtained by Sheila Bracy, the former executive director of Women…
Grace Lobster Rollers Marks Silver Anniversary
Twenty-five years ago a very good idea was hatched by the folks at Grace Church in Vineyard Haven. The results of that idea can be seen every Friday evening during the summer as lines stretch down the street, past the ferry, out to sea and culminate as far away as Provincetown or Gloucester.
…
Where the Skies Are Cloudy All Day
Already this year, Martha’s Vineyard has seen 50 inches of rainfall. That’s far ahead of the annual average of 45.82 inches, and there is still a month and a half to go.
October was wet. Total rainfall for the month was 7.74 inches, more than twice the average of 3.39 inches, according to…
Fitness Smorgasbord
Fitness Smorgasbord
The Vineyard Tennis Center Workout & Spa is offering a fitness sampler, a sample of classes for those new to fitness of five classes — yoga, zumba, cycling, pilates, strength and conditioning — taught by expert instructors. Classes are on five Mondays, from Nov. 15 to Dec. 13, from 5:30 to…
Emelia Armstead
Emelia Armstead
Falmouth Academy senior Emelia Armstead of Edgartown is a semi-finalist in the National Achievement Scholarship Program for black American high school students. Emelia is also a National Merit Scholarship commended student. She is the daughter of Kenneth Armstead and Lorna Giles, who own and run the Arbor Inn.
Turkey Tennis
Turkey Tennis
Like to serve and volley with your turkey leg bone? Or perhaps you’re a baseline grinder digging away at the stuffing and cranberry sauce. Don’t know where these mixed metaphors are leading? Well, to the 15th annual Turkey Open Tennis Tournament at the Vineyard Tennis Center, of course.
The…
Dam Questions Flow at Talk About Mill Pond Restoration
More than 50 people crowded into the reading room at the West Tisbury Public Library on Saturday to hear Beth Lambert, river restoration program coordinator for the state Division of Ecological Restoration, discuss the state’s policy of dam destruction as a way of restoring natural stream ecology.
MVC Highlights Parking Issues in Hair Salon Expansion Plan
Ongoing concerns about density were aired last week during a public hearing on a plan to replace the existing one-story Wave Lengths hair salon building on Upper Main street in Edgartown with a three-story mixed-use residential commercial building, and to build another three-story residential building in the parking lot behind it.
Brianna Sylvia
Brianna Sylvia
Brianna L. Sylvia of West Tisbury, received a master of science in accounting degree from Western New England College on Oct. 15, 2010.
Oak Bluffs Takes Triathalon Set for September Next Year
By PETER BRANNEN
Add a triathlon in Oak Bluffs to the long list of long-distance events available to Island athletes. On Tuesday this week the Oak Bluffs selectmen voted to allow a triathlon that will take place next year on the morning of Sept. 11.
After a tepid response from Chilmark,…
NStar Cable to Chappy Causes Traffic Changes
Dock street in Edgartown will be partly closed to vehicle traffic for the next three weeks as a project gets under way to replace an underwater electric cable in the harbor channel to Chappaquiddick. Construction crews began setting up large equipment this week, and drilling is set to begin on Monday.
Chappaquiddick ferry…
Project Lifesaver
Project Lifesaver
On Thursday, Dec. 4 at 1:30 p.m., the Tisbury Senior Center will host a presentation on Project Lifesaver, a device that helps find people who may have wandered off and become lost.
Donald Rose will demonstrate the device and be available for any questions. The idea behind Project Lifesaver…
Police Chief Interviews
Police Chief Interviews
The West Tisbury selectmen have rescheduled a public forum for the three police chief candidates for tonight at 7 p.m. at the Howes House. Selectmen will hold interviews with the candidates on Saturday morning at 9:30 a.m.
The three candidates for the position are acting West Tisbury police…
Waxing Moon
On Monday night, the gibbous moon appears right near the bright planet Jupiter. The two move high in the east together as the evening unfolds. The two celestial objects are in the zodiacal constellation Pisces. Though appearing together, the moon is more than 251,000 miles away and Jupiter is 418 million miles away.
Oak Bluffs Voters to Decide Size of Board, Fees and Taxes
Next Tuesday voters in cash-strapped Oak Bluffs will be asked to decide a number of tax and spending questions, and one question on the size of town government itself.
A petition signed by 159 Oak Bluffs taxpayers calls for reducing the number of selectmen in town from five to three. Oak Bluffs is…
Conservation Grows On Menemsha Pond
The Aquinnah selectmen voted this week to approve a conservation restriction for newly-acquired property by the Sheriff’s Meadow Foundation on Menemsha Pond.
The 5.8-acre parcel abuts land that Yvette Eastman gave to the foundation over a period of years. The foundation has purchased a restriction on the property for $300,000 with a view…
Vineyard Baseball Team Has a Coach, Needs Name Ideas
Summer is long gone, and sports enthusiasts are shifting their attention to football, hockey and basketball. But some of the best deals come during the off-season, and a Vineyard collegiate summer baseball team is one of them.
Hello Zoé
Hello Zoé
Priscilla Tucker and Joshua Tucker of Edgartown announce the birth of a daughter, Zoé Elizabeth Tucker, born on Nov. 4, 2010, at the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital. Zoé weighed 7 pounds, 5 ounces at birth.
Gazette Chronicle: At Loggerheads
At Loggerheads
From November, 1985 Gazette editions:
U.S. Congressman Gerry Studds told a crowd of more than 100 in Tisbury that on the way to the Vineyard he saw a rainbow. From the sound of how things went in Washington the previous week, he needed it. The gloomy news of a…
Oak Bluffs
HOLLY NADLER
508-274-2329
(hollynadler@gmail.com)
We’re lucky to have 25-year-old Sondra Murphy as our new children’s librarian because she could have fallen back on becoming a hip-hop star. Not that she ever tried to be one, but she certainly looks the part, pretty, petite, with a short bob of blond…
Chappy
BRAD WOODGER
508-627-4216
(ibwsgolf@aol.com)
I’ve noticed lately how green nature is — it uses everything it makes. A leaf feeds the soil, a mouse feeds a crow, a sun feeds the plant. I wonder if there’s a lesson to be learned. Somebody should give nature an award or something…
Chilmark
JANE N. SLATER
508-645-3378
(slaterjn@comcast.net)
Chilmark has been a dark and dreary place this past week with lots of wind and rain. The fall foliage is pretty much gone for this year and the general aspect is gray. A sunny day, even a short one, will improve the mood!…
Temperatures
Temperature: Precip.
Day Max. Min. Inches.
Fº Fº
Nov. 5 61 50 .58
Nov. 6 62 44 .05
Nov. 7 51 43 Trace
Nov. 8 45 33 1.90
Nov. 9 51 38 .70
Nov. 10 52 40 .11
Nov. 11 47 44 .01
…
Edgartown
KATHIE CASE
508-627-5349
(kathleencase@comcast.net)
There is nothing to say about this weather. It has been rainy, windy and chilly; the leaves are blowing (I hope to the neighbor’s yard) and the flower beds need to be turned over. I just know when the sun comes out, we are all…
Please Adopt Us
Please Adopt Us
Seven cats, five kittens, five guinea pigs, two dogs and one rabbit — the Animal Shelter of Martha’s Vineyard is bursting at the seams with animals needing homes.
Barn-Raisers’ Ball a Community Affair
By REMY TUMIN
Every August, Vineyarders flood the fair grounds at the Martha’s Vineyard Agricultural Society Hall in West Tisbury. Every fall, we are treated to the harvest festival to celebrate the season’s bounty, and every winter we have Island artisans’ fairs, community potlucks or most recently the winter farmers’ markets. The Vineyard…
Into the Wilds of Chappy With Conservation Society
It’s been raining for like 40 days and 40 nights. But the sun is bound to come out sometime and when it does, time to head outdoors. Looking for a little hand-holding, though, to bring you back to the wild? Then you’re in luck. On Sunday, Nov. 14 the Vineyard Conservation Society is leading a…
Fourth Grade Somethings Leap Into the Limelight
Years from now. when they go Hollywood and won’t return your calls you’ll be able to say, yeah, well I saw them back in the day when they were still green in the green room. That’s if you head out this week and next to the Vineyard Playhouse’s annual fourth grade theatre project.
Water Essays
Water Essays
Water Matters, Why We Need to Act Now to Save Our Most Critical Resource, was recently released by AlterNet, an award-winning magazine and online community.
Water Matters includes a contribution from Island writer William Waterway. Other contributing writers include Barbara Kingsolver, Bill McKibben, Maude Barlow and Tina Rosenberg, to…
Santa on a Steel Horse
Santa on a Steel Horse
Twas about a month before Christmas and many a creature was stirring.
And why not? It was a beautiful fall day, Thanksgiving still two weeks away.
There were no stockings hung by the chimney with care, nor did visions of sugar plums dance in…
Special Education Talk
Special Education Talk
On Wednesday, Nov. 17, Charlotte Spinkston, executive director for Urban Pride, will present a workshop highlighting one’s basic rights under the special education law. The workshop aims to help parents learn how to be effective partners with their schools to help make decisions and determine a child’s eligibility for special…
Garden Club Monthly
Garden Club Monthly
The Martha’s Vineyard Garden Club will hold its monthly meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 16 at 1 p.m. at the Wakeman Center in West Tisbury.
The program this month is Holiday Creations. Dr. Else Membreno will offer ideas and demonstrate techniques for creating floral arrangements and decorations for the…
Far Out
The sky’s the limit!
Well, up to now, the Milky Way galaxy has been the limit. Humans have never gone into space beyond our Milky Way galaxy. This is not surprising, as to breach the diameter of our barred spiral galaxy would take a space explorer 100,000 light years in travel time.
Touring the Capital
I am happy to be back on the Vineyard. Thank you all for your kind words regarding the loss of my father.
Police Cry Fowl, Fire Department Clucks: Competition is Hot at Wingfest 2010
By REMY TUMIN
Buffalo, teriyaki, sweet and sour, hot as fire, deep-fried. Whichever way you prefer your chicken wings, finger-licking is always involved. A washcloth for your face might also be necessary.
Chicken wings may be reserved for Sunday afternoon football, but all bets are off on Saturday as town departments…
Beetlebung birds
Beetlebung Corner is really the center of Chilmark. The library, the school, the community center, the town hall, two banks, a restaurant, a general store, a real estate office and the post office are all within a few steps. This is all well and good for humans. However, for the birds Beetlebung Farm, which provides…
