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
February 24, 2012
News Update: Thursday, March 1 – Girls’ Basketball Continues Postseason Winning Streak
Vineyard teams are four-for-for this postseason, with the girls’ basketball team picking up the latest victory after defeating East Bridgewater at home 52-34 on Thursday afternoon. With the win, the girls move on to the semifinal round of the South Section Division 3 tournament, where they will play the winner of Thursday night’s Fairhaven/Norwell game.
New Burrito Place Draws Huge Crowds
Who says there’s no crowds on the Vineyard in February? So many people turned up for new burrito place La Choza’s grand opening on Wednesday that wait times were topping one hour. Seth Gambino, owner of La Choza, said he intended to stay open only from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., but due to non-stop…
News Update: Wednesday, Feb. 29 – Boys’ Basketball Adds One More to Postseason Winning Streak
The Vineyard postseason sports bus keeps rolling, with the boys’ basketball team picking up their first playoff win of the season Wednesday afternoon, defeating visiting Dedham 79-46. The team jumped out to an eight-point lead before Dedham broke through the Vineyard defense to score, and led by 23 points at the half.
Burrito Shop Opens
La Choza, a new burrito shop, will open Wednesday, Feb. 29 at 11 a.m., with a grand-opening celebration that day from noon to 2 p.m. at 4 Main street Vineyard Haven. Owner Seth Gambino said complimentary food will be served at the two-hour celebration. For the rest of the off-season, La Choza will be open…
News Update: Tuesday, Feb. 28 – Girls’ Hockey, Basketball Teams Advance in State Tournament
Vineyard sports teams took home a pair of stellar postseason wins Tuesday afternoon, with girls’ basketball and girls’ hockey each picking up a first-round state tournament victory.
Two Tournament Games, Two Wins
Vineyard sports teams racked up two outstanding victories on Tuesday, earning key wins in the preliminary round of state tournament play. The girls’ hockey team topped Dennis-Yarmouth 5-0 in a home game, moving them further along in their first-ever post-season journey. They will travel to Canton on Friday to play Norwood. The girls’ basketball team…
Prescribed Burn Prescribed for Today
The Martha’s Vineyard Prescribed Fire Partnership plans to conduct a controlled burn on Tuesday, Feb. 28 at the Nature Conservancy’s Hoft Farm Preserve in West Tisbury. The burn will be conducted for training purposes. The odor of smoke may be temporarily noticeable along State Road in West Tisbury.
News Update: Monday, Feb. 27 – Hundreds of Potential Jurors Called for Trial Involving Deaf Pilot
Jury selection began today at the Edgartown courthouse for an upcoming Dukes County superior court trial stemming from a June 2005 plane crash at Katama Airfield.
The plane’s pilot, Alec Naiman, and his passengers, Jeffrey and Jessica Willoughby, are suing Cessna Aircraft Company, claiming that the accident was the result of faulty rails…
Winter Sports Teams on Their Way to Victory
For the first time in the school’s history all four regional high school winter sports teams are headed to the state tournament. Want to catch them in action? Prepare for a busy week.
Girls’ hockey takes on Dennis-Yarmouth on Tuesday, Feb. 28 at the Martha’s Vineyard Ice Arena. That same day the girls’…
Winter Break at the YMCA
Struggling to keep the kids occupied during winter break? The YMCA is hosting a daily camp, March 2 to 6 from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Tho, three and five day enrollment options are available.
Enrollment is required. To register, or for more information, call Apryl at 508-696 7171 ext. 105 or email…
Brickyard Walk
On Sunday from 1 to 3 p.m. the Trustees of Reservations is holding a guided walk through the brickyard ruins of Chilmark. During the walk guides will tell stories of this once prosperous Island industry.
Note, many of these trails are narrow and a small brook crossing is required.
Registration is…
Popular Music Venue the Pit Stop Celebrates First Official Concert
By the end of the grand opening night on Friday, it was standing room only at the Pit Stop.
The newest Oak Bluffs music venue that’s housed in a converted Dukes County avenue garage echoed with jazz, folk and rock and roll as Vineyard musicians took the stage to celebrate the first official…
Bluefins and Whalers Face Off in the Fish Bowl
On Saturday, Feb. 25, a new tradition will be born. Cape Cod’s only professional sports franchise, the Cape Cod Bluefins, are coming to Martha’s Vineyard Ice Arena for the first annual Fish Bowl, a pro hockey game against the Danbury Whalers from Connecticut. The puck play starts at 5 p.m. Tickets are $15, $10 for…
Temperatures
Temperature: Precip.
Day Max. Min. Inches.
Fº Fº
Feb. 17 47 39 .02
Feb. 18 48 33 .00
Feb. 19 47 34 .00
Feb. 20 44 26 .00
Feb. 21 41 26 .00
Feb. 22 50 37 .24
…
Boys’ Hockey Coach Is Named Coach of the Year
Matt Mincone, head coach of the boys’ varsity hockey team at the regional high school, was named Coach of the Year by the South Shore Chapter of the National Ice Hockey Officials Association. Mr. Mincone has been part of the boys’ hockey program since 1998. He became head coach in 2001.
Burrito Shop Opens
La Choza, a new burrito shop, will open Wednesday, Feb. 29 at 11 a.m., with a grand-opening celebration that day from noon to 2 p.m. at 4 Main street Vineyard Haven. Owner Seth Gambino said complimentary food will be served at the two-hour celebration. For the rest of the off-season, La Choza will be open…
Rare Right Whales Spotted off South Shore Beach; Experts Say Much Activity This Year
Early this week David Damroth was strolling Zack’s Cliffs in Aquinnah and gazed across the gulf to Noman’s Land when he saw an eruption from the water a mile and a half out. It was a double spout, a trademark of the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale. For the next 45 minutes he watched…
Wine Sales at Farmers’ Market? Tisbury Selectmen Amenable
Two years after a sharply divided town electorate approved the sale of beer and wine in Vineyard Haven restaurants, Tisbury selectmen may ask voters to expand wine sales beyond the dining room. Two Massachusetts wineries are eyeing the down-Island farmers’ market to sell and sample their wines this summer, and this week selectmen said they…
Private Use of Town Dredge Reported to Ethics Board
The Edgartown selectmen have reported to the Massachusetts Ethics Commission the activity of the former chairman of the town dredge committee, who used the town-owned dredge for work on a private project in Katama Bay last month. The private dock work ordered by committee chairman Norman Rankow was done without a permit and in violation…
Two Months On, Town Spares Dogs’ Lives, Seeks End to Saga
The contentious and sometimes emotional debate over the possible euthanization of two Akitas came to a conclusion this week when the West Tisbury selectmen ordered the animals into the ownership of an off-Island rescue group rather than destroy the dogs. Per the agreement between the town and the dogs’ owners, the dogs are never to…
Banner Year for Vineyarders: Four Teams Head to State Tournament
In a historic weekend for Vineyard sports, both the girls’ hockey and basketball squads punched tickets to the playoffs last Saturday afternoon, marking the first time in the regional high school’s history that all four winter varsity teams will compete in the postseason. The boys’ teams qualified for the state tournament earlier this month.
Charter School’s Robots and Waffles Test Active Imaginations
Assignments included making French toast, building a robot, taking a yoga class and spray-painting stencil graffiti. For homework: chopping wood for the fire. The tests, voluntarily taken, were those of the imagination — how to fashion an outfit of candy wrappers, what color to paint the clay figurine, how best to build a shelter in…
Pit Stop Goes Legit
The Pit Stop is going legit. Though the Oak Bluffs club has been putting on unofficial shows for several months, it just recently was granted business and entertainment licenses from the town. Now it’s ready to celebrate with a weekend full of concerts.
The kickoff to the Pit Stop’s official run begins tonight…
Four Star Teams
For the first time in the history of high school sports on the Vineyard, all four of the high school’s winter sports teams—girls’ and boys’ hockey and basketball—have won enough games to qualify for post-season playoff tournaments.
Ezekial and Duke Arrive
Ezekial and Duke Arrive
Stacia and Stephen Broderick of Chilmark announce the birth of twin sons, Ezekial Rasmus Broderick and Duke Benjamin Broderick, born on Feb. 14 at the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital. Ezekial weighed 5 pounds, 3 ounces at birth and Duke weighed 5 pounds, 10 ounces at birth. The twins join big…
Never Grow Weary in Pursuit of Doing Well
Editor’s Note: What follows is the text of a speech made by Laurie Perry-Henry at the NAACP Martin Luther King dinner held last weekend. Ms. Perry-Henry is president of the Vineyard chapter of the NAACP.
Good evening. It is an honor to be here with so many Islanders who are committed to justice.…
In Leaves No Step Had Trodden Black
I am just back from troubled Israel. There, an ultra-Orthodox Jew of the Haredi sect spat on an eight-year-old girl he deemed immodestly dressed and other ultra-orthodox members of that sect were insisting that women sit at the back of public buses. A settlement illegally built by ultra-orthodox Zionists on the Palestinian West Bank was…
Crescent Moon and Planets
The crescent moon appears in our evening sky this weekend, and in the nights beyond. Tonight the moon appears underneath the bright planet Venus, and it gets even better tomorrow night when the two are closer.
Dredging Up a Scandal
Still reeling from the tumultuous affairs at their town sewer plant that resulted in the resignation of the plant manager and criminal charges against a septic hauler, the Edgartown selectmen now must confront yet another town scandal, this one involving the stunningly irresponsible actions of Norman Rankow.
In the Muck
From a February, 1952 edition of the Gazette:
It is at this time of year when, traditionally, the earth is about as cheerless as to aspect as it ever is in New England, that the thoughts of the coastal folk turn to clams.
Letters to the Editor
SLOW PROGRESS
Editors, Vineyard Gazette:
I wanted to thank Sara Brown and the Gazette for updating the public on the shameful progress the Providence VA is making in returning our VA outpatient clinic to the Island after over 12 years of successfully serving the Island veterans.
Life’s Voyages Enhanced by Connection
Some people regard social networks (like Facebook) as a waste of precious time. Others find them a lifeline to a meaningful social world. I’m in the latter category, especially on an Island like Martha’s Vineyard. How come? To explain, I’m going to take a little detour in this conversation — so please stay with me.
Chilmark
JANE N. SLATER
508-645-3378
(slaterjn@comcast.net)
Chilmark has not been forgotten by the national news. ABC News carried an article by Genevieve Shaw Brown on Feb. 18 entitled Vacations of the Presidents. The lead picture was of Menemsha harbor; the article suggested the Clintons and Obamas were mainly interested in…
Edgartown
KATHIE CASE
508-627-5349
(kathleencase@comcast.net)
Even though we are loving the warm weather that has been occurring this winter, it still leaves one to wonder what is around the corner for the spring and summer months. I guess we should just enjoy what Mother Nature has been giving us and…
Announcing Angus
Announcing Angus
Cathleen P. Vincent and Kenneth L. Vincent of West Tisbury announce the birth of a son, Angus Patrick Jasper Vincent, born on Feb. 15 at the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital. Angus weighed 8 pounds at birth and joins big brother Broden.
Lefty Field
Lefty Field
The Martha’s Vineyard Sharks have signed Conner McMahon, a left-handed pitcher from Merrimack College, for the upcoming summer season. Conner previously played for the Torrington Titans, a fellow member team of the Futures Collegiate Baseball League, and pitched the first no-hitter in the league’s young history.
Family Center Looking for New Home
It is a place for parents to trade concerns about child-rearing while the children play, and a place for high school students who may want to study education down the road to gain valuable early childhood teaching experience.
But with the phasing out of the early childhood education vocational program at the Martha’s…
Longtime Lobster Hatchery Director Tapped for Award
John T. Hughes, the former longtime director of the Massachusetts State Lobster Hatchery on the Vineyard, will be honored by the state Division of Marine Fisheries next month, which will present him with the Belding Award.
Created in 1989 to honor individuals who in the opinion of the state Marine Fisheries Advisory Commission…
Mites, Squirts and Peewees — Oh, My
The Mites took on Lower Cape on Saturday, falling 5-3 after a fast-paced final two minutes in which they pulled their goalie for an extra skater and narrowly missed tying the game. They will play their last games of the regular season this weekend during a Needham tournament, and take on Nantucket in the first…
A Tribute to Dr. King’s Dream
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., his dream and his vision for the future was revisited at the annual NAACP of Martha’s Vineyard dinner last Saturday night at the Grill on Main. The evening was an opportunity to pay tribute to the efforts in the past and look hard to the future. It was also a…
Please Adopt Us
Please Adopt Us
The Animal Shelter of Martha’s Vineyard has such good news this week — all our beautiful dogs have been adopted. We are especially happy for Missy, the pit bull. She had been at the shelter for months and the right person just came along and wanted her. He passed all…
State Fire Marshal Probes Cause of Edgartown Fire
The state fire marshal’s office is investigating a fire that destroyed a home in the Dodger’s Hole section of Edgartown last Saturday.
Firefighters worked through the predawn hours to wrest control of the house on Mockingbird Drive that was fully engulfed in flames. The house was unoccupied at the time; the home is…
No Fly Zone for Cormorants Floated
The double-crested cormorant may be legally protected, but if the town of Chilmark and the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) get their way, the Island will soon see fewer of the pesky birds, whose voracious appetites threaten fish restoration projects.
The tribe is seeking a special permit from the U.S. Fish and…
On a Small Island off the Massachusetts Coast They Speak of the ‘R-Word’ in Hushed Tones
In a night of frank discussion Tuesday in Tisbury, selectmen past and present were unafraid of offending more sensitive ears.
“They call it the R-word,” said former Tisbury selectman Denny Wortman. “People don’t even want to mention regionalization.”
In a wide-ranging discussion that touched on all the hot topics—including the Islandwide roundabout…
West Tisbury Weighs Beer and Wine Rules, Costly Road Repairs
With voters set to decide this spring whether to allow the sale of beer and wine at West Tisbury restaurants, the town selectmen began work this week on potential new rules and regulations for issuing licenses.
Selectman and board chairman Jeffrey (Skipper) Manter 3rd said at the weekly board meeting Wednesday that the…
Slow Speed Dating
Slow Speed Dating
On Friday, March 9, beginning at 7:30 a.m. there will be a social mixer breakfast at an as yet unnamed local restaurant. The idea is the brainchild of Mal Jones and described as a form of slow speed-dating.
The mixer maxes out at four men and women, first…
Pit Stop Music Club Opens Doors in Oak Bluffs
The Pit Stop, a sort of underground music scene in Oak Bluffs, is going legit. Recently, its business and entertainment license was approved. Get ready to party.
On Friday night there will be free live music by Willy Mason, Nina Violet, Marciana Jones and Adam Lipsky. On Saturday there will be a CD…
First Reports
I need to fall on my sword. Last week’s column had several typographical errors for which I need to accept full responsibility. As you may know I hand write this column, and my unfortunate editor picks it up and has to enter it into a computer. Pity him! He needs to sort through my not…
Better Know a Crow
There has been a good deal of talk about crows recently, so I thought I would put my oar in. There probably have been fish crows on the Island for several years, but to tell the fish crows from American crows is tough. Recently I met up with Alvaro Jaramillo, who is a bird tour…
Witches Brew
For plant lovers, the witching hour is nigh.
The wild women of yore will not be flying in on their broomsticks, though it will soon be a time to appreciate a little bit of nature’s magic.
Vineyard Bookshelf
Fall from Grace, by Richard North Patterson, Scribner, a Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc., New York, NY, March 2012, 278 pages (hardcover, $26.00).
Chilmark is home base in Richard North Patterson’s newest novel, Fall from Grace. “I’ve long wanted to write a novel set on Martha’s Vineyard, my summer home for almost…
Carly Simon in Tune with Connectivity
Carly Simon, the celebrated pop songwriter and musical pioneer who began her musical career as a young singer on the Vineyard and lives here year-round, has taken a big step to give Vineyard musicians a way to stay connected with each other in the digital age. This week she launched a Web site, vineyardmusicall.com, as…
Capturing Music History on Film
The Vineyard in winter is a quiet corner of the world. Head up-Island to Aquinnah, say, and the outskirts of Lobsterville Beach. Most days all one encounters there are the wind, sand and stars. But surface appearances can be deceiving. Follow a certain dirt road, turn right at that old oak tree, left at the…
Dynamic Duo of Fiddling
Dynamic Duo of Fiddling
Tonight, Feb. 24, at 8 p.m. KCT Concerts opens its 2012 season at the Katharine Cornell Theatre in Vineyard Haven. There really is no need to say any more as all of KCT’s performers are tops in their field, often leaning to the Irish or traditional music. Fiddle players…
iPhone Photo Workshop
iPhone Photo Workshop
Pathways Projects Institutes, a nonprofit organization dedicated to creative projects in the arts, writings, and collaborative forms, is offering a two-part winter iPhone photography workshop instructed by Kathy Rose.
The first session takes place Saturday, Feb. 25, from 3 to 5:30 p.m. and will include instruction on how…
Junior Little League Opens
Junior Little League Opens
Martha’s Vineyard Little League is starting a new Junior League for boys and girls ages 13 to 15 years old.
The Junior League is designed to enable players to continue their Little League experience after age 12, and introduce them to playing on a regulation size baseball…
Fate of the Albatross
On Tuesday, March 6 beginning at 5 p.m. the West Tisbury Library is hosting a talk by Virginia Carmichael, coauthor of The Albatross and the Fish (University of Texas Press, 2011).
The albatross family is currently the most threatened bird group in the world and in their extensively researched book, Robin W. Doughty…
Library Book Talk
Library Book Talk
On Tuesday, Feb. 28, at 7 p.m. Susan Strane discusses her new book: A Whole-Souled Woman: Prudence Crandall and the Education of Black Women.
The book chronicles how Prudence Crandall opened the first boarding school in America for African-American girls in Canterbury, Conn. in 1833. The school was…
Health Club Without Walls
No weights, no dues, attendance not mandatory, essentially no boundaries at all. That’s the idea behind the Alternative Health Club being created by Corinne de Langavant, also known as Coco the Clown.
ACE MV College Credit
ACE MV College Credit
Adult and Community Education (ACE MV) is teaming up with Cape Cod Community College and Fitchburg State College to offer college credit courses. Courses begin on March 24 and the last date for preregistering is Feb. 28.
The college credit courses offered this spring are ENL 101…
Wilfred Huntington Art
Wilfred Huntington Art
The West Tisbury Library will be having an exhibition spanning the month of March of Island artist Wilfrid, Willie, Huntington.
Willie’s career started in the 1920’s and his work spanned six decades and included drawings, lithographs, illustrations, dry points, etchings, oils and watercolors.
The work shown…
Food Distribution Hours
Food Distribution Hours
Serving Hands food distribution takes place today from 2 to 4 p.m. at the First Baptist Church Parish Hall located on William street in Vineyard Haven.
Note, the food distribution hours have changed. They are now the fourth Friday of each month from 2 to 4 p.m.
…
Harbor View Comedy
Harbor View Comedy
Comedy is coming back to the Harbor View Hotel, and we’re not talking about just watching a buddy after drinking one too many Manhattans at the bar.
The professionals are coming to the Island again. The show features comediens Greg Howell, Danny Kelly and Carolyn Plummer.
…
Brickyard Walk
On Sunday from 1 to 3 p.m. the Trustees of Reservations is holding a guided walk through the brickyard ruins of Chilmark. During the walk guides will tell stories of this once prosperous Island industry.
Note, many of these trails are narrow and a small brook crossing is required.
Registration is…
Library Hours
Library Hours
New hours for the Oak Bluffs Public Library are as follows: Tuesday 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Wednesday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Thursday 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Friday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and Saturday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
For more information, call 508-693-9433.
