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
March 16, 2012
Lobster Hatchery Founder Honored
John Hughes, former longtime director of the Vineyard’s lobster hatchery, will be honored by the state Division of Marine Fishers on Friday, March 23. Mr. Hughes will be presented with the Belding Award, given to those who go above and beyond the call of duty to promote the conservation and sustainable use of the commonwealth’s…
News Update: Wednesday, March 21 – Menemsha Fire Insurance Claims Unpaid Due to Faulty Finding, Say Selectmen
Chilmark selectmen were outraged to learn this week that the U.S. Coast Guard rejected insurance claims from the Menemsha boathouse fire due to the belief the fire started on the town pier.
“It’s totally infuriating,” selectman and chairman of the board Frank Fenner said at the board’s meeting Tuesday night. “I was right…
News Update: Tuesday, March 20 – In Vineyard Haven, Residential Taxes Going Up, Business Rates Going Down
Seeking to help struggling Vineyard Haven businesses, selectmen voted unanimously on Monday to shift the town’s tax burden away from commercial property owners. But a sharp drop in taxes for businesses will mean a slight uptick for resident and non-resident homeowners alike.
The action, taken at a special meeting following a public hearing on the…
Farm Institute Pilot Parcels Available
Time is running out to apply for the Farm Institute’s Pilot Parcels Project. Interested farmers from all backgrounds and experience levels are invited to submit an application for the chance to experiment with innovative crops or processes using Farm Institute land and resources.
News Update: Monday, March 19 – State Ethics Commission Will Not Rule on Edgartown Wastewater Practices
The state ethics commission will not be getting involved in Edgartown’s recent wastewater troubles. In a February report recounting deficiencies in management practices at the town’s wastewater plant, a special town attorney said that some employees, including one wastewater commissioner, had received services for free. That matter was turned over to the state ethics commission…
News Update: Monday, March 19 – Seven Islanders Awarded Sustainability Fellowships
Seven Vineyarders have received a 2012 Martha’s Vineyard Vision Fellowship with this year’s fellows receiving funding to study and work on projects ranging from shellfish recycling to wastewater management issues.
By SARA BROWN
Seven Vineyarders have received a 2012 Martha’s Vineyard Vision Fellowship with this year’s fellows receiving funding to study and…
News Update: Monday, March 19 – SWAT Exercise Planned for Oak Bluffs on Tuesday
The Martha’s Vineyard Law Enforcement Council will conduct a training exercise in Oak Bluffs on Tuesday between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. The training exercise will take place on Anthier’s Lane, near Farm Neck Golf Club. SWAT vehicles may be visible in the area during that time.
Daffodil Days On Their Way
Thousands of daffodils are coming to the Vineyard on Tuesday, as part of an annual fund-raiser for the American Cancer Society. Boxes containing 11,000 flowers will arrive Tuesday morning at 10:15 a.m. on the ferry. A team of core volunteers will meet at the Steamship Authority in Vineyard Haven to collect and then distribute the…
News Update: Saturday, March 17 – Sheriff’s Meadow Acquires Land on Chappaquiddick
The Sheriff’s Meadow Foundation has purchased a new property on Chappaquiddick, the conservation foundation announced this week.
The 2.3-acre parcel sits on Manaca Hill, near Chappy Point. Viewed from the Edgartown side of the Chappaquiddick ferry, it is located on the right side of the small island, across the street from the Chappy…
Letters to the Editor
Comcast comments
Editors, Vineyard Gazette:
This paper has actively covered the cable license renewal negotiations between Comcast and the towns on Martha’s Vineyard since those discussions started in early 2011, including the request of a small number of citizens to bring Comcast services to the island of Chappaquiddick as a condition…
To Arms
From Gazette editions of March, 1962:
Chilmark voters disposed of their annual warrant, voting on twenty-one articles. Sixty voters attended, and might well go on record as being one of the most harmonious town meetings ever held in the ancient manor. The meeting opened with a silent tribute to the late D. Herbert…
Airport Drill Scheduled for Sunday
The Martha’s Vineyard Airport staged a mass casualty incident drill on Sunday, simulating a large aircraft crash on the Island. Emergency responders from all Island towns participated in the training exercise, which involved assessing and treating crash victims, transporting them to the hospital and extinguishing fires.
Connector Road Plan Aims to Solve Vineyard Haven Intersection Headache
While the proposed Oak Bluffs roundabout has received most of the press, Tisbury is quietly moving forward with another long-planned major traffic management infrastructure project: a proposed system of connector roads that would link Edgartown-Vineyard Haven Road to State Road and bypass the summer crush in Vineyard Haven. But unlike the roundabout, the state hasn’t…
West Tisbury Town Meeting To Mull $3 Million to Pave Roads
By REMY TUMIN
Deferred maintenance on town roads in West Tisbury has created a potentially large bill for town taxpayers this year, and voters will be asked to approve close to $3 million to repair stretches of nearly every town road.
Plane Crash Trial Involving Deaf Pilot and Passengers Poses Courtroom Challenges
A civil trial stemming from a 2005 plane crash at Katama Airfield began this week, with jurors hearing emotional testimony from one of the survivors, venturing to the airfield to examine the plane’s wreckage and pondering technical evidence about key parts of the plane at the center of the case.
Chilmark Considers Using Special Permits To Regulate Size of McMansion Homes
The Chilmark Planning board this week debated requiring special permits in order to build large houses — the latest movement in a series of efforts to curb the development of so-called McMansions on Island.
At a meeting with members of the Martha’s Vineyard Commission on Monday, Chilmark planning board members considered issuing special…
Move to New Vineyard Haven Fire Station Will End Decade-Long Breakfast Tradition
In a few weeks, Sundays won’t be the same for Tisbury volunteer firefighters. The fire department plans to move into the new $5.5 million emergency services facility next to the Tisbury School on April 1.
While the new, spacious facility contains state-of-the-art technology and public safety equipment, there will be a bit of…
Airport Drill
Airport Drill
The Martha’s Vineyard Airport will conduct a mass casualty incident drill on Sunday, March 18 from 10 a.m. to noon. Multiple emergency response vehicles, flashing lights, sirens, smoke and simulated fires may be visible in the airport area during that time, and may result in traffic delays. Emergency responders from all…
Forum to Raise Awareness of Rising Prescription Drug Abuse Problem on Island
With prescription drug abuse increasing on Martha’s Vineyard, some Islanders are calling for a new course of action: awareness about the problem.
“One of the things we have to address is the use of prescription drugs,” said Tom Bennett, senior clinical advisor with the Island Counseling Center at Martha’s Vineyard Community Services. “It…
Still No Cards on the Table, Wampanoag Aquinnah Tribe Forges Ahead With Casino Plans
Efforts by the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) to advance its bid for a casino license in southeastern Massachusetts were hampered this week by state and local officials who say they want more information about the tribe’s plans before taking steps that could keep the tribe in the running.
Respecting the Past While Moving Forward
Though Vineyard harbors are empty of most boats, and the North Wharf boat lift is quiet, George J. Rogers Jr. and his wife Sheryl, owners of Edgartown Marine, have been working through the winter, morning until night.
Spare the Humor, Spoil the Father
Leave it to Boomer; A Look at Life, Love and Parenthood by the Very Model of the Modern Middle-Age Man, by Jerry Zezima, iUniverse, Inc., New York, Bloomington, 2010, 154 pages (paperback, $15.95)
Jerry Zezima is a funny guy. You may have read some of his columns in the Vineyard Gazette over the…
Temperatures
Temperature: Precip.
Day Max. Min. Inches.
Fº Fº
March 9 58 39 .08
March 10 46 30 .00
March 11 41 25 .00
March 12 50 41 .00
March 13 61 46 .02
March 14 52 45 .06
…
Second Helpings
It’s official: Martha’s Vineyard is among the country’s most desirable places for second homes, according to Barron’s. This year, the Vineyard ranks third, behind the Hamptons, N.Y. and Kauai, Hawaii. Not that this will send most year-round Islanders into self-congratulatory dances in the aisles of Stop & Shop and Chicken Alley. Particularly in these trying…
Big Gamble
What do we know about the proposal by the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) to locate a casino in Southeastern Massachusetts? Almost nothing.
Two weeks after tribal chairman Cheryl Andrews-Maltais caught even her own tribal council by surprise with a flurry of public statements indicating the tribe wants to compete for one…
Movie Madness
In the movie Swimming with Sharks, a beleaguered young film executive played by Frank Whaley is asked why he entered the movie business. His answer; because of memories. Not those of the movies themselves, but the actual experience of watching them. He charted the course of his development as a person through this simultaneously very…
Washashore Chronicle: They Came, They Saw, They Moved Here
From time to time, whenever inspiration aligns with respiration, I will be contributing a column to this paper. It will cover some aspect of moving to and living on this Island, trekking toward retirement while reducing stress and making mole hills out of former mountains. Welcome to the Washashore Chronicles.
Sometimes Doing Less Is More
I grew up in a small town in New Jersey back when close community was the norm and when people became old, they were still very much a part of that community in their own ways. “Old Mr. Barton” was the kindly man with a cane. He’d walk to town slowly two or three times…
Jupiter and Venus
You can’t miss them. Jupiter and Venus, the two bright planets high in the western sky after sunset, have started to part company.
Chilmark
JANE N. SLATER
508-645-3378
(slaterjn@comcast.net)
Chilmark’s weather is confused and so are the birds and plants . . . however, we are all enjoying the lovely spring weather. Our daffodils on Basin Road bloomed today! There are crocuses all over town now and the snowdrops are old news. But…
Dean’s List
Dean’s List
Caroline Davey of Oak Bluffs, MA, has been named to Fisher College’s dean’s list for the fall 2011 semester.
Announcing Isla
Announcing Isla
Eileen and Don Gregory of Oak Bluffs announce the birth of a daughter, Isla Felicita Gregory, born on March 9, 2012, at the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital. Isla weighed 7 pounds, 10 ounces at birth and joins big brother Donnie.
Oak Bluffs
HOLLY NADLER
508-274-2329
(hollynadler@gmail.com)
Writers have a tendency to over-dramatize, and I admit to being one of the worst offenders. So forgive me in advance for comparing my current ire to that of Émile Zola when, in January of 1898, he read about harm being done by the French…
Vineyard Haven
NANCY GARDELLA
508-693-3308
(vhavenvgazette@yahoo.com)
A great big Tisbury hello goes out to former resident Russell Snowden, who now resides in Northport, Fla. Russell called last week just to say how much he enjoys the Gazette and this column. We dished about mutual friends we had, apparently Buddy Healy was…
Edgartown Honor Roll
Edgartown Honor Roll
Edgartown School principal John Stevens has announced the honor roll for the second quarter of the 2011-2012 academic year.
Eighth grade high honors go to: Renato Gomes, Samantha Hargy, Jared Livingston, Sara Poggi and Katharine Wallace.
Eighth grade honors go to: Jimmy DiMattia, Katherine Dourian, Alexandra…
Chappy
MARGARET KNIGHT
508-627-8894
(margaret02539@yahoo.com)
Despite the fact that March is such an unlikeable month, it’s hard not to feel warmly toward one that has been as mild as this so far. As I drove up from the ferry early Tuesday evening, with the sun still up and an unseasonable…
Edgartown
KATHIE CASE
508-627-5349
(kathleencase@comcast.net)
Spring is here, I think. There were girls walking around town on Wednesday with tank tops, shorts and sandals. The water was beautiful to look at, and everyone was smiling. It was a good day and I hope we have many more. It also has…
Daffodil Days
Daffodil Days
Thousands of daffodils are coming to the Vineyard on Tuesday, as part of an annual fund-raiser for the American Cancer Society.
Boxes containing 11,000 flowers will arrive Tuesday morning at 10:15 a.m. on the ferry. A team of core volunteers will meet at the Steamship Authority in Vineyard Haven…
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JUNE D. MANNING
508-645-2574
(lthslnks2004@yahoo.com)
Chilmark Chocolates opened on Thursday and will be open for all of your Easter treats. Not only millions of jelly beans, but chocolate eggs and many other delicacies.
Hockey Mites Win Cape And Islands Bragging Rights
The Martha’s Vineyard Travel Mites capped an already exciting season—including an appearance at TD Garden and a four-game tourney sweep at the Frank Bell Memorial Tournament—by bringing home the Cape and Islands league trophy, defeating Nantucket 3-2 on Saturday and Hetland 5-1 on Sunday.
Boys’ Basketball Team Defeated In Sectional Tournament Final
BOSTON — The Vineyard boys’ basketball team’s successful season came to a close Saturday, as the team came back from an early 16-point deficit but fell just short, losing 70-65 to undefeated Wareham in the division 3 south section championship game at UMass Boston.
The loss also ended a dream year for all…
Marine Hospital Restoration Delayed
Groundwork at the site of old Marine Hospital, the future home of the Martha’s Vineyard Museum, remains suspended after a worker discovered a bone at the site last week, shutting down operations.
The bone was at first thought to be a human remain, but has since been determined not to belong to a…
Please Adopt Us
Please Adopt Us
Connecting With Food and Place, Prudence Athearn Returns to Roots
Food that’s worth it takes longer to prepare, Prudence Athearn Levy often tells her four-year-old son Kyle. Taking time to slow things down makes the experience worth the wait, whether that means brewing loose leaf tea rather than the bagged version or in the case of Mrs. Levy’s family, watching the carrots grow in their…
King of the Irish Pipes
King of the Irish Pipes
To get your Irish on, and we’re talking real Irish, not just some do-si-do with a leprechaun and too many Guinness, you need to go to the core of your very Irish soul. On Friday, March 16, KCT concerts is providing just the guide.
Paddy Keenan…
St. Patrick’s Parade
St. Patrick’s Parade
Forget about Boston and its river of green, Edgartown is the place to be for St. Patrick’s day.
The first ever St. Patrick’s parade begins at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday. The route is from Dock street to the Kelley House.
Sustainable Book Club
Sustainable Book Club
Next up for the sustainable book club is Eaarth by Bill McKibben. The book is an in-depth, sobering, yet ultimately optimistic approach to dealing with sustainability on a rapidly changing planet. Mr. McKibben has long been a leader of the a leader of the environmental and climate awareness movements, and…
Calling All Artists
Calling All Artists
The Friends of Family Planning art show is seeking artists for its 2012 show which takes place Memorial Day weekend, May 25 to 27.
New artists are invited to participate and returning artists are welcomed back. Paintings, all media and furniture, pottery, three-dimensional art, jewelry and weaving are…
Farm Institute Farm Plots
Farm Institute Farm Plots
The Farm Institute has received funding from the USDA’s Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education to support Island farmers who want to experiment with innovative crops or processes. The result is the Pilot Parcels Project, where interested farmers from all backgrounds and experience can apply to use one-acre plots…
Tough Pill
Health Care Movie Leads Film Festival
Tonight, March 16, at 6 p.m. the Martha’s Vineyard Film Festival gets under way with an opening reception. Try out the comfy couches, sample food prepared by Chris Fischer of Beetlebung Farm and get ready for a weekend of the year’s best documentary and feature films, many…
Dean’s List
Dean’s List
Katharine Clarke, daughter of John and Nancy Clarke of Edgartown, has been named to the dean’s list at Endicott College for the fall term. Katharine is a junior majoring in English.
Edey Grant
Edey Grant
The Sheriff’s Meadow Foundation has been awarded a $5,000 grant from the Edey Foundation for the creation of an environmental education curriculum at Cedar Tree Neck Sanctuary.
The foundation aims to have the outdoor curriculum completed by Oct. 31 and ready for use in the spring of 2013.
When the Wild Things Roam the Bathtub
Many decades ago I brought home a yellow lab puppy and named him after a fishing port in Oban, Scotland. I had read an article about Oban in National Geographic and learned also that there is a scotch brewery by this name there. Being a lover of scotch, the choice of name was easy.
Avian Adieu
Todd McGrain, artist, advocate and film maker, never wants us to forget the species that we have lost. His film, The Lost Bird Project, which screens this weekend at the Martha’s Vineyard Film Festival, memorializes five birds that are gone forever.
Spring Reveal
The Winter That Wasn’t is merging into a spring whose nature has yet to be revealed and birds, accordingly, are in motion. Most notably, common grackles and red-winged blackbirds have landed on the Island, raucous males (as always) leading the charge but with the first females of both species arriving over the past week. Meanwhile,…
Winter Has Waned
The little we had of winter seems to be over. Marie has a reseeded pansy blooming in her yard. There are a few daffodils flowering in protected locations. All of my crocuses are in full color — both the early ones and the jumbos. The spring birds are singing. I wish I knew them better.…
Soft Cooked Eggs
Soft Cooked Eggs
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. With a slotted spoon, gently place the eggs into the boiling water making sure you have timer ready to set as soon as they hit the water. While the eggs are cooking, take a large bowl, fill it with lots of…
Good Eggs, Free Range Chickens Lay Top Shelf but Predators Lurk
Legend has it raccoons were brought to the Island as a front for hunters to, as they say, “jack” deer at night. As the story goes, if a warden caught someone hunting at night, the hunter would claim he was after raccoons rather than trying to stock up on some after-hours venison.
In…
Women’s Network Hosts Marketing Master
The Martha’s Vineyard Women’s Network (MVWN) is hosting a hands-on branding workshop featuring Bill Engler, an internationally recognized brand and marketing expert whose clients have included GE, ATT, Capital One, The Mayo Clinic, and Rockwell Collins. Mr. Engler recently moved to the Vineyard and is the founder and chief brand psychologist of BrandFriends, a boutique…
Tops at Tennis Center
Tops at Tennis Center
Last weekend, the Vineyard Tennis Center enjoyed its membership championships. Doubles teams competed in men’s, women’s, and mixed to claim boasting rights as the best team in the club.
Sally Anderson and Mary Breslauer kept their first seed reputation intact besting Cathy Lattanzi and Kelly Hess 6-3,…
Teens Dance Green
Teens Dance Green
Last Friday 130 teens took to the dance floor at the YMCA’s Teen Center. Tonight, March 16, not only should the number should even higher, the kids will be going green.
It’s the first annual Saint Patrick’s Wear the Green Dance Party hosted by the YMCA for kids…
Ecumenical Youth Create Putt-Putt Golf Fundraiser
By MARK ALAN LOVEWELL
Golf will be on the minds of the young and old tomorrow, March 17, at the Federated Church when the Martha’s Vineyard Ecumenical Youth Group hosts an 18-hole mini-golf tournament in downtown Edgartown, at the South Summer street church and at the South Water street parish house.
…
Equinox at the Tipi
Equinox at the Tipi
Although there wasn’t much of a winter this year, that’s no reason not to celebrate the end of the season, or rather take note of the fact that the seasonal change has begun.
On Tuesday, March 20, starting at 7 p.m. the folks at Sassafras are holding…
Vineyard Singer Captures America’s Hearts
For current American Idol contestant Erika Van Pelt, last week moving into the top twelve, handling the pressure of performing in front of an audience of millions should be a walk in the park.
After all, her very first gig with the Sultans of Swing, the Martha’s Vineyard based event band most commonly…
Salsa Patrick’s Day
Salsa Patrick’s Day
If celebrating with the leprechauns isn’t your cup of Guinness try a different slice of Saint Patrick’s day with a Salsa party at Junior’s Harbor Cafe (at the Shell Gas Station building on Beach Road in Vineyard Haven, across the Net Result).
The dance party is for all…
St Patrick’s Parade
St. Patrick’s Parade
Forget about Boston and its river of green, Edgartown is the place to be for St. Patrick’s day.
The first ever St. Patrick’s parade begins at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday. The route is from Dock street to the Kelley House.
Watching the Directors, One-Act Plays Require Flexible Hands at the Helm
Little money, a backstage dressing room the size of an office desk — it’s all part of the charm of working in community theatre. But when the audiences, about half of whom you know personally, laugh or gasp or sit in mesmerized silence it’s all worth it.
