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
January 10, 2014
Land Bank Revenues: Jan. 3
The Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank reported revenues of $49,001.95 for the business week ending on Friday, Jan. 3, 2014.
Ice Moon
Tonight’s gibbous moon appears high in the eastern sky after sunset. The moon is moving through the zodiacal constellation Taurus, the bull. The moon is near the star cluster Pleiades, also called seven sisters. The Pleiades is one of the most familiar star clusters you can observe in the winter, readily visible without binoculars. On…
County Considers Buying Wind Energy
The Dukes County commission agreed this week to consider buying electricity from a startup wind energy company. The commission voted Wednesday to approve a memorandum of understanding with Plymouth-based energy company Future Generation Wind LLC. The Future Generation project would put four wind turbines on a cranberry bog in Plymouth, selling electricity to towns across…
Who Ya Gonna Call? Era Ends as Oak Bluffs Safety Czar Steps Down
After 38 years of service, longtime Oak Bluffs emergency manager Peter Martell is stepping down from his post. His proudest accomplishment? “Nobody’s died on my watch,” he said.
Passenger Ferry Fees Provide Boost to Port Town Budgets
Port town coffers are helped thanks to 50-cent ferry embarkation fee. Money is used for everything from summer traffic cops to harbor dredging and public safety budgets.
Supreme Court Tests Whether Conservation Land Can be Taxed
In Massachusetts, land used by a charitable organization qualifies for a tax exemption under state law. But a recent case in the town of Hawley, now going before the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, could have wide implications.
Conservation for Its Own Sake
It would seem self-evident that a key goal of conservation is to protect land from the effects of too much human interference. Certainly that was Teddy Roosevelt’s vision a century ago when one the country’s best-known hunters became its most ardent conservationist.
Gone, Not Forgotten
A steward of the state forest who traced his roots to the Buckeye State and loved the outdoors, motorcycles and above all his family. A retired businessman whose treasure-hunting life of adventure began in China and ended at East Chop with daily walks above the waters of Nantucket Sound. A landscaper with advanced academic degrees…
From Brew to You, Bad Martha Beer Goes Brick and Mortar
The craft beer company Bad Martha Brewery is planning a microbrewery and retail space on part of Donaroma’s Nursery on Upper Main street. The beer company was started last spring by Jonathan Blum and Peter Rosbeck.
New Tribal Chairman Pledges Collaboration
This week Mr. Vanderhoop officially took over as the new tribal chairman of the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah). He was elected in November on a campaign of inclusivity.
Please Adopt Us
The Animal Shelter of Martha’s Vineyard has a few nice animals who need good homes.
Oak Bluffs Firemen Appoint Two
Confirming the first promotions under a restructured force, the Oak Bluffs selectmen this week appointed two men to the upper ranks of the fire department.Shawn Broadley was named deputy fire chief, and Manuel (Manny) Rose was appointed assistant fire chief.
Journalism Teacher Makes Headlines
There’s a rising star among the new faculty members at the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School.
Eleven North Closes, Owners Eye Future
It was a short run for Edgartown restaurant Eleven North, which closed for business after several months of tension with the town over issues including flooding and handicapped accessibility.
Land Bank Revenues: Jan. 3
The Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank reported revenues of $49,001.95 for the business week ending on Friday, Jan. 3, 2014.
Squibnocket Improvements Debated
A public-private improvement project now on the drawing board for Squibnocket Beach was the subject of more discussion this week, with some questioning whether the cost is worth it as natural forces continue to assault the shoreline.
Washashore Chronicles: Oh, Look Out You Rock and Rollers
It’s not that I’m risk averse — I prefer predictability. I appreciate a pleasant sameness in my daily routine. Blissful in the calm, I can get things done.
Always a Beginner on Hunt for Birds
A self-described beginning birder for almost 25 years finds the annual Christmas Bird Count a journey of discovery this year.
Snowed In
From the Vineyard Gazette edition of January 5, 1940: The first real snowfall of winter began Friday night and continued through Saturday morning, until the Island was covered to a depth of four to five inches. There were no large drifts in most neighborhoods, but the snow proved to be a taste of genuine winter…
Third Grader Seeks State Information
The following note to the Gazette arrived handwritten from a third grader in Los Angeles seeking information for a school project about the state of Massachusetts. The project also involves resurrecting the lost art of letter writing. The school address is listed below for anyone who would like to help the student.
Coping With Mental Illness
Beginning Jan. 20, the National Alliance on Mental Illness will be offering a family-to-family course here on the Island designed to help family members better understand and support relatives with major depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, borderline personality disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder or an anxiety disorder.
Community Helping Out Its Own
It has been another emotion-filled holiday season for the Family-to-Family Holiday Distribution Program.
State Road Stop & Shop
I have been following news stories about Stop & Shop’s efforts to build a new, larger store in their current Five Corners Vineyard Haven location.
Health Coverage Gap
The members of Dukes County are being denied medical coverage on the Island of Martha’s Vineyard due to an oversight of MassHealth politicians.
After A Fall, Compassionate Care
Once again, I’ve been reminded how lucky we are to live in such a caring and compassionate place. After suffering a bad fall at my Chilmark home, a 911 call brought the police and wonderful Tri Town EMTs to my rescue.
Mental Health Class
Beginning on Monday, Jan. 20, the National Alliance on Mental Illness is sponsoring a free 12-week class for family members of individuals with serious mental illness. The courses are structured to help family members understand and support individuals with major depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, borderline personality disorder, anxiety disorders and obsessive compulsive disorder. The course…
New Assistant Librarian
The West Tisbury library announces that Amy Hoff has been promoted to assistant librarian. She will also be director of the young adult and programming departments as well.
Vineyard Haven Town Column: Jan. 10
Memorize this weather and don’t complain next July 25, when it is humid and 93 degrees outside!
West Tisbury Town Column: Jan. 10
Several parties were held around town on New Year’s Eve. The trend in recent years seems to be more toward family or neighborhood gatherings to welcome in the New Year. Paul Magid and his wife Anita Botti of Pond Road held a New Year’s Eve dinner party for 40 of their friends and neighbors, Julie…
Aquinnah Town Column: Jan. 10
Happy New Year. Polar vortex is the phrase of the week and has taken over the global warming we experienced for a while. The temperature went from 54 degrees on Sunday to 17 degrees on Monday. Even the salt water is at a freezing point. The beach plum bushes have the worst burning from the…
Chilmark Town Column: Jan. 10
Chilmark is off and running — or not — in very cold temperatures and with the usual winter winds. Our temperatures are higher than some off-Island neighbors, but that is small comfort when the numbers are single digits.
Oak Bluffs Town Column: Jan. 10
Les Stark, a mensch and my sometimes proofreader/copy editor here at the Gazette, teased me a while back about my proclivity to write about Oak Bluffs history, saying I would be in trouble when it ran out. I had laughed saying, “Les, history was five minutes ago. I’ll never run out of material.”
Chappy Town Column: Jan. 10
The wonderment of the overpowering and penetrating tones of the bagpipes is their ability to stir our ancestral soul. Don has been gone nearly a decade now, but the Martha’s Vineyard Scottish Society he helped to found in 1986 continues to celebrate our Scottish heritage.
Edgartown Town Column: Jan. 10
Well, I don’t know about anyone else, but I have had enough of the below-zero temperatures, although I talked to my brother in Florida and they had 40 degree weather. I just won’t tell you about the days that are 70 degrees.
Real Estate Transactions: Dec. 30 – Jan. 5
Edgartown Robin Ritnour and Arthur Beal purchased 29 Coffins Field Road in Edgartown from Reginald J. Hollinger and Paula A. Tuffin for $625,000 on Dec. 31. Wells Fargo Bank NA purchased 141 Litchfield Road in Edgartown from Peter B. Macrae for $226,900 on Dec. 30. Oak Bluffs Three Oaks Farm Realty Trust purchased 190 Circuit…
Flu Season Begins; 14 Cases Confirmed on Island
The Martha’s Vineyard Hospital reports a steady flow of people coming into the emergency department with upper respiratory illness. It is not too late to get a flu shot, public health officials said.
Frigid Facts
There are many ways to view the very cold and snowy winter we have been having.
Christmas Bird Count
The annual Martha’s Vineyard Christmas Bird Count was held on Saturday, Jan. 4.
Up-Island Appetites to Get Some Rolling Relief
Josh Aronie, chef at Cafe Moxie in Vineyard Haven and formerly of the Menemsha Cafe, has been approved to operate an off-season food truck in the parking lot of the Chilmark Store. Mr. Aronie said he plans to serve a daily soup, tacos, sandwiches, falafels and a Brazilian lunch plate.
Martha’s Vineyard Ferries
The Martha’s Vineyard Ferries are playing the Katharine Cornell Theatre this Thursday, Jan. 9, at 7 p.m. The event marks the beginning of the band’s east cost tour. The band consists of Elisha Wiesner, Bob Weston and Chris Brokaw. Their latest record is Mass. Grave released on October on Kiam Records. Tickets are $5, available…
Hockey Tournament and Public Skating
The Ryan Mone Memorial hockey tournament is this weekend, running from Friday through Sunday. In addition to hockey games all weekend, there will be free public skating sponsored by Mone Insurance on Saturday night from 8:30 to 10:30 p.m.
Meet and Greet With Island Spirits
It’s January on the Vineyard, the time of year when the Island goes gray and dark, and really cold, too. Not the season one thinks about taking a dip in the ocean. But we are speaking now of this world, the one inhabited by those of us still alive and susceptible to the laws of…
Nauset Garden Club Scholarships
The Nauset Garden Club is accepting applications for two $5,000 scholarships for the 2014-2015 academic year. Students must be full-time residents of Cape Cod or the Islands and entering their junior or senior year or enrolled in a graduate program of an accredited college or university.
Winter Interest
Some snowstorm last week. It seems all took the forecast seriously.
Shark Tournament Organizer Dies in Westport River Hunting Accident
Steven James, 53, of Marshfield, and a partner died after going on a duck hunt early Tuesday morning. A third man was rescued by the Coast Guard and hospitalized with hypothermia.
Island Plunges Into Deep Freeze
Hardy bay scallopers were grounded, plumbers were on 24-hour call and hardware stores were doing a brisk business in space heaters, hand and foot warmers as the Vineyard was gripped by bitter cold along with the rest of the East Coast early this week.
Jennie Lind Athearn Sang Here
What would Jennie Athearn think of the recent real estate listing at Big Homer’s Pond? Born in 1850, Jennie was one of the last of the Tisbury Pond people in this place that was a 19th century family compound for the Athearns.
Christmas Bird Count Soars With Many Colorful Presents
Shortly after 11 a.m. on Saturday a large flock of buffleheads, common goldeneye and scaup floating on the southwest side of Sengekontacket Pond began to move as a unit towards the frozen marshes on the shore of the pond.
Guided Winter Walk Sunday
Vineyard Conservation Society leads a guided winter walk at Woods Preserve on Sunday, Jan. 12 at 1 p.m.
East Chop Icon John Potter Jr. Led Life of Adventure
Mr. Potter died Jan. 4 at the age of 89. A retired businessman and former treasure diver, he spent his early childhood years in China and recently wrote a colorful memoir titled My First Nine Lives.
Tribute to Social Justice Leaders
Martha’s Vineyard Hebrew Center pays homage to Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and Rabbi Abraham Joshua Herschel with a tribute Shabbat service on Friday, Jan. 17 at 5:30 p.m.
Poets’ Collective Reading
The Martha’s Vineyard Poets’ Collective offers a poetry reading with works inspired by images on Tuesday, Jan. 14 at 7 p.m. at the Vineyard Haven library.
Call for Submissions
Voices of Peace poetry contest is accepting submissions until March 28 for its annual competition on Cape Cod and the Islands.
Senator to Visit Vineyard Democrats
State senator Dan Wolf will be a guest at the January meeting of the Democratic Council of Martha’s Vineyard at 9 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 11 at Howes House in West Tisbury.
String Stars
Students from all elementary schools on the Island come together for the string concert this Friday at 6:30 p.m. at the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School.
First Baby of 2014 Is a Boy
Born in the wee hours on Jan. 3 during the snowstorm, Maicon Nilson Patricio weighed 8 pounds 14.7 ounces and measured 20.5 inches long. His parents are Amanda and Maicon Patricio of Oak Bluffs.
Unicorn Takes on Water; Volunteers Rally to Save Fishing Boat
In freezing temperatures a crew in Menemsha worked through the night to save the Unicorn from sinking.
Snow Stops, Cold Continues After First Big Storm
The first big snowstorm of the year has settled down but temperatures are expected to drop to six degrees tonight, with wind chills of 15-below late tonight and into tomorrow. Sengekontacket Pond began to freeze over late Friday afternoon.
