Jane Kenyon
I am the stone step, the latch, and the working hinge. I am the heart contracted by joy, the longest hair, white before the rest.-Jane Kenyon
July 18, 2014
Sengekontacket Stays Closed to Shellfishing
A state-imposed shellfishing ban in Sengekontacket Pond has been extended yet again following rainfall on Sunday. The pond is safe for swimming and boating.
Town Backs Goodale Construction as Grandfathered Operation
Goodale Construction can continue to mine for sand and gravel without special permitting from the town, following a vote of the Oak Bluffs board of appeals. The vote overrules the building inspector who said the company had exceeded its nonconforming use which dates to 1948.
Anchored by Venus
The moon has left our evening sky and is more favorably placed for viewing early in the morning.
Summer Music Madness
MV Soul Concepts hosts the 2nd annual Martha’s Vineyard Summer Madness Music Conference and Festival August 8 to 10, with most events happening at Dreamland in Oak Bluffs.
Historic Film Shows Heath Hens Alive and Dancing on Vineyard
The last heath hen disappeared from Martha’s Vineyard in 1932 and the species declared extinct in 1933.
Once Flourishing Heath Hen Made Its Last Stand on Island
The heath hen’s story of decline and extinction has become inextricably linked to Martha’s Vineyard.
Heath Hen Raises Bar on De-Extinction Debate
The heath hen is at the center of a new effort and a new debate on the Island, as scientific advances have made de-extinction a possibility.
Tisbury Shuns Records Request Over Stop & Shop
More than three months after the Vineyard Gazette formally asked for public records from the town of Tisbury relating to the Stop & Shop expansion proposal, the town has provided only a portion of what was requested.
Luciano Rebay Was Vineyard Treasure
He was remembered this week by friends and colleagues as a distinguished Italian scholar and a man who loved the sea, where he fished, swam and walked the beach. And he felt deeply rooted on the Vineyard, where he had been coming summers with his family for some half a century.
Too Passionate to Be Quiet Is True Legacy
On Island to attend a screening of the documentary about him, Barney Frank speaks about his life as a gay congressman and married man, in a conversation with the Gazette at the Chilmark Community Center.
Right to Know
It’s hard to imagine what justification the town of Tisbury might claim for withholding minutes of selectmen’s meetings from the public. Yet more than a hundred days after the Gazette formally requested copies of minutes that mention Stop & Shop between the dates of January 1, 2014 and April 1, 2014, we have received neither…
Next Stop, Woods Hole
It may well be a quirk of the two Islands that the people who live there care so passionately about the names of their ferries. But they do, and following a vote by Steamship Authority governors on the Vineyard this week, the new freight ferry, which is yet to be built, will have a quarterboard…
Boathouse Building is Work in Progress
Four years ago this week, Menemsha harbor was a chaotic scene. Dark smoke from the west dock billowed out to sea and burning embers floated on the water. The wooden Coast Guard boathouse built in 1938 was completely consumed before the first fire truck arrived. A wooden pier and a wooden road leading to the…
Chilmark Community Center Fee Hikes Proposed
Chilmark offers some of the lowest rates on the Island for community events. But local groups ranging from the Martha’s Vineyard Chamber Music Society to the Rotary Club could soon find themselves needing to hold their events elsewhere.
Sharks Feast, Move Into Second Place
After winning four of their last five games, the Martha’s Vineyard Sharks have moved into second place in the eastern division of the league.
Fluke Winners
Bill Dreyer is the winner of the two-day 15th annual fluke tournament held last weekend at the Veterans of Foreign War Post 9261 Hall in Oak Bluffs.
Authors Cook Up a Tasty Time
They weren’t on the farm, out at sea, behind the line or in their home kitchens. For the first time, Island authors Susie Middleton, Catherine Walthers, Melinda Fager, Jessica B. Harris and Robert Lionette all had lunch together. And they did so with 70 other people.
Edgartown Not Turned on By Electric Bikes
A proposal to rent electric bicycles at an Edgartown rental car shop met a cool reception Monday from the town selectmen, who voiced concerns about the safety of the two-wheeled vehicles. Bryan Nelson, who operates A-A Island Auto Rental, already rents his low-speed electric bikes to customers in Vineyard Haven.
Kayaking for a Cause Helps Raise Money for Lighthouse
Dana Gaines doesn’t just talk the talk, or even walk the walk when he says he wants to save the Gay Head Lighthouse. He heads to the sea.
At the Bridge Table
Eureka! Three of the Island’s four duplicate bridge clubs now have computer-dealt hands, with hand records distributed after the conclusion of play.
Catching Up With a Mighty Chicken Who Crossed the Road
The first we heard about the caper was a call from my brother in law, Ralph Jones, who works at the Vineyard Haven Thrift Shop on Fridays.
Land Bank Revenues: July 11
The Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank reported revenues of $126,352 for the business week ending on Friday, July, 11, 2014.
Holmes Hole Rocks the Vineyard Cup
The just completed 2014 edition of the Vineyard Cup featured 66 competitors.
Students Lead With Stories From the Heart
Here they come. Three vans full. I’m hot. I’m exhausted. And I’m nervous. Camp Jabberwocky shows up in my meadow every year for a lively session of the Chilmark Writing Workshop.
Sanguine Salons Inspire Creativity
I’m listening to Cole Porter while I write this because Abigail McGrath, founder of the Renaissance House, told me to. Or more specifically, she was talking about Porter and poetry and Eminem when I walked up to the porch on a recent summer night for the Salon Series with Martha’s Vineyard poets Justen Ahren, Dan…
From High Heels to Chickens, Author Pens Family Adventures
Ellen Stimson’s Mud Season chronicles her family’s 2003 move from city life in St. Louis to country life in a tiny Vermont town. The book is a finalist for a New England Book Award.
Trio of Artists Unite
On Friday, July 18, from 4 to 7 p.m., check out the work of three distinct styles of art by Islanders Steve Lohman, Jenifer Strachan and Sarah Nelson.
Clock Ticking for Comcast on Chappy
A campaign by residents to bring high-speed internet service to Chappaquiddick continues this summer. Comcast will provide cable service if 270 homeowners pay an up-front fee of $2,139 and agree to sign on with the provider for two years. While a majority of Chappy people have said yes to the proposal with checks, a number…
Chamber Music Society Embraces Cool
On Monday and Tuesday of this past week the Chamber Music Society started their summer season in fine form. The season continues with a concert simply called “Cool.”
Ramping Up Conservation Efforts Pays Off
By the year 2050, Massachusetts needs 52 per cent of the commonwealth to be permanently conserved as open space.Currently, a quarter of the bay state’s five million acres is developed, a quarter is protected and the rest is up for grabs.
Not Another Cat Call, Film Shows Whistling Can be High Art
Filmmakers explore the serious and whimsical world of whistling in their film Pucker Up: The Fine Art of Whistling.
Public Patterns
Every region of the Vineyard, and for an Island of a hundred square miles in area, there are a surprising number and a variety of regions, enclaves, realms, provinces and natural districts, is a repository of its own variety of summer experience. In sum they would make a patchwork of history as uncontrived and as…
For Howard Wall
Word that Howard Wall had died came as no surprise. He had fought ocular melanoma and a host of attendant horrors for seven long years, and his recent prognosis was grim. But as a shock, yes. A rabbit-punch to the heart, followed hard by sorrow and loss.
Abusive Ticketing
I wanted to let you know that all cars at the State Beach in Edgartown and Oak Bluffs that have tires on the sand, not completely on the pavement, are being ticketed by the sheriff’s department. I have parked there for 40 years and never was ticketed for good parking, but was ticketed on July…
Courtesy Motors Lives Up to Name
We recently were on the Vineyard for our annual two-week stay when I experienced trouble with our 11-year-old Land Rover. The truck intermittently refused to shift out of park and was progressively getting worse. In addition to the obvious stress and inconvenience during our stay, I was worried that I would not be able to…
Return of Tashtego
Can you imagine how happy Ted Farrow would have been to see his original artwork of Tashtego, the Gay Head Indian harpooner (from Moby-Dick) adorning the Gazette’s issue of June 20? He actually did the original art to simulate a woodcut and that artwork is framed and resides with my son in Watertown. It is…
Seeking the Truth in Murky Affair
Documentary made by Chilmarkers David Heilbroner and Kate Davis brings Newburgh case to light, exposing possible entrapment during the War on Terrorism.
Community of Learning
As I wrap up my year as the alternative education science teacher at Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School, I polled my students and did my own inventory of things that had gone well and things I wanted to change for next year. Our goal of the alternative education program at the high school is to…
Art for a Cause at Gay Head Gallery
Gay Head Gallery exhibit, Keep the Lighthouse in Sight, hosts artists’ work, casting out into stormy seas. Sales from the exhibit benefit relocation efforts.
Site Chosen for Relocating Gay Head Light
The future home of the Gay Head Light in Aquinnah will be about 190 feet inland from the westernmost tip of the Island.
From Street Art to Landscapes
Edward Keating, a longtime staff photographer for the New York Times and frequent contributor to Rolling Stone, Time Magazine and New York Magazine, is having a show at Island Images Gallery in Oak Bluffs. He is best known for his gritty street photography done in New York city.
Perking Up the Courtyard With Art
Behind the Bookstore is an area of innovation. Coffee, pastries, wine and now painting, too. On Thursday evenings the Edgartown coffee shop is hosting an event dedicated to the fine art of creativity and cocktails.
Tribe Dispute Over Casino Rights to be Decided in Federal Court
The town of Aquinnah and a group of residents have petitioned to intervene in a federal lawsuit over whether the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) has the right to open a casino on the Vineyard. The court filings last week came shortly after a judge ruled that the case would be tried in federal…
Vigilance In the Garden
It is beyond me why I bother writing, or why you, dear reader, put up with me. I observe the same things year after year and make the same comments.
Following the Beat of the Creative Life
For Island’s newest gallerists, the journey to the Vineyard included clogging, a band called Wet & Reckless and traveling the world working for relief organizations. CRFT SHW in Vineyard Haven is where these seemingly disparate experiences come together.
Please Adopt Us
The animal shelter is currently stocked with baby animals that bring out the “aww” in any human who comes by. Four new kittens have arrived to add to the two already in residence.
Small Diesel Spill in SSA Parking Lot Quickly Contained
Tisbury police and fire officials closed a section of the Steamship Authority parking lot following a small diesel fuel spill Wednesday morning. Fire chief John Schilling said he received a call from the Steamship Authority at 6:17 a.m. Wednesday alerting him that a truck had spilled fuel.
On Chappy: July 18
Growing old is a fantastic experience, full of the wonder of watching one’s skin turn from the supple surface of a Parisian handbag to the texture of burnt newspaper.
Welcome, Jackson
Julie Gaffey and David Gaffey of Oak Bluffs announce the birth of a son, Jackson Richard Gaffey, born on July 15 at the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital.
Aquinnah Town Column: July 18
Aquinnah Public Library will present Phil Weinstein, the Alexander Griswold Cummins Professor of English at Swarthmore College, who will speak on Thursday, July 24, at 5 p.m. at the Aquinnah town hall.
Oak Bluffs Town Column: July 18
Last Saturday, thanks to the efforts of many and the leadership of music man Phil daRosa, Oak Bluffs was feted with the first Martha’s Vineyard Sound Festival, a family-friendly celebration of the Island’s music scene.
Vineyard Haven Town Column: July 18
The skies certainly opened up in the wee hours of Wednesday. One of my dogs got as close to my head on my left shoulder as she could and tried to crawl in my ear canal.
Edgartown School Honor Roll
The Edgartown School has announced its honor roll for the fourth quarter of the 2013-2014 academic year.
Casey Dobel Earns Law Degree
Casey Jayne Dobel, daughter of Mary Ellen McElroy of Oak Bluffs and Timothy Dobel of Vineyard Haven, recently graduated with honors with a Doctorate in Juris Prudence from the Washington School of Law at American University.
Edgartown Town Column: July 18
I have been hearing about the thunderstorms all over the Island, but I’m not sure if Edgartown had any, or I slept through them.
Beetlemania
If you believe Charles Darwin, Susie Schwoch — Oak Bluffs resident and amateur entomologist — is definitely going places.
Chilmark Town Column: July 18
Chilmark has lots of visitors; families and weekenders gathering for swimming at our beaches, checking out all the activities planned, and, of course, our spectacular sunsets.
Man Found in Water Monday Was Seasonal Resident of Makonikey
A man found dead in Vineyard Sound Monday has been identified as Luciano Rebay, 86, of Tisbury, the district attorney’s office said. Mr. Rebay was a professor of Italian literature and seasonal resident of Makonikey.
Welcome, Jacob
Kerith Branca and Robert Branca of Edgartown announce the birth of a son, Jacob Kent Branca, born on July 14 at the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital.
Hello, Natalina
Dina BenDavid and Shane BenDavid of Edgartown announce the birth of a daughter, Natalina Sofia BenDavid, born on July 14 at the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital.
Shaw Cramer Gallery Will End a 20-Year Run
This season will be owner Nancy Shaw Cramer’s last for her Main street Vineyard Haven gallery, known for its high-end artwork in every medium. But if all goes according to plan, the decision won’t mean the end of art upstairs.
Sometimes Feathers Are Frustrating
There has been a good deal of research on plumage changes, and name changes. I find many of these changes more complicated than I would like.
EMT Kristina West Honored
Martha’s Vineyard Association of EMTs held its annual meeting June 26, and honored EMT of the year Kristina West.
Hospice Offers Support Group
Hospice of Martha’s Vineyard is offering an eight-week drop-in facilitated grief group beginning Tuesday, July 29, from 4:30 to 6 p.m.
Pizza Sales Benefit ACE MV
Partner your pizza with education on Tuesday, July 22, as a portion of proceeds from Flatbread Pizza sales benefit the Island’s adult education program, ACE MV.
Union Chapel Welcomes Rev. Susan Sparks
A trial lawyer, turned stand-up comedian and Baptist minister, Reverend Susan Sparks is America’s only female comedian with a pulpit. She visits Union Chapel on July 20.
Camp Ground Pink House Is One of a Kind
The famous Pink House on the grounds of the Martha’s Vineyard Camp Meeting Association is once again for sale. It is the most photographed of all the many photogenic houses in the Camp Ground.
Sharing Wine Wisdom
Justin Melnick, executive chef at the Terrace at the Charlotte Inn in Edgartown, has put together a summer sommelier series, inviting some of New England’s top wine experts to share their knowledge with restaurant guests during dinner.
Scoring Points for Gay Head Light
The Save the Gay Head Lighthouse Committee is hosting a tennis tournament this weekend at the Chilmark Community Center courts to benefit the restoration and relocation of the lighthouse.
Tunes in the Park
Jellybone Rivers and the Maniacs of the Heart will be playing live music in the Ocean Park Bandstand every other Sunday starting July 20.
Camp Jabberwocky Production Hits the Stage
Camp Jabberwocky has been around for more than 60 years now and summer wouldn’t be summer without its productions. Join staff and campers Friday, July 18 and Saturday, July 19 for Something Frankenstein.
Holy Ghost Festival
Whether you go for the food or the dancing or the parade or the games, the Portuguese-American Club in Oak Bluffs will have plenty of options for you this weekend as it hosts its annual Feast of the Holy Ghost.
Frozen in the Park on Friday
Looking for a great way to end a hot day at the beach? Cool off by bringing the whole family to watch Frozen, Disney’s big screen animated adventure, outdoors at Owen Park in Vineyard Haven.
Standing on the Seawall
CONNECT to end violence, a program of Martha’s Vineyard Community Services, holds its Annual Seawall Event, a men’s initiative, on Saturday, July 19, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Votes Are In; New Freight Ferry to Be Named Woods Hole
When a new ferry is delivered to the Steamship Authority around spring of 2016, it will bear the name Woods Hole. At their meeting in Vineyard Haven Tuesday, boatline governors agreed unanimously on the name choice.
Let Them Eat Blueberries
If you didn’t get your fill at the annual strawberry festival, you can make up for lost time at the First Congregational Church of West Tisbury’s blueberry festival on Saturday, July 19.
Ezra Vogel at Summer Institute
Ezra Feivel Vogel, one of the nation’s leading authorities on East Asia, is the featured speaker of the Martha’s Vineyard Summer Institute on Thursday, July 24.
West Tisbury Town Column: July 18
The weekend weather was delightful. Beaches have been packed each day with the hot weather making this Island a vacation paradise.
Real Estate Transactions: July 7 to July 13
Mark K. Jones and Julie H. Jones purchased 105 Pond Road in West Tisbury from David M. Ford and Tammy M. Ford for $2,162,500 on July 7.
Historic Watcha Club Goes on Market for Sale
The 7.5-acre oceanfront south shore property in West Tisbury and site of the first gunning club has been held by the same family for more than 50 years. The asking price is $11.5 million.
Shifting Winds Challenge Weekend Regattas in Edgartown, Vineyard Haven
Sails dotted the horizon from Cape Pogue to West Chop from Thursday to Sunday, but fickle winds and currents were the main theme this year in the annual Edgartown Yacht Club Regatta and Vineyard Cup races.
Naming of Freight Ferry on Deck for Boatline Meeting Tuesday
The question of what to name the next member of the Steamship Authority fleet will likely be answered Tuesday morning, when the boatline board of governors meets in Vineyard Haven. The meeting begins at 9:30 a.m. at the Katharine Cornell Theatre on Spring street.
Music Festival Is Family-Friendly Success
The first ever Martha’s Vineyard Sound Festival brought together musicians from around the Island for seven hours of outdoor music at Waban Park in Oak Bluffs on Saturday. The sun shone, children played in the park and the festival was declared a success.
East Chop Town Column: July 18
This interview is long overdue. Greg Coogan became a member of the Oak Bluffs board of selectmen 11 years ago. He is the senior member of the board.
Welcome, Shepard
Samantha Gibson and Erik VanLandingham of Vineyard Haven announce the birth of a son, Shepard Paul VanLandingham, born on July 11 at the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital.
Announcing Asa
Beatrice Whiting and Patrick Ruel of Chilmark announce the birth of a son, Asa Allen Ruel, born on July 10 at the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital.
Island Harbors, SSA Welcome Long-Awaited Discharge Ban
The Environmental Protection Agency’s approval last week of a ban on wastewater discharge along the state coast was welcomed by Island towns and the Steamship Authority. The ban has been planned for 20 years.
