The Department of Homeland Security announced sweeping changes to its H-2B seasonal worker visa program include nearly doubling the cap on visas in 2023.
Small business owners offered many variations on a single theme: it is hard to build a business in a seasonal economy where expenses are rising and labor supply dwindling, even when demand is as strong as ever.
When John E. Phillips opened his store in 1928, penny nails were four cents a handful, a pound of putty was about a dime and every face that passed through the door was a familiar one.
The future is uncertain for the last main street hardware store on Martha’s Vineyard. The building that houses Phillips Hardware on Circuit avenue in Oak Bluffs was listed for sale by the owners on March 15, with an asking price of $2.9 million.
When Brook Katzen moved to the Vineyard two years ago, it was not with the specific intention to buy a miniature golf course, a year-round restaurant, a taco truck, a retail building, an ice cream chain, and now a gourmet market.
The former Evolve Pilates fitness studio on Upper Main Street in Edgartown and a small house next door have been purchased by trusts managed by Vineyard Vines CEO Shepard Murray.
Here’s a proposed expedition every bit as adventurous (but not nearly as brutal) as Capt. Shackleton’s trek across South Georgia Island: Why not sit down with loved ones and plan to attend every last event being staged over the coming weekend — Dec. 11 to Dec. 13 — of the Christmas In Edgartown extravaganza?
One shopkeeper says she senses more enthusiasm and gaiety among shoppers, and a local innkeeper appreciates the way people don’t seem to be rushing through the holidays. Interspersing shopping with caroling, tree lighting and concerts is what the Old Fashioned Christmas in Edgartown program is all about, and organizer Fred Hurley reports that attendance at these events has been steady.
