In this week's 10-minute wrap-up of the news from the Vineyard Gazette newsroom, Martha’s Vineyard businesses are adapting to growing concerns about ticks by providing information to residents and visitors to overcome fears.

For stakeholders in the Island’s economy — from food and hospitality to recreation — striking a balance between tick awareness and not spreading too much fear has become something of a highwire act.

In this week's 10-minute wrap-up of the news from the Vineyard Gazette newsroom, voters overwhelmingly supported the proposal to renovate and expand the regional high school. And Health and Human Services Secretary RFK Jr. weighs in on ticks.

The Island’s mounting tick-borne illness epidemic was highlighted by U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. last week, as he announced new federal initiatives to combat Lyme disease and alpha-gal syndrome.

Though the numbers still pale in comparison to the deer tick and lone star tick populations, Island tick researchers say they are finding more Asian longhorned ticks each year, raising concerns about a population getting established here. 

Gardeners, tick experts, town officials and companies that do the spraying have all said that the rise of the lone star tick on Martha’s Vineyard, paired with the already high levels of Lyme disease, have pushed more and more homeowners to turn to a variety of tick sprays.

On Martha’s Vineyard, we’ve become all too familiar with ticks and the conditions they cause—including alpha-gal syndrome (AGS), a life-altering allergy to mammalian products triggered by tick bites.

Alpha-gal syndrome, the tick-borne allergy to mammalian food products, can turn a night out to dinner into a night at the hospital. With rates of the condition soaring on the Vineyard, both food service workers and customers are figuring out how to keep restaurant dining safe.

The Tick Center, set to launch next month through Martha’s Vineyard Medical, will bring a variety of health care and wellness providers under one roof to try to holistically conquer Lyme disease, alpha-gal syndrome and other conditions transmitted by ticks.

Aquinnah, Chilmark and Chappaquiddick are the Island’s deer hotspots, according to the results of a thermal drone survey newly released by Tick Free MV Wednesday.