A beacon familiar to Island travelers is changing hands after about 200 years of government management. 

Last Monday, the court announced it would not take up the appeal filed by the Responsible Offshore Development Alliance, keeping a previous ruling on the 62-turbine Vineyard Wind project intact.

When Jim Boos, a retired yacht captain living on Bequia, took it upon himself to help the community rebuild a historic whaleboat called the Iron Duke, he hired Ross Gannon and Nat Benjamin to fly down this winter with their families and a few tools and help get the local boatbuilders started.

The Chilmark conservation commission gave property owners along Stonewall Beach permission to relocate their homes and bolster the deteriorating cliff. But, upset with what they consider burdensome limits on the plan, the homeowners have filed an appeal.

Tonight's gibbous moon appears near the bright star Spica. The two are a close pair in the zodiacal constellation Virgo, a constellation we associate with spring. The moon moves from Virgo into the constellation Libra and will be full on Monday.

We call this phase the Honey Moon and its brilliance will dominate the night through the coming week.

Northern Lights

The board voted unanimously on Tuesday to have town staff start working on a request for proposals for the operations of the center in the summer of 2026. The board also voted to expand the community center advisory committee from three voting members to five. 

The Steamship Authority is bringing its newest ferry, M/V Aquinnah, to the Vineyard May 16 for a public commissioning ceremony at the Oak Bluffs terminal.

A former boatyard office building, standing on temporary supports at 51 Lagoon Pond Road, has become an eyesore and a danger to the public, several people told the Tisbury select board Tuesday afternoon.

The Steamship Authority’s board of governors may be held to term limits if a state bill passes. And a dead minke whale washed up on the shores of Chilmark.

The job description seems to keep shifting.