Noted environmental activist and Chilmark seasonal resident Laurie David has been cited and fined by the Chilmark conservation commission for fresh violations of the state Wetlands Protection Act.

The property owned by Ms. David off North Road was the subject of a series of wetlands violations in 2005, when construction of a stone fire pit, barbecue grill area and wooden stage for a children’s theatre with seating was begun in a wetland without a permit.

Hospice of Martha’s Vineyard announced this week that it will join forces with a leading Cape Cod hospice organization, a move that will lead to expanded services including those covered by Medicare, Medicaid and other insurance carriers.

The plan calls for Hospice & Palliative Care of Cape Cod to become affiliated with the Vineyard hospice, which will retain its independence. An independent nonprofit based in Hyannis, Hospice & Palliative Care of Cape Cod is the largest hospice organization on the Cape, with a $12 million annual operating budget.

The brilliant star in the southern sky is Spica. Spica appears almost due south soon after sunset and it is readily noticeable with its distinct bluish white color. Spica is one of the brightest stars in our night sky and the principal star in the zodiacal constellation Virgo.

Although persistent drizzle made the playing field slippery on Wednesday, the undefeated Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School girls’ lacrosse team had no problems finding their footing, easily defeating lower-seeded Oliver Ames in the Division II sectionals of the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association tournament to advance to the next round.

Almost two years before he made the scathing comments about the Tisbury police which cost him his job, police chief John Cashin launched a similar broadside, aimed at his former colleagues on the Norwalk, Ct., police force

It was on July 26, 2007 and Mr. Cashin was almost 10 months into his tenure as Tisbury chief when he elected to speak to The Hour, a daily newspaper in his former town, damning the force there for insubordination, lack of discipline and immorality, and calling for a complete shake-up of the department.

A project to build an experimental blue mussel farm off the Vineyard has cleared a thorny bureaucratic hurdle and may begin as soon as a month from now.

Believed to be an innovative and key leg of a movement to revive the fishing industry here, the project has the backing of state, local and federal funds.

But a requirement for an archaeological survey at the deep water site was threatening to delay the project, and late last week Rick Karney, director of the Martha’s Vineyard Shellfish Group, was hopping mad.

In a strong endorsement of the planning powers of local towns, a superior court judge this week upheld Edgartown’s right to stop a Chappaquiddick resident from using a backyard “heliport” to fly to and from his property.

The Hon. Cornelius J. Moriarty, an associate justice of the superior court, upheld the town’s cease and desist order relating to the heliport and permanently enjoined the owner, William S. O’Connell, from using his property as a site for launching and/or landing helicopters.

Temperature: Precip.

Day Max. Min. Inches.

Fº Fº

May 22 71 54 .00

May 23 72 57 .00

May 24 65 53 Trace

May 25 68 58 .02

May 26 77 51 .00

May 27 60 48 .02

May 28 58 52 .07

Water temperature in Edgartown harbor: 61º F.

Faced with a budget deficit for the current and next fiscal years that could total $1 million or more combined, Oak Bluffs officials are bracing for hard choices likely to include a special town meeting to slash spending as well as laying off some town employees.

Margaret Knight>

508 627-8894

(margaret02539@yahoo.com)

Despite the cool temperatures and what the calendar says, summer has started. One of the sure signs is a siting of Siamak Adibi riding his bike up to or back from the ferry. He has a way of pedaling along that makes it look like summer — or an idealized version of it — as if he’s in no rush to get anywhere.