There was good news and bad news this week for the YMCA of Martha’s Vineyard, as the nonprofit announced that executive director John Clese is stepping down, and that construction of the new $11 million YMCA on the Edgartown-Vineyard Haven Road is set to begin in the coming weeks.

Mr. Clese will end his work for the YMCA on July 1, said president Chuck Hughes. Meanwhile, ground-breaking on the new 38,000 square-foot-building is tentatively set for May 18.

Mr. Hughes called it a bittersweet time for the YMCA staff and family.

Cape Air will begin direct service between Martha’s Vineyard and New York June 12, starting with a daily flight between West Tisbury and White Plains Airport in Westchester County.

The airline is ready to increase the number of flights per day at any time if demand is there, according to director of communications Michelle Haynes. “We will add planes, no question, if people want this and are going to do it,” she said. The service is set to continue through Sept. 28. As of Wednesday, 26 seats had been sold on the route.

Vineyard artists Elizabeth Straton, with her daughter Suzanne, and Ellen McCluskey have decorated two of 80 lighthouse birdhouses that will serve as table centerpieces at Wellspring House’s Women Honoring Women luncheon on Monday, May 4.

Helping families light the way home is the theme of the luncheon, where 800 women are expected to be in attendance, including Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley. wThe event will be held at the Sheraton Hotel in Danvers, Mass.

The hardest planet to see could be easy to spot tonight and tomorrow night. Mercury appears low in the southwestern sky after sunset, in the familiar star cluster Pleiades.

As cases of swine flu (H1N1) virus multiplied elsewhere, Island towns were quick to issue guidance this week about taking precautions and being prepared should the virus spread. In Massachusetts, Department of Public Health officials confirmed two cases in Lowell.

Shave and a Haircut

By LYNNE IRONS

Wild turkey numbers are way up, kestrel numbers are way down and robins are holding steady. These are some of the early findings from Breeding Bird Atlas 2, a statewide, volunteer-based initiative by Mass Audubon to map the distribution of all bird species known to nest in Massachusetts. Volunteers are needed to be part of this project to learn more about the breeding life of Island birds. Join us for a discussion about the initiative, how it works and what you can do to help us paint a picture of the lives of the breeding birds on the Vineyard.

Bricks and Mortar

From Gazette editions of May, 1959:

HOLLY NADLER

508-274-9239

(hollynadler@gmail.com)

If you don’t happen to love dogs, scientific data has shown, you’re missing an opportunity to improve your health and even prolong your life. I’m wondering why dog exposure, in fact, isn’t used as a control factor in medical research. For instance, one group takes a new untested chemical and the other plays and nuzzles with dogs all day. How much you wanna bet the dog group will show better results?