Editors, Vineyard Gazette;

How on God’s green earth can a task force made up of groups such as the Vineyard Conservation Society promote the clear-cutting of 175 acres worth of healthy white pine trees from the state forest?

The proponents of this deforestation plan say it is needed (1) for fire safety and (2) because white pine trees are not native to this Island. Both arguments are flimsy and far outweighed by the benefits of leaving the trees as they are.

Falmouth Academy is discussing the possibility of providing five-day boarding for students who live on Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket. 

On a recent Sunday morning, my sons and husband gathered around me, all eyes on my phone. Google had compiled images from 2020 into an unsolicited story. Warm with nostalgia, we were cast back.

Venus is ever so quickly slipping closer to the western horizon each night. The brightest planet that looks like an airplane approaching with landing lights has dropped considerably in the last few weeks. It will drop even more in March.

Homelessness is getting worse on the Island with 56 people counted as unhoused in late January. This high count comes at a time when the winter shelter is being forced to move from the MV Community Services campus because of construction and is looking for a new location.

About a mile west of the post office on the Edgartown-Vineyard Haven Road, a new neighborhood is taking shape with a $68 million nursing home at its heart.

The Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School has set new graduation requirements for this year after a ballot initiative got rid of the need to pass a statewide standardized test. 

There will be at least two new Vineyard select board members this year as the Island’s annual town elections continue to take shape. 

Longtime Oak Bluffs select board member Gail Barmakian is not seeking reelection after 15 years on the board, instead opting to run for the town clerk position. 

A maritime recruitment firm with operations around the world is poised to conduct the search for a new Steamship Authority general manager.