The following letter was sent to the Chilmark selectmen about the Menemsha dock rebuilding project.

It has come to my attention that you are considering the option of concrete floating docks to replace the transient pier and possibly other parts of the pier. Many people had no idea there were any meetings held to discuss this. I suppose it was likely on the town’s website, but how many of us have the time to check the website daily to see if there is anything we should attend.

If I understand correctly, if there are no deer, there is no Lyme disease. I have the impression that there are about 5,000 deer on the Island, if the calculation is 100 square miles at 50 animals per square mile.

This is probably not permitted speech in the People’s Republic of Martha’s Vineyard but, from what I know of the hunting figures here . . . that, except for the last several hundred, is really a doable number. Very feasible.

146 Edgartown Road in Vineyard Haven sold for $170,500 on June 29.

The Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank reported revenues of $313,840 for the business week ending on Friday, June 29, 2012. The land bank receives its funds from a two per cent fee charged on many Vineyard real estate transactions.

Tisbury is getting old, but still looks as good as ever.

On Sunday, July 8 the town will celebrate its 341st birthday with a street fair, an annual tradition established in 1971.

Revelers will throng to Main street in Vineyard Haven starting at 6 p.m. for food, games, music, dunking booths, pony rides and a climbing wall.

Simply put, there will be the Vineyard, in all its summer glory, in one place, at one time.

Katherine Rogers, a New Hampshire attorney who was selected to serve as Dukes County manager by the county commissioners last week, will not accept the position. She informed the County of her decision on Thursday morning.

“She is unable to accept the position due to pressing medical problems that she must deal with first,” said Melinda Loberg, chair of the board of commissioners. “There is an unknown time frame for that, so it’s hard to predict when she might be available.”

The sale of beer and wine has begun in two West Tisbury restaurants. Last Friday marked the first night the Lambert’s Cove Inn and State Road Restaurant sold beer and wine, thanks to last-minute license approval from the state Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission.

Both restaurants received their permits late Friday afternoon, shortly before the dinner hour. Lambert’s Cove Inn co-owner Scott Jones said he was not expecting it for another two weeks.

Harpooned swordfish, once synonymous with the Fourth of July holiday and a staple of the Menemsha fishing fleet, are no longer being caught by Vineyard fishermen.

Though prevalent in local fish markets this season, harpooned swordfish are now all being caught by fishermen from afar.

The reason has to do with a convoluted bureaucracy, an expensive permit system and waning interest in the age-old method of catching fresh swordfish.

The historic Dreamland building in Oak Bluff may soon be more than just a fading facade seen from the street.

JB Blau, a well-known Island businessman and restaurant owner, has announced plans to turn the second floor of the building into a music and entertainment spot. A grand opening is planned for July 13 with a group of Island bands, followed by a summer-long lineup of entertainment that includes comedy acts, a CD release party and more musical events.

On a recent sparkling morning at Inkwell Beach, summer resident and retired Boston judge Ed Redd emerged from his daily swim and carefully considered a question: Does Martha’s Vineyard still retain a certain magic for African Americans — longtime residents and new visitors alike? Judge Redd, a barrel-chested, affable ambassador for the Polar Bears, the historic group that finds invigoration and spirituality in morning swims at the Inkwell from July 4 to Labor Day, didn’t pause for long.