A spokesman for the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (MSPCA) shelter was tight-lipped about details behind the decision to close the Vineyard branch of the financially troubled organization this week.

The MSPCA announced last Thursday it would close the Katharine M. Foote memorial building in Edgartown on May 1, along with two other Massachusetts branches, in the wake of a crippling 25 per cent loss in endowment money for 2008.

What began as a lark on a summer’s day in Vineyard Haven 10 years ago has grown to become a national phenomenon.

How’s Your News is a groundbreaking piece of programming in terms of the way popular media portrays disability, and its origins can be traced directly to Camp Jabberwocky, the Island’s well-known summer camp for people with physical and mental disabilities.

And now it has found its way to cable television and the entertainment channel MTV.

In August of 2008 a 20-year-old man drove into a tree in Chilmark and was deemed intoxicated by police. In February of 2008 in Oak Bluffs another man failed five sobriety field tests and the chemical test at Dukes County jail. In November of 2008 in Oak Bluffs still another man, arrested a second time for driving drunk, blew above the legal limit once on a portable Breathalyzer and twice more on the chemical test at the jail.

None were convicted of operating under the influence of alcohol (OUI).

The changing economy is wreaking minor havoc with school enrollment projections for the next five years.

Student enrollment on the Vineyard is now projected to remain roughly level through 2013, according to a recent report from the New England School Development Council (NESDEC).

The new report contradicts last year’s figures which pointed to a steady decade-long downward trend, and were used in mid-term budget planning by Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School principal Steven Nixon.

Shenandoah, the graceful 108-foot topsail schooner that has long been a landmark in the Vineyard Haven harbor, is laid up at a Fairhaven shipyard, her majestic hull stripped bare and her ribs exposed as she undergoes extensive work to reverse a botched restoration job performed by a shipyard in Maine last year.

Robert Douglas, who is both captain and owner of the Shenandoah, has sued the Boothbay Harbor Shipyard for the apparently shoddy work that left his schooner taking on seawater last summer while she was filled with school children.

More Island workers than ever are without jobs and seeking unemployment benefits this winter.

The Vineyard Gazette office will be closed on Monday in observance of Presidents’ Day. Early copy from correspondents will be appreciated in the short week that follows.

Brickyard Walk

Explore the Menemsha Hills brickyard ruins, the last remnants of a once-prosperous Vineyard industry, on Sunday, Feb. 15 from 1 to 3 p.m. Join the Trustees of Reservations for this annual guided hike.

Pre-registration is required and space is limited.

The hike is free to Trustees members, $15 for non-members. No dogs are allowed. The walk is strenuous at times, and boots are recommended (hikers must cross a stream). For reservations call 508-693-7662.

Welcome Linden

Hope and Chris MacLeod of Chilmark announce the birth of a daughter, Linden Theresa, born on Feb. 3 at the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital. Linden weighed 8 pounds 5 ounces and joins her big sister Finnegan.

Chilmark Potluck