In an unprecedented act of cooperation between conservation organizations, the Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank and Sheriff’s Meadow Foundation have completed a $3 million deal which will see 145 acres at Quansoo fully protected from development.

The land was given to Sheriff’s Meadow by the late Florence (Flipper) Harris, whose great generosity was matched by the great prudence to realize the foundation might have to sell off part of the land if it were to raise the money to properly manage the rest of it.

It was Emily Dickinson who wrote, “a letter always seemed to me like immortality.”

After spending the past two decades uncovering boxes of handwritten diaries, letters composed on old typewriters and files of personal documents, professor and sociologist Adelaide Cromwell would have to agree.

A number of different organizations, from assisted living facilities to councils on aging, help cover the needs of the aging on the Vineyard.

Now a new paid membership organization is offering service via telephone to the senior citizen in need of a little help getting through the day.

Vineyard Village at Home is a club that wants to be the first call by older Island residents when it comes to getting the errands of life done, such as fixing a leaky faucet or getting a ride to the doctor’s office.

Two longstanding Chilmark residents may be forced to hand over to the town multiple mooring permits they hold and rent out, according to a letter submitted to the town selectmen this week by their attorney.

A sharply divided board of selectmen requested the opinion from Ronald H. Rappaport earlier this winter.

Shops, restaurants and offices joined homeowners across the Island in switching off their lights from 8 to 9 p.m. last Saturday in an effort to raise awareness about energy consumption.

Earth Hour, an event established last year in Sydney, Australia, by the World Wildlife Fund, went global this year when the Vineyard and a number of other small communities joined a cluster of participating major international cities from San Francisco to Bangkok.

Register in Chilmark

Tuesday is the last day to register to vote in Chilmark town meeting and town elections. The town hall will be open from 2 to 4 p.m. and from 7 to 8 p.m. to register voters. The League of Women Voters will host a candidate’s forum at 7 p.m. at the Chilmark Public Library on Thursday to introduce those running for office to town voters.

Tennis Registration Open

Registration is now open for summer tennis clinics at the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School.

Children ages 6 through 18 can sign up for the program, which begins June 30.

Classes run from 9 a.m. to noon, Monday through Friday. The cost is $150 per week, and racquets are provided to anyone requiring one.

Chris Fecitt, longtime Vineyard tennis pro, will direct the clinics along with an expert staff. To register or for more information, call 508-693-1033.

A long-running feud over roosters between West Tisbury neighbors has been settled in mediation.

The town zoning board of appeals last month accepted a withdrawal of an appeal filed by John Amabile, a Brockton attorney for Robert and Kathy Harris, 7 Millstone Lane, who had contended that roosters housed on Lambert’s Cove property owned by neighbor Kurt Freund at 31 Millstone Lane violated the town’s noise bylaws.

The Martha’s Vineyard Commission will host what promises to be a well-attended meeting on April 17.

The meeting will feature public hearings on two controversial projects in Oak Bluffs: the Moujabber garage on the North Bluff and a proposal to renovate Bradley Memorial Church at the corner of Dukes County and Masonic avenues into a multi-use complex featuring affordable housing, artists’ workshops and a museum.

Because of the expected large turnout, commission officials have moved the meeting to the Oak Bluffs Senior Center at 21 Wamsutta avenue.

Coast Guard Senior Chief Steve Barr knows that he lives in a special place.

“On a good stormy night looking out from the lighthouse, with the waves crashing below and sheets of rain coming down all around in flashes, illuminated by the light . . . there’s nothing like it,” he said.

It’s probably one of the most photographed homesteads on the Island, “if not the most photographed,” Mr. Barr said of the West Chop Lighthouse property where he lives with his wife Andrea and their infant son.