Perhaps the best indication of the kind of summer Andrew Woodruff has endured these past months can be found inside his covered vegetable stand at Benson's Thimble Farm.

Against the back wall, five enlarged photographs of crops ravaged by animals tell part of the story. Three show watermelons with neatly carved circles bored out of the rind by crows, their insides siphoned dry. The others depict the carnage that took place in Mr. Woodruff's cornfield: ears of corn, still on the stalk, devoured by raccoons. Only bare cobs remain.

Island Fall Fishing Classic Begins with Thirteen-Pound Striped Bass

By MARK ALAN LOVEWELL

Vying to be the first to weigh in a fish in the 61st annual
Martha's Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby, a sleepy Jim
Cornwell arrived at the downtown Edgartown weigh station at 4 a.m.
Sunday. Armed with a striped bass caught on East Beach on
Chappaquiddick, Mr. Cornwell - a 69-year-old retired chemist from
Edgartown - proceeded to wait for the opening at 8 o'clock.

Still Rural, Mullen Way Sparks Heartfelt Debate Over Old
Neighborhoods

By IAN FEIN

Saying that the changing character of historic middle-class
neighborhoods is a concern better addressed Islandwide, the
Martha's Vineyard Commission last week opted against creating
special zoning regulations for Mullen Way, a narrow tree-lined side
street in Edgartown.

As Hurricane Florence brushed across Bermuda over the weekend,
Vineyarders kept a sharp eye on the weather reports, many thinking with
relief that the Island had dodged another bullet.

With less than a week to go until the state Democratic primary, the
three party candidates for governor have kicked it into high gear to
sway undecided voters when they go to the polls next Tuesday.

Candidates Chris Gabrieli, Deval Patrick and state Attorney General
Tom Reilly recently exchanged barbs at a forum hosted by local minority
groups in Roxbury, made numerous public appearances and buffeted the
airwaves with their advertisements.

This week, five downtown Vineyard Haven venues will become portals
to far off places like Chile, New Zealand, Bosnia, South Africa, France
and Iran. The mode of mental transportation: film.

Roughly 40 feature-length and short films from more than 15
countries will screen in three days and four nights during the
Martha's Vineyard International Film Festival - the first of
its kind on the Island.

Want some plot lines from a typical Martha's Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby fish tale?

How about the salty old fisherman who landed the winning fish on a dark beach in Edgartown in the waning hours of the tournament?

Aquinnah Selectmen Will Seek Bylaw to Regulate Energy Use

By IAN FEIN

With the energy demands of large homes a growing concern across the
Island, Aquinnah selectmen this week unanimously endorsed a regulation
that would require new homes over a certain size to include renewable
energy sources such as solar panels or wind turbines.

"This is an important measure," selectman James Newman
said at the regular board meeting on Tuesday, after proposing the energy
requirement. "And I think that this community should be a leader
on the issue."

Questioning the details of what took place in the May executive
session that resulted in town administrator Casey Sharpe's
departure from her post, the Oak Bluffs finance and advisory committee
yesterday agreed to ask selectmen for more information - including
written minutes of the closed-door session in which she was terminated
without cause and an audio tape of that same meeting.

Walking Beat with John Cashin: Police Chief Settles into Role

By MAX HART

As far as police chiefs go, John G. Cashin is not your average Joe.

The Bronx-born Mr. Cashin is a mild-mannered thinker with a wry
sense of humor who holds two masters degrees, will fly around the world
for a chance to look at an original DaVinci, and can quote T.S. Eliot as
quickly as he can recite criminal law statutes. You are just as likely
to find a book of Shakespeare on his desk as you might a pair of
handcuffs.