I was touched when I was asked to write this year’s Christmas message for the Vineyard Gazette. Maybe because I didn’t suspect it — my wife, Colleen, and I have been here only about a year, and I know there are other thoughtful voices who might have contributed something wise and wonderful to the great people of the Vineyard at this holy and special time of year, a time so many of us hold so dear, for so many reasons. My heart is glad for it.

Seeking to reassure donors and supporters in the wake of the recent announcement about a deep operating deficit, the president of the board of trustees at The Yard said this week that many hands are now on deck to turn around the problem and stabilize the Chilmark summer dance colony founded by the late Patricia Nanon 36 years ago.

Board president Sarah Jane Hughes said the organization lost a substantial amount of money on its extensive artistic programs this summer.

With Rhode Island Sound now looming as the next frontier for wind development near the Vineyard, the Ocean State’s Gov. Donald Carcieri summed up his state’s energy policy this month with a single phrase: “Spin, baby, spin!”

Imagine a house somewhere on the Island; on the outside it looks just like other homes in the neighborhood, but inside is a different story. A sea of food containers covers the kitchen floor. Empty cereal boxes neatly line the oven. In the garage the only indication of a car is a rusted decal peering out from beneath a mountain of boxes. In the living room a waist-high pile of newspapers dating back three decades looms above a panorama of detritus and endless more unmarked cardboard boxes.

JetBlue Airways, the low-cost airline with a reputation for quality customer service, announced on Thursday morning that it will begin daily nonstop service between Martha’s Vineyard and New York city this summer.

“During the peak days we’ll operate more than one trip a day,” said JetBlue chief executive officer Dave Barger after a press conference held at the Martha’s Vineyard Airport.

Aquinnah property records online will see a change beginning Jan. 1.

The town board of assessors announced this week that it has contracted with Cartographic Associates Inc. of Littleton, N.H., to host a town online program that will allow access to assessing data, property information, advanced mapping and aerial imagery.

Dorothy Barker, a longtime resident of Chilmark and Gay Head, celebrated her 100th birthday on Dec. 15 at Windemere, her residence for the past decade. Her two daughters, Judith and Karen, their husbands, a granddaughter, Tara, and a great-granddaughter, Eliza, joined her on this most important milestone birthday. She, as always, enjoyed her dark chocolate, coffee and cake. She received several phone calls from more grandchildren, all of whom enjoy visiting her during the summer months.

A historic catboat named Edwina B. is the most recent acquisition of the Martha’s Vineyard Preservation Trust. The 22-foot wooden boat, built by Manuel Swartz Roberts in Edgartown in 1931, is possibly the last of three catboats he built still in the water.

The nearly 80-year-old boat has had a circuitous life with different names and different ports of call. She has been part of the Edgartown waterfront for at least the past 20 years. The former owners see the boat’s journey bringing her to Edgartown to stay.

Big Bike Ride for Cancer

Three Martha’s Vineyard residents raised $39,371 for cancer research and treatment at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute by riding up to 190 miles in the Pan-Massachusetts Challenge this summer.

The efforts of Erik Blake of Oak Bluffs, Roch Hillenbrand of Edgartown, and Eric Berke of Aquinnah helped the challenge raise $33 million and bring the organization’s 31-year total Jimmy Fund contribution to $303 million.

A dedicated fishing pier off of the North Bluff in Oak Bluffs has cleared its final local hurdle.