The Sting Is On

On Tuesday, Sept. 23 at 7 p.m., the Vineyard Haven library will present The Sting. This move features two of our favorite actors: Robert Redford and Paul Newman. When a mutual friend is killed by a mob boss, two con men, one experienced and one young try to get even by pulling off the big con (an ultimate sting) on the mob boss.

Motorcycle Rally

The second annual Antique Motorcycle Rally will take place at noon on Sunday in the Menemsha parking lot. Collectors of all makes and models of antique motorcycles are invited. Last year, 200 people attended to view 22 motorcycles. Rain date is Sunday, Sept. 28.

At 6:30 a.m. this morning, I was floating in my boat off Chappy’s East Beach. The wind was light from the North but was expected to pick up very strongly by mid morning, and I was keeping a wary eye out for the pick-up.

A new leader was weighed in at weigh station this morning. Morgan T. Taylor of West Tisbury, an avid angler, came in with a 11.68 pound bluefish at 8:09 a.m.

Mr. Taylor’s fish outweighed the previous shore leader, a fish caught by Matthew P. Wilkins and weighed in on Monday. Mr. Wilkins’ fish was 11.34 pounds.

The derby central headquarters opens at 8 a.m., so when Mr. Morgan walked in this morning with his big blue, he had everyone’s attention.

There was an early morning theft today at derby headquarters: A gull swept down while fillet master Hank Unczur wasn’t looking and stole one of his four bluefish fillets.

It’s only day three of the derby, but the herring gulls have taken up residence at the Edgartown Yacht Club and the newly-built Boathouse restaurant during derby weigh-in. Prematurely ready, the gulls are well-versed as they are in the affairs of the derby. They, too, know when it is derby time.

Correction

The headline on an obituary published in the Friday Gazette for Marcia Mann Baker was inaccurate. It was Marcia’s husband, Bob, who came to the Vineyard during the war. The Gazette regrets the error.

Concerns are growing that repairs to the seriously fire-damaged Bunch of Grapes Bookstore could be frustrated by the fact that the neighboring Café Moxie — where the fire began — still has not been fully demolished.

At last week’s meeting of the Tisbury selectmen, Jeff Kristal raised his concerns and those of the Bunch of Grapes building owner Ann Nelson that inactivity on the Moxie site could delay the planned spring reopening of the Bunch of Grapes.

The number of kindergartners who are not fully immunized was above the state average in three of the five Vineyard towns with elementary schools last year, a fact which worries Island doctors who see the choice of parents to not immunize their child against illnesses such as mumps, measles and rubella as a threat not only to the health of that child but the school community at large.

The Steamship Authority is looking to a healthier bottom line without any fare increases in its draft 2009 budget, to be presented at today’s monthly meeting on Nantucket.

It was a close run thing. Just two weeks ago, boat line general manager Wayne Lamson faced the prospect of a large budget hole, thanks to high fuel prices.

“The way things were a couple of weeks ago, I was looking for $2 million and trying to figure what else we could cut to avoid a rate increase,” Mr. Lamson said.

The fish arrived slowly at the weigh station on the opening day of the 63rd annual Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby. And when they did begin to show up, they were carried by top derby anglers.

William Pate, 34, of West Tisbury walked into the weigh station at 8:02 a.m. carrying a 7.54-pound bluefish that he had caught at 2 a.m. in the morning. Asked where he caught the fish, his answer was quick. “State forest,” he said.