MARGARET KNIGHT

508-627-8894

(margaret02539@yahoo.com)

Despite the seriousness of the drought we are in, the September sun is too beautiful not to be celebrated. Its delicious warmth heats the cooler breezes and piercing clarity contrasts nicely with the deep blue skies, making it a great time to get to the beach except early or late in the day.

NANCY GARDELLA

508-693-3308

(vhavenvgazette@yahoo.com)

Kids on the corners — how fast this summer flew by, and now they’re lining up for the buses. We wish all students the best for the coming school year. Keep an eye out on the roads, especially in the mornings and at dismissal time.

RICK HERRICK

508-693-8065

herricklr@verizon.net

Have you noticed Bill Dennehy walking the Chop recently? It’s strange because by this time in the summer Bill is usually back at Exeter preparing to whip into shape another successful varsity soccer team.

BETTYE FOSTER BAKER

508-696-9983

(bdrbaker@comcast.net)

The sun has moved to a new trajectory. Leaves on the tomato and squash plants curl and brown. The dill and rocket have gone to flower. Only the kale and collards grow strong awaiting winter’s frost to sweeten each leaf. Summer flower and garden beds will be cleaned and composted; then bulbs will be planted and golden, red, and orange oak and maple, elm and eucalyptus will color as best they can from summer’s drought.

JOHN S. ALLEY

508-693-2950

(alleys@vineyard.net)

A staff report released by the Cape Cod Commission this week gives a decidedly mixed review to the controversial plan by Cape Wind Associates to build 130 wind turbines on Horseshoe Shoal. The report finds that Cape Wind’s plan to connect the turbines to land in West Yarmouth through underwater electricity transmission lines meets only eight of 32 performance standards set by the commission.

In general, the staff report concluded, a good deal more information is needed in order to satisfy the requirements of the commission.

Much has changed between the time 54-year-old John W. Stevens graduated from the Edgartown School and yesterday, when he welcomed the students and parents on opening day and introduced himself as their new school principal.

But for the veteran educator, who comes from running large schools in Florida, the scene was familiar enough.

Roy Langley, weigh master for the Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby, will ring a cowbell at 8 a.m. sharp Sunday morning.

Once that cowbell rings, at the entrance to the official derby headquarters at the foot of Main street in Edgartown, the Vineyard will become an entirely different place.

From that moment on, derby participants can bring in their fish to be weighed in the month-long contest that galvanizes the Island every year.

Friday, August 31: Mostly sunny. High flying cirrus clouds. Ocean Park grass is green despite the recent drought. Waban Park grass is brown. Oak Bluffs beaches bustle with sunbathers. Sailboats move slowly across Nantucket Sound toward Edgartown. Starry night.

By MARK ALAN LOVEWELL

Thirty years ago, the invention of the electronic fish finder helped fishermen out in their boats find fish. Today’s great device, the computer hooked up to the Internet, helps the rest of us find fishermen who know where to find the fish.

The culture of the Internet has helped charter fishing captains just as it has helped a lot of other businesses.