Angela Davis is no stranger to injustice. She grew up in Birmingham, Ala. in the era of segregation, was acquitted after being wrongfully imprisoned for 16 months on murder charges, and has, throughout her life, spoken out against all forms of oppression. When she travelled in June of 2011 to Palestine with a delegation of indigenous women and women of color, she felt she was travelling in regrettably familiar territory. What she observed was even more dire than what she had anticipated, she said.

From the Vineyard Gazette editions of August, 1958:

The Menemsha of today presents a contrast with the Menemsha that Ralph B. Potter of Cranston, R.I. knew sixty summers ago. But this contrast has not been reached abruptly, as Mr. Potter can assure you, for he has vacationed at Menemsha for every one of those sixty summers, and has watched the changes come in slowly and irresistibly.

Now that everyone has become completely dependent on GPS, it’s possible to locate ourselves to an astounding degree of accuracy anywhere on the planet — while simultaneously becoming completely and utterly lost. I am talking hopelessly, pathetically lost. This was never possible even a short while ago when most folks still knew how to read a map, trust their instincts and listen to spoken directions. But in the last few years, as gadgetry has gotten smarter people, seem to have gotten dumber. There’s just no getting around it.

Picture this: dense, twiggy colonies of dark, gnarled branches buried in sand along the barrier dunes of Lambert’s Cove Beach. What is this tough plant that thrives in such a challenging environment? The answer is obvious each May when these same branches erupt with beautiful white flowers. It’s our native beach plum (Prunus maritima). This exceptional spring display lasts a few weeks then something even better follows. Over the following months plump, tasty fruits ripen, often creating a bountiful crop for harvest by the end of the summer.

It’s a mistake to think that all significant events are unusual or out of the commonplace, or surrounded by some sensational circumstances. Take a man or a woman rounding a corner on a bicycle. That looks, maybe, like a pretty routine occurrence. But perhaps it isn’t.

A video showing a dispute between a Republican Party videographer and a cab driver for Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren made the rounds on the Internet Monday, with state Republicans calling the incident “unacceptable” and Ms. Warren’s campaign denouncing the confrontation and saying the driver was not affiliated with the campaign.

The final Monday Night Special of the summer season takes place tonight. The works-in-progress events is hosted by the Vineyard Playhouse and takes place at the Hebrew Center in Vineyard Haven. A recent Monday Night Special featured plays by Robert Brustein and starred Tony Shalhoub and Brooke Adams in the reading. Earlier in the summer Joyce Carol Oates took the stage for a question and answer session following the reading of her new play Emily & Joyce.

The Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank reported revenues of $26,310. for the business week ending on Friday, August 17, 2012. The land bank receives its funds from a two per cent fee charged on many Vineyard real estate transactions.

Much of the land bank revenue last week came from the town of Edgartown, where four transactions resulted in $17,130. In Oak Bluffs, one eligible transaction yielded $6,000. One transaction in Tisbury generated $3,180. No eligible transactions were recorded in Chilmark, West Tisbury or Aquinnah.

Melissa and Max Hart announce the birth of a daughter, Hazel Jane Hart, born on July 25, 2012. Hazel weighed 7 pounds, 11 ounces at birth. Hazel is the granddaughter of Pam Carelli of Vineyard Haven and Fred Carelli of Hannibal, Missouri and the late Stan Hart of Chilmark and Maria Look Hart of Woodbury, Conn.

The family of Margaret McBride would like to thank all the wonderful people who assisted our Aunt Margaret during her difficult time. To everyone at Hospice, Elder Services and especially the visiting nurses and home health care aides, along with many caring friends and neighbors, we give a deeply heartfelt thank you.