Andrew Woodruff emerged from a tangle of tomato vines in the Thimble Farm greenhouse last Sunday morning, carrying the first ripe tomato of the season.

“I don’t know who to give it to,” Mr. Woodruff smiled. Standing in front of him were Sarah McKay, president of the Island Grown Initiative, Eric Grubman, the former owner of the property and Allan and Shelley Holt, who recently donated money to help IGI buy the farm and keep it in active food production for future generations.

Mr. Woodruff placed the red fruit in Mr. Holt’s hand.

In a reversal this week, Vineyard fishermen dropped their lawsuit over the Cape Wind project, with Cape Wind in turn agreeing to support access and a new permit program for fishermen who make a living in the waters around Horseshoe Shoal.

At a conference call with members of the Island and regional media Tuesday, Cape Wind communications director Mark Rodgers and Warren Doty, president of the Martha’s Vineyard/Dukes County Fishermen’s Association, announced that the lawsuit, which was filed in federal court two years ago, would be dropped.

After a turbulent decade in the housing market, the Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank is reporting a second relatively flat year of revenue, perhaps indicating that the market is climbing onto steadier ground.

Land bank executive director James Lengyel said this week that revenues are expected to be down about seven per cent for fiscal year while transactions are up about three per cent.

“The numbers speak for themselves,” Mr. Lengyel said, calling them “essentially flat.”

The fiscal year ends Saturday.

From the Vineyard Gazette editions of July 1963:

Edgartown’s annual Fourth of July celebration will begin on July 3 with the arrival of the Navy destroyer U.S.S. Steinaker in Edgartown harbor at 10 a.m. The welcoming committee will board her, and then Commander William McGovern will be piped on shore at the Edgartown Yacht Club about 11 a.m. by the Edgartown Boys’ Club Bugle and Drum Corps.

Editor’s Note: The following eulogy was delivered at the graveside service for Richard Lee in the West Tisbury cemetery on Tuesday. Mr. Lee, a well-known Island artist, died June 22 at the age of 79.

In 1933, Richard Eugene Lee was born on Jan. 15 in Pullman, Wash., on a farm. Later his parents moved the family into town and his grandparents helped raise him and his sister, Norma Jean.

Dear Rose and Harry:
I would have answered your letter sooner except that I have been in the hospital for the past three months here at the National Institute of Exotic Diseases in Washington getting shot full of needles and having rubber tubes run through me by heavy-handed but dedicated young medical researchers.

Last Sunday was a perfect beach day and my first expedition to Lucy Vincent Beach for the season. The stunning coastline was resplendent, and with July still 10 days away, only a small crowd was gathered at the beach. I was pleased to note that a cozy blanket of sand had been magically/meteoroligically restored, and getting past the eroded cliff line was not a major obstacle. I also noted that the dunes that had separated Chilmark Pond from the Atlantic ocean had been vanquished by Mother Nature, leaving the volleyball area an expansive, sandy stretch.

Harry and Rose, two dear friends, asked if they could come up this summer as houseguests because, as they put it, they have “heard so much about the Vineyard that we want to see it for ourselves.” I replied this way.

•

Dear Harry and Rose,

Ann and I were thrilled to hear you wanted to visit us on the Vineyard this summer. Please do come, as we know you’ll love it as much as we do.

A medication return box, a safe place to dispose of unused or outdated medications, has been installed at the Tisbury police station. The drop box is the second medication disposal station on the Island.

The new drop box, which was brought to the police station in early June, was paid for by the Martha’s Vineyard Youth Task Force and the Tisbury board of health. The Edgartown police station also has a medication disposal site.

Rowdy dogs and lackadaisical pet owners, time to shape up: Oak Bluffs has an animal control officer back on the job.

Rowdy dogs and lackadaisical pet owners, time to shape up: Oak Bluffs has an animal control officer back on the job.

Anthony BenDavid was appointed to the post at the selectmen’s meeting Tuesday.

“He’s available at night, he’s available during the day,” police chief Erik Blake told the selectmen. “He couldn’t have come more highly recommended.”