About a year ago, closed boxes filled with computer tablets were left in two villages in Ethiopia. 

The villages had no literacy and no cellular service or electricity. One adult in each village was taught how to configure a solar panel.

Eighty-seven year old Shirley Mayhew grew up in the Depression, remembers two wars, lived on Martha’s Vineyard in the good old days, and has traveled by herself to 27 different countries.

“None of my friends and family remember half the things I have experienced,” she said. “The Vietnam War is ancient history to my grandchildren.”

But one thing she hasn’t experienced? Telling a story on stage to 2,000 people.

It’s time for tap to take its seat at the contemporary dance table, and it starts in Chilmark.
Artists colony the Yard began its second annual Tap the Yard festival on Thursday night, July 25, bringing together a host of rhythm and percussive-based dancers that go beyond the standard tap steps to include hiphop, Irish step dancing, body percussion and modern dance.

Set on a hill with views of the North Shore, this Aquinnah home boats water and land views from every room — including each of the three bedrooms. The home includes large custom built windows and a large covered deck, further providing opportunities to enjoy the unspoiled vista.

Barbara I. Coles and Peter J. Oberfest purchased 77 Franklin Avenue in Vineyard Haven for $1,150,000 on July 18.

Nancy Gilson Slate and Ronald M. Slate purchased 9 Clay Pit Road in Aquinnah for $1,550,000 on July 17.

The Oak Bluffs Association has taken a position against food trucks in downtown Oak Bluffs, executive director Christine Todd told the town selectmen Tuesday at what would likely be the last public hearing on the subject.

On Saturday, July 27, the film Sharkwater screens at 8 p.m. at the Katherine Cornell Theatre in Vineyard Haven. The documentary directed by Rob Stewart, aims to debunk stereotypes of sharks as vicious killers of the sea. Mr. Stewart’s film travels the oceans of the world exploring the lives of sharks, the people seeking to protect them and others who try to exploit and kill them, including shark poachers in Guatemala and marine reserves in Costa Rica and the Galapagos Islands.

A Watertown man was listed in fair condition at Massachusetts General Hospital Thursday afternoon after he became pinned under a garbage truck following a collision with that occurred while he was riding his bike on the outskirts of Edgartown. William Cress, 64, who owns a home on Down Harbor Road in Katama, was transported to the Boston hospital by ambulance.

In 2002 Della Hardman told the Vineyard Gazette: “When I retired I could have stayed in West Virginia, or gone wherever, somewhere, anywhere, but I chose to come to Martha’s Vineyard. And I didn’t plan to come and sit. I planned to be involved.