Residents of the Leonard Circle neighborhood in Vineyard Haven are lining up and picking sides: They’re either with the rooster or against it.

The itinerant rooster’s name is Rupert. And true to his nature as a rooster, Rupert has a penchant for predawn crowing sessions.

At a Tisbury zoning board of appeals meeting on May 12 residents of the neighborhood called for Rupert to be captured.

This week neighbors appeared before the town selectmen to show their support for Rupert.

With summer fast approaching and the time-honored tradition of jumping off the big bridge at Sengekontacket set to resume, town and county officials are once again calling on the state to remedy what has become a dangerous situation along the rebuilt bridge walkway.

“If there’s a kid sitting down on that railing any truck mirror that comes by is going to take their head off,” county manager Russell Smith said on Wednesday.

Martha’s Vineyard is growing rapidly more populous, older and more diverse according to the most recent figures from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Overall, the population of Dukes County grew 10.3 per cent in the decade 2000-2010, well down on the 29 per cent growth of the previous decade, but still the highest by far of any county in Massachusetts.

With a list of 90 itemized faults in the construction of Chilmark’s first affordable housing development, frustrated town officials this week demanded that Seaver Construction president Scott Seaver take personal control of the project.

These three planets appear close together in the early morning sky, if you are up at or before dawn and have a good view of the southeastern horizon. The bright planet Venus is the easiest to see. Mars is above and to the east of Venus. Mercury is below Venus.

Temperature: Precip.

Day Max. Min. Inches.

Fº Fº

May 13 57 48 .00

May 14 62 47 .00

May 15 58 48 Trace

May 16 68 51 .52

May 17 57 50 .50

May 18 59 53 .54

May 19 65 56 .43

Water temperature in Edgartown harbor: 61º F.

Anchors Aw eigh

From Art Railton’s Just a Thought, May 20, 1994:

JOHN S. ALLEY

508-693-2950

(alleys@vineyard.net)

Well, the weekend weather was reasonable with a few showers and the temperature was finally warming up. However, it has rained off and on all week long. The boat schedule changes on Tuesday and you can already feel from increased traffic on the roads in town that new visitors are here, with more expected this weekend. Many a backyard grill will be fired up for the first cookout of the season.

JANE N. SLATER

508-645-3378

slaterjn@comcast.net

Chilmark will have many choices of eating places this week. The air should be full of the good smells of food! The Galley opened yesterday for the season; the Bite will open today at 11 a.m.; the Tavern will open May 23 and the Home Port will open on May 25. The Menemsha Fish Market, Larsen’s Fish Market and the Menemsha Café are all already going strong.

Please Adopt Us

The Animal Shelter of Martha’s Vineyard has some very beautiful and unusual cats and kittens that are ready for adoption, and some kittens who will be ready in a couple of weeks that you just have to see to believe. Please stop by the shelter and put your name on our list. They are too numerous to list here but they are just waiting for the right person to take them home.