Moon minders know that July was twice the fun of most other months because there was twice the number of full moons.

Junot Diaz burst onto the literary scene in 1996 with the publication of Drown. In 2007 he won the Pulitzer Prize for his second book, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. And on Thursday, July 30, he will read at the Noepe Center for Literary Arts in Edgartown.

An unexpected absence of eelgrass in Nashaquitsa Pond this summer may be the result of crab predation and goose foraging over the harsh winter. The Chilmark shellfish constable said he's never seen such a sudden decline in the aquatic plant that plays a vital role in the life cycle of shellfish.

The Hebrew Center was filled with lyrical verse and open ears Monday evening for a poetry reading celebrating author Peggy Freydberg, who died this spring at 107. Speakers included actresses Mary Steenburgen, Meg Ryan, and Brooke Adams and poet Billy Collins.

Recent changes in the state law allowing specialty license plates will make it easier for nonprofits looking to raise money from the plates. This includes Martha’s Vineyard Community Services, which launched a specialty license plate program on the Vineyard this year as a fundraising project.

A federal judge Tuesday enjoined the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) from any construction activity on a planned gambling facility without first obtaining a building permit from the town.

The Edgartown Library Board of Trustees has voted to hire Lisa Sherman as the next director of the town’s free public library. She will succeed Jill Hughes, who will step down at the end of August after three years as director. Ms. Sherman is currently the director of the Aquinnah Library.

The Martha’s Vineyard Fishermen’s Preservation Trust hosts its first Meet the Fleet event at Menemsha Harbor next Thursday. Most of the Island's commercial fleet will be on hand, plus historic ships and crab racing. The event is from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. on August 6.

Edgartown selectmen Monday voted unanimously to transfer ownership of the town’s historic Carnegie Library building to the Martha’s Vineyard Preservation Trust, which plans to transform the building into a visitor center and repository for historic books, papers and art.

What goes around, comes around, for Art Santry, and going around Martha’s Vineyard is in his blood. Mr. Santry was first in class for the 77th annual Round the Island race Saturday, and undefeated in two days of Round the Buoys racing on Thursday and Friday, following a long absence from Edgartown Yacht Club competition.