Word that Howard Wall had died came as no surprise. He had fought ocular melanoma and a host of attendant horrors for seven long years, and his recent prognosis was grim. But as a shock, yes. A rabbit-punch to the heart, followed hard by sorrow and loss.

I wanted to let you know that all cars at the State Beach in Edgartown and Oak Bluffs that have tires on the sand, not completely on the pavement, are being ticketed by the sheriff’s department. I have parked there for 40 years and never was ticketed for good parking, but was ticketed on July 2 by officer number 25.

We recently were on the Vineyard for our annual two-week stay when I experienced trouble with our 11-year-old Land Rover. The truck intermittently refused to shift out of park and was progressively getting worse. In addition to the obvious stress and inconvenience during our stay, I was worried that I would not be able to get the vehicle on or off the ferry when it was time to go home. I called four garages and before I could even explain the problem, was told by each they were not looking for any more work and could not help.

Can you imagine how happy Ted Farrow would have been to see his original artwork of Tashtego, the Gay Head Indian harpooner (from Moby-Dick) adorning the Gazette’s issue of June 20?

He actually did the original art to simulate a woodcut and that artwork is framed and resides with my son in Watertown. It is quite a beautiful and majestic figure. Thank you for reviving our old friend, Tashtego, and bringing him back to the pages of the Gazette after all these years. I think we last used that image the year we retired in 1996.

Documentary made by Chilmarkers David Heilbroner and Kate Davis brings Newburgh case to light, exposing possible entrapment during the War on Terrorism.

As I wrap up my year as the alternative education science teacher at Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School, I polled my students and did my own inventory of things that had gone well and things I wanted to change for next year. Our goal of the alternative education program at the high school is to offer students a “different, more personalized approach to their educational experience.” Through a “voluntary, collaborative, heterogeneously team-based approach that is student centered, supportive and open to new ideas . . .

Gay Head Gallery exhibit, Keep the Lighthouse in Sight, hosts artists' work, casting out into stormy seas. Sales from the exhibit benefit relocation efforts.

The future home of the Gay Head Light in Aquinnah will be about 190 feet inland from the westernmost tip of the Island.

Edward Keating, a longtime staff photographer for the New York Times and frequent contributor to Rolling Stone, Time Magazine and New York Magazine, is having a show at Island Images Gallery in Oak Bluffs. He is best known for his gritty street photography done in New York city.

Behind the Bookstore is an area of innovation. Coffee, pastries, wine and now painting, too. On Thursday evenings the Edgartown coffee shop is hosting an event dedicated to the fine art of creativity and cocktails.