Catherine Norton was appointed by the Falmouth selectmen in mid-January. She pledges to listen to all the stakeholders in the state-chartered boat line that is the lifeline to the two Islands.

The 2013 Christmas Bird Count was held Jan. 4 on the Vineyard and tallied 16,349 individuals and 119 species.

Due for major repairs, the two million-gallon tank will be drained next month. Meanwhile, during the 10-week project, Oak Bluffs will receive its town water from Edgartown.

A $1.45 million budget approved by the commission last week for the coming fiscal year is an increase of nearly 10 per cent over last year.

Wendy Gray's Field and Felt session with Charter School students Saturday included a guest appearance by a ewe from the Allen Farm.

The sold-out event sponsored by WMVY raised $34,000 for the Red Stocking Fund this year. People sampled chilis and danced to the music of the Mariachi Mexico Lindo Band, the Baja Brothers and later Johnny Hoy.

An architectural salvage expert in Tampa was charmed to discover a scrapbook full of cartoons by the late Denys Wortman, renowned syndicated cartoonist in his day and a Vineyard resident.

A Martha's Vineyard Commission review of the grocery expansion plans in Vineyard Haven will go to a seventh public hearing in February. Sticking points remain amid growing frustration over a drawn-out process.

A thin crescent moon will appear in the morning sky near the planet Saturn this weekend and near Venus next week. Much has changed in our evening sky.

Broadway Electrical Co. Inc., based in Boston, will shutter its business operation, a spokesman for the Cape and Vineyard Electrical Cooperative (CVEC), confirmed yesterday.