They say rain on your wedding day is the mark of a happy marriage, and if the weather was any indication for Cynthia Riggs and Howard Attebery on Saturday evening, the couple will be together for a very long time.

President Barack Obama will return to the Vineyard this summer, making his fourth trip to the Island during his presidency, the White House confirmed Friday.

Mr. Obama and first lady Michelle Obama will travel to the Vineyard on August 10 and remain on Island until Aug. 18.

Power is slowly coming back on across the Island after a cable failure on the mainland caused power outages Friday afternoon. A spokesperson for the utility company Nstar said a cable failure in Falmouth caused the outage and the electricity company is starting up generators to restore power. Power should be fully restored by 5 p.m. According to the NSTAR outage map online, more than 6,200 NSTAR customers were affected. The cause of the failure is unknown at this time.

Sengekontacket is closed to shellfishing, the shellfish constable announced early Friday, after 0.28 inches of rain was recorded on the rain gauge at the Hughes Hatchery. The amount surpasses the 0.2 inches of rain threshold established in the 2012 Sanitary Survey for the pond. Shellfishing there will be prohibited for at least five days, and may be reopened on Wednesday as long as another heavy rain event does not occur in the meantime. Rain is measured daily at the pond.
The Sanitary Survey’s threshold is in effect during the months of July, August and September.

One of the largest privately-owned properties on the Vineyard goes on the market today with a record asking price. The 314 acres in West Tisbury feature dry oak forest, a private freshwater pond and some 1,200 feet of unspoiled Atlantic Ocean beachfront.

When Allie Joseph was a little girl, she would spot mermaids while on the ferry to Martha’s Vineyard, insisting to her mother that they were there, in the depths of Vineyard Sound.

On a recent Tuesday Allie, now in college, stood with parents David and Chris and sister Nikki.

It’s been 65 years since the first Steamship Authority was created, signed into existence by Massachusetts Gov. Robert Bradford in 1948 as the New Bedford, Woods Hole, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket Steamship Authority. Regular ferry service had existed prior to that date, beginning in the early 1800s. The arrival of the Old Colony Railroad in the 1870s brought train tracks right to the wharf in Woods Hole, spearheading the growth of both the Island summer tourism industry and the boat lines, which were then privately owned.

Island waters have been invaded by Portuguese man-of-war in at least three towns in the past week, beach managers are reporting. The jellyfish-like creatures have washed up on beaches in Edgartown, Aquinnah and Chilmark, as well as in Westport, according to mainland news reports.

Running Free, a 36-and-a-half foot sailboat that ran aground at Norton Point beach on Friday, was still languishing on the beach nearly a week later after salvage and refloating efforts failed. Meanwhile, visitors to the site were reported to be stripping the boat of its contents as it remained lodged in its sandy berth, prompting the Edgartown police to open an investigation Thursday.

Expanding transportation services among airlines, ferries, buses and trains have made the Vineyard more accessible than ever this summer.

Four airlines are now operating summer service between the Island and three major metropolitan areas. And two months ago train service began between Boston and the Cape that connects with a shuttle to the Steamship Authority.