The Massachusetts Property Insurance Underwriting Association, or FAIR Plan, has submitted a request for a rate hike. The Cape and Islands have a proposed rate hike of 9.9 per cent on homeowner insurance premiums scheduled to go into effect July 1. A public hearing on the rate request will be held on Wednesday, May 29, at 11 a.m. at the Barnstable town hall in Hyannis in the second floor hearing room. Citizens for Homeowners Insurance Reform will hold a rally on the village green next to the town hall from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. before the hearing.

The Dockside Inn in Oak Bluffs was named 2013 best harborfront hotel in New England by Yankee Magazine’s Travel Guide to New England. The magazine cited the hotel’s contemporary design and nautical decor. The Dockside Inn was previously named in Boston Magazine’s 2012 Best of Boston.

Field of Dreams! I recently experienced the dream of every parent and so many offspring — college graduation. I am bursting with pride because my son Christopher Leigh Clark graduated from Upper Iowa University on Saturday, May 11, and I was there to see it. Chris has earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting.

I was watching Ellen Degeneres’ show today and she told her audience that it sure was hot outside. She said it was 102 degrees so I turned on the guide to see if this was a repeat episode and it was not. Now I’m thinking it is 50 degrees today and it is chilly. I would much rather have it that way then trying to keep cool.

In this typically tardy Vineyard spring, the Chappaquiddick trees are finally decked out in all their finery — delicate leaves, dangling catkins, and frilly blossoms that entice the bees to do their job while we shiver in the morning, refusing to get the stove going because it’s the middle of May, for God’s sake!

Oak Bluffs has always been the sweetest town, at least cavity-wise. Back in Stuart MacMackin’s 1920s, Circuit avenue and its surroundings included three ice cream/soda fountain establishments (the Jack Hughes Ice Cream Parlor, Rausch’s Ice Cream and Pearson’s Drug Store Soda Fountain at the Arcade), two bakeries (Mrs. Dow’s Bake Shop and LaBell’s Bakery), cotton candy from the Flying Horses and of course, saltwater taffy from Darling’s.

Well, the weather was mild and the sun came out Saturday afternoon and it turned out to be a decent weekend. Lawn mowers could be heard buzzing around town cutting lawns. The cherry trees in Harriet Bernstein’s front lawn were ablaze with color and so was the one on Music street

Chilmark enjoyed a busy but rainy Mother’s Day weekend. It is usually the first weekend of visits from seasonal residents and the first holiday weekend that feels like spring. Most businesses will open this coming weekend, although some were ready for the early visitors. The restaurants are mostly open now. The Beach Plum Inn restaurant will be open Thursday through Sundays this month with a Sunday Supper Series. The Galley and The Bite will both open May 16, and the Beetlebung Café will open on May 2.

Springtime in Aquinnah is nearly in full bloom. The flowering cherry trees are a burst of pretty pink blossoms in Anne Vanderhoop’s yard, as well as in the yard of Aiko Hydeman. Forrest Alley has his lawn greener than ever, and freshly mowed. The beach plum bushes are flowering, and the catbirds have arrived searching for raisins. Michael Hebert has the Whispering Wind off of the winter boat storage unit. The Fall River Ham Operators Club had their annual trip to Aquinnah Circle, which has been freshly cut by Jay Smalley. Aquinnah is blossoming!

The moon passes by two brilliant stars this weekend. After sunset, the first quarter moon appears high in the sky tonight, near the bright star Regulus. Regulus is the principal star in the zodiacal constellation Leo.

On Sunday night, the gibbous moon appears farther east, close to Spica, the principal star in the zodiacal constellation Virgo.

Spica is distant and light reaches us after a 262 year journey. Regulus is a good deal closer at 77 light years away.