Jury selection began today in Dukes County Superior Court for the murder trial of an Aquinnah man.

Ovando Eghill, 32, is charged with second degree murder and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon after he allegedly fatally stabbed an Edgartown man, Michael M. Trusty, on June 14, 2011.

According to police, the incident took place outside a Spring street home in Vineyard Haven. Mr. Eghill’s wife was previously married to Mr. Trusty, and both men were at Spring street to visit their children, police said.

The spring session of the superior court opened on Monday, when a Dukes County grand jury handed down three indictments: two men were indicted on charges stemming from an alleged assault in Oak Bluffs, and a Vineyard Haven man was indicted on drug charges.

The family of the late Edwin Newhall (Bob) Woods has permanently gifted 500 acres of rare and unspoiled oak forest, grassland and frost bottom to The Nature Conservancy, the conservancy announced late Monday.

Bats are cracking, sails are full of wind and tennis racquets and lacrosse sticks are in evidence as the spring sports season gets under way at the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School.

Girls’ tennis opens Tuesday at 3 p.m. when the team takes on Barnstable. Also on Tuesday at 3 p.m., boys’ lacrosse hosts Bishop Stang.

It’s out with the white linen table cloths and in with the repurposed wood as the farm-to-table movement anchors itself in Chilmark this summer.

Farmer and chef Chris Fischer will take the helm of the restaurant at the Beach Plum Inn in Menemsha, the inn announced this week. Mr. Fischer will source directly from his family’s farm, Beetlebung Farm, just over a mile down the road.

The Martha’s Vineyard Peewees upended the undefeated Nantucket Nor’easters on Saturday to earn the title of Cape and Island League Champions in their final game of the hockey season. The game was played at Charles Moore Arena in Orleans. The final score was 5 to 3.

After a rousing pregame speech by team captain Jack Murray, the Peewees came out strong at the start of the match, scoring twice in the first minute. The team potted a third goal before the first period was over, but Nantucket took advantage of power plays in the second period to tie the game.

The Martha’s Vineyard Commission Thursday unanimously approved Comcast and NStar’s application to install an undersea cable to provide backup service to the Island.

NStar and Comcast requested approval for the installation of a 4.5 mile undersea hybrid fiber optic and electric cable between Falmouth and Martha’s Vineyard, with the cable going underneath the sea floor and coming to land on Squantum avenue and Main street in Vineyard Haven.

Last night 30 deepwater fishermen from around New England expressed their approval at a meeting in Gloucester for a new proposal to open up swordfishing to rod and reel and harpoon fishermen. Gregory Mayhew and his son Todd, both Menemsha fishermen, attended as did Alex Friedman, president of the Martha’s Vineyard/Dukes County Fishermen’s Association.

Martha’s Vineyard Hospital physicians and medical staffers met last Friday with leadership from the recently-announced Coordinated Cancer Care Program, a collaboration between MVH and Massachusetts General Hospital, to discuss details and goals of the new agreement, which increases oncological care access to Vineyarders by providing chemotherapy treatments on-Island. The program also includes Nantucket Cottage Hospital.
The Coordinated Cancer Care Program was announced earlier this month, and began this week at the hospital.

Martha’s Vineyard Film Center in Vineyard Haven is naming its theatre space in honor of Baltimore philanthropist Marilyn Meyerhoff, who has given the largest-ever donation to the Martha’s Vineyard Film Society, founder and director Richard Paradise said Thursday.

Mr. Paradise declined to disclose the amount of the gift, but said it was a multi-year commitment that would “provide sustenance for the coming decade and ensures that the MV Film Society will flourish.”