As frequent visitors to this magnificent Island for the past 40 years, my husband and I thought we knew just about all there was to know about Martha’s Vineyard history and culture. We were wrong! Last weekend, we decided to take an African-American history tour with Robert Hayden, an Oak Bluffs resident for over 40 years. The experience was utterly fascinating; we were captivated from the very start of this tour, which lasted an hour longer than we had been told.

The following letter was sent to Bret Stearns, natural resources director for the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah):

The town of Aquinnah would like to thank you and members of the tribe’s natural resources department for all the hard work you did protecting Aquinnah’s natural resources during the grounding of the lobster boat Sherry Ann July 10 out by Squibnocket Point.

This is so familiar, the stories, the struggles that all of you are dealing with. I know firsthand what Lyme disease can do to one’s livelihood. I’ve lived with it for 17 years now, not only Lyme, but Rocky Mountain spotted fever and Brucellosis.

Peter Robb, in his July 13 letter, has recently furnished Gazette readers with several fine examples of unabashed Republican thinking, as put forth by their hard-working public relations staff and faithfully hammered into our eyes and ears by “Fair and Balanced” Fox News. All the Democrats need do is give this hogwash the widest possible circulation, and they can win in a walk.

In response to Peter Robb’s letter, Losing Faith:

I was enjoying your letter of July 13 until I realized they must have left out the paragraph where you offered any proof for your negative assertions regarding the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

The Vineyard Youth Tennis program, which provides free tennis lessons and court time at its Oak Bluffs facility, is celebrating its 10th anniversary on Saturday, July 21 with a professional tennis exhibition, tennis games and prizes, a kids' carnival with clowns, as well as magicians and face painting. Festivities begin at 9:30 a.m. For more information, call 508-693-7762.

The Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank reported revenues of $46,660 for the business week ending on Friday, July 13, 2012. The land bank receives its funds from a two per cent fee charged on many Vineyard real estate transactions.

Much of the land bank revenue last week came from the town of West Tisbury, where two transactions resulted in $21,400. In Oak Bluffs, one eligible transaction yielded $14,500. Two transactions in Tisbury generated $10,730, while one in Edgartown resulted in $30. No eligible transactions were recorded in Chilmark or Aquinnah.

State and federal environmental officials Friday formally designated the waters surrounding Martha’s Vineyard and south of Cape Cod off limits for the discharging of boat effluent. The designation means that nearly 95 per cent of state waters around Massachusetts are closed to effluent discharge. State Energy and Environmental Affairs and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency officials made the announcement this morning at a gathering at Aselton Park in Hyannis.

Widespread partying puts pressure on teens. For police, restaurants and liquor stores — not to mention teenagers trying to get their hands on beer or a cocktail — some high-tech little machines are making a big difference on the Vineyard this summer. With underage drinking historically at a high rate in this resort community, Island police say more minors, fueled by increasingly easy access to high-quality fake IDs, are being caught as they try to purchase alcohol on the Island.

Lake Tashmoo, which was closed to shellfishing last week because of a rare toxic algae bloom, reopened Friday morning.

A press release from the town of Tisbury said that the state notified shellfish constable Danielle Ewart on Friday morning to say that additional testing indicated the pond had been cleared and that it could be reopened to shellfishers immediately.