During most of the 1970s it was a Vineyard ritual. Many of us spent Thanksgiving day with family and friends. Then Saturday came along and it was off to the horse races.

A documentary about the Island Cup football game will be shown on NESN Monday and Tuesday. The footage comes from the leadup to the 2018 and 2019 Island Cup games from both Island perspectives.

Mary Bernadette Budginer-Cormie, along with her husband Leigh Paul Cormie, filed a lawsuit with the state Land Court earlier this month, seeking a reevaluation of the zoning’s board denial of her previous appeal on 97 Spring street. 

Federal fishing regulators are considering new ways to help revive the striped bass population after new estimates show the species remains overfished. 

At its meeting Tuesday, Tuesday, the planning board recommended that the Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank create a five- to six-foot-wide dirt path within the public right of way, with minimum clearing of trees in the area. 

Donald Trump, who has long railed against wind turbines, threatened to halt the industry on “day one” of his presidency throughout his campaign, raising concerns for advocates who feel wind energy is a major factor in meeting state and federal climate goals.

Percival Everett won the National Book Award for his novel James, a retelling of the Mark Twain novel Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from the slave, Jim’s, perspective.

As I write this on Tuesday evening, I’m hopeful that the weather forecast actually comes true on Thursday.

Jannette Vanderhoop, who was recently elected to the Martha’s Vineyard Commission after running a write-in campaign, will serve her first term as councilwoman after she is sworn in on Jan. 4.

Tonight's gibbous moon appears in the zodiacal constellation Leo. The moon is near the main star Regulus. The two rise together before midnight. Look tomorrow night and the last quarter moon appears right under Regulus.

Use these early nights to enjoy the brilliance of the stars and planets without the moon. Venus is low in the southwestern sky right after sunset. It is easy to spot and looks like an airplane approaching with landing lights on.

Farther south and more southwest is the ringed planet Saturn. The planet is pretty bright, though no match for the other planets.