The town of Oak Bluffs will sponsor a forum on Wednesday, Feb. 8 to share information about the importance of public service and processes related to civic engagement.

The Norton Point breach opened on Dec. 27 and followed a series of storms that had battered the south-facing shore of Martha’s Vineyard. The Chappaquiddick summer home owned by Sue and Jerry Wacks stands as a lonely sentinel by the sea these days.

On a boulder-peppered hill in Chilmark, a septic system is near completion. Tons of dense clay have been excavated and in its place a mess of tubes and concrete boxes now sit. Only one step is left: the septic must contend with Coop.

A state Department of Environmental Protection investigation found the West Tisbury fire station to be a contributor of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) to the area’s groundwater supply, affecting nearby wells.

The announcement this week that more decision-making for the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital and other community hospitals will be shifted to their parent corporation is being billed as an efficiency move that won’t affect patient care.

The town is seeking volunteers to serve as members on a number of municipal groups.

The Steamship Authority’s multi-year reconstruction of its Woods Hole terminal is now fully focused on the land side of the property, where the longtime staging area for Vineyard-bound vehicles was recently demolished.

I was perusing the Vineyard Gazette recently and read an article, one of those “on this day 51 years ago."

It is still January, the longest, coldest month.

The West Tisbury affordable housing committee unanimously agreed that the development of the affordable housing land at 401 State Road should help meet the needs of the Island's aging adults.