Doug McConnell entered the water off Nantucket at 8:45 a.m. attempting to swim to the Vineyard to raise money for ALS. But the currents defeated him again and at 1:50 p.m. he was pulled up onto a boat by his guides.

Menemsha Dock in Chilmark, Cuttyhunk Harbor in Gosnold and a plan to dredge Lighthouse Beach in Edgartown are three of 19 projects statewide to receive funding.

For small businesses in the food and farm communities, social media is an essential communication tool.

With business acumen and a gastronomic passion, Rose Willett doesn’t mind having a lot on her plate – a plate that now includes The Larder in Vineyard Haven and Whippoorwill Farm in West Tisbury as well as North Tisbury Farm & Market.

Flower farmer Olivia Rabbitt is always on the move: She grows in Edgartown, lives on Chappy, and sells her blooms at the West Tisbury Farmers’ Market.

These four-footed Island residents are hogging the limelight.

Chef Charlie Granquist is the new culinary director at Slough Farm in Edgartown.

The unflappable Bob Pacheco keeps his family's 75-year old family business, Reliable Market, on an even keel.

Tisbury's annual and special town meetings are moving to the high school performing arts center in Oak Bluffs for the next two and a half years, while the town school undergoes an extensive renovation and addition.

The red-grade notice is the strongest health warning that the Island Boards of Health can issue in the event of a cyanobacteria bloom.