Two Vineyard residents locked in a bitter dispute with the Sheriff’s Meadow Foundation over title to a piece of land in Chilmark can use a tent and keep trailers on the property for now, but cannot do any further clearing or construction, a Massachusetts Land Court judge ruled on Friday.

Dean’s List

Jaime L. Billings, of Oak Bluffs, has been named to the spring 2011 dean’s list at Roger Williams University.

HELPING HANDS

Editors, Vineyard Gazette:

During the last presidential campaign, the poet Naomi Shihab Nye had the daunting task of introducing Caroline Kennedy at an Obama campaign event in San Antonio, Texas. The honor was made particularly formidable because Ms. Kennedy’s plane had been significantly delayed.

Breathe, Smile, Relax is the self-evident exercise that Buddhist teacher Lama Surya Das promotes in his new book, Buddha Standard Time: Awakening to the Infinite Possibilities of Now. It’s a meditation that, as he puts it, “can help us collect ourselves and reconcentrate our energy and attention. Learning how to do this prevents the cupful of golden vitality poured into us at birth from being continuously drained away.”

Summer is on the wane and now, admit it, you’re thinking, yikes, in trying to do everything, be everywhere, have the best summer ever, you forgot how to relax on your vacation. Never fear, there is still time to change course.

Night at Opera Provides Musical Education

On Thursday, August 25, beginning at 7 p.m. Vineyard audiences will be treated to the luscious music provided by Opera Noire. Luscious may seem an odd way to describe opera, but the performers provide so much more than great music that new and more fully-formed ways of describing the experience are needed.

The Rap on Kid Critic Jonas Plaut

Name: Jonas Jacob Plaut

Age: 11

School: Sixth grade at Abraham Joshua Heschel School, New York city

Pets: My black Lab, Poogie, died a few years ago at age 16. He is buried on our property where he always sat under a Japanese cherry tree.

Something new you are learning: How to grill meats on the barbecue.

Bison, Bison Baby

The bison are back! Howard University Alumni Association (HUAA) in conjunction with the Howard University Law Alumni Association (HULAA) will be hosting a networking and professional development group of events beginning on Wednesday, August 24 and running through Sunday, August 28. Activities will include numerous meets and swims with the polar bears, a wine and cheese art show, a golf and tennis tournament, a chicken and waffle party and, of course, bison beach ball and the summer white party.

Lectures, those events featuring knowledgeable experts discussing their subjects, are such yesterday’s news. How about instead a person actually becoming their subject and acting out the period in question?