There are always the telltale signs this time of year: tourists crowding sun-drenched streets, flags flying proudly above every doorway and red, white, and blue everywhere you look. The Fourth of July is nearly here, and with it comes the official start of summer on the Vineyard.

An overhaul of the shuttered state lobster hatchery in Oak Bluffs has been approved by the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, and the commonwealth will now invest a significant sum of money to rehabilitate the facility for use by the Martha’s Vineyard Shellfish Group, Cape and Islands Rep. Timothy Madden announced yesterday.

Mr. Madden said the state DMF has agreed to invest at least $250,000 in the project in phases. Work began this week to replace the plumbing in the old hatchery that sits on the eastern side of the Lagoon Pond in Oak Bluffs.

The sun was shining brightly at 7 a.m. at the Steamship Authority last week, and in the air was the smell of trash. Trucks were lined up waiting to fill the first freight boat to the mainland, including one tractor trailer carrying 20 to 30 tons of Island garbage. It was headed for Rochester, where trash is burned for electricity.

Michael Sedlier goes off-Island four days a week driving one of those truck. He works for Bruno’s Rolloff, Inc., taking trash or recyclable materials to one of the disposal facilities located in eastern Massachusetts.

The towns of Edgartown and Tisbury this week signed agreements with the Cape and Vineyard Energy Cooperative estimated to save them a collective $9.4 million in electricity costs over the next 20 years.

And the energy will not only be cheap, but clean. The cooperative will build large solar arrays at three different locations in Edgartown, with a combined production capacity of 4.5 megawatts, and one in Tisbury with a capacity of about 1.25 megawatts.

The mounting problems in Oak Bluffs escalated this week as selectmen described a crisis in their accounting department and the news surfaced of fresh complaints about possible violations to state bidding laws on town contracts.

Victoria Dryfoos and Craig Arnold were married on Saturday, May 21 at the home of Dorothea Arnold of Makonikey. The bridegroom’s brother, Derek Arnold, performed the ceremony on the scenic bluff overlooking Vineyard Sound.

In attendance for the bride were Shari Geistfeld, Marie Larsen and Lynn Ditchfield. The groomsmen, sons of Craig and Victoria, were Kylund Arnold, Conner Arnold and Tau Rios-Dryfoos.

Maritime Academy

Cadet 1st Class James Bishop of Edgartown graduated from the Massachusetts Maritime Academy on Saturday, June 18 with a degree in marine safety and environmental protection.

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Cadet 1st Class Michael Gately of West Tisbury graduated from the Massachusetts Maritime Academy on Saturday, June 18 with a degree in marine transportation.

Dr. Yvonne Hines-Bruce of Providence, R.I., and Vineyard Haven and Carl Joseph McCarthy of Worcester, formerly of Jamaica, W.I., were married on Feb. 12 at the Hanover Theatre for the Performing Arts in Worcester.

The ceremony was performed by the Hon. Mel Greenberg.

Dr. Hines-Bruce is medical director of Hines Dermatology Associates Inc., with offices in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Mr. McCarthy is community development manager for the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families central region.

A honeymoon is planned at a later date.

Dean’s List

Kendall Tyler Chaves, of West Tisbury, has been named to the dean’s list for the fall semester at Babson College.

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Andrew McHugh of Edgartown has been named to the Tufts University dean’s list for the Spring 2011 semester.

Remember that old Dylan song, “Somethin’ is happenin’, but you don’t know what it is, do you Mr. Jones?” In the opening first scene of the two-person play, coming2terms, at the Vineyard Playhouse, we’re all Mr. Joneses as we try to figure out what a particular attractive couple is up to. They’re coming across with everything long-term couples tend to do. Bickering? Check! Avoiding larger issues? Check! Sharing their day? Check!