Are you prepared to handle an emergency at sea? A free seminar on techniques for abandoning ship will be held at Sail Martha’s Vineyard, Main street, Vineyard Haven at 6 p.m. Thursday, May 1.

Capt. Kent Dresser of Confident Captain-Ocean Pros will demonstrate the proper deployment of an inflatable liferaft, how to get in and out of the raft, what to carry in your ditch bag and what you need to know before, during, and after you abandon ship.

“You learn to pay attention to the moment,“ said Sheila Morgan, a client of Paul Farrington, an Island provider of neurofeedback.

That’s a type of biofeedback, which aims to make people aware of, and thus control, their unconscious reactions.

“I came in like a jigsaw puzzle dropped on the table and came out put together again,” she said.

What’s this moment all about? And just how does neurofeedback work?

Our Island Club has established four $1,000 scholarships as part of its annual charitable contribution. In total, more than $25,000 will be distributed to more than 120 Island-based organizations.

“When members join, they direct the club to donate a portion of their membership fee to the charity of their choice,” co-founder Jonathan Bernstein said. “Most members designate a charity. However, several don’t and they have entrusted us to use those funds in a way that we see fit.

The Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School boys’ tennis team is offering its services to any business or individual who needs help around their home or place of business in exchange for a financial donation to the team.

In the past the tennis booster club has held an annual round robin tennis tournament and solicited donations from local businesses. It was a lot of work and the club was always contending with weather.

This year the booster club, comprised of team parents, decided to give the boys ownership of the team fundraising.

Dukes County will present a program Tuesday, May 6 on an introduction to inspectional services, rodent control and bedbug threats to hotels, bed and breakfasts and homes in Massachusetts.

The progam is scheduled from 9 a.m. to noon at the West Tisbury Public Safety Building, 454 State Road, West Tisbury.

Speakers will include John Meaney, a principal health inspector for the city of Boston, Kevin Moran, an entomologist with Residex LLC, and Sheila Haddad, a senior technical sales respresentative with Bell Laboratories Inc.

I have just submitted my new economic stimulation plan to the President and I am sure that he is, at this very moment, giving it thoughtful consideration. You will be happy to learn, I am sure, that if my plan is adopted, it will bring you real hope, change you can believe in, solutions you can count on and security in which you can trust at 3 a.m. or at any time, really, including twilight.

Here are some of the features included in my plan which may be of interest to you:

I am writing to respond to last week’s Gazette editorial which faulted Cape Wind for filing a petition with the Massachusetts Energy Facilities Siting Board for relief from a denial of the Cape Cod Commission.

Cape Wind worked with the commission for six years. During that time the commission was provided with more information about the portions of the project in their jurisdiction (the transmission cables) than any regulatory body in Massachusetts has ever been provided for any proposed cable project.

Recently I attended the Minerals Management Service public hearing held on Martha’s Vineyard where I reiterated some of the reasons why I continue to give my full-fledged support to Cape Wind’s plan to build a wind farm in Nantucket Sound. During the nearly five-hour hearing I listened to what other people had to say; one of them was Dean Bragonier, a Vineyard resident who works for the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound. Dean expressed his take on the hearing we both attended and I thought I would present mine since they differ by such a wide margin.

Now that spring is here, I am willing to forget winter, but in March I was longing for it. This past Vineyard winter for me was neither cold nor snowy enough. So early last month, desperate for genuine winter, I packed my snow boots and ski pants and anorak and headed for northwestern Canada.

The Alzheimer’s Services of Cape Cod and Islands will present a program on Saturday, April 26, designed to help caregivers and family members better understand and deal with Alzheimer’s Disease.

The organization will present the program from 1 to 2:30 p.m. at the Vineyard Haven Public Library, Main street, Vineyard Haven.

An educational conference (eligible for continuing education units) for professionals will be held from 9 a.m. to noon.