JANE N. SLATER

508-645-3378

(slaterjn@comcast.net)

The past few sunny and sometimes warm days have encouraged some daffodils in the right locations to start coming up . . . a cheery sight for us winter-weary folk. As I watch the weather reports from across the country and see the awful storms, however, I can’t help but count our blessings. Let’s hope the daffodils know something we don’t and that spring is nearby.

Dean’s List

Two Vineyard students have been named to the dean’s list at Northeastern University for the fall 2007 semester. They are Kimberly Carter of Edgartown and Amanda L. Murphy of Vineyard Haven. Both are majoring in health science.

Named to Dean’s List

Simon Goldberg, a junior at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Va., has been named to the dean’s list for the 2007 fall semester. Mr. Goldberg, who is majoring in sports management, is the son of Ken Goldberg of Edgartown and Patti Linn of West Tisbury.

At Saint Michael’s College

Two Vineyard students have been named to the dean’s list at Saint Michael’s College in Burlington, Vt., for the fall 2007 semester.

They are Christina M. Colley, daughter of Carlos and Joanne Colley of Oak Bluffs, a psychology and elementary education major, and Matthew M. Seklecki, son of Daniel Seklecki and Catherine MacDonald of Vineyard Haven, a political science major.

Sticker Shock in West Tisbury

Staggering increases in property taxes in some areas of West Tisbury this year have come as a blow to residents, some of whom have seen their tax bills more than double. The increases put enormous pressure on people who own valuable property but are not wealthy — including some property owners on the Tisbury Great Pond, many of whom have held property in their family for generations.

So the questions are coming fast and furious from a group of taxpayers who want to know how this happened.

Regional Trash Disposal: Long Overdue

Fifteen years ago Tisbury and Oak Bluffs decided to pull out of the Vineyard’s regional solid waste disposal district, figuring they could operate their own solid waste disposal system more efficiently and inexpensively. But there was never any logic to operating two off-Island transfer operations on a small Island.

NOT SO NOSTALGIC

Editors, Vineyard Gazette:

A Dog Named Jake

By Thomas Hart Benton

From the Vineyard Gazette editions of August, 1946:

I read somewhere (maybe In Style Magazine) that the meek shall inherit the earth. I don’t recall if this statement was intended as a proclamation or as a suggestion, but I do know that the meek may want to consider the tax implications of such an inheritance before they blindly accept this gift. At the very least, they’d need to sell off most of Europe and Asia to pay the federal government (I’m pretty sure the land bank would want a piece of the action, so maybe Canada should be liquidated too).

Eyesore From All Angles

Editors, Vineyard Gazette:

The following is an edited version of a letter sent to the Martha’s Vineyard Commission, which will review the Joseph G. Moujabber garage addition next month, beginning with a land use planning committee meeting on March 3: