There is no such thing as a seagull.

Growing up in the city by the ocean, I believed there were three bird species: pigeons, sparrows and seagulls. Mostly pigeons.

But Rob Culbert, at the end of his 14-hour day last Saturday, set me straight. There is no seagull species; there are terns and gulls of infinite variety but no seagulls.

More than 15 years ago, Brian Braginton-Smith of West Yarmouth came forward with an idea to meld wind power and aquaculture in what he envisioned as an “ocean ranch.”

Mr. Braginton-Smith’s proposal was the seed for what became the controversial proposal by Cape Wind Associates to place 130 wind turbines on Horseshoe Shoal south of Cape Cod.

The visionary now has separated himself from Cape Wind, saying he is concerned about the impact such a project would have on what he sees as an environmentally fragile fishing ground.

On Thursday, Jan. 17 at 9:30 a.m. as part of the Island’s celebration of the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., St. Andrews Episcopal church on North Summer street in Edgartown will become the twentieth site on the African American Heritage Trail of Martha’s Vineyard.

The church was the site of the first meetings in 1964 of the Martha’s Vineyard chapter of the NAACP. A bronze plaque will be unveiled honoring those citizens of all ethnic groups and from all walks of life who organized to participate in the building of a colorblind society.

Substance Abuse Grant

The Dukes County Health Council’s Youth Task Force is scheduled to receive a $90,297 grant. The money will be used for a program promoting environmental approaches to preventing alcohol, prescription drug and other substance abuse by youths. Attorney General Martha Coakley notified the task force of the grant.

Teresa Yuan Promoted

Teresa Yuan of Edgartown has received a promotion from Market America’s Unfranchise System. Ms. Yuan has moved up to the executive coordinator level as an independent distributor for Market America, a product brokerage and Internet marketing company.

Ms. Yuan’s promotion was based on success in sales, leadership and management in motivating and training other distributors to do the same during the month of October.

Aquinnah Schedules

Special Town Meeting

Aquinnah selectmen have set a special town meeting for Tuesday, Feb. 12 at 7 p.m. at old town hall to discuss funding remaining 2007 projects.

Agenda items include wage and salary levels, engineering for a distributed antenna system base station at the town landfill to enhance up-Island cell phone service, and several cultural programs.

Tisbury Tilting at Windmills

The decision by the town of Tisbury to challenge the state school funding formula in court is a wasteful expenditure of public money and a near-certain recipe for deepening the rift among the six Island towns over how they divide their payments for the high school budget — precisely at a time when a regional approach and mindset are needed.

Weathering Leaner Times

Statistics from the Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank, which keeps the most accurate records on the Island real estate market, are the latest and strongest confirmation of the Vineyard’s softening economy.

Real estate transactions on the Vineyard fell last year for the third year in a row. Revenues at the land bank fell for the second consecutive year.

January Thaw

To be sure, Islanders worry about global warming, but when the weather turns from bitter cold with temperatures in the single digits to a balmy fifty degrees — as it did between last week and this — well, they might put the worries aside for a day or two.

Correction

A feature in last week’s Gazette incorrectly reported Ali Berlow’s full first name, which is Alice. The Gazette regrets the error.