A story about the Menemsha Pond sailboat races in the Friday Gazette misspelled the name of Nicholas Karnovsky. The Gazette regrets the error.

Four Generations Art Gallery opened its second annual Hudson River this weekend, yet in the coming weeks the gallery will continually add new works featuring the river, its cliffs its now-vanished fishermen and its now transformed views of new York city.

The Ortlip family maintained a studio for over 50 years atop the New Jersey Palisades, overlooking the river and the glittering lights of New York city. Paul Ortlip, father of gallery director Michele Ortlip, created a huge series of paintings and drawings depicting the Hudson River.

Thursday, Sept. 13

Opening Night Party on the rooftop at the Mansion House Inn from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. with music from Phil DaRosa, dors d’oeuvres and Champagne and wines.

Opening Night Film at the Capawock Theatre on Main street in Vineyard Haven.

8 p.m. The Owl and the Sparrow, a love story set in Saigon (97 minutes) with post-screening discussion with director Stephane Gauger.

Friday, Sept. 14 At the Capawock:

Driven by 23 foreclosures in Vineyard Haven during the first half of 2007, Island home foreclosure activity rose from 17 in 2006 to 40 for the same period in 2007, an increase of 235 per cent.

Some evidence suggests the increase has ties to subprime lending, where lenders do business with borrowers who can’t obtain conventional mortgage financing and charge them higher costs.

The breeze in the air on Friday, the last day of August, brought with it a hint of fall. The afternoon was clear and warm, but the wind felt cool. So it was a comfort to walk into the kitchen of the Magnuson home in West Tisbury, just shy of the Chilmark border, where the sweet autumn smells of cinnamon and cooking apples filled the air. Behind their house, Debbie and Eric Magnuson run one of the Island’s only commercial orchards, growing apples and pears that they sell from their home and at Morning Glory Farm.

It is almost the end of berry-hunting season, and that’s a pity. Berry picking offers an opportunity to enjoy songbirds, osprey and honking Canada geese overhead. Berry hunters out just before sundown may see deer leaping stone walls to spend the night in the depths of the woods.

There are the sounds of nature to enjoy, too — soughing pines and rustling leaves and sometimes the lapping of water on shore or the distant roar of the ocean.

Martha's Vineyard plays a special role in the history and
culture of African Americans in this nation. Although there are
instances of racial prejudice and discrimination, the Island has largely
served as a beacon of hope over the years: an early vacation spot for
African Americans as well as a nexus and forum for discussion for some
of the most influential black scholars and leaders in the nation.

Following a frenzied weekend of rallies for two of the 2008 Democratic Presidential contenders, the third of the front runners, Barack Obama. slid quietly into the Vineyard early this week for aclosed-door high-ticket fundraiser and no fanfare.

While Edgartown, Menemsha and nearby Cuttyhunk harbors have
experienced average business so far this summer, Vineyard Haven and Oak
Bluffs harbors are tentatively reporting their busiest - and most
lucrative - boating seasons ever.

"The beginning of August was the busiest I've ever seen
the harbor. It was absolutely crazy," Oak Bluffs harbor master
Todd Alexander said. "I think the whole Island was busier."

Nobel Winner Joseph Murray: Vigorous at 88

By JACK SHEA

Dr. Joseph E. Murray chooses to live a simple life and at 88 he
remains full of awe and wonder at the world.

And despite being lionized as a medical pioneer for half his life,
he is somehow right-sized. The natural beauty of the Vineyard gives him
all he needs, he says.

In a recent conversation at his home on Chappaquiddick, the Nobel
Prize-winning surgeon used poetry to illustrate how his Island home
enables him to experience his life.