Island emergency officials were inundated with
calls from concerned residents Wednesday afternoon after a haze of smoke
and ash descended on the Island from a brush fire on Noman’s Land, the small uninhabited island off the southern coast
of Chilmark.

The fire was part of a
controlled burn started by the U.S. Navy to clear away underbrush and
expose unexploded ordinances left on Noman’s during
training exercises over the past five decades. Noman’s
Land is part of the town of the town of Chilmark, but is owned by the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

The advent of spring on the Vineyard brings with it the welcome return of things like warm weather, the majestic osprey and the running of the herring. But it also signals the return of several less celebrated Island traditions, including traffic jams, tick bites — and those dreaded traffic tickets.

In light of climate change and rising fuel costs, there is a push by some members of the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School committee to limit car use at the high school, with one particular member calling for an outright ban on student vehicle use.

The committee instructed the school council to brainstorm ideas for reducing car use and to report back in October.

It is a summertime tradition, a shopping destination known for its rare antiques and its bizarre gems — a prosthetic leg, a mounted deer head, a talking bathroom scale. It is the flea market and, after 40 years as a Chilmark institution, it is moving to West Tisbury.

The move, to the grounds of the West Tisbury School on Old County Road, will reduce the scope of the flea, but will allow congregates of the Chilmark Community Church to continue to host the twice-a-week market.

Corrections

A caption beneath a photograph accompanying coverage in last Friday’s Gazette of the Chilmark annual town meeting misidentified a man listening to debate over a proposed Coast Guard tower on Peaked Hill. The man pictured in the photograph was Andy Goldman.

Hello, Ian

Elizabeth and Joseph Jims of Oak Bluffs announce the birth of a son, Ian Schmidt Cuunningham Jims, born April 4 at the Martha’s Vineyard Community Hospital. Ian weighed 7 pounds, 15 ounces at birth. He joins his sister, Ingrid.

At a hearing Monday Edgartown selectmen approved fare increases for the Chappaquiddick ferry, as a recent spate of complaints from residents gave way to resounding public support for the ferry’s new owner.

Selectmen unanimously granted owner Peter Wells’s request to raise cash prices on round trips from $3 to $4 for foot passengers and from $10 to $12 for cars. The rates scheduled for May 1, are already in effect.

A woman sustained serious injuries last Friday after a motorist pulling out of a parking space in front of Reliable Market accidentally put her car in drive and lurched forward, pinning her against the side of the building and reportedly breaking her leg.

According to Oak Bluffs police, Ellen N. Kendrick, 89, a seasonal resident of Edgartown with a Florida address, thought she had put the car in reverse but had actually put the car in drive. The vehicle reportedly jumped the curb and struck a 30-year-old New York woman who was walking along the sidewalk.

A plan to improve cellular phone reception for up-Island residents will likely not get off the ground now until the fall.

At a meeting this week, selectmen from Aquinnah, Chilmark and West Tisbury agreed to rewrite a request for proposals for the distributed antennae system; the rewritten language will require the winning bidder to provide complete coverage for all three towns.

The selectmen envision a proposal that would include Aquinnah as a possible hub but allow other sites in other towns at the discretion of bidders.

The coastal bank along Sea View avenue in Oak Bluffs has undergone a major overhaul in recent weeks and town officials are confident the area will be ready in time for the busy summer season. Town leaders have had to scramble over the past few months to repair the popular town beach after a 30-ton retaining wall suddenly collapsed in late February.