He has yet to hold a press conference in his front yard, hold forth on foreign policy regarding Israel, or hire a publicity management agent, as Ohio’s Joe Wurzelbacher has. But Joe Guerin, an Edgartown plumber with nearly 30 years experience, has seen his local fame skyrocket in the two weeks following the final presidential debate thanks to Mr. Wurzelbacher and the three little words he inspired: Joe the Plumber.

Adult education on Martha’s Vineyard dates back to the 1970s, but this month the old idea will be expanded and relaunched under the leadership of former high school Spanish teacher Lynn Ditchfield.

Richard Paradise stood in the corner of the Katharine Cornell Theatre on Saturday afternoon, silent but smiling.

It was a rare moment. Mr. Paradise, co-director of the annual Martha’s Vineyard International Film Festival, is a natural talker and schmoozer. From the time this year’s festival kicked off Thursday afternoon to the time it closed Sunday at sunset, Mr. Paradise gabbed nonstop. He introduced films, talked shop with reporters and greeted audiences and filmmakers alike.

Amid the heap of state and national issues on Tuesday, Island voters will be asked one local question: whether to reduce the terms of the seven-member Dukes County commission. A yes vote on ballot question number four will reduce terms from four years to two. A no vote will leave commission members serving four-year staggered terms.

An overflow crowd came to the Agricultural Hall on Tuesday afternoon to celebrate and remember David Willey, the Vineyard Haven man and Cape Air pilot who died last Friday evening when his plane crashed near Nip ’n’ Tuck Farm in West Tisbury. He was 61.

If I were a tomato, I would want to be a porch tomato. It is a lesson which took only 15 months, about $50 and a bowl of bruschetta on a warm summer evening to learn.

Health and human service agencies on the Vineyard are already feeling the effects of severe state budget cuts made last week by Gov. Deval Patrick and are bracing for more in the months ahead.

State funding to Family Planning of Martha’s Vineyard and Martha’s Vineyard Community Services was slashed in the cuts, while directors at the Island Health Care Rural Clinic in Edgartown and the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital were busy this week preparing for spending and hiring freezes.

Although today’s is the last Farm and Field column for the year, the farming season is far from over. Fall brings fields full of squash and pumpkins, late summer corn, green and red tomatoes. Farm stands will stay open on through October and November. Come December, many Island farms will shut down and farmers will turn their attention to planning for the spring, summer and early fall crops.

Getting a passport is no easy task. It takes two photo graphs, proof of United States citizenship, a valid form of photo identification, a $100 processing fee and then said passport will not arrive for up to four weeks.

The first day of kindergarten comes but once in a lifetime and yesterday, Joanie Creato’s son was ready for it. “He just kept saying, I’m going to kindergarten! I’m going to kindergarten,” the mother of two said yesterday morning. “He was very excited. I bawled my eyes out.”

Many parents tear up — or heave a sigh of relief — when their students step into the kindergarten classroom for the first time. But for Mrs. Creato, the moment was a triumph.