Town Column : Aquinnah
By Molly Purves
Published: April 30, 2009
What a lovely taste of summer we're having. The weather is so nice I think I'd like to...go to a meeting. Well, thank goodness there are so many of them to choose from this week.
Tonight at 7 pm in the selectmen's meeting room in the town hall there will be a hearing of public comment on a proposal from Circle Productions to build a non-permanent staging structure at the Aquinnah Circle. Yes, this is the proposal that we debated for over an hour back at the last town meeting. It's a hot-button issue so bring your insights and be prepared to get comfy - it may last a while. If you can't make the meeting but want your comments heard, written comments will be accepted until 12 noon today.
The Martha's Vineyard Cultural Council (MVCC) will be holding their annual community input meeting on Tuesday, May 5, at 7:30 pm at the Howes House in West Tisbury (across from Alley's). Last year the MVCC gave out $38,000 in grants, some of it to Spindrift Marionettes, the Aquinnah Public Library, and Lindsey Scott's quilting class held at the library. These grants include public funds so you (the public) have a say in the MVCC's policies.
Remember also that the strategic planning meeting for the Aquinnah Public Library is Monday, May 4, at 6 pm at the library.
Congratulations to Taza Vercruysse, a Falmouth Academy senior. This past Sunday, he became a member of the National Honor Society.
This weekend will be the last performances of Shakespeare for the Masses at the Vineyard Playhouse. "King Lear" will be performed in a staged reading on Friday and Saturday at 7 pm. It's free, so come on by if you need a break from all those meetings... or you want to see some family drama other than your own.
The 2010 census has come to town. For the past few weeks census employees have started mapping every housing structure on Martha's Vineyard. As of last week, I am one of the census employees, so here are a few words about the census, if I may. The information the census collects is confidential, and no other government entity or person not employed by the census can access that information. It is not given to immigration, the IRS, town hall, or anybody except in very broad terms; i.e. how many people are in a given area. That's it. After 72 years the information gets released to the National Archive. For real, I'm not just drinking the census Kool-Aid. We are not going to report your illegal apartment, the fact that you are living in your house without an occupancy permit, or that you are not a legal citizen. Right now in fact, all we are doing is mapping the area. The official taking of the census is next April. But there will be census workers laying the groundwork for next April throughout the coming months. So, to sum up, you are safe and please answer honestly any questions the census workers ask you. Thank you.
