News Briefs
White House says no Vineyard vacation planned
A White House official speaking on background told The Martha's Vineyard Times Tuesday that President Barack Obama has no plans to vacation on Martha's Vineyard in August, or indeed, to vacation anywhere else. The president would not be taking a vacation this summer, the White House official said.
The Boston Globe reported Tuesday that President Obama "may vacation this summer on Martha's Vineyard." The story of a presidential visit appeared on the Boston broadsheet's "Names" page, a compilation of celebrity news and comings and goings.
The Globe did not cite any sources. "The White House wouldn't confirm the first family's vacation plans today, but word is the Obamas have rented a house for two weeks at the end of August in the East Chop neighborhood of Oak Bluffs," the Globe reported.
The Cape Cod Times, FOX News and several other outlets picked up the Globe story and ran with it for all it was worth. The Oak Bluffs Police Department fielded a flood of telephone calls Tuesday seeking some confirmation of a planned visit but had no information to report.
The Martha's Vineyard Times called the White House press office Tuesday and reached Menno Goldman in the media affairs office. Mr. Goldman said he would pass the question on to the communications office. Late Tuesday morning, a White House spokesperson told The Martha's Vineyard Times she had fielded several calls and had no idea how the rumor started.
However it began, the Globe story fueled a rumor that had been circulating on the Vineyard for weeks of an Obama vacation. Entrepreneurs were quick to take advantage.
A house rental listing on Craig's List, the popular Internet site, began, "Hurry, make your plans now to be on the Vineyard at the same time as our historic First Family."
Mr. Obama last visited the Vineyard in August 2007, to attend a $1,000 per head ($2,300 for the good seats) fundraiser, at the Oak Bluffs home of Ron and Judith Davenport.
Former SSA deckhand on hijacked freighter
A drama unfolding half a world away off the coast of Somalia yesterday had a local connection. A member of the crew of Maersk Alabama, a 17,000-ton American flag container ship hijacked by pirates Wednesday, formerly worked for the Steamship Authority.
According to a report on the Cape Cod Times website, pirates held the ship and the crew, all Americans. Conflicting reports throughout the day have said that at some point the crew recaptured the ship, but that the pirates continued to hold the captain, Richard Phillips of Underhill, Vt., a 1979 graduate of the Massachusetts Maritime Academy (MMA).
The chief mate on the freighter is Shane Murphy, 34, of Seekonk, a 2001 graduate of the academy, according to the Cape Cod Times. Wayne Lamson, SSA general manager, told The Martha's Vineyard Times late Wednesday that Mr. Murphy worked as a deckhand in the late 1990s. He left the ferry service to attend MMA, where his father, Capt. Joseph Murphy, is an instructor.
Maersk Alabama is carrying emergency food relief to Mombasa, Kenya, for a Copenhagen-based container shipping group, according to news reports.
SSA traffic decline persists through Q1
Vineyard passenger and auto traffic has fallen nearly eight percent in each category through the first quarter of 2009, when compared with the like period a year ago. Freight (truck) traffic has fallen off the 2008 pace by a similar percentage.
At Nantucket, passengers volumes are off 6.8 percent, autos 6.1 percent, and freight a whopping 17 percent.
For the line as a whole, passengers are down 7.8 percent, autos 7.6 percent, and freight 10.5 percent for the year to date as of the end of March.
In dollar terms, the passenger volume decline translates into just a tenth of a percent revenue shortfall compared to the first quarter last year. For autos, the dollar decline is 3.5 percent, and for freight 12.1 percent.
In an effort to save money, SSA members recently announced a reduction of the number of scheduled trips the boatline will make, to better match available ferry space with diminished demand. The reduced cost of fuel has also been a money saver for the line.
TTOR hires new Chappy superintendent
The Trustees of Reservations (TTOR) has hired David Babson of Island Pond, Vermont, to be the conservation organization's Chappaquiddick superintendent. Mr. Babson will be responsible for the management of the Cape Poge, Wasque, Mytoi, and Norton Point Beach properties.
The Chappy properties are popular destinations for hikers, kayakers, beachgoers, and fishermen. Mr. Babson is no stranger to Chappy or The Trustees, according to a press release. He has spent part of each summer in a family-owned cottage on Chappy since he was young. He was also assistant superintendent of TTOR's Crane Wildlife Refuge in Ipswich.
In addition, Mr. Babson was an owner of a timber frame company dedicated to green construction of post and beam structures.
"David's ability to manage a business and its employees, as well as to connect with the public; his business acumen coupled with extensive carpentry and mechanical skills, and his knowledge of the legal and accounting aspects of running a business on the one hand and conservation properties on the other, really did set him apart from a field of some interesting and excellent applicants for this position," said Chris Kennedy, TTOR regional director.
Mr. Babson and his wife, Annalei, have two children, aged 4 and 6. He begins his new job on April 20.
Talk about Vineyard weather benefits museum
If there's one subject everyone talks about, it's the weather. In his presentation, "Weathering the Storm," Mark Alan Lovewell, a Vineyard Gazette reporter, shared anecdotes and showed slides of his photos and others taken of memorable Island weather events over the years.
About 88 people turned out at the Mansion House for the April 2 event, a fundraiser for the Martha's Vineyard Museum. Mr. Lovewell offered three sessions, which included a 20-minute slide presentation and a question and answer period. For those who attended and dined at Zephrus Restaurant, 20 percent of proceeds from their meals were donated to the museum.
Mr. Lovewell described former Tisbury selectman and farmer Craig Kingsbury's experience in 1963, when he was struck by lightning while taking his cattle to pasture. A photo taken in 1896 showed a waterspout hundreds of feet high headed across Vineyard Sound. Mr. Lovewell said several Island residents reported afterwards the rain tasted like saltwater.
In addition to being a weather maven, Mr. Lovewell is an official record keeper. Former Gazette publisher and editor Henry Beetle Hough and his wife started a National Weather Service cooperative station on the Vineyard in 1946, which they ran out of their backyard. In 1982, Mr. Hough turned it over to Mr. Lovewell, who has run it out of his backyard ever since.
Every day, between 7:30 and 9 am, Mr. Lovewell notes the temperature outside and measures precipitation in a special rain gauge. He sends the data every month to an office in Taunton. There are about 7,000 similar data collectors across the U.S.
FARM Institute may offer extended day programs
The FARM Institute (TFI) at Katama Farm in Edgartown is exploring options to extend its summer programs to meet the scheduling needs of Island working parents who are seeking full-day programs for children ages five to fourteen.
After an article in last week's Times about the YMCA canceling its summer camp and the dilemmas faced by working parents in need of childcare, the TFI staff is stepping up to the plate by conducting a survey over the next two weeks to assess program needs. Parents who are interested in sending their children to TFI this summer and need extended day program options should contact Education Director Sidney Morris at 508-627-7007, ext. 104, or at education@farminstitute.org by April 23.
"If TFI has enough demand, we will then let you know the new programming times and costs," said Matthew Goldfarb, TFI Executive Director explains. "We cannot build this program according to your needs unless we hear from you, so please contact us, or better yet, come by the FARM."
TFI offers full-day programs from 9 am to 3 pm for children ages 5 to 14, and half-day programs for 4- and 5- year-olds.
"We would like to be more available to working families so more children can benefit from our summer programs," Mr. Goldfarb said. "We have been exploring extended day programming, and I recently spoke with John Clese, executive director of the YMCA, on how to meet those needs."
Mr. Clese told him that working parents need quality summer programs for their children that offer longer camp hours.
"After discussions with Mr. Clese, we know there is a definite need and we would like to respond to our community," Mr. Goldfarb said. "What we don't know is who is out there and what type of summer scheduling will work best for them."
Although other organizations such as the Martha's Vineyard Boys and Girls Club and Martha's Vineyard Community Services offer valuable summer programs, Mr. Goldfarb said TFI cannot compete with them on price because it provides a special focus and the resources to support it.
Nonetheless, he added, "TFI is helping families keep their children's hands in the fertile soil and not in their wallets."
For the first time, TFI is offering a reduced fee to children who attend school on the Vineyard year-round. Multiple children and multiple week discounts also are available. The cost of a full-day program may run as low as $250 a week per child.
TFI also offers over $10,000 annually in scholarships to year-round families that qualify. Depending on advice from a tax adviser, it may be possible to claim TFI summer camp expense as a dependent care income tax credit.
The FARM Institute provides year-round education programs offering learning experiences in livestock management, gardening, nutrition, and the tradition of Island farming.
For more information, drop by the FARM, visit its website www.farminstitute.org or call 508-627-7007.
Endowment Fund makes grants
The Permanent Endowment for Martha's Vineyard awarded $11,730 in spring grants to 12 Island nonprofit organizations. "Even during these challenging times, the Endowment continues its support of Vineyard nonprofits," said Debbie Hale, chairman of the Permanent Endowment, wrote in a press statement. "Certainly our financial resources have been affected by declines in the market. But our mission remains the same - to help efforts to better life on Martha's Vineyard through funding for the arts, education, the elderly, the environment, health and human services, housing and youth."
Recipients included the Aquinnah Cultural Center, Hospice of Martha's Vineyard, the Marine and Paleobiological Research Institute, the Martha's Vineyard Camp-Meeting Association, Martha's Vineyard Community Services' Early Childhood Programs, the Oak Bluffs Fire Department Restoration Group, the Tisbury School, the Town of Tisbury Mural Project, Vineyard Nursing Association, the Vineyard Playhouse, and Windemere Nursing and Rehabilitation Center.
Ms. Hale said that her organization hopes more Island organizations will consider approaching the Endowment for assistance during its September grant cycle. For more information, visit endowmv.org or call 508-338-4665.
ABCC checks alcohol compliance
Officials from the Massachusetts Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission (ABCC) Saturday conducted a compliance check of 12 businesses in Oak Bluffs that sell or serve alcohol. The visit was part of a multi-prong grant-funded effort by the Dukes County Health Council's Youth Task Force to curb underage drinking.
Oak Bluffs police lieutenant Tim Williamson said four of the 12 establishments sold alcohol to a 17-year-old individual from the ABCC, without asking to see his identification. The four businesses - O-Sun Asian Kitchen, the Ritz Café, Bangkok Cuisine, and Tony's Market - will face an ABCC administrative hearing, Lt. Williamson said.
Lieutenant Williamson added that he is pleased that eight businesses complied with laws designed to prohibit the sale of alcohol to minors. He said no one wants young people drinking and driving.
Theresa Manning, Youth Task Force coordinator, said that compliance checks of all establishments would be conducted twice a year over the next three years, in keeping with the requirements of a grant from the Department of Public Health.
She said the Youth Task Force first worked with Oak Bluffs police but expects to also work closely with Edgartown police on similar compliance checks. Ms. Manning said the goal is education as well as enforcement.
From left: West Tisbury selectman Diane Powers, Island Housing Trust chairman Richard Leonard, state representative Tim Madden, co-president of Island Affordable Housing Fund Candy DeRosa, and president of South Mountain Company John Abrams.
Photo by Ralph Stewart
From the ground up
Saturday's groundbreaking ceremony on Eliakim Way off State Road in West Tisbury was hosted by Island Housing Trust, Island Affordable Housing Fund, and Habitat for Humanity of Martha's Vineyard. The event marked the beginning of a project to build a new neighborhood of green and affordable homes, the result of a collaboration between the three organizations.
Business Briefs
Mix is back in the mix
Mix, the Vineyard Haven store specializing in "vintage finds and modern wares," reopens Friday in its new location at 4 Union Street, formerly the space occupied by Fancy That.
Owner Emily Milstein said the remodeled space is bright and airy and that the shop is full of items both old and new. For more information, call 508-693-8240.
Resort special combines dinner with free stay
The Winnetu Oceanside Resort overlooking South Beach in Katama will celebrate the opening of its Lure Grill restaurant with a dinner special designed to provide Islanders with a local escape.
From April 30 to May 26 Island residents who order two dinner entrées at the Lure Grill on any Wednesday or Thursday can stay that night in a one-bedroom suite and enjoy the resort's offerings, including tennis and fitness classes. Reservations are required. For all the details, call 866-335-1133.
Corrections
A story in the April 2 edition of The Martha's Vineyard Times, "Affordable houses + solar energy = solution," incorrectly reported that nine houses will be built and that the project's completion date is 2011. The project is scheduled for completion by Memorial Day 2010, and eight houses will be built.
