Coop de Ville faces closure
The Oak Bluffs harborfront comes to life every summer when businesses open their doors to serve year-round Islanders, returning seasonal residents, and flocks of tourists. But after four decades, a longtime waterfront favorite is set to shutter. The Oak Bluffs Association announced a “bittersweet goodbye” Sunday to Coop de Ville, the open-air eatery that houses…
Alarms sound over Jordan’s Nursery
Town officials and residents, both inside and outside of meetings, have raised glaring and immediate concerns over the past few weeks about Jordan’s Nursery, an existing operation in Oak Bluffs that is currently under review by the Martha’s Vineyard Commission (MVC). These worries, like others that have come up in the months since the project…
Aquatic pollution concerns persist for Jordan’s Nursery
Ways to mitigate excessive loads of nitrogen spilling into Lagoon Pond from a new nursery in Oak Bluffs was top of mind for commissioners at a hearing last week, particularly with lingering questions of potential employee housing not yet built. The Martha’s Vineyard Commission (MVC) continued its hearing for Jordan’s Nursery on Oct. 29, an…
Vineyard Wind fully up and running
Vineyard Wind 1 has reached full commercial operations, a final milestone in a years-long project that’s experienced multiple setbacks along the way. “On Thursday, October 29, Vineyard Wind 1 reached full commercial operations, further strengthening New England’s energy supply,” Craig Gilvarg, a Vineyard Wind spokesperson, said in a statement.
Belain signs off one last time
“Alpha 10, Chief Belain, singing off,” Randhi Belain said to the dispatcher around 11 am Friday. Belain, now former Aquinnah police chief, officially retired after more than three decades with the department. The end of his tenure as chief was honored with a sentimental final radio sign-off surrounded by friends, family, and fellow chiefs at the…
Junior high football earns league title
The Martha’s Vineyard junior high football team, made up of sixth, seventh, and eighth graders from around the Island, known as the Mariners, defeated Mashpee 28-22 Thursday and claimed the Cape Cod Youth Football League championship. The game was tied 22-22 late in the fourth quarter when the Island’s Cruz Cancellare (No. 44) returned a…
Small housing lots proposal narrowly fails at statewide polls
Days after the historic midterm elections in which the Democratic Party seized power in both houses of Congress, Massachusetts has the results of all nine statewide ballot questions that should keep state officials busy for a while. While a tiny fraction of the state’s ballots are still being counted, as of Friday, all nine questions…
Big blue wave across America, the state, and the Island
The Island woke up Wednesday to a sea change in American politics brought on by a powerful blue wave for the Democratic Party that will take firm control of Congress in both the House and the Senate. The historic midterm elections unleashed new currents of change, including in Georgia, the nation’s first Black woman elected…
Copeland character wins out
Updated Nov. 9. As Lee Jackson Van Allen peered over the railing of a second-floor balcony at her family cottage on Wayland Avenue on a recent fall afternoon, she reflected on the history of the home in Oak Bluffs and the view in front of her.
Revolution Wind reaches commercial operation
Revolution Wind, a 65-turbine wind farm 12 miles off of Aquinnah, announced Thursday that the project reached commercial operations and is delivering electricity to Rhode Island and Connecticut up to its full capacity. When a wind farm reaches commercial operations status, the electricity is sold at a fixed price on the regional open energy market.
School business administrator resigns
Mark Friedman, school business administrator for Martha’s Vineyard Public Schools (MVYPS), announced his resignation at a Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School (MVRHS) committee meeting on Monday. Friedman, who has worked for MVYPS for 17 years, first as the accounts manager for MVRHS and then as school business administrator starting in 2020, will be the director…
It’s all treats at Octoberfish
To fish or not to fish? Honestly, is that really a question? For some of us, the only question is when to fish. And alongside the 141 entries in this year’s 34th annual Octoberfish, hosted by Larry’s Tackle Shop, there were also the topics of who was catching and where the fish were hiding. Unlike…
Former select board candidate sentenced in rape case
A Vineyard Haven resident, who was a former Tisbury Select Board candidate, was sentenced to five years of probation for two counts of felony rape at the Edgartown Courthouse in October. Macaleer B. Schilcher, 41, was sentenced at a Dukes County Superior Court hearing after he changed his plea to guilty for two of his…
Vineyarders call for crackdown on excursion fare ‘abuse’
As the Steamship Authority (SSA) faces what it calls a tight budget for next year, some Vineyarders say the ferry line should crack down on passengers who are abusing the discount rates available to Islanders in order to mitigate losses. The SSA is looking at a $174.2 million budget for next year, an increase in…
Nonprofit announces new veterans suicide prevention program
A new program is now available for Vineyard veterans struggling with suicidal thoughts. The Volunteers of America of Massachusetts (VOAMASS), a nonprofit organization based in Jamaica Plain that provides a variety of support for veterans, announced in a press release the start of a new suicide prevention program for veterans in seven counties, including Dukes.
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The High School View
A Teenager’s Guide to a Festive Fall
The air is getting colder, and the spooky season has officially come and gone. With just a sprinkle of creativity, and a pinch of leftover Halloween spirit, you’ll be brewing…
Brazil’s election sends waves of division to M.V.
Thousands of miles from Brazil, the country’s presidential election sparked debates among students at Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School (MVRHS). Oct. 25 marked Brazil’s second round of elections. That night,…
Unified basketball is back on the court
The Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School’s (MVRHS) Unified basketball team played their first home game last Thursday. While the team lost 52-51 to Monomoy High School, the crowd’s energy and…
Environment
Safe Harbor Marina completes workforce housing
Roughly 10 people gathered outside of Safe Harbor Marina’s Vineyard Haven waterfront to commemorate the completion of new employee housing units on Tuesday morning. The $2.4 million project consists of two duplexes with a total of 10 bedrooms for year-round employees staffed at the marina’s locations in Edgartown and Vineyard Haven. Currently, there are 25…
Health
Program gives “Food for Thought” a whole new meaning
First graders from Oak Bluffs Elementary School gathered in a circle at Island Grown Initiative’s (IGI) farm in Vineyard Haven. All bundled up in their coats, the children listened as Astrid Tilton, a gleaning manager, explained how the nonprofit collects all extra, or surplus, crops to avoid creating food waste.
Housing
Who will review Edgartown Cove?
Updated Nov. 4. The Edgartown zoning board of appeals (ZBA) unanimously voted to refer the already controversial Edgartown Cove project to the Martha’s Vineyard Commission (MVC) during its first review Oct. 28, but a consultant hired by the town said a state ruling from the spring complicates the matter. In a divergence from the norm,…
Education
Scaled-down programming possible at PAC during construction
Though there were concerns that programming at the Performing Arts Center (PAC) would be canceled due to the construction of the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School (MVRHS) building project, which begins next summer, school officials said it could possibly go on, just scaled down. The Island’s largest indoor auditorium, located at the high school, the…
Politics
MVRHS graduate wins by landslide in California mayoral race
During the historic midterm elections last week that featured several firsts in key political positions — from the first Black woman governor to the first Native American governor — a Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School (MVRHS) alumnus made his own splash on the other side of the country. Hans Buder, a 2004 MVRHS graduate, was…
Cops and Courts
Lesser charges dropped in Aimee Cotton case, murder remains
Aimee Cotton’s manslaughter and reckless endangerment of a child charges will no longer be prosecuted by the Cape and Islands District Attorney’s Office. The state office is now prosecuting Cotton solely on her second-degree murder indictment, as of Nov. 6, according to Barnstable Superior Court records.
Immigration
MVC pushes back on proposed census changes
The Martha’s Vineyard Commission (MVC) decided to lend its voice to the growing opposition against proposed changes to the U.S. Census that would exclude undocumented residents. “It’s a couple of years away, but it is important to make sure that after 250 years, we don’t change the rules because one person is in office and…
Ferry and transportation
SSA to launch new discount program on Veterans Day
The Steamship Authority (SSA) will be honoring men and women who served in the U.S. military with lower ticket rates starting on Veterans Day. The SSA will be once again bringing back its annual free rides for veterans on the Nov. 11 federal holiday, which is also when the ferry line will begin a new…
Opinion
The Island’s shared future is circling the drain at Five Corners
The persistent and perilous flooding at Five Corners in Vineyard Haven is no secret. Frustration for years around the lack of visible action is also well-known in the public sphere,…
Violating human rights when DHS sends immigrants to third countries
Among the most striking cases before the Supreme Court is one that may well affect immigrants on Martha’s Vineyard. The case, Department of Homeland Security v. D.V.D., asks the court…
A winning day for mah jong and our Island community
To the Editor: What a wonderful day of mah jong, friendship, and community spirit!
