Boston man charged in rape at State Police barracks
Updated Oct. 14, 4:58 pm. Edward Joseph Brown, 27, of Boston was arraigned on Tuesday in Edgartown District Court, and pleaded not guilty to a felony rape charge. The charge stems from an Oak Bluffs Police investigation into a reported sexual assault by a suspect who allegedly stayed at the Massachusetts State Police’s barracks on…
Blue miracle in Vineyard waters
Fintastic! That is the only word I can think of to describe the Derby experience I had today. I’m blessed to call Leigh and Kevin Lord friends. Kevin had texted me on Sept. 30, “I got an offer you can’t refuse. My biz partner is coming down the last week of the Derby from New…
‘Tipping point’ of overdevelopment closer with state ruling
The Martha’s Vineyard Commission (MVC) has been fighting to keep its authority over development on the Island since April. After a state ruling by the Massachusetts Housing Appeals Committee (HAC) stripped the MVC of its ability to review projects proposed under a state statute that calls for a percentage of the project to include affordable…
Aquinnah selects next police chief
The Aquinnah Select Board named Ryan Ruley, an Edgartown Police sergeant and a former Oak Bluffs Select Board member, as the town’s new chief of police on Tuesday. Ruley’s appointment is effective on Nov. 6, the same day that longtime Chief Randhi Belain, who’s served the town for three decades, is scheduled to retire as…
‘We of the first light are still here’
Nestled in the woodlands of Felix Neck Wildlife Sanctuary in Edgartown, indigenous and nonindigenous community members gathered Monday afternoon for Sassafras Earth Education’s fifth annual Indigenous People’s Day celebration. Columbus Day, the second Monday in October, is an official federal holiday, and is acknowledged as a paid holiday in Massachusetts. But many states, cities, and…
Wild Food Challenge returns to the Island after COVID-19 hiatus
Brannick Hodgdon, left, and Andres Torres cook pumpkin flower in chicken broth for the competition. —Sara Creato Tim Laursen helps to fire-roast a deer for attendees to eat. —Sara Creato Stovetops sizzled and venison roasted over an open fire outside of Grange Hall in West Tisbury on Monday afternoon during the Vineyard’s Local Wild Food…
New CEO to officially lead Martha’s Vineyard Community Services
A familiar face is taking the reins of Martha’s Vineyard Community Services (MVCS). The Island nonprofit announced Tuesday that Scott Turton, who first joined the organization in 2021 as chief administrative officer, was appointed as the next chief executive officer.
Tackenash Knoll rental units open for applications
A neighborhood of permanently affordable rental units in Oak Bluffs, Tackenash Knoll, is open for applications. Lease applications opened Oct. 13 and will close on Dec. 13. The homes, built by Island Housing Trust in partnership with the town of Oak Bluffs and Affirmative Investments, will be available to Islanders earning between 30 percent and…
Students stage walkout against sexual violence
Drivers honked from their cars as they passed dozens of students holding handmade signs outside Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School (MVRHS) Thursday for a school walkout against sexual violence. The walkout was organized as part of the movement “Stop Sexual Violence: From the Frat House to the White House,” which called for a day of…
Cotton pleads not guilty to murder charge in toddler’s death
Aimee Cotton was arraigned Thursday afternoon in Dukes County Superior Court in Edgartown on a second-degree murder charge for the death of 2-year-old Frank “Frankie” Edward Rodenbaugh. At the courthouse, where Cotton, 41, pleaded not guilty to the second-degree murder charge, family and friends of the Rodenbaughs filled the benches for the 2 pm hearing.…
Still no decision on Katama Meadows
For the sixth time in a row, a decision on Katama Meadows, a controversial development proposed on 54 acres in Edgartown, was pushed off by commissioners after discussion ran long. The meeting on Thursday, Oct. 8, was another in a long saga of deliberation by commissioners. The Martha’s Vineyard Commission (MVC) has been reviewing Katama…
Jordan’s Nursery begins MVC review
Jordan’s Nursery, which recently raised environmental concerns on the Island, was discussed by the Martha’s Vineyard Commission (MVC) for the first time on Thursday, Oct. 8. Commissioners toured the property, which is owned and operated by three well-known developers and company owners, earlier that day.
Tick Free MV to cover deer carcass disposal at Refuse District
Tick Free MV (TFMV) announced Thursday that the nonprofit will underwrite the cost to legally dispose of deer carcasses at the Martha’s Vineyard Refuse Disposal and Resource Recovery District, a new initiative that solves a prolonged issue for Island hunters. A carcass must be in a heavy contractor bag, and hunters have to identify their…
Family sues former fire chief in hidden camera case
The family of a teenage girl is suing former Oak Bluffs Fire Chief John Robert F. Rose for invasion of privacy and infliction of emotional distress after facing charges for filming her in her bedroom through a secret camera. The family seeks at least $1 million in compensatory damages. The daughter filed the suit through…
West Tisbury man arrested for downloading child porn
A West Tisbury resident was arrested at his home on Skiff Avenue by State Police last month for possessing child pornography and is now out with conditions after posting a $25,000 bail, according to court records. According to a police report submitted to the Edgartown District Court by State Trooper Ian Andrade, who’s part of…
ISland Life
Chiseling a life with hammer and stone
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The High School View
New clubs debut at this year’s Club Fair
This year’s Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School (MVRHS) club fair took place last Wednesday during super-flex in the gym, where students circulated among rows of club displays — tri-fold posters,…
High School View Spotlight
Last Wednesday, the girls’ soccer team hosted their only night game of the season against Sandwich High School. The game felt special playing under the lights, and also because it…
First cohort of Early College embarks on new pathway
Last spring, after years of planning and relentless pursuit on behalf of Sam Hart and former Principal Sara Dingledy, the Department of Early and Secondary Education (DESE) officially designated the…
Environment
Wind farms navigate rough seas
The final turbine on the 65-turbine wind farm Revolution Wind, an offshore wind farm located 12 miles off the coast of Aquinnah, was installed Wednesday, Sept. 17. An Ørsted spokesperson confirmed that installation is complete, and commissioning of the turbines continued across the project in mid-September. “Revolution Wind continues to progress toward an anticipated commercial…
Health
West Nile detected in Tisbury mosquito
The Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) announced Friday that West Nile virus (WNV) was detected in a mosquito collected in Tisbury on August 4. The mosquito was collected from the Veteran’s Memorial Park area in Tisbury.
Housing
Major gifts made to Aquinnah Headwaters project
Aquinnah Headwaters, a building project by Kinship Heals to house and serve Native American survivors of domestic assault and sexual violence, received two “major gifts” to fund their efforts, according to a press release Tuesday. Aquinnah Headwaters was unanimously approved by the Martha’s Vineyard Commission in August; the projected project total is $17.67 million.
Education
School building project threatens summer programming
As plans for the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School’s (MVRHS) $333.5 million building project move forward, the feasibility of next summer’s 25th annual M.V. African American Film Festival (MVAAFF) remains unknown. The festival, which traditionally takes place in the school’s Performing Arts Center (PAC) during a nine-day period in August, attracts thousands of visitors and…
Politics
Brazil’s fateful presidential election heads to a second round
Logo of the Consulate General of Brazil in Boston. Updated Oct. 8. The first round of Brazil’s presidential election took place Sunday, Oct. 4, and Brazilians voters on Martha’s Vineyard were able to cast their ballots in Framingham and Malden.
Cops and Courts
A heavy October docket at the Edgartown Courthouse
Dukes County Superior Court in Edgartown always processes a full list of criminal cases in October. And this past Monday was no exception. There was a state prison sentence issued in a cocaine case, a rape case likely headed for jury trial, and a not-guilty plea entered on an attempted murder indictment. Travis J. Viera,…
Immigration
Father detained by ICE back in Brazil
Rogério da Silva Lima and Nycolas de Alvarenga Lima. —Robyn Twomey Rogério da Silva Lima, 42, the Brazilian father who was taken into Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody alongside his teenage son Nycolas de Alvarenga Lima (now 16) while fishing in Menemsha in May, left the U.S. on Saturday and returned to Brazil Sunday…
Ferry and transportation
Washout nor’easter
As a rainbow arched over Vineyard Haven Harbor Monday afternoon, an early-season nor’easter began to exit from the Cape and Islands. The storm, which brought wind gusts as high as 60 mph, finally ended, after between five and eight inches of rain had been dumped on the Island over the weekend and into Monday. And…
Opinion
A spotlight on climate adaptation
When Dr. Mark Borrelli, a former coastal geologist for Center for Coastal Studies and a researcher at UMass Boston, started his presentation, “Coastal Geology and the Science of Storms, Sediment…
A response to ‘An Island inundated’
To the Editor: After reading your story about issues dealing with flooding in Five Corners and elsewhere (“An Island inundated,” Oct. 1), I thought I would extend and sharpen my…
All aboard for Vineyard football!
To the Editor: The Martha’s Vineyard football program is rebuilding — and we’re asking our community to help.
