Dance as medicine
The beating of drums and resounding vocals reverberated in the air during the 21st annual Aquinnah Powwow on Saturday and Sunday afternoon at the Aquinnah Circle near the Cliffs. The event, which celebrates Wampanoag and indigenous culture to the general public through music, dance, food, and goods, was originally started in 2005 by members of…
More details emerge on SSA paperwork lapse
The Steamship Authority’s (SSA) issues that led to the Island Home being sidelined this week had a wider impact on the fleet than initially reported by The Times on Monday, and a staff member was terminated as a result. “The last few weeks have been very challenging,” Alex Kryska, SSA general manager, said during the…
Vineyard football loses home opener
The Martha’s Vineyard football team fell in their home opener to the Mashpee High School Falcons 38-12 on Friday. It was the Island team’s home opener, and the stands and surrounding field were packed with local fans dressed in cowboy hats and boots for the “wild wild West”-themed game that started at 6 pm. It…
Shenandoah embarks on final voyage
Chilmark School fourth and fifth graders ran down the Owen Park docks with luggage in hand and excitement in their eyes as families trailed not far behind Monday morning around 9:30 am. The students piled into Capt. Ian Ridgeway’s dinghy for a short ride to the Shenandoah, beginning what Martha’s Vineyard Ocean Academy (MVOA), which…
Veteran duo wins Creative Living Award
Friends Tom Bennett and Dr. Robert Tankard — veterans and advocates for veterans’ rights — were selected as the recipients of Martha’s Vineyard Community Foundation’s (MVCF) 43rd Creative Living Award. The award, created by Islander Ruth Bedding to honor Oak Bluffs resident Ruth Bogan in 1983, recognizes people “whose leadership, artistic vision, innovation, generosity, or…
Opening Derby weigh-in attracts record crowds
With a huge smile, John Custer, president of the Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby, opened the Derby headquarters’ doors to a crowd that he said was the largest he’s ever seen on Sunday, Sept. 13 at 8 am. Alongside him was a beloved guest and legend in the fishing community, Cooper Gilkes. Custer…
Investigation into student with gun launched during football game
A photo of a gun, sent to a student at Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School (MVRHS) by another student, launched an investigation during a high school football game against Mashpee High School on Friday, which the student who took the photo allegedly attended. According to the Oak Bluffs Police Department, officials launched the investigation in…
Island Home sidelined by lapsed paperwork
The Island Home, the largest vessel in the Steamship Authority (SSA) fleet, has been sidelined in Woods Hole after the ferry line lapsed in completion of federal paperwork. That makes two vessels, including the freight vessel Monomoy, that had to be taken out of service for administrative lapses this month. “I’ll be frank: it’s unacceptable…
Katama Meadows talks trudge forward
Updated Sept. 12. In the brightly lit Martha’s Vineyard Commission (MVC) meeting room for four Thursday nights so far this summer, deliberation on the 54-acre subdivision development proposal in Edgartown, Katama Meadows, has oscillated between the need for a few affordable homes and the potential impacts of a sprawling development. It also raised questions about…
Proposed apartments behind Dairy Queen eyed as respite from 40B developments
In what may be a first for the Vineyard, Edgartown is in talks to utilize privately owned apartments for affordable housing — a move that would bolster its subsidized housing inventory and give it reprieve from Chapter 40B developments. The desired units are a part of a development proposed to be built on 238, 240,…
Airport’s Turo frustration continues
Even after receiving a cease and desist order, Turo is still showing vehicles available for rent at Martha’s Vineyard Airport. Geoff Freeman, the airport director, told the Martha’s Vineyard Airport Commission at a meeting Thursday afternoon that roughly 40 vehicles were appearing as available for rent at the transportation hub on the car-sharing platform. That…
State Police cooperating in sexual assault case tied to Island barracks
Updated Sept. 10, 4:55 pm. Massachusetts State Police said they are cooperating with a local investigation into a reported sexual assault by suspects who allegedly stayed a night at the state department’s Oak Bluffs barracks when the incident occurred late last month. The two individuals involved in the incident remain unnamed, and State Police said…
Verizon comes out on top in Chilmark settlement
With a legal dispute between Chilmark and Verizon over denied infrastructure improvements laid to rest, the town is now focusing again on where improvements to connectivity can be made. The Chilmark Select Board unanimously voted during a Sept. 1 meeting to enter into a settlement agreement with Verizon and approve the cell carrier’s application to…
The forensics of a shark bite
It’s now confirmed that a woman in her late 20s who was pulled from the water off Norton Point last Monday with wounds to her lower leg suffered the first unprovoked shark bite on the Island in recent memory. Greg Skomal, a marine biologist with the state Division of Marine Fisheries and a top shark…
New faces and places on the first day of school
Parents and their children — from preschool to high school students — across the Island kicked off a new school year on a sunny Tuesday morning this week. Outside the Oak Bluffs School, Principal Jeremy Light and Oak Bluffs Police Chief Jonathan Searle greeted the incoming families. As children happily reunited with their friends and…
High school building timeline unfolds
As students and teachers begin a new school year, new details have emerged about the timeline for the renovation and addition project to Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School (MVRHS). The renovation and addition, which was approved by taxpayers at a total cost of $333.5 million, will start next June and conclude at the end of…
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Environment
Roots and resilence
The fields of biodiversity, conservation, and climate crisis require diverse voices, experiences, and solutions. Yet in an article published in the journal “Nature” listing “100 articles that every ecologist should read,” 97 were written by men, and three were written by women. “I actually think women are tremendously effective and important leaders in conservation, though…
Health
Sengekontacket open to shellfishing again
Sengekontacket Pond is open to shellfishing again as of August 28, on a conditional basis, after state testing showed bacteria levels meet safety standards. The Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF) closed shellfish growing areas this summer after heavy rain events in July and August. The DMF said shellfish are filter feeders, and concentrate contaminants from…
Housing
Edgartown property sale breaks state record at $43 million
With $43 million, a person can buy a coastal compound in Edgartown with sweeping views facing the Atlantic and also set a real estate record for the state and Island. This scenario isn’t hypothetical, though; it happened. The property is called Great Point, and is located off 15 Forever Wild Way, facing the south coast…
Education
Three new administrators take the reins this school year
As the school year begins on Sept. 8, the Island public schools have three new leaders, all moving in from off-Island. Jaime Curley is replacing Richard (“Richie”) Smith as the new Martha’s Vineyard Public Schools (MVYPS) superintendent. Bryan Lombardi is the incoming principal of Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School (MVRHS), succeeding Interim Principal Sean Mulvey.…
Politics
Primary favors Democratic incumbents
Updated September 3. About two hours after polls closed, Rob Galibois secured victory in the Democratic primary for the Cape and Islands District Attorney race Tuesday. Without a Republican candidate, this election all but assured Galibois another four years in office after the midterm elections. The state primaries heavily favored incumbents, including the closely watched…
Cops and Courts
Twenty-five years later, Islanders commemorate 9/11
An American flag hung suspended in the air from a firetruck ladder as local first responders and community members gathered outside of the Oak Bluffs Fire Station Friday morning to commemorate and remember the 25th anniversary of 9/11. The ceremony started with a moment of silence, followed by the tolling of the bell, which honored…
Immigration
Father detained by ICE back in Brazil
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 evening under a removal order. Da Silva Lima, who was reached…
Ferry and transportation
Tisbury eyes embarkation fee hike
Tisbury officials may soon be joining Oak Bluffs in calling for an increase to fees imposed on ferry lines. The Tisbury Select Board on Tuesday expressed interest in sending a letter to state legislators in a call to raise the embarkation fee, which is paid by ferry services that depart with passengers from the town.…
Opinion
An eye on the SSA’s funds
Recent reporting underscored my great concern for the welfare of the Island and for those who live here. Our fragile supply chain and the financial condition of the Steamship Authority…
Memories of a veteran’s story
To the Editor: I want to thank Bert Combra for sharing Bill Faria Jr.’s letter with us (“A son honors his father,” August 31). What a trip down memory lane…
If memory serves
Twenty-five years ago, on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, I was unpacking a moving truck in London. I had just finished a five-year posting as the Middle East bureau…
