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…
SSA announces reservation system open houses amid possible delay
The Steamship Authority announced another set of open houses regarding proposed policy changes about the implementation of the ferry line’s new reservation system. According to a press release on Tuesday, the sessions will focus on items “affected by the move to the new system, including coupon books and excursion trips, account updates for customers; updates…
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.…
Agatep arrested for cocaine distribution; bail for assault case revoked
Kevin Agatep, 33, who was previously arrested following an incident outside the Ritz Cafe in Oak Bluffs where he allegedly assaulted a man in July and paralyzed the victim from the waist down, was arrested for separate charges, involving the distribution of cocaine, late last month. Agatep was released on personal recognizance for his charges…
Sayre completes fastest wing foil around Island
Nevin Sayre wasn’t sure if this year’s annual ride around the Island on his wing foil to support Martha’s Vineyard Community Services (MVCS) would happen when expected. There seemed to be less wind at the start than he anticipated this past Saturday. He was at Inkwell Beach by 10:15 am anyways, and just after he…
Home of ‘Clifford the Big Red Dog’ creator sold
Another home that belonged to a creator of childhood memories has been sold to new owners. The Edgartown home of Norman Bridwell, the creator of the beloved children’s book series “Clifford the Big Red Dog,” was sold to an Ohio-based limited liability company last week. Eastern Bank, the trustee of the Norma Bridwell Trust, which…
SSA mulls over way to decrease budget
As the Steamship Authority (SSA) looks at navigating revenue drops and economic tripwires to formulate its budget for next year, one town on the Island says it’s subsidized too much of the ferry line’s operations. The culmination of several factors is raising questions of how fares could be impacted on the main ferry line between…
Tentative agreement reached in VTA negotiations
A contract agreement has been reached for local bus drivers. Now the drivers will need to vote on whether the contract passes muster. Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1548, the union that represents Vineyard Transit Authority (VTA) drivers, announced Thursday afternoon, “The union and the company have reached a tentative agreement to avoid a strike pending…
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…
Nonprofit unveils plan for former Aquinnah Shop
It was standing-room-only at Stillpoint in West Tisbury last Wednesday night when a group of Aquinnah Wampanoag women publicly unveiled a mission years in the making: to restore the relationship between tribal people and the land throughout Martha’s Vineyard, or Noepe. The event was also an introduction to the Aquinnah Land Initiative (ALI), a nonprofit…
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…
The sounds of Camp Jabberwocky weave across generations
Updated Sept. 8. Enchanting folk songs echoed through the wooden walls of Camp Jabberwocky’s music cabin one Sunday morning in August as violin and cello strings met with a bow. Around the room, campers looked to the stage and took in the rhythm and the notes, while others clapped along to the beat. For the…
‘Larger than life’: Trip Barnes dies at 83
Clarence (“Trip”) Barnes III, a Tisbury businessman and a larger-than-life Vineyard figure who dedicated himself to the Island, died at his West Tisbury home on Tuesday afternoon while in the care of Hospice and Palliative Care of Martha’s Vineyard. He was 83. Elizabeth Barnes said her father died from complications from a combination of serious…
ISland Life
Dances of celebration
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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
Training and serving locally
The shortage of healthcare professionals is a major concern on the Island. ACE MV offers several programs to address this pressing need, all of which underscore the organization’s central desire. Executive Director Alexandra Bullen Coutts says, “ACE’s role is to provide the entry-level approach to career pathways for anyone who has the interest and aptitude…
Housing
Housing solutions: From an abandoned building to a home
Sweeping strokes of graffiti covered white plaster walls inside an abandoned parsonage in Aquinnah in 2023. Three years later, the property is a renovated, affordable duplex where a family from the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) and another tribal member live year-round. The project, completed by affordable housing developer Island Housing Trust (IHT), is…
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
No Flock on-Island
Controversy over Flock cameras is rampant across the country; state officials in Florida blocked their usage on state roadways, and the Texas governor ordered a pause in funding for the surveillance tool. Across the water, the Nantucket Current investigated cameras that were installed back in 2021, and in New Bedford, residents have protested their use…
Immigration
On fishing and freedom
The father and his son had always been knotted together through a shared love of fishing, a narrative throughline from their homeland in Brazil and throughout their journey as immigrants to America. When his son was just a little boy, the father provided him with a bamboo pole to go for tilapia in the pond…
Ferry and transportation
A return to the old SSA standby?
Islanders have repeatedly grumbled about Blue Line restrictions so much so that the Steamship Authority (SSA) decided to open up conversations about whether to return to the old standby system. During the Tuesday morning Port Council meeting, Joe Sollitto, the Oak Bluffs councillor, called for a return to the old standby system. “I don’t think…
Opinion
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…
Connection at Lambert’s Cove
To the Editor: Friday, August 7, 2026, began like so many summer mornings at Lambert’s Cove. My girlfriend, my dog, and I had a ritual, arriving early while dogs were…
Comments policy should be more open
To the Editor: I’ve long been a fan of Charlie Sennott, never missing an opportunity to hear him on “Jim on Marjorie.” I’ve found his opinions well-formed and well-stated. I…
