Gov. Healey addresses alleged rape at State Police barracks
Gov. Maura Healey and Michael Minogue made their case to voters Thursday in the final gubernatorial debate ahead of the Nov. 3 state election, and one of the topics dicussed was the alleged rape that occurred at the Massachusetts State Police Barracks in Oak Bluffs in August, which sparked a fiery exchange between candidates. Panelist…
Katama Meadows overwhelmingly denied by MVC
Updated Oct. 16, 11:40 am. One of the largest housing proposals ever evaluated by the Martha’s Vineyard Commission (MVC) was denied Thursday after seven, hours-long sessions where commissioners not only contemplated the plan in front of them but also the consequential impacts of vast housing development on the Island.
Envisioning the Island Theatre’s next era
The Island Theatre sits at the entrance of Oak Bluffs’ retail artery, a once-grand venue for moviegoers to watch films on the silver screen. For over a decade, it has sat derelict, and now, a town working group is asking Islanders to consider what they want to see at 1 Circuit Ave. The 1 Circuit…
Several commissioners start write-in campaigns
Updated Oct. 15, 5:30 pm. As Islanders gear up for election season, several candidates for seats on the Martha’s Vineyard Commission (MVC) started write-in campaigns after they were left off the ballot due to issues with their paperwork at the state level.
Boston man charged in rape at State Police barracks
Updated Oct. 16. 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 Temahigan Road…
Island awarded half a million in funding for environmental projects
Under a presidential administration that’s curbed billions in grant funding to environmental initiatives over the last two years, Islanders and state representatives and environmental professionals celebrated a federal program that continues to empower communities to protect their water resources — a crucial resource for coastal communities like Martha’s Vineyard. The small gathering at the Martha’s…
Scallop season set for each Island town
Opening dates are set for the scallop season in Oak Bluffs after the town’s select board passed the recommendations of the town’s shellfish committee. According to Oak Bluffs Select Board meeting minutes from Sept. 22, the opening dates for recreational shellfishing is Oct. 17 in Sengekontacket Pond, with commercial shellfishing beginning on Oct. 26 for…
State Forest cutting plans stalls after no bids
The first phase of a plan to cut 52 acres of white pine plantations to restore native species in the State Forest stalled this month after the bid process proved unsuccessful, once again. The state Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR), which owns and manages the Manuel F. Correllus State Forest, received only one bid…
The Governor hits the market
The Steamship Authority’s (SSA) oldest vessel, a freight ferry called the Governor, hit the market this fall. Bids are open until Dec. 8, and the ferry line previously assessed the Governor at an estimated value of $325,000. It’s currently docked at the SSA’s Fairhaven repair facility after serving one more summer as a spare ferry.
Chilmark Police help stranded dolphin
Two Chilmark Police officers pulled on waders near Abel’s Hill, a private neighborhood in Chilmark, Monday and went across the pond to reach the South Shore where a dolphin was beached. Bret Stearns, a full-time Chilmark Police officer and member of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Greater Atlantic Region Marine Mammal Stranding Network…
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…
ISland Life
Chiseling a life with hammer and stone
Click below to browse the print edition of the paper:
SPONSORED CONTENT
GOMV’s Vineyard Haven Harbor Live Webcam:
Have a tip?
Contact the editor
Click below to check out this year’s Vineyard Property Values:
Sign up for our newsletters
Stay informed all week about Island news.
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
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.
Health
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…
Housing
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…
Education
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…
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
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…
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
The Cape Poge injunction: I have questions
To the Editor: The inescapable math attached to this injunction is clear: Loss of public access = loss of public use = theft. Like any victim of theft, I feel…
A letter from the publisher: The Times wins “Newspaper of the Year”
Dear readers, Nicole Jackson received the awards in Sturbridge on behalf of The Times. —Courtesy Nicole Jackson In our weathered newsroom on Beach Road, where the roof leaks, the heat…
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…
