Sailing into the Fourth
As the country approaches its 250th anniversary, one of Martha’s Vineyard’s most beloved symbols of maritime heritage is setting sail on its final season. The 108-foot wooden topsail schooner Shenandoah, a regular majestic sight in Vineyard Haven Harbor, and the only vessel of her size known to operate without an engine in the world, will…
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…
New SSA terminal opens in Woods Hole
Updated July 1 As the Island enters the heart of summer and visitors sail in from the mainland, ferry passengers will be welcomed in Woods Hole at the Steamship Authority’s newly completed terminal, a project that was fraught with controversy throughout more than a decade of development. The new terminal building for the Steamship Authority…
Housing close to the land
Martha’s Vineyard has culturally shifted since the 17th and 18th centuries, when agriculture was the primary economic driver of the year-round community, but the Island continues to be a hub for farms and the workers who tend them. The still-prosperous industry results in an influx of seasonal workers when the weather turns warm, which means…
Gov. Healey backs Island leaders on tick mitigation
This summer, ticks are the talk of the town on Martha’s Vineyard. And on Wednesday, they were also the subject of a roundtable discussion at the Agricultural Hall in West Tisbury, where Gov. Maura Healey gave her support to Island organizations and town efforts, urging locals to push on with tick mitigation and preparedness. The…
More Island towns back MVC’s Chapter 40B fight
As the Martha’s Vineyard Commission (MVC) continues litigation to retain its ability to review Chapter 40B projects, several Island towns have decided to back the planning authority. Starting with the Chilmark Select Board on June 17, a total of four Vineyard town select boards decided to send letters to state legislators who represent the Island,…
Hospital solar array to help cut Islanders’ energy bills
A solar project on the roofs of Martha’s Vineyard Hospital’s (MVH) workforce housing project promises to deliver hundreds of thousands of dollars in electricity bill assistance for low-income Islanders over the next few decades. The 138-kilowatt rooftop solar array is the first in PowerOptions Connect’s SolarShare program, a press release read Tuesday, and is supported…
Vineyard youth head to Gillette for World Cup
A large crowd of approximately 64,146 people gathered at Gillette Stadium for the FIFA World Cup, in Foxborough last Friday to watch the match between France and Norway. Among them was a group of 16 eager Island soccer fans from the Martha’s Vineyard Boys & Girls Club and four chaperones, who stood out in the…
Chilmark speeds through budget-balance vote
At a special town meeting lasting about five minutes, Chilmark voters unanimously approved the town allocating $200,000 of unused funds to balance its budget. About 50 Chilmarkers gathered at the Chilmark Community Center for the meeting Monday night. Prior to the vote, Chilmark Select Board member Rebecca Haag read a statement by fellow board member…
ISland Life
Eight decades of fellowship
Featherstone Center for the Arts
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Environment
First annual Farm Day
This past Friday, the Martha’s Vineyard Agricultural Society hosted its first annual Farm Day, inviting guests of all ages to go behind the scenes and see how the Island’s local food is grown. The day-long celebration of Island agriculture was held onsite at seven Island farms — Beetlebung Farm, Island Grown Initiative Regenerative Farm, Native…
Health
Yommi and Morning Dew Juice open new storefront
After the Island’s business landscape shifted over a harsh winter, the summer has ushered in a new set of storefronts. Among them are four Islanders who recently moved from farmer’s market stands to a shop on State Road in Vineyard Haven. The space previously housed Pie Chicks, but now, handpainted white lettering on the front…
Housing
Navigator Homes celebrates the completion of nursing home complex
Navigator Homes, a 26-acre nursing home complex, celebrated the completion of its facility on Edgartown-Vineyard Haven Road with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Wednesday afternoon. About 150 people, including many of the home’s elderly tenants, gathered beneath the heat without shade to take in speeches by officials involved in the facility’s construction project. The facility replaces…
Education
M.V. Diversity Coalition honors legacy of Richie Smith
The Martha’s Vineyard Diversity Coalition (MVDC) awarded retiring Martha’s Vineyard Public Schools (MVYPS) Superintendent Dr. Richard (“Richie”) Smith with its inaugural Friend and Leader Award and premiered its oral history film project at its annual Truth & Joy Festival on Saturday evening. The festival celebrated the Island’s cultural diversity through storytelling, music, and art. About…
Politics
A ‘momentous’ gathering of town and tribe
There wasn’t a cloud in the sky when the Wampanoag Tribal Council of Gay Head (Aquinnah) and the Aquinnah Select Board met around a table in the main tribal offices on Black Brook Road in what was called a momentous and historic moment by officials. It was the first time that the governing bodies of…
Cops and Courts
Habeas petition filed for attempted murder case
The man charged with attempted murder for an alleged knife attack in Tisbury last weekend will be prevented from being transported out of the state by federal immigration agents while his case continues in court. At a detention hearing in Edgartown District Court on Friday, Judge Benjamin Barnes ordered Brandao Geraldo Alves Caldeira, 38, to…
Immigration
UPDATED: Father detained by ICE released
Updated May 27. The father and teenage son who were out fishing together before they were taken into ICE custody were ordered by federal judges to be released from the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the past week. The son, 15-year-old Nycolas de Al Varenga Lima, has already returned to the…
Ferry and transportation
State begins audit on Steamship Authority
An audit is underway for the Steamship Authority (SSA), prompted by a state Office of Inspector General (OIG) report that highlighted the failures of the ferry line’s website project. It will take at least a year before the results are released, and it remains uncertain what information is under review. State Auditor Diana DiZoglio told…
