Louisiana native takes home grand prize at 81st Derby
A giant bluefish caught by 44-year-old Louisiana native David Gerhardt netted him the grand prize at the 81st Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby Sunday afternoon. Gerhardt’s winning fish was a 21.01-pound bluefish caught on the boat of Island resident Sandy Fisher. His winning fish was the only one Gerhardt caught last Tuesday and…
Edgartown Police hire second Portuguese-speaking officer
The Edgartown Police Department formally swore in a new patrol officer who speaks Portuguese at the Edgartown Select Board meeting on Monday, Oct. 19. Officer Miguel Jarillo, 23, an Oak Bluffs resident, stood before his peers from the Edgartown Police Department, members of the Edgartown Select Board, and other residents as he was sworn in as…
MVRHS girls soccer earn 5-0 win on senior night
Laney Light (No. 10) controls the ball through the midfield. —Nicholas Vukota Vineyard teamates congratulate Senior Laina Dubin on the field. Junior Alicia Rose Silva passes against Yashoba Tech. —Nicholas Vukota Sophomore Evelyn Moffatt takes a shot agianst Yashoba Tech. —Nicholas Vukota Senior captain Leah Thomson moves the ball through the midfield. —Nicholas Vukota Sophomore…
State awards grants for local housing initiatives
Housing projects in each Island town received a funding boost of more than $400,000 through the seasonal communities designation, part of a state-wide initiative to increase housing stock and affordability in municipalities that “experience significant seasonal swings in housing demand and employment,” according to a press release from the governor’s office. Gov. Maura Healey’s administration…
A grand opening for M.V. Community Services’ new headquarters
After 18 months of construction, the new campus and headquarters of Martha’s Vineyard Community Services (MVCS) was officially opened Friday afternoon in a ribbon-cutting ceremony. The campus at 111 Edgartown-Vineyard Haven Road, across from Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School, has served Islanders for six decades. The new headquarters, built by West Tisbury-based South Mountain Company…
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 date for recreational shellfishing was 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, the freight ferry 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.
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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
Chilmark Police help stranded dolphin
Two Chilmark Police officers pulled on waders near Abel’s Hill, a private neighborhood in Chilmark, Oct. 12 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…
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
‘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…
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
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…
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…
