Big blue wave across America, the state, and the Island
The Island woke up Wednesday to a sea change in American politics brought on by a powerful blue wave for the Democratic Party that will take firm control of Congress in both the House and the Senate. The historic midterm elections unleashed new currents of change, including in Georgia, the nation’s first Black woman elected…
Copeland character wins out
As Lee Jackson Van Allen peered over the railing of a second-floor balcony at her family cottage on Wayland Avenue on a recent fall afternoon, she reflected on the history of the home in Oak Bluffs and the view in front of her. The park and harbor before Van Allen on that day was not…
School business administrator resigns
Mark Friedman, school business administrator for Martha’s Vineyard Public Schools (MVYPS), announced his resignation at a Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School (MVRHS) committee meeting on Monday. Friedman, who has worked for MVYPS for 17 years, first as the accounts manager for MVRHS and then as school business administrator starting in 2020, will be the director…
Former select board candidate sentenced in rape case
A Vineyard Haven resident, who was a former Tisbury Select Board candidate, was sentenced to five years of probation for two counts of felony rape at the Edgartown Courthouse in October. Macaleer B. Schilcher, 41, was sentenced at a Dukes County Superior Court hearing after he changed his plea to guilty for two of his…
Vineyarders call for crackdown on excursion fare ‘abuse’
As the Steamship Authority (SSA) faces what it calls a tight budget for next year, some Vineyarders say the ferry line should crack down on passengers who are abusing the discount rates available to Islanders in order to mitigate losses. The SSA is looking at a $174.2 million budget for next year, an increase in…
Nonprofit announces new veterans suicide prevention program
A new program is now available for Vineyard veterans struggling with suicidal thoughts. The Volunteers of America of Massachusetts (VOAMASS), a nonprofit organization based in Jamaica Plain that provides a variety of support for veterans, announced in a press release the start of a new suicide prevention program for veterans in seven counties, including Dukes.
Record year in giving by M.V. Bank
The Martha’s Vineyard Savings Bank Charitable Foundation, the nonprofit arm of the local bank, held its annual celebration last Tuesday at Camp Jabberwocky to recognize the organization’s contribution of more than $2.3 million in charitable donations to community initiatives on the Island and in Falmouth so far this year. These donations included a $1 million…
SSA to launch new discount program on Veterans Day
The Steamship Authority (SSA) will be honoring men and women who served in the U.S. military with lower ticket rates starting on Veterans Day. The SSA will be once again bringing back its annual free rides for veterans on the Nov. 11 federal holiday, which is also when the ferry line will begin a new…
Girls’ soccer defends Vineyard pride
Martha’s Vineyard families and fans made the long ferry trek across Nantucket Sound at 7:30 am on Halloween morning to support the Island’s high school fall sports teams in the annual Island Cup and Battle in the Atlantic, only to watch Nantucket claim most of the day’s hardware. The Martha’s Vineyard varsity football team lost…
Rose denies hidden camera allegations in civil suit response
John Rose, the former Oak Bluffs fire chief who was at the center of sexual harassment scandal at the town’s department, is denying the allegations made by a teenage girl’s family accusing him of filming the minor in her bedroom through a secret camera. Rose was sued in August by the girl in a civil…
MVC pushes back on proposed census changes
The Martha’s Vineyard Commission (MVC) decided to lend its voice to the growing opposition against proposed changes to the U.S. Census that would exclude undocumented residents. “It’s a couple of years away, but it is important to make sure that after 250 years, we don’t change the rules because one person is in office and…
Nearly $1 million awarded for Five Corners plans
The Five Corners intersection is a funnel for people, cars, freight, and, maybe most consequentially, water. Just an inch and a quarter of rain is almost a guarantee that the intersection, as well as a significant portion of Beach Road, will flood and thereby impede access to a vital emergency and transportation route on the…
Congressional reps speak on ICE, offshore wind
As the Vineyard heads into the midterm elections in less than a week, voters will determine whether to keep incumbent Democratic Congressman Bill Keating for another two-year term or elect a new candidate in the Republican challenger R. Tyler Macallister. Early voting is already underway, and the state election is on Nov. 3. The two…
Andrea James, independent, on the issues
As early ballots are dropped off at the offices of Vineyard town clerks and less than a week before the state election takes place, independent gubernatorial candidate Andrea James makes her case on why Islanders should choose her for the state’s top elected seat. Among the candidates running for governor, James hasn’t been as much…
Who will review Edgartown Cove?
Updated Nov. 4 at 3:55pm. The Edgartown zoning board of appeals (ZBA) unanimously voted to refer the already controversial Edgartown Cove project to the Martha’s Vineyard Commission (MVC) during its first review Oct. 28, but a consultant hired by the town said a state ruling from the spring complicates the matter. In a divergence from…
ISland Life
Crochet as mindfulness meditation
A weird world of wonder
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The High School View
A Teenager’s Guide to a Festive Fall
The air is getting colder, and the spooky season has officially come and gone. With just a sprinkle of creativity, and a pinch of leftover Halloween spirit, you’ll be brewing…
Brazil’s election sends waves of division to M.V.
Thousands of miles from Brazil, the country’s presidential election sparked debates among students at Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School (MVRHS). Oct. 25 marked Brazil’s second round of elections. That night,…
SWEAR retreat empowers fight against sexual assault
Last Sunday, members of the group Stand With Everyone Against Rape (SWEAR) embarked on their annual two-day retreat off-Island to Camp Burgess in Sandwich, where students and faculty engaged in…
Environment
Program gives “Food for Thought” a whole new meaning
First graders from Oak Bluffs Elementary School gathered in a circle at Island Grown Initiative’s (IGI) farm in Vineyard Haven. All bundled up in their coats, the children listened as Astrid Tilton, a gleaning manager, explained how the nonprofit collects all extra, or surplus, crops to avoid creating food waste.
Health
Tisbury home condemned for alleged overcrowding
Update Nov. 4. A home in Tisbury was condemned by town officials Oct. 27 after an inspection revealed alleged overcrowded conditions, which town records indicate had been a pattern for more than three years.
Housing
Heading for a clash over new housing proposal
A new housing proposal backed by a developer who is behind some of the most contentious projects in recent Island history is already fanning the flames of ongoing conflict with the Martha’s Vineyard Commission (MVC). The project and the developer William Cumming are again bringing into sharp focus the question of whether the MVC has…
Education
Scaled-down programming possible at PAC during construction
Though there were concerns that programming at the Performing Arts Center (PAC) would be canceled due to the construction of the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School (MVRHS) building project, which begins next summer, school officials said it could possibly go on, just scaled down. The Island’s largest indoor auditorium, located at the high school, the…
Politics
A tempest in Tisbury Town Hall
Updated Oct. 28. The curtain seems to have closed on a yearlong drama that town officials say undercut the Tisbury planning board’s ability to function at full capacity and cost the town thousands in legal fees.
Cops and Courts
Two state troopers suspended in relation to barracks rape case
Updated Oct. 28. Massachusetts State Police suspended two troopers, Ryan Costello and Robert Branca, with pay, on Thursday, Oct. 22, for what officials said was their conduct in connection to an individual who was a guest at the State Police barracks on-Island and is now accused of rape in an incident that occurred there in…
Immigration
Lula wins Brazilian presidential reelection
Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, often referred to as Lula, was re-elected Sunday after the electoral court announced he had 4.4 million votes (51.8 percent) over Flávio Bolsonaro.
Ferry and transportation
SSA hires first workforce training and development manager
The Steamship Authority (SSA) announced Friday that it had hired its first workforce training and development manager: Simone Aguilera, a trilingual learning and training professional. According to the press release, Aguilera, who officially entered her role on Monday, will be coordinating the SSA’s “twice-yearly Training and Development Expo,” a two-week event in which various training…
Opinion
The Island’s shared future is circling the drain at Five Corners
The persistent and perilous flooding at Five Corners in Vineyard Haven is no secret. Frustration for years around the lack of visible action is also well-known in the public sphere,…
Violating human rights when DHS sends immigrants to third countries
Among the most striking cases before the Supreme Court is one that may well affect immigrants on Martha’s Vineyard. The case, Department of Homeland Security v. D.V.D., asks the court…
A winning day for mah jong and our Island community
To the Editor: What a wonderful day of mah jong, friendship, and community spirit!
