A new school for the next generation
Updated June 3. After years of administrative meetings and an historic Island-wide vote, the long-awaited Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School building project, with an addition and renovation price tag of $333.5 million, passed in a landslide with the promise to transform the campus for future generations and address much-needed issues. All six towns showed their…
Engine fire engulfs truck in West Tisbury
Nobody was injured after a truck caught fire in West Tisbury on Tuesday night. According to a West Tisbury Police report, first responders received a call at 8:54 pm of a vehicle engulfed in flames, a Ford F-150 parked in front of the Field Gallery on State Road. Police closed off the State Road intersections…
Take me out to the Shark Tank
The unmistakable crack of the sweet spot on a wooden bat filled the afternoon air on Tuesday at the Shark Tank as the Martha’s Vineyard Sharks held their first practice of the 2026 New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL) season. Eager to build on a strong championship run last summer, where the Sharks lost to…
Chilmark School adjusts curriculum to meet high enrollment
Updated June 3. The principal of Chilmark School announced a shift in class structure as a response to a near doubling of enrollment in the past decade, but the town’s select board and community members are concerned that the change is contrary to tradition. In an April letter, Principal Kate Squire said the Chilmark School,…
Girls’ tennis serve up another playoff victory
The high school’s girls’ varsity tennis team are continuing to charge through the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) state playoffs, improving their record to 18-0 on the season after defeating North Reading High School in the round of 16 Monday at the Island’s Ned Fennessy Courts. The girls defeated North Reading 4-1 and are now…
Federal department announces millions of dollars in tick initiatives
Just before last weekend, U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced a series of initiatives to combat Lyme disease and other tick-borne conditions, including alpha-gal syndrome. The Island is no stranger to issues caused by ticks; there is a higher incidence of illness in Dukes County than in the rest…
Founding executive of Island Housing Trust to retire
The founding executive of the largest affordable housing developer on the Vineyard announced his retirement this weekend after two decades of leadership. In a press release, the nonprofit Island Housing Trust (IHT) announced that Philippe Jordi, the chief executive officer (CEO) who founded the company, will be stepping down by the end of March 2027.…
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Environment
Shelley Edmundson to chair state fisheries advisory group
The Island’s own Shelley Edmundson, executive director of the Martha’s Vineyard Fishermen’s Preservation Trust, was elected May 29 as the new chair of the Marine Fisheries Advisory Commission (MFAC). Edmundson, who holds a Ph.D. in zoology and marine biology from the University of New Hampshire, has been a member of the MFAC since 2020, and…
Health
Massachusetts House passes epinephrine access bill
The Massachusetts House of Representatives unanimously voted 149–0 to pass a bill that increases access to epinephrine auto-injectors throughout the state, after years of advocacy by an Islander whose husband died from a wasp sting. Initially petitioned by several state lawmakers, including State Rep. Thomas Moakley and State Sen. Julian Cyr, Bill H.5443 will make…
Housing
MVC fights to keep power over Chapter 40B reviews
With its authority to review housing developments in flux, the Martha’s Vineyard Commission (MVC) is attempting to reverse the ruling that reduced its power in court. In Dukes County Superior Court, the MVC and the Edgartown zoning board of appeals jointly filed a challenge against the Massachusetts Housing Appeals Committee (HAC) and Edgartown Gardens LLC,…
Education
Mako shark mascot chosen, but school committee tables vote
Elongated, stark white teeth, blue-gray fins, and a past as a target of the Oak Bluffs Monster Shark Tournament: All of these are qualities of the potential new mascot for Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School (MVRHS) sports teams. At a MVRHS school committee meeting on Monday night, sophomores Madison Curelli and Charlotte Cramer, who founded…
Politics
Chilmark plans special town meeting to cover costs
Chilmark is asking voters to return for another round of voting, just weeks after their five-hour-long annual town meeting, in order to cover certain costs in the town budget. The town scheduled a special town meeting for June 29 at 7 pm at the Chilmark Community Center to cover various pieces of funding. The decision…
Cops and Courts
A changing of the guard
Under the beaming May sun at U.S. Coast Guard Station Menemsha, the duty of overseeing and protecting boaters in the historic fishing town and the waters around the Island was passed to Chief Petty Officer Tyler Vanderhaden in a ceremony on Friday morning. Vanderhaden has been a chief petty officer in Menemsha for two years.…
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
Oak Bluffs welcomes first ferry of the summer
In another sign of the upcoming summer season, the Steamship Authority (SSA) brought a little more fanfare to the annual opening of the Oak Bluffs terminal this year. The SSA hosted its inaugural “First Ferry” event on Thursday, with organizers celebrating as the crew of the ferry Martha’s Vineyard brought Oak Bluffs’ first batch of…
