Richard Knabel

West Tisbury's historic Mill Pond, on the Mill Brook, has been the subject of considerable attention going on five years now.

One might easily conclude, after reading Steve Myrick's front page feature, [Island towns lag in move to high-speed coms network, September 13], that Island officials are incapable of recognizing the golden opportunity to upgrade digital communication presented by the OpenCape project.

It's just that simple.

Beginning next week, five towns in turn will vote at their annual town elections on a non-binding ballot question asking if a roundabout should be built at the Blinker intersection in Oak Bluffs.

Having often heard or read how other people react to things I have said or written, it is sometimes amusing to realize how selective those interpretations can be.

The roundabout application for the Blinker intersection in Oak Bluffs is not the first controversial issue the Martha's Vineyard Commission (MVC) has faced in its existence, but it is surely a seminal one that could fix public attitudes, for better or worse, toward the regional planning agency for a long time to come.

Despite widespread grassroots opposition, on October 6, at two minutes to 11 pm, after three hours of often appalling discussion, a bare majority of one vote of the MVC approved the flawed and unneeded roundabout project for the intersection of the Vineyard Haven-Edgartown Road with Barnes and Airport Roads.