Transparency key in discussion of school audit
A push to better understand equity, diversity, and inclusion across all levels of society, including in the workplace and at schools, emerged in the wake of George Floyd’s 2020 murder at the hands of...
It’s time to ban mopeds once and for all
An all-too-familiar tragedy unfolded in Oak Bluffs last week, one that should have been avoided.
The life of a middle-aged woman from Florida — described by friends and family as a beautiful and kind soul...
Seeing the forest for the trees
The clearing of the homeless from the State Forest last week was startling and callous. But one thing remains quite clear, we don’t have a homeless problem, we have a housing problem.
Last week, a...
Turbine fracture a troubling precedent
News this past week of a Vineyard Wind turbine blade fracturing and scattering debris all the way to Nantucket’s shores is more than just minor turbulence in the burgeoning and nascent offshore wind industry....
Keep M.V. franchise-free?
It is one of those points of pride for our Island. We have always kept big franchises out. There was the famous standoff in the 1980s when a group of Islanders stood strong against...
Measuring our Island by how we treat the least fortunate
There is a hidden trend on the Vineyard that the public and advocates worry is growing more troubling.
We reported last week on an increasing population of people experiencing homelessness on the Island, with some...
Turn up the volume on calls for affordable housing legislation
A wave of disappointment is crashing here on the Island in reaction to this week’s news that hopes are fading in this legislative session for state lawmakers to pass a way for cities and...
Juneteenth: A holiday for everyone
At the Tabernacle Flag Pole in Oak Bluffs, Islanders gathered at noon Wednesday for a flag raising ceremony marking Juneteenth, the national holiday that celebrates freedom and honors the history and culture of African...
Cost of living is too high
If you are as shocked as our families are by the high prices every time you go into a store on the Vineyard, then you understand how important it is to have the prices...
District attorney and sheriff need to stop squabbling
Back in 1958, John Leo Brady was convicted of first-degree murder in Maryland. During his trial, Brady admitted that he had taken part in a botched carjacking, but insisted that his co-defendant, Charles Boblit,...
Piecing together a broken life
The Island is left trying to piece together the broken shards of the life of Jared Ravizza.
Every corner of the community seems to be struggling to understand how the 26-year-old who washed ashore on...
On this frenetic holiday, pause for Memorial Day’s true meaning
Here comes the sun. Or at least, that is the hope for this Memorial Day weekend, as the unofficial start to the summer season gets underway.
College graduations are mostly over, and students are beginning...
Steamship shows its arrogance … again
In the news last week, the Steamship Authority administration recommended providing a permit to a New Bedford company to deliver freight trucks from the South Coast city to the Island on a year-round basis.
Under...
The new EPA emissions rule
On April 25, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued far-reaching new rules concerning coal-fired power plants: They must capture the air pollution that they produce, or they will have to shut down. The federal...
The Times’ first editorial
Editor’s note: The following is an excerpt from an editorial printed on the front page of the first published MV Times newspaper. The paper came out on Thursday, May 3, 1984. We are republishing...
‘A Timely Issue’
The front page of the newspaper has yellowed into a sepia tone in the frame that hangs in my office overlooking Vineyard Haven Harbor, but the words feel like they are still unusually current....
Through the rancor, Chilmark finds compromise
It’s been quite a week in the news.
The U.S. House of Representatives finally put aside its deep divisions to sign an aid package that will save untold thousands of lives in the grinding war...
Town meetings shouldn’t be a snoozer
Updated, April 18
Town meeting is one of New England’s proudest traditions, and the most hands-on form of democracy in which Islanders can participate. Unlike voting in presidential elections, which can feel like a fait...
Sounding the alarm: losing volunteer firefighters is an unsettling trend
Last week’s news that fire departments are having difficulty recruiting volunteer firefighters should not be taken lightly. While maybe not a five-alarm fire, it underscores a troubling trend on the Island.
Vineyard fire departments have...
Amid growling and whining, the veterinarian shortage is still a business story
There’s been a lot of growling and some whining around one of the few remaining animal health care providers on the Island, which could be losing its space at the Martha’s Vineyard Airport.
Owners at...