No one wins with recent turf court decision
Last week’s Massachusetts Land Court ruling in favor of the Martha’s Vineyard Regional School District and its proposed synthetic turf field is definitive in its opinion, but it does nothing to ease Islanders who...
Take a second gander at the geese population
Martha’s Vineyard has a non-migratory Canada geese problem.
Farmers say that flocks can destroy newly planted crops in a short period of time; the birds can also yank up fresh, native vegetation by the roots;...
Steamship lacking transparency, accountability
The Steamship Authority’s explanation for what led to a boat becoming unmoored from a slip at the Woods Hole terminal earlier this summer has been comically vague.
In late July, the Sankaty, a nearly 250-foot...
Condemn the attacks on a small-town weekly newspaper
The accounts of a police raid at the Marion County Record, a newspaper in Kansas, are disturbing, not only to newsrooms across the country like ours here in Vineyard Haven, but to democracy worldwide.
According...
Keep incentivizing electric car use
Should public electric car-charging stations be free to use?
That’s a question before the West Tisbury Select Board, where the town currently has two free charging stations.
On an Island where less than 5 percent of...
Support for reining in short-term rentals
Airbnb, one of the original and go-to websites for booking short-term rentals, began as a new and fun way to travel. Following more rugged and free options like Couch Surfer, travelers could spend the...
Great expectations for an EduComp town hall
Tisbury deserves a better town hall. There’s been a temporary solution for what seems like decades, and the current setup might be getting the job done, but it’s showing its age.
Currently, town offices are...
School committee is wrong to use private funding
Private money has no place in public, governmental affairs. It’s undemocratic, unethical, and sets a dangerous precedent.
But that’s exactly what the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School committee is using to fund a legal battle...
The perks of having no bridge to the mainland
There have been a lot of complaints circulating about the reservation system for the Steamship Authority. A major point of contention last summer was that on the same day an Islander couldn’t get a...
Why not drive an electric car?
It isn’t surprising that under 5 percent of cars on Martha’s Vineyard are either electric or hybrid electric. It’s unfortunate, but given how long the combustion engine has reigned supreme, we can give ourselves...
Postal service lacking basic transparency
The higher-ups in the U.S. Postal Service on Martha’s Vineyard have some explaining to do. The Times has tried on numerous occasions to get even the most straightforward information from the service, only to...
A needed boost for abortion access
Women should be able to get an abortion in the U.S. if they so choose, as a majority of Americans believe.
But the right to an abortion and access to safe abortions are different issues....
Where are we going with the turf debate?
Voters on Martha’s Vineyard should be concerned about who is representing their interests on the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School School Committee.
Three town meetings on the Vineyard this spring voted very decisively against the...
Juneteenth: A time for celebration, yes, but also for reflection
Martha’s Vineyard will be brimming with Juneteenth celebrations this weekend. The Amistad — a replica of a slave ship that was taken over by a group of enslaved people in the 1830s — will...
Be wary of the Tisbury police boat
The Tisbury Select Board’s waffling on a proposal to introduce a police patrol boat to Vineyard Haven is unfortunate. The proposal seems more like the town is looking for a solution to a problem...
Massachusetts needs to own nitrogen cleanup
The town of Tisbury deserves praise for developing a plan to address wastewater issues in Tashmoo and the rest of the community. With Massachusetts regulators proposing new, statewide Title 5 regulations, Martha’s Vineyard residents...
Consider the coyote
It could be only a matter of time before Martha’s Vineyard has a breeding coyote population. The public has reported coyote sightings up-Island. Wildlife experts differ, but some estimate there could be up to...
What the bots are saying about Martha’s Vineyard’s seasonal economy
Below is an editorial generated by Chat GPT-4, an open-source, Artificial Intelligence “chatbot.” The editorial staff at The Times simply asked Chat GPT (by typing into a chat search bar): “Generate an editorial on...
Review of school committee membership warranted
There has been a spotlight on the MVRHS School Committee the past several months. Many voters have shared their frustration over the committee’s ongoing lawsuit in support of a synthetic turf field; some have...
Let the flags fly
The reluctance of the Oak Bluffs Select Board to allow certain flags to fly is overly restrictive, and creates a perception of intolerance.
The town’s select board has quarreled off and on for more than...