We need traffic solutions
At a recent meeting of some Island business leaders, discussion turned to one of the Island’s nagging problems and its impact on business — traffic flow and the lack thereof.
When one of the individuals suggested...
Keep meetings hybrid
In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, the state legislature allowed an exemption to the Open Meeting Law to allow public meetings to be held remotely via Zoom. There were some challenges in...
In the presence of extraordinary women
We fully understand why some women and men weren’t feeling in the spirit to celebrate America’s birthday over the weekend. The overturning of Roe v. Wade by the U.S. Supreme Court has eroded any...
Something to smile about
When you think of dental health and oral care, you may not be thinking of a heart attack at the same time. But you should.
According to the Mayo Clinic, oral health provides a window...
Time to mend fences
Oak Buffs town administrator Deborah Potter appears to have overreacted to questions raised by the town’s finance committee about her dual role as town administrator and town accountant during her first year as town...
Juneteenth: Long overdue
The skillful lawyers and advocates building our case for American independence enumerated the ways in which our rights as citizens in a true democracy, and in fact our fundamental humanity, were denied by British...
Size and use don’t matter
Last week we shared our efforts in attempting to get public records from Dukes County Sheriff Robert Ogden’s office.
At issue are visitor logs from 2011, when David Thrift was being held at the Dukes...
Listen and learn
We interrupt the adult bickering over the field project at Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School to remind you that a school’s priority is to educate children, and to create an environment where the Island’s...
A tale of two committees
Last week we had two divergent stories about the same group of public officials. A school committee eager to spend money on an outside attorney to appeal the Oak Bluffs planning board’s decision not...
An unsurprising development
It’s really no surprise that the Tisbury School renovation and addition project is over budget. Whenever you seek to renovate, it always costs more than new construction.
What is a surprise is just how quickly...
Better than expected
“Leave the parking the way ìt is and do the upgrades, why ruin a good thing?”
“Has anyone ever witnessed what happens in the summer when a tourist (or an islander) that has not parallel...
Nantucket got it right
Ssshhhh, don’t tell our friends at the Inquirer and Mirror or the Nantucket Current, but we found ourselves a little envious of Nantucket’s town meeting last week.
No, not because they discussed and approved topless...
Wounded pride
Martha’s Vineyard in general and Oak Bluffs in particular have always had a proud history of being a welcoming and inclusive community.
Last week, that history took a blow — an unnecessary blow.
It was one of...
Ferries, democracy, and cats
Here are some things we’ve been thinking about as we’ve scurried around waiting for town election results and sitting through town meeting discussions.
With the exception of Peter Jeffrey, Falmouth’s representative to the Steamship Authority...
An important step
It was a great week for the housing bank last week — a clean sweep of four town meetings and then three overwhelming victories at the ballot box make it clear. Martha’s Vineyard is ready...
More civility, please
Terry Donahue’s comments during a Zoom meeting have been and should be condemned. And while Donahue has apologized for his vulgarity aimed at Susan Desmarais, and she has accepted that apology, we need to...
Give it a rest
Dukes County and Nantucket officials held a public hearing Monday about the Steamship Authority bill filed by state Rep. Dylan Fernandes, D-Falmouth, and state Sen. Julian Cyr, D-Truro.
They should have called it the hurt...
Another valuable resource
There are a lot of resources on the Island for individuals dealing with substance use disorder. In a piece for our special section on the issue, published in February, Charles Silberstein and Laura Roosevelt...
All those in favor
Our story about the controversial tower in Menemsha that’s been installed as part of a security camera system is a bit of a warning for town meeting voters.
The decision to pay for surveillance cameras...