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...
Shining the light
“Sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants.” -U.S. Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis
Once again we are joining newspapers in New England and across the country in recognizing National Sunshine Week, which was...
Two long years
It was clear early on during the Wednesday, March 2, meeting of the Island boards of health that a majority of the board of health members were ready to lift the indoor mask mandate....
Feeling cross
We were walking on Church Street in Vineyard Haven, climbing that hill, when we came to the crosswalk on Franklin Street. We looked both ways. There was an SUV coming toward the intersection but...
A civic twofer
Vineyarders are facing very large and complex choices regarding the future of Island life. Either proactively or reactively, the decisions we will make and the ones we punt on will put a stamp on...
You’re not alone
We’re grateful for those of you willing to share your personal stories about Substance Use Disorder (SUD), the recovery process, and the real life struggles that so many face here on the Island and...
They belong together
Updated
It’s hard not to think about the Abreu family right now and not be sad and then mad.
Sad because this is a family that’s been ripped apart. We’re not going to attempt to justify...
Mixed messages are costly
We predicted this would happen. As soon as Superintendent Matt D’Andrea announced at a Thursday, Jan. 20, meeting that he was headed hat in hand to the select boards of Martha’s Vineyard looking for...
Wanted: New blood, fresh ideas
The Tisbury select board appointed town administrator Jay Grande as the town’s representative to the Martha’s Vineyard Commission (MVC) on Wednesday, Jan. 20, in what they hope will be a temporary, stopgap appointment.
There were...