Wednesday, February 11, 2026

Letters to the Editor

Hold Lagoon Ridge to commitments

The following letter was sent on October 23rd.: Dear members of the Oak Bluffs planning board: It has come to my attention that the developer of the Lagoon Ridge project is requesting yet another alteration of...

It can be stopped

To the Editor: I bet most of you reading this know what I'm talking about already — the overdevelopment/touristation of Martha's Vineyard. It's the elephant in the room nobody (with authority) is willing to stop....

Thank you, SSA

To the Editor: A huge thank-you to all at the Steamship Authority. I can appreciate that many concerned citizens are attempting to put the SSA on a better path, but today I need to take a...

Steamship clarifies record on hiring process

To the Editor: Two recent letters recently published here have misstated facts and injected supposition to support a false narrative. Let me provide accurate information and clarification for the many points addressed in the letters...

Alarm over general manager search process

To the Editor: To have the end result of a nine-month general manager search, conducted by an internationally respected transportation search firm, advance only one external candidate out of 131 applicants contacted is nothing short...

Don’t blame the public on Steamship manager search

To the Editor: Isn’t it convenient to blame the people you serve, as you are about to announce what most would call a failed search? I am, of course, referring to comments from a few...

Let town meeting decide school vote

To the Editor: At its Nov. 3 meeting, the school committee will consider a major change to how the $300 million–plus high school renovation and addition project will be approved. Instead of requiring each town’s...

Do not circumvent town meeting on school vote

To the Editor: Reports that the nine-person school committee plans to vote on Nov. 3 whether to circumvent spring 2026 town meetings in favor of an Island-wide simple majority vote to gain final approval of...

Painful to think of pine removal

To the Editor: Professor Suzanne Simard, a member of the faculty of forestry at the University of British Columbia, makes very good points regarding the complexity and connectedness of the below-ground community of organisms in a...

A middle path for the forest

To the Editor: A forest fire is no joke — especially for those who risk their lives as firefighters to keep communities safe from danger. But are the white pines in Manuel F. Correllus State...

Appreciation for oral history project funders

To the Editor: On behalf of the education committee of the Martha’s Vineyard Diversity Coalition (MVDC), we are writing to thank you for the wonderful article about the Martha’s Vineyard Living Legends Black, Indigenous, People...

The importance of an educated public

To the Editor: Thomas Jefferson wrote, "If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilisation, it expects what never was and never will be." Jefferson wrote this quote in a letter...

A notable achievement for Hospice and Palliative Care

To the Editor: In 2010 and 2011, I had the privilege of serving under President Obama as the administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. That experience moves me to take a moment...

Steamship defends new freight vessel performance

To the Editor: A recent letter (August 21: “State Auditor necessary for SSA oversight?”) regarding the Steamship Authority’s new freight vessel MV Aquinnah contained several inaccuracies and misstatements of fact that must be clarified and...

Not the location for development

After seeing an article about a proposed development on the Vineyard, I felt inspired to comment from the perspective of someone who has come to the Island as a mostly summer visitor, beginning in...

Steamship board needs to see bigger picture

To the Editor: The SSA proposes a 5 percent increase for excursion fares for Islanders. There is a proposed 5.5 percent increase for all freight. There is a proposed 33 percent increase in the Palmer...

A fitting salute to vets

To the Editor: On Friday, Sept. 12, there was a free luncheon put on by Buster Giordano and his hard-working family at Giordano’s Restaurant for all Island military veterans and their spouses. And for some...

A thanks to Edgartown hosts

To the Editor: In a first of hopefully many for the new ownership of the Square Rigger restaurant in Edgartown, they created a wedding dinner reception on Monday, Sept. 8, that outperformed anything we could...

Giving back after surviving ‘widow maker’

To the Editor: I recently suffered a major cardiac event, referred to as a “widow maker,” and was very fortunate to survive the event. According to the American Heart Association, severe blockages of the left...

Learn to listen to our fellow countrymen

To the Editor: In the wake of this most recent murder of a political figure, I feel called to express the following. Who ever thought a deep and lasting hatred would blossom among citizens in the...