The new Gilded Age and the arc of history
If you need proof that we are indeed living in the second Gilded Age, look no further than the real estate listing for a 15,000-square-foot mansion on Katama Bay that sold this month for...
A nod to MV Commission for rejecting Edgartown Gardens
Driving through some parts of Massachusetts, amid quaint Main Street shops and apartments, there are seemingly more and more big, boxlike apartment buildings — much taller and much less in line with the local...
What is holding up action on housing?
The scene at the Massachusetts State House this past week was a familiar one: Island law enforcement, business owners, school officials, hospital workers — the cornerstones of the community — were all but getting...
The Aquinnah Police Department and the case for regionalization
The Aquinnah Police Department is teetering on the edge.
What was a department of four to start the year — two patrol officers, a sergeant, and a chief — has fallen to a department of...
Thank you for making us Newspaper of the Year
This was a big week for us at The Martha’s Vineyard Times, as we brought home an award for the 2025 New England Newspaper of the Year!
We want to thank you, our community of...
Bringing the glory back to public transit
It is no secret that trust in public transit has suffered greatly across the U.S., in Massachusetts and here on the Island.
Train service in the country is embarrassingly lacking compared with other developed nations;...
Parents should heed warning on electric dirt bikes
There are moments throughout human history where technology advanced faster than maybe it should have. The development of nuclear energy ranks high up there. Forever chemicals used to coat cooking pans to keep them...
Applaud the push for accountability on offshore wind
In this craft of community journalism, a big part of our job is to hold our local officials accountable.
And in doing our job, our reporters have been questioning local leaders on the Island about...
For immigrants, declining school enrollment and rising anxiety
Kids with sand still in their sneakers and sunburns on the back of their necks shouldered their backpacks and marched off to the first day of school this week.
On a picture-perfect September morning, the...
A beautiful celebration of Island life
There is a lot to be unhappy about, and frankly scared about, in this day and age. Our phones show us graphic images of war and famine; national politics have gotten almost too intense...
Support more tick research and tracking
The New York Times had it mostly right last week when they reported that it was the summer of the tick on Martha’s Vineyard, rather than the summer of “Jaws,” as the classic film...
The ‘right to refuse’ service should be protected
A public clash between a pierogi vendor and a celebrity defense lawyer has gone viral over the past few weeks, and brought the ethics and morality of one constitutional right to the forefront of...
Offshore wind needs to be held accountable
In the business of offshore wind farms, the spin is what it is all about. The 853-foot turbines are spinning to generate clean energy, and that is a good thing. But the public-relations spin...
Launching MV Times membership for community-supported news
We are thrilled to launch our new MV Times membership program. this means you, our readers, can join our community in a more tangible way, and be part of the public service that is...
Support for wider access to epinephrine
The life of Megan Shai Brown, a Vineyard woman and mother of two, changed in an instant in the fall of 2023.
Her husband, Mike Brown, was playing in a charity golf tournament in Edgartown,...
Term limits at SSA are needed to right the ship
The Steamship Authority is the Island’s lifeline, but in recent years it has been unreliable, inefficient, and downright frustrating to anyone trying to make a reservation on its flawed website.
Longtime Islanders and passenger advocates...
Town meeting is a beautiful thing — so let’s keep quorums strong
Town meeting is a wonderful if sometimes grueling form of democracy. The wonder of it is the way it represents one of the truest forms of democracy. Where else can you stand up to...
Support Sunday deer hunting to reduce tick-borne illness
It’s that time of year again. The sun is starting to shine brighter, the leaves are slowly unfolding, daffodils are blooming, and one of the Island’s biggest public health enemies is returning: the tick.
In...
Hospital should answer on layoffs
The recent revelations of layoffs at Martha’s Vineyard Hospital are troubling for Islanders, and how we learned about them and the questions we still have about them raise some important questions about transparency and...