Clearing up Housing Bank confusion
In response to recent reporting on various meetings and the letter written to our state representatives by the Oak Bluffs selectmen, the Housing Bank MV (HBMV) campaign would like to provide additional information to...
On indicting and prosecuting a sitting president
As Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller III, according to all accounts, releases his report to the new Attorney General William P. Barr, a key question is whether the president of the United States, while...
Synthetic turf will contribute to greenhouse gas problems
I write as an oceanographer with expertise in plastic pollution to advise against the installation of synthetic turf on Martha’s Vineyard. My research has shown that the environmental health impacts posed by plastic carpets...
When rights and liberties clash
The Constitution guarantees us rights and liberties indispensable to a democracy. Are some more important than others? What if the First Amendment’s religious liberty and free speech rights trumped the Fourteenth’s promise of equal...
Housing on M.V. 101: A primer on our crisis
We all are painfully aware we have a humongous housing crisis on Martha’s Vineyard. (“Webster’s” defines humongous as “extremely large.”) What causes this crisis, and what can we do to solve it?
Nary a week...
More needed in fight against substance use disorder
The numbers don’t lie. If you think we’re out of the woods with addiction-related deaths, think again. The year 2018 saw dramatic increases in both suicide (four) and drug-related (eight) deaths; alcohol-related decreased to...
Bipartisanship, ever?
The last week of 2018 and the first three of 2019 have demonstrated little to no movement in transforming Congress into a governing institution. The House of Representatives, as of Jan. 3, is controlled...
Taking steps to mitigate effects of climate change
As winter bears down upon the Island, I hope you can take a moment — preferably with a cup of tea by the fire — to read our State House legislative update.
During my first...
Is ranked-choice voting in our future?
One of the most interesting features of the election season was the emergence of Maine’s statewide ranked-choice voting system, a first in the nation. It works when more than one candidate is running for...
A love letter to VTA drivers
It’s an early morning in fall. The bus is at the end of the line — sitting at the top of the Aquinnah Circle, almost empty. The driver stands up and stretches and notes...
Climate change bigger threat to birds than windmills
By Jack Clarke
President Trump recently criticized “windmills” as a source of energy, claiming, “They kill so many birds. You look underneath some of those windmills, it’s like a killing field.” All this while he...
Why did she do it?
For most of the year, pundits pounded their view that the blue wave was so powerful among those in anti-Trump America that the Democrats could win both houses of Congress in the 2018 midterms....
Resolving conflicts
“I don't want anything for Mother's Day — it’s a silly holiday fabricated by Hallmark Cards to sell more of their products!” This was my mother’s response to my inquiry at age 7. Of course...
Columbus is no one to celebrate
The second Monday in October, Columbus Day, is coming up. Italians all over America are gearing up for parades and festivities in honor of the great Italian explorer Christopher Columbus. Grammar-school children are making...
Where is Congress?
So often these days, the news moves so fast it’s hard, if not impossible, to keep up, even for diligent readers of the papers or followers of cable news shows: political bickering as a...
A living legend
The following is reprinted with permission from Holly Nadler’s book “Vineyard Confidential.” “She approved every word before I used it in the book,” Nadler said. “I agreed because I just found her so fascinating.”...
Not reflected in the algorithm
The following hardly qualifies as a healthcare data point. I’m sure the wizards who carpenter the algorithms that model healthcare access and costs have not have included a weighted value for the news, appalling...
Meeting a Queen and a King
In 1959, Lenny and I ran away to Detroit to get married. My father drove us. He thought we were going to be interviewed for jobs in a summer stock company.
While we were there,...
Shun shines on the Vineyard
Earlier this summer, Harvard professor and noted defense attorney Alan Dershowitz set off a national debate when he wrote an op-ed in The Hill claiming that he was being shunned from social gatherings on...