Struggles of immigration — as ancient as the Bible, as modern as picket signs...
The global movement of people seeking to flee tyranny, poverty, and violence, or to search for freedom in a distant land, is a continuum of human history. It is as ancient as the biblical...
A return to civil discourse
As promised, The MV Times is bringing back the online comment section, after a respite over the holidays and a review of our policies for posting online.
As we have stated in the past, the...
Wildfires, insurance turbulence mark an unnerving turning point
If there are still any doubters, the apocalyptic images coming out of Los Angeles should be the proof everyone needs that climate change is not only real, it is an existential threat to our...
Pushing toward solutions
We are all worried. Some of us are actually scared. The Steamship Authority is our connection to critical, lifesaving services. The Steamship Authority's failure to operate as we need and expect threatens what makes...
A note of gratitude: Community support is how we sustain local news
One year ago, I walked into 30 Beach Road here in Vineyard Haven to start a “part-time” job as publisher of this weekly newspaper. And right away, I was met with what felt like...
Buyer’s remorse and the election
buyer’s remorse: “A sense of regret after having committed to an endorsement, policy, plan of action.” –second definition, dictionary.com
Millions of people voted for former Pres. Donald J. Trump in last November’s election. Yet he...
Vineyard needs a unified voice on offshore wind
When news broke that a turbine blade fractured earlier this summer — with foam and fiberglass landing on beaches as far away as Rhode Island and Provincetown — the outcry on Martha’s Vineyard felt...
Reflections in Ireland on our presidential election
The ties that bind Ireland and the U.S., formed during the brutal years of the Great Irish Famine, are intense. America represented salvation and a chance to rebuild shattered lives. Over time, these Irish...
A big thank you to our ‘sustainers’
For the last week, we have reached out to you, our readers, to ask for your support to help make our news organization sustainable, so we can continue to provide fair, balanced, fact-based coverage...
If not Spring Street, where?
As with my resignation from the Tisbury planning board, I have deliberated long and hard whether there would be any value to my comments on the volatile situation that is occurring at 97 Spring...
The future of climate change
Vineyarders, like all Americans, are living in an era of vast environmental and climate change. For most of November, the entire commonwealth suffered under “red flag” alerts. Since Sept. 1, so little rain has...
Why community-supported local news matters now more than ever
The Rotary Club of Martha’s Vineyard gathered in a small knot around the American flag at the Portuguese-American Club in Oak Bluffs yesterday and sang “God Bless America.”
After all the divisiveness and national hand-wringing...
Affordable housing and conserving the land and waterways
The critical need for hundreds of affordable housing units on Martha’s Vineyard need not conflict with the Island’s environmental beauty. With smart growth, we can achieve both. We can enrich the lives of everyone...
Keep raising the rafters on the ideals of American democracy
As a fraught, divisive, and violent election came to an end, it was too close to call whether it would be Vice President Kamala Harris or former President Donald Trump until the dark, predawn...
The Court and guns, again
Many residents of the Vineyard are gun owners, hunters, even firearms collectors. But few likely own something commonly called “a ghost gun.” These weapons come unassembled, via the Internet, in pieces that anyone can...
Through the noise at Spring Street
Updated, Nov. 5
There has been a lot of noise around the construction of workforce housing on Spring Street in Vineyard Haven the past several months, a project that is intended to house Vineyard Wind’s...
Vote no on Question 4, promoting psychedelic use
I am a believer in the power of certain psychedelic medications to help depression, awaken spiritual experiences, and break damaging compulsive behaviors such as smoking or alcohol use. I have used ketamine in my...
VOTE for democracy
In a presidential election widely considered fateful for our democracy, there are still Islanders who wonder if their vote really matters. They question whether they even need to vote, especially if they come from...
Are we ready for the next hurricane?
The eyes of the nation were tuned to the dramatic and tragic events that unfolded this month as two hurricanes ravaged two regions of the South within the space of just two weeks.
Hurricane Helene...
Charter students weigh in on cell debate
Social studies students in Grade 7 at the Martha’s Vineyard Public Charter School were asked to write arguments for and against banning cell phones in school, a debate that's been playing out across the...