Are we invested in county government?
With the recent primary election, it seems an opportune time to reflect and raise questions about where we are and where we are headed.
Let’s start with the Dukes County Sheriff. Given the state of...
SSA is performing ‘pretty well’
I am here to give you an update on the Steamship Authority at the end of a very busy summer. Through August 2022, 11,406 trips, of 11,677 scheduled and available, operated on the Vineyard...
Should the United States have a new Constitution?
The question posed in the title recently surfaced in the New York Times. A conservative House Republican from Texas, Jodey Arrington, introduced legislation directing the archivist of the U.S. to “tally applications for a...
Don’t fall for sportswashing
As journalists, we are biased when it comes to LIV Golf, and make no apologies for it.
If you’re not familiar with LIV Golf, it’s a professional golf tour that’s being financed by the Saudi...
Tackling the mental healthcare crisis
Founded in 1961, Martha’s Vineyard Community Services (MVCS) was one of America’s first rural Community Mental Health Centers (CMHC). The community mental health movement of the 1950s and 1960s had the dream that communities...
Get ready to vote
We know you’re still basking in the glow of another successful summer on Martha’s Vineyard. Some of our favorite traditions were back in full swing, with no restrictions — the Oak Bluffs fireworks, the Ag...
Unthinkable grief
It’s every parent’s nightmare. You send your young adult children off into the world, and then receive the worst possible news.
Our heart aches for the parents of Tavaris and Tavaughn Bulgin, the Jamaican nationals...
The postal service and abortion
Most women seeking abortions today now go about self-medication by ordering two pills through the mail. According to the Guttmacher Institute, medication abortion is the chosen method for women to end a pregnancy in...
Put it to a vote
Let’s just be clear about something up front — the Tisbury School committee, select board, and building committee are not responsible for inflation and supply chain issues that are driving up the cost of the...
The art of the career pivot
Instead of the Great Depression of the 1930s, we face the “the Great Resignation” of the 2020s, with millions of workers pivoting into new careers, adding part-time gigs, or learning new skills. Two years...
Be open to change
We’re in the midst of a housing crisis that’s exacerbated a worker shortage on the Island. So inevitably needed off-Island workers need to commute and thus match up work and ferry schedules. A crisis...
Let students make the rules
We’re well into August now, and Island teachers are feeling the familiar dread and excitement of a new school year. I suggest that educators spend the first few days easing into the school routine...
Back to zen
Islanders love yoga. Hot yoga. Vinyasa yoga. Restorative yoga. Goat yoga. Llama yoga. We have it all. Yoga is known to increase flexibility, improve muscle strength, help maintain a balanced metabolism, good for cardio...
Abortion and the right of locomotion
The U.S. Constitution does not explicitly guarantee the freedom of movement. Law enforcement authorities may detain a person from leaving a state if they suspect that person of committing a crime. Alternatively, prosecutors can...
Cancel the threat
We really wanted to sit this one out. About two weeks ago, a reader tweeted at us about Alan Dershowitz’s appearance on Newsmax, where he claimed he was being “canceled” on the Vineyard.
It felt...
Guy walks into a bar
Guy walks into a bar. It’s clear he’s been there before. He pours himself into what appears to be his usual stoop at the tail end of a slab of burnt mahogany. Barkeep saunters...
We need traffic solutions
At a recent meeting of some Island business leaders, discussion turned to one of the Island’s nagging problems and its impact on business — traffic flow and the lack thereof.
When one of the individuals suggested...
A further reckoning: The Supreme Court’s next term
If last year’s Supreme Court term was full of blockbuster landmark rulings, next year promises more to come. To date, the justices have accepted 30 cases for full argument. They will add more over...
Keep meetings hybrid
In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, the state legislature allowed an exemption to the Open Meeting Law to allow public meetings to be held remotely via Zoom. There were some challenges in...
The ringing of the bells
As soon as I heard of the Fourth of July massacre in Highland Park, Ill., I called my 94-year-old cousin, Gene, who had grown up there. We have been especially close, as I spent...