Board process is flawed
The county commission is considering 10 candidates to represent Martha’s Vineyard on the Steamship Authority board. To say this is an important decision is an understatement: The person will be the Island’s voice to...
‘Dr. Zhivago’ for our time
Should anyone believe that Russia today is different from the old Soviet Union, they should have watched “Dr. Zhivago,” the motion picture adapted from the novel by the great Russian writer Boris Pasternak. The...
The acquittal hoax
President Donald Trump is right. Impeachment was a hoax and a sham. The impeachment trial, that is. Who ever heard of a trial with no witnesses, and a jury where the foreman announced ahead of...
Church and state, again
A few weeks back, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a case that could once again redraw the line separating church and state. The court has not been clear where that line is....
Meetings are for public business
Where do we begin with the Tisbury and Oak Bluffs boards of selectmen? While we appreciate that Tisbury publicly acknowledged the mistake they made by posting a meeting agenda to be held in Boston while...
We found a way to house us all
We all share that profoundly insightful skill of a Monday morning quarterback. However, we all also share a very unclear and often unreliable crystal ball. I served for ten years in a leadership role of...
Do you hear the call to serve?
The days are getting longer, and while spring is still a lot of cold nights and winter nor’easters away, it’s time to warm up to the idea of running for town offices this spring. All...
The Aging of Martha’s Vineyard: A strategy for a healthy future
In previous essays, we described the aging phenomenon in the U.S., and reported on how it affects Martha’s Vineyard. Between 2010 and 2016 on the Vineyard, there was a 63 percent growth of the...
Travel to and from the Vineyard in 2040
Vineyard residents and visitors today are whisked between the Vineyard and the mainland in as little as 12 minutes, thanks to more than a dozen smaller-size passenger electric and hybrid fast passenger ferries that...
How we saved Martha’s Vineyard by saving our clams
I am thankful that the clam harvest is so good this year. The past 30 years have seen a decline and rebirth of clams for Island residents. I think it all started with the...
Missing the boat
Where do we begin? What a shameful performance by the Steamship Authority on Tuesday, as the ferry service opened reservations on the Martha’s Vineyard route and then the system crashed. And if that’s not bad...
Heard of the Lincoln Project?
President Trump’s impeachment trial promises to end in acquittal, given the high bar of 67 senators needed to remove him from office. Yet, several conservative commentators and lawyers are working to identify an alternative...
In 2030, more farms, more food
Ten more working farms grace our fields and roads. Each new farm includes several affordable homes — not tiny homes — but modest guesthouse-sized structures, ranging from 700 to 1,100 square feet, with net-zero...
We became an aging-friendly Island
My name is Esther. It’s 2030; I’m 80 years old — like lots of Vineyard residents these days — and I treasure living in this aging-friendly Island community because: We’ve come a long...
Ward Just: ‘A gentleman to the end’
I count myself as among the very fortunate to have been a close friend of Ward Just. He was a lot of things: astute, observant, wry, witty, and self-deprecating. He was also a gentleman...
Romneycare vs. Obamacare, the court will decide
The Supreme Court may soon determine the fate of the Affordable Care and Patient Protection Act (ACA), commonly known as Obamacare. First, some basic facts. Ninety-eight percent of Massachusetts residents today have health insurance, thanks to...
A thorny issue
An FBI investigation. Settlement of a sexual harassment complaint against the fire chief. And town administrator Robert Whritenour slipping up at a public meeting and saying the fire chief was suspended, and the finance...
Lazes’ design is better for Tisbury bandstand
Shapes have meaning. Never is it more so than with a bandstand. A circular shape always connotes happy people sitting all around with picnics galore. The band is playing old favorites, often with a...
The lives they led, part three
We’ve decided to make “The lives they led” an annual celebration of the lives of Islanders who died during the year. We have included those who lived for at least some time on Martha’s...
We adapted to climate change and sea level rise
It is late December 2050, and we on Martha’s Vineyard have seen so many changes over the past three decades! Back in 2020, I was finishing up a 30-plus-year career as a coastal land...