Support high school project at Town Meeting
Please help our students and community by showing your support for the school district’s Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) building project at the high school by attending your Town...
View ArticleKeeping housing momentum rolling
More than 200 Vineyarders — with fellow Islanders from Nantucket — assembled at the State House last month, demanding the passage of legislation that would help the development of workforce and...
View ArticleThe Trump indictment, an explainer
Two fundamentals stand out in the Manhattan grand jury indictment of Donald J. Trump: One is that under our constitutional system, a person is innocent until proven guilty, a matter deeply rooted in...
View ArticleNo one is safe from intolerance
First they came for the transgender kids in Florida, Texas, Idaho and more than 20 other states, and I did not speak out — because I am not trans and because I live in a “safe space,” Martha’s...
View ArticleKeep Oak Bluffs’ vibe alive
The Oak Bluffs Select Board voted last week to move up the closing time for bars an extra half-hour. With that, last call will be earlier as well — the same time as Edgartown and many towns in...
View ArticleSettle before it gets worse
West Tisbury residents at town meeting last week voted to reject the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School’s proposed budget. The vote — which was overwhelming — was in protest of the MVRHS School...
View ArticleProtecting the news media
One of the most closely watched cases so far this year involved Dominion Voting Systems’ lawsuit against Fox News. The network’s on-air personalities claimed that Dominion electronic voting machines...
View ArticleHappy Earth Day
“Our heedless and destructive acts enter into the vast cycles of the earth and in time return to bring hazard to ourselves.” –Rachel Carson, testifying before a congressional subcommittee 70 years ago...
View ArticleLet the flags fly
The reluctance of the Oak Bluffs Select Board to allow certain flags to fly is overly restrictive, and creates a perception of intolerance. The town’s select board has quarreled off and on for more...
View ArticleAn ethics code for the Supreme Court
Federal judges must avoid even “the appearance of impropriety,” according to the Code of Conduct for United States Judges, which went into effect in 1973. Specifically, “A judge should not allow...
View ArticleWhat the bots are saying about Martha’s Vineyard’s seasonal economy
Below is an editorial generated by Chat GPT-4, an open-source, Artificial Intelligence “chatbot.” The editorial staff at The Times simply asked Chat GPT (by typing into a chat search bar): “Generate an...
View ArticleConsider the coyote
It could be only a matter of time before Martha’s Vineyard has a breeding coyote population. The public has reported coyote sightings up-Island. Wildlife experts differ, but some estimate there could...
View ArticleMassachusetts needs to own nitrogen cleanup
The town of Tisbury deserves praise for developing a plan to address wastewater issues in Tashmoo and the rest of the community. With Massachusetts regulators proposing new, statewide Title 5...
View ArticleVineyard wetlands and future development
A recent ruling by the Supreme Court on filling wetlands for construction may have a profound impact on the future of Martha’s Vineyard, and many other locations where wetlands proliferate. In 2007,...
View ArticleBe wary of the Tisbury police boat
The Tisbury Select Board’s waffling on a proposal to introduce a police patrol boat to Vineyard Haven is unfortunate. The proposal seems more like the town is looking for a solution to a problem that...
View ArticleIs ‘E Pluribus Unum’ a pipedream?
“Out of Many, One” was the motto of the U.S. from 1782 until 1956, when it was replaced by “In God We Trust.” Even now, the Latin phrase “E pluribus unum” can be found on our $1 bills in the banner...
View ArticleThe Dershowitz flap at the Chilmark Free Public Library
The Chilmark Free Public Library board of trustees earlier this year unanimously voted to invite Chilmark summer resident, defense attorney, and retired Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz to speak...
View ArticleJuneteenth: A time for celebration, yes, but also for reflection
Martha’s Vineyard will be brimming with Juneteenth celebrations this weekend. The Amistad — a replica of a slave ship that was taken over by a group of enslaved people in the 1830s — will be pulling...
View ArticleProtecting our water
We have a community issue of highest priority, but hardly anyone understands enough about it, and almost nobody has been willing or daring to talk about it. It has to do with DEP, Title 5 septic...
View ArticleWhere are we going with the turf debate?
Voters on Martha’s Vineyard should be concerned about who is representing their interests on the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School School Committee. Three town meetings on the Vineyard this spring...
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