Does the Fourteenth Amendment disqualify Donald J. Trump?
In an extraordinary law review article, two highly respected and quite conservative law professors argue that former President Donald J. Trump is ineligible to become the next president of the United...
View ArticleNo one wins with recent turf court decision
Last week’s Massachusetts Land Court ruling in favor of the Martha’s Vineyard Regional School District and its proposed synthetic turf field is definitive in its opinion, but it does nothing to ease...
View ArticleA planning tool for Tisbury’s future
I’m curious, what was your experience with summer traffic this year? In particular, Tisbury traffic. Worse? Better? About the same? On one July day, as I drove to an appointment at the speed of a...
View ArticleSacred memories
Baruch atah adonai elohenu melech ha’olam asher kidshanu bemitzvotav vitzivanu lehadlik ner shel (shabbat ve) yom tov. Blessed art thou, O Lord Our God, King of the Universe, who has sanctified us with...
View ArticleCan anonymous cash donations be accepted by a public school committee?
There are a lot of cliches about money. “Follow the money.” “Show me the money.” “It’s all about the money.” “Money is power.” As these sayings suggest, money is often at the heart of legal, ethical...
View ArticleThe Dover Amendment and the turf battle
In his Sept. 5 decision, Land Court Judge Kevin T. Smith interpreted the so-called Dover Amendment (G.L. c. 40A, § 3) to reject the town of Oak Bluffs’ attempt to protect the sole-source aquifer...
View ArticleHelp save public education with teacher business cards
Friends, At every back-to-school night I can remember, I made a point of introducing myself to the women and men who taught my three children. It went this way: “I’m John Merrow, (name of child)’s...
View ArticleAirbnb tax should go to funding housing
Chilmark is considering setting aside $200,000 annually to help ease the lack of housing on the Island. On its face, it’s a terribly inadequate amount of money. It’ll take several years of providing...
View ArticleBadly behaved bikers, and lax and lazy lawmakers
My neighbor tried to run me off the road in late August. He was in his car, and I was on my bike, and if I hadn’t stopped, he would have crashed into me. This occurred on Fuller Street in Edgartown, a...
View ArticleEnd unwarranted exemptions for immunizations
This week’s report that a number of schools on the Island have high exemption rates for vaccines is troubling. According to the latest data from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Dukes...
View ArticleInhabiting the light
My paintings are worked out in the studio, but my information — my inspiration, people like to say — comes from places I go to and look at and take in. The Vineyard has always been and remains a...
View ArticleGive pickleball a chance; all we are saying is respect our neighbors
Pickleball has been the fastest growing sport in the country, seemingly, for the past several years. It’s popular. It’s fun to play for all ages. You don’t need to be the most athletic or mobile person...
View ArticleUndermining the federal agencies
An effort is underway to undermine the authority of federal regulatory agencies, some 100 of them. Scholars call these agencies the foundation of the contemporary administrative state. Conspiracy...
View ArticleTransfer fee won’t make attainable housing more expensive
Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey’s administration yesterday finally announced a significant housing bond bill. There’s a lot to it, what the administration says is the largest investment in housing by a...
View ArticleFour fine Island whines: Not Chardonnay or Montrachet
Tipping Lord knows I believe in tipping. I may be poor, but I’m not cheap. In fact, I usually overtip to make up for the parsimonious ways of my fellow senior citizens who live on a fixed income....
View ArticleVeterans continue to need our help
Voices is a series the Martha’s Vineyard Times has pursued as a way to give the public a platform to tell their own stories in their own voices. In a way, it’s a self-conscious reflection. Often in the...
View ArticleSupport needed for permanent winter homeless shelter
The need for a program to house the homeless in the winter on Martha’s Vineyard is undeniable. Just last week, we received reports that homeless veterans without housing were camped in Island woods;...
View ArticleHigh time that Trustees own stewardship responsibilities
We take pride in our family’s enduring ties to the Vineyard and the Chappaquiddick community. Our family history here is one of service and stewardship — past presidents of the Chappaquiddick Island...
View ArticleMore and more secrecy
We are all going to have to trust Superintendent Richie Smith’s interpretation of the school lawyers’ interpretation of the law. Again. Despite a high level of public interest in the legality of the...
View ArticleSeastreak, a noble and hopefully successful business venture
It’s ironic that Seastreak officially launched its new commuter service to the Island last week on the same day that Steamship Authority ferries were riddled with issues. Steamship passengers had up to...
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