Friday Conversation

Tom Degnan, superintendent of the Oak Bluffs water department, will be today’s guest speaker at the Friday Conversations group at the Oak Bluffs Senior Center, from 10 am to 11:30 a.m. He will discuss the issues involved in delivering water to us from our sole-source acquifer and guaranteeing its purity, issues that range beyond Oak Bluffs, as we all share the same water source.

He will also discuss our responsibilities in maintaining the purity of the water supply.

Consequences of Deforestation on the Amazon Rainforest with Michael T. Coe, associate scientist at the Woods Hole Research Center, is at the Vineyard Haven library at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, July 21. The event is free.

Fish Story

Charles A. Bartholomy, a seasoned professional fishing captain and former syndicated outdoor columnist, presents Fish Story Extraordinary on Friday, July 17, at 4 p.m. at the Federated Church Parish House in Edgartown

Mr. Bartholomy combines corporate and political intrigue with an American CEO’s quest for success in Cuba’s annual Hemingway Blue Marlin Tournament in his latest book, The Blue.

Parenting expert Dr. Catherine Steiner-Adair will explain How Can You Be a Go-To Parent (or Grandparent)? in a talk on Thursday, July 16, at the Martha’s Vineyard Hebrew Center, in what promises to be a practical, intelligent, funny, insightful and timely Summer Institute event.

Island Historian

Reveals New Book

David McCullough, Pulitzer-prizewinning author of The Path Between the Seas, Truman, John Adams and 1776, is working on a new book, set for release in 2010. The as-yet-untitiled tome chronicles the remarkable history of innovation and achievement in the fields literature, medicine, design and the arts by Americans living in Paris.

Late Summer Gardens

Chanticleer horticulturalist Dan Benarcik presents Fashionably Late: Ideas for the Late Summer Garden, a talk on Wednesday, July 15 at 7:30 p.m. at the Polly Hill Arboretum’s Far Barn.