What do we know about the proposal by the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) to locate a casino in Southeastern Massachusetts? Almost nothing.

Two weeks after tribal chairman Cheryl Andrews-Maltais caught even her own tribal council by surprise with a flurry of public statements indicating the tribe wants to compete for one of the state’s new gaming licenses, the most basic questions remain unanswered. Where would the casino go? Who would the tribe’s partners be? And where is the money coming from?

It’s official: Martha’s Vineyard is among the country’s most desirable places for second homes, according to Barron’s. This year, the Vineyard ranks third, behind the Hamptons, N.Y. and Kauai, Hawaii. Not that this will send most year-round Islanders into self-congratulatory dances in the aisles of Stop & Shop and Chicken Alley. Particularly in these trying economic times, many Vineyarders are pressed to afford the next tankful of gas, rent or first mortgage payment, let alone a second home.

Physicists announced this week that they may be closing in on finding the Higgs boson particle. Also known as the God particle, the Higgs boson would be definitive evidence that the universe as we understand it is, well, the universe as we understand it. Scientists assume the Higgs exists because, in theory, it represents the best explanation of why matter has mass—which it must in order for our view of the universe to work.

Information is the currency of democracy, Thomas Jefferson famously said.

And open access to government records is key to obtaining information, a requirement so basic we sometimes take it for granted.

In fact, various state and federal laws, including the Freedom of Information Act, are the tools ordinary citizens and the news media rely on to make sure their right to see public documents is protected. Like any laws, these need to change with the times.

Last week several right whales were spotted off the Vineyard, and the Gazette ran a story about it. Of course any appearance of the endangered whales is highly unusual and newsworthy.

There are no statistics to show how many Islanders actually leave the Island during the winter school break, which falls this week, one week after most of the rest of public schools in Massachusetts take their winter break. The Martha’s Vineyard Commission does not track the numbers nor does the Steamship Authority, at least with any precision, when it comes to Islanders and their travel habits.