Commencement 2009

On Sunday afternoon two hundred graduating seniors will march down the aisle of the historic Tabernacle in Oak Bluffs as the strains of Pomp and Circumstance float out into the warm June seaside air.

Shelter Open for Business

Trent the gentle giant is a two-year-old neutered Great Dane who needs a home. He’s friendly and loves kids. A large yard (and dog bed) are required. Make that very large.

The Animal Shelter of Martha’s Vineyard, formerly the MSPCA, has been steam cleaned, repainted and is open for business again at the same location in Edgartown. In addition to Trent, the shelter currently has Felix, a tuxedo cat.

Busted Budgets, Conscious Choices

Six Island towns, six budgets, and one — in Oak Bluffs — already collapsing as weakening receipts this year cannot hold up the weight of spending. Town officials across the Vineyard continue to demand that all departments do the job on leaner budgets; cost of living increases have been scrapped, travel has been curtailed, in Oak Bluffs voluntary redundancy packages are on offer for town employees.

Flower Power

The season of beautiful flowers has begun on the Vineyard. In rustic, rural dooryards up-Island riots of pink and white clematis tumble over weathered fences and stone walls. Bridal wreath (spirea) has nearly gone by, sending showers of tiny shell-like blossoms across lawns and back stoops. Look up — towering native locusts are topped with fragrant white blooms.

Walking Tall, for a Good Cause

This evening begins one of the most poignant and boisterous and multigenerational and successful of the many annual fundraisers on the Island — the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life.

No Longer Golden Pond

Sengekontacket Pond is in trouble, but not from bacterial contamination, making the state-mandated summer closures on the pond, now in their second year, seem like a bureaucratic farce.