Autumn Arrives

One Cottage, So Much History

The Oak Bluffs historical commission is right to speak out frankly in the matter of the Harmon cottage demolition in the Camp Ground. The chain of events that led to what the town building inspector is calling a progressive demolition are a little unclear, as are the lines of authority. The historical commission, the town and the Martha’s Vineyard Camp Meeting Association, which owns and controls the Camp Ground, all are involved in piecing together the facts in the case.

Rainy Days, and Busy

Mid-September is when Islanders heave a collective sigh of relief. We hear it in the reclaiming of beaches closed to the public all summer long, in the restaking of favorite restaurants and in the discovery of not just one, but many open parking spots just where we need them. Yet in Vineyard Haven Sunday afternoon, not a single space was empty from the top of Main street to the end. Side streets too were full — even the secret spot behind the Church street tennis courts.

Drilling Offshore, That Old Song Again

Richard Nixon seems an unlikely hero of conservationists, but he was the President who signed into law what Georgetown law professor Richard J. Lazarus calls the Magna Carta of environmental law, the National Environmental Policy Act. It was critical bipartisan action to regulate the impact of human activity on the environment; we soon had the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Clean Air Act.

The Joy of Voting

Compromise at Bradley Square

The neighborhood looks tired and a little run down. The old church is boarded up and empty, while a sagging cottage across the street has a For Sale sign in front.

This is the setting for Bradley Square, a proposed development project that envisions affordable apartments and housing for artists on Masonic avenue in Oak Bluffs.