The Public Park that Never Happened

For two decades, so-called Boch Park on Beach Road in Vineyard Haven has sat in a limbo made of court battles and subsequent, drawn-out negotiations between the Boch family and the town of Tisbury.

The scruffy condition of the parcel, which overlooks Vineyard Haven harbor, is a sad and continuing testament to a failure to reach resolution on what could be one of the bright spots of the town waterfront.

Derby Days

Here are some things to like about September:

Two Ponds Share Common Theme

The images linger in the mind long after they first are glimpsed: the tranquil surface of Mill Pond at the entrance of West Tisbury, the dancing waters of Menemsha Pond a short distance away from narrow Menemsha harbor and the open expanse of the Atlantic Ocean.

One local favorite capsized twice in his kayak. Of the fifteen windsurfers who entered a race around the Island, two finished. Sailboats called for a minimum of three hands: one on the tiller, one on the main sheet and one on the bilge pump.

All in all, there probably were easier ways to raise money for Martha’s Vineyard Community Services.

The county parking clerk is currently making the rounds among Island selectmen with a pitch to increase the fees for parking violations. Clerk Carol Grant’s reasoning goes something like this: the minimum fee for overtime parking of ten dollars is too low and hardly a deterrent for a summer person who has another ten bucks in her pocket to throw down — it’s just the cost of being on vacation.

Over the weekend a young girl, about middle school-aged, wandered into the community room at co-housing in West Tisbury just before a yoga class was set to begin. She knew the yoga instructor. “What’s new?” he asked her. “Back to school,” the affable child replied with a smile.