The new year is here, and with it the countdown to the presidential inauguration and a new and uncertain direction for the country.

Winter arrived early this year, rolling in late last week on a polar express as if delivered straight from the North Pole.

But for the temperatures outdoors it could have been August last weekend in Edgartown. Or July.

Why has the Hall family allowed prime commercial properties in Oak Bluffs and Edgartown to become public eyesores?

Sometimes it takes a trip off-Island to appreciate the cost and persistence it has taken to preserve open space on the Vineyard.