The Steamship Authority is having trouble hiring enough port engineers to maintain its 10-vessel fleet, while other positions also lack candidates, general manager Robert Davis said this week.

The Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank’s purchase of 18 acres in West Tisbury this week effectively doubled the size of its Wompesket Preserve property. The preserve is located in West Tisbury, just past the town line.

A superior court trial that is expected to test the broad powers of the Martha’s Vineyard Commission to control development on the Island got underway early this week in Edgartown.

State environmental officials said Wednesday that they now “strongly suspect” that avian influenza is responsible for the death of large numbers of seabirds washing up on Island shores.

How best to preserve the Island’s historic architecture was once again a topic before the Martha’s Vineyard Commission last Thursday at a hearing on a plan to raze an old house in Oak Bluffs.

Open space and affordable housing are the hallmarks of the master plan Island Autism Group unveiled in front of the Martha’s Vineyard Commission last Thursday.