The nonprofit Island Housing Trust cut the ribbon Thursday on its latest project: seven affordable apartments at the Perlman House, a 100-year-old former inn on State Road in Vineyard Haven.

Tensions ran high at the all-Island school committee meeting Thursday, as committee members weighed a proposal to open licensed, community-based learning centers this fall.

In a major step for coastal resiliency planning on the Vineyard, a combined total of nearly $400,000 in competitive, state grants were awarded to the three down-Island towns.

Island census organizers are ramping up outreach efforts to boost participation, after a counting process hamstrung by funding cuts and concern about low response rates.

The Edgartown wastewater treatment facility has dramatically curtailed its capacity for taking pumpouts from septic systems in recent months, forcing septic haulers to scramble.

Thursday marked the first day of school for students across the Island, but this year, backpacks and school buses were traded in for Chromebooks and webcams.