Buried deep within the woods of the Manuel Correllus State Forest is a statue of Booming Ben, the world’s final heath hen. Once common, the species was hunted to near-extinction in the 1870s.

Summer traffic on Martha’s Vineyard is causing significant headaches for people who visit and live here, according to the results of a Vineyard Gazette survey, with seven out of 10 respondents saying they avoid shopping in towns in July and August because of congestion.

Doug McConnell entered the water off Nantucket at 7:17 a.m. today to begin his swim to the Vineyard. At 2 p.m. he was just off Wasque. Track his progress at track.rs/ALongSwim.

A redesigned Meeting House Place subdivision plan is set to go before the Martha’s Vineyard Commission for a public hearing Thursday evening.

Students at the Tisbury School will be relocated indefinitely and the start of school will be delayed, following confirmation that chipping lead paint inside the aging building poses a potential health hazard.