Vineyarders joined countless others this week in mourning the loss of Mike Nichols, the noted film director who died Wednesday in Manhattan at the age of 83. The cause was cardiac arrest. Mr. Nichols and his wife, broadcast journalist Diane Sawyer, were longtime seasonal residents of Vineyard Haven. They were married in 1988 at the Federated Church in Edgartown.

Sand mining was the talk of the town in at least four Island communities this week, as officials lined up on both sides of whether to support dredging for sand in waters off the Vineyard.

Call it Clean Slate Saturday. Anyone who has seen the Vineyard football team face off against rival Nantucket will say the same thing. Win-loss records don’t matter. It’s the Island Cup. The teams face off at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at the regional high school.

Victory, to Martha’s Vineyard schools superintendent Dr. James H. Weiss, tastes like chocolate-covered cranberries.

The average gas price nationwide has declined steadily for almost 50 days — the longest decline since 2008 — and has reached its lowest point since 2010. But Island gas prices are still among the highest in the state.

High school sports for the fall season are wrapping up. The football team is intent on going out with a bang as they defeated Bellingham on Friday. But it was a somber occasion for the boys’ soccer team, which ended its season with a loss in a hard-fought contest.