Vineyard Medical Care (formerly Vineyard Medical Services) is on track to blaze new trails after a recent change of ownership brings with it an added focus on clinical research, including into tick-borne illnesses and laboratory diagnostics.

Edgartown’s bustling aquaculture industry is on hold this week, with Katama Bay oyster farms temporarily closed because of reported cases of Vibrio parahaemolyticus (Vp). The state Department of Public Health and Division of Marine Fisheries announced the closure, which is expected to last one week, on Wednesday.

New regulations aimed at curbing mortality rates among striped bass are focusing on the larger, spawning females whose numbers have fallen in recent years. The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission is collecting comment.

An animation released this week by the Martha’s Vineyard Commission shows development over time since 1660. Revised commission calculations predict that the Island won’t reach buildout until the year 2089.

Seven Island churches are casting out into the community with a new youth group program they’re calling The Net, aimed at middle and high school aged students.