The federal government formally declared the Gay Head Light surplus property Thursday, clearing the way for the town of Aquinnah to take ownership of the lighthouse which is now critically endangered due to erosion.

The General Services Administration posted the notice Thursday, making the lighthouse surplus property. Aquinnah voters have already agreed that the town will apply to take ownership.

A second public hearing was set for Thursday night before the Martha’s Vineyard Commission on expansion plans for the Stop & Shop grocery store in Vineyard Haven. As the commission begins an exhaustive review of one of the largest and most complicated commercial development projects in recent memory on the Island, public opinion and institutional knowledge about the commission is mixed.

A view of the pastureland along one edge of the Elizabeth Islands is not the typical ferry ride to Martha’s Vineyard, unless you are a passenger on the Ava Pearl Fast Ferry.

Starting at Quonset Point in New Kingstown, R.I., the ferry then cruises under the Newport Bridge and into open water. Buzzards Bay awaits and the Vineyard Sound, before docking in Oak Bluffs.

Early afternoon on a hot and humid Monday. Between moments of calm, there is an ongoing flow of summer-garbed people coming and going, checking on books they’ve ordered, renewing books, searching for something new to read and DVDs to watch. But no one comes in to the West Tisbury Free Public Library without his or her entrance being noted and acknowledged. Familiarity is instantaneous, and all visitors — young and old — are received with hushed welcome.

This Sunday, August 4, Union Chapel in Oak Bluffs presents Dr. John Silvanus Wilson Jr., president of Morehouse College in Atlanta, Ga., as its visiting speaker.

A scholar, an educator, a consultant, a strategist and a fundraiser, Dr. Wilson became the 11th president of Morehouse College in January of this year. This spring he hosted President Obama as the Morehouse commencement speaker.

The service begins at 10 a.m. with an organ prelude at 9:40 a.m.

Martha’s Vineyard Magazine crowned the Best of the Vineyard. Now Boston magazine is getting in on the action, naming some Vineyard establishments to its 40th annual Best of Boston list. The Island winners are included in a special subsection of the awards devoted to the Cape & Islands.