For most playwrights, the prospect of a Broadway production shines like a glittering jewel at the end of a tunnel. It’s understandable that those who get there pause to savor the acclaim. But these days, playwright and Vineyard visitor Lydia Diamond hasn’t had time to ponder the implications of being an African-American playwright opening her first Broadway show amidst a spectacular season for New York theatre.

Already facing a critical shortage in staff, the Aquinnah fire department now finds itself about to be leaderless after the town fire chief said this week that he would resign by the end of the year.

In an e-mail to selectman and board chairman Jim Newman, acting fire chief Jim Vercruysse said the demands of the job are putting too much strain on his family life.

In 1976 Thomas Goethals opened an institute of higher learning on North William street in Vineyard Haven, vowing to bring to the Island the same sort of cultural self-reliance that was enjoyed in so many other areas. For more than two decades the Nathan Mayhew Seminars served that purpose, offering world-class lectures and partnerships with leading universities. But in recent years the organization has sputtered; its board has aged; its modest campus has fallen into disrepair. Now, two Islanders hope to revive the nonprofit.