News
The Vineyard Gazette’s total paid circulation declined slightly this year, following a trend that has seen newspapers around the country lose circulation.
The outlook for the fisheries is improving, a leading federal administrator told a congressional panel in Boston early this week, but lawmakers were unconvinced.
Greg Mayhew, captain of the 75-foot dragger Unicorn out of Menemsha, is the last Vineyard fisherman still groundfishing on Georges Bank. And this year might be his last on the legendary fishing ground.
“I don’t know if I’m going to even go next year because it might be better just to lease the days out and get half price for them,” he said.
Preliminary designs for a new U.S. Coast Guard boathouse in Menemsha failed to impress the Chilmark selectmen this week.
“It’s mammoth,” selectman and board chairman Frank Fenner said at the selectmen’s meeting Tuesday. “That was the largest structure in the harbor to begin with and this is just increasing it. It was very disturbing to me when I saw it.”
“It’s way too large,” agreed selectman Jonathan Mayhew. “I’m flabbergasted.”
Even though a category two hurricane called Ophelia missed us and passed several hundred miles to the east of Martha’s Vineyard last weekend, local rod and reel fisherman have few kind words to say about it. Though far away, turbulent waves from the storm muddied the waters and have nearly shut down the best fishing in this fall’s 66th annual Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby. Fish are scarce but there is hope it will change this weekend.
Last spring Betty Burton received a call from a producer for Sesame Street. One of the most respected television programs for children had been branching out recently, from singing songs and learning how to count with fuzzy Muppet friends, to producing shows that educate kids about some of the bigger, more tragic issues kids face today. A new episode in the works was to be about poverty, specifically the issue of kids in America going hungry.