News
Calling it an inappropriate use of prime agricultural land, the Martha’s Vineyard Agricultural Society appealed to the Edgartown selectmen this week to reconsider a plan to use five acres at Katama Farm for a solar panel project that is not yet built. Town leaders responded that they intend to stay the course with the project.
In a letter sent to the selectmen this week, agricultural society president Dale McClure urged to the town to find alternative sites for the photovoltaic panels.
The ever-expanding pantheon of documented life on earth has welcomed a new creature to its ranks: the Dinochelus Ausubeli, or Ausubel’s mighty claw. The bizarre lobster is rather unexceptional save for one feature: a comically oversized right claw. Although you have to squint to see the resemblance, Ausubel himself — Jesse Ausubel of Vineyard Haven, to be exact — is flattered to be represented by the intimidating creature.
The cause of the Menemsha fire that destroyed the Coast Guard boathouse last July is undetermined, a report released by the U.S. Coast Guard this week concluded.
Investigators outlined three possible sources of the fire — a lit cigarette, faulty wiring under the Coast Guard boathouse or faulty wiring under the Chilmark public pier — but said none could be pinpointed precisely.
All-Star Randall Jette
Martha’s Vineyard standout quarterback Randall Jette has been selected to play in this year’s Shriners All-Star football game. Mr. Jette, who racked up nearly 2,000 all-purpose yards for the Vineyarders this year and ran for 19 touchdowns, has committed to play at the University of Massachsuetts at Amherst next year where he received a full football scholarship. A hundred players from across Massachusetts are chosen to play in the Shriners game annually, which this year will be held on June 18 at Gillette Stadium.
Smooth at Short
The Vineyard summer league baseball team continues to grow its roster. Robbie Zinsmeister, from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, has been signed as shortstop for the Sharks, the team announced this week.
Mr. Zinsmeister started at shortstop for IUP last season and played for the first-place Quakertown Blazers in the Atlantic Collegiate Baseball League. He was selected as the shortstop for the West all-star squad. He hit over .300 and had 17 stolen bases.
Energy Help for Farmers
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has expanded a program that helps local farmers improve their overall energy efficiency, saving money while also benefitting the environment and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.