What if you had $1,000 to give away? Recently, MJ Bruder Munafo had a chance to find out. While attending the presentation of the 2010 Creative Living Award hosted by the Permanent Endowment for Martha’s Vineyard, Ms. Munafo entered a drawing to win the opportunity to award $1,000 to Island nonprofits. The drawing was made possible by the 11 members of the Permanent Endowment board, who donated $1,000 to demonstrate their commitment to fostering philanthropy on the Vineyard.

Still unhappy with next year’s early budget estimates that they believe unfairly saddles the town with a disproportionate share of cost, the Edgartown selectmen are moving ahead with plans to withdraw from the Martha’s Vineyard Commission.

The selectmen will now put the question before voters at a special town meeting slated for Dec. 14.

Tisbury property taxes will be sharply higher in 2011, largely due to falling property values and the extra expense of the town’s new emergency services building.

For fiscal year 2011, residential tax rates will go up 14.3 per cent compared with the current year. Commercial rates will go up 14.6 per cent.

And rates are unlikely to come down significantly for several years, an outlook which prompted selectmen to suggest the town would have to hold off on significant further infrastructure projects in the near future.

Fred LaPiana is just one of an unknown number of people who cannot get service from Martha’s Vineyard’s monopoly cable television provider, Comcast.

But as Tisbury’s director of public works and a prime mover in the renegotiation of Comcast’s franchise agreement with Island towns, he is in a better position than anybody to do something about it. Or so you would think.