News
It was so hot this week that even the waves at Joseph Sylvia State Beach looked limp. A heavy haze rested on the horizon, matched only by the wall of heat and humidity that hit anyone who ventured outdoors, leaving some short of breath. The heat put a strain on the power supply, and on Monday and Tuesday there were widepsread brownouts and blackouts.
It fills your shoes, ruins the kitchen floor in the summer and gets in your food at picnics.
But whoever thought of sand as a commodity?
On the Vineyard sand is emerging as exactly that, right up there with gold futures and pork bellies, as towns and private groups compete to get their hands on the stuff to use as ammunition in their ongoing battle against erosion.
The value of sand has skyrocketed, and given all the predictions that global warming will cause a rise in sea levels, it’s unlikely to come down anytime soon.
Business leaders around the Island are feeling bullish following the Fourth of July weekend, which was marked by a jump in hotel room rentals, jam-packed stores and restaurants and the largest number of people traveling to the Vineyard by ferry in at least six years.
Many agreed it was no doubt due to the picture-perfect summer weather that prevailed all weekend.
Amy Brenneman is a mother, an actress, a writer and a storyteller. On a recent morning visit to the Yard, Ms. Brenneman could be found balancing all of her roles. Between making sure her daughter made it to the Chilmark Community Center, doing a read-through of her new play, and wandering the grounds trying to find cell phone service, Ms. Brenneman managed to find middle ground.
Don’t bother looking for Delores Stevens this weekend. Starting Friday, she’ll be in rehearsal from morning to night, breaking only for meals and sleep.
She’ll be working on her piano part for Four Soliloquies, a piece of music commissioned by the Martha’s Vineyard Chamber Music Society to celebrates its 40th anniversary on the Island, and to honor the pianist, cellist and clarinetist that made up the Montagnana Trio, the musicians that launched the society now four decades ago.
A 40-year-old woman cyclist from Melrose was killed in Vineyard Haven on Tuesday afternoon when she was struck by a tractor trailer owned by the E.C. Cottle Lumber Co., state police have confirmed.