They swallow up roadways, stall cars and block traffic — but still there is a sort of begrudging acceptance of those large puddles that form in familiar areas around the Vineyard after heavy rainfall and thunderstorms.

In Oak Bluffs residents named one well-known puddle off New York avenue “East Chop Lake,” while in Vineyard Haven someone posted a sign reading “Canal Street” on Lagoon Pond Road after a recent rainstorm, a tribute to the frequent flooding that occurs near the post office.

Martha’s Vineyard’s six towns would make large cost savings and enjoy a better standard of policing, if they agreed to a merge their six police departments into a single force, a consultant’s report has found.

The report was prepared by Robert Wasserman, a part-time Island resident who has done similar work for some of the largest police services in America and overseas. It was commissioned by the Tisbury selectmen, who initially wanted an analysis of the problems within their own poorly functioning police department.

After years of putting up with scofflaws who stealthily dispose of their household trash in town dumpsters when nobody is looking, Oak Bluffs selectmen have drawn the line, threatening to impose fines of up to $1,000 on anyone caught throwing their trash into a town dumpster without permission.

The trash problems came to a head over Memorial Day weekend, when the town took the unorthodox step of removing all the town-owned dumpsters near the harbor. It was viewed as an experiment, of sorts, to see what would people would do if the dumpsters weren’t there.

As the prevailing summer winds begin to blow, bringing with them an influx of seasonal residents, Vineyard Power, the Island’s nascent energy cooperative, begins its first seasonal membership campaign, flooding local airwaves with advertisements and fanning out across the Island in a series of informal public presentations and question-and-answer sessions. One such presentation was held last Thursday at the Grange Hall in West Tisbury.