News
Sengekontacket Pond was closed to shellfishing for quahaugs and steamers yesterday due to poor water quality tests from earlier in the week. Water samples tested positive for fecal coliform. Fecal coliform itself may not necessarily be harmful to humans in shellfish in a coastal pond, but it is used as an indicator of other possible harmful bacteria. Last Sunday’s heavy rainfall is blamed for the problem. The closure came hours after the state had allowed the pond to be opened for shellfishing.
Go to just about any meeting to do with any aspect of government on the Vineyard and it feels like an AARP convention. Just like the rest of America, the Vineyard is pretty much a gerontocracy these days, a government of the people by the elders.
So, where are the young faces? Who are the future leaders? Are Island youth disengaged, or just otherwise engaged? And what vision do they have for the future?
A juvenile humpback whale that made an errant visit and got stuck in Katama Bay on Sunday afternoon is believed to be okay and swimming the ocean. A group of Islanders, with help from the staff of the New England Aquarium, were able to monitor and eventually see the whale as it swam out into Nantucket Sound late Monday morning.
The 20-foot-plus whale, weighing 10 tons or more, was first spotted on Sunday afternoon by staff of The Trustees of Reservations at Norton Point. At the time it was thought the marine mammal was entangled and in distress in Katama Bay.
Hunting Committee Meets
The Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank Commission’s hunting subcommittee will hold a public meeting at 5 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 8 at the land bank offices on Main street in Edgartown.
The Martha’s Vineyard Garden Club has announced its 2009 beautification awards to businesses and landmarks across the Island. These recognize the most beautifully designed, planted and maintained window boxes and/or landscaping. Here are the organizations who caught the gardeners’ eyes, so you can check them out for yourself.
In Chilmark, awards went to Larson’s Fish Market, the Home Port restaurant, Chilmark Public Library, Martha’s Vineyard Savings Bank, Menemsha Cafe, and to Chilmark Chocolates an honorable mention.
T here is probably not a soul — not even an Oxford don who’s written his umpteenth thesis on King Lear — who takes Shakespeare so seriously that he can’t enjoy a little fooling around with the canon. Nothing is sacred when it comes to Shakespeare, even though hordes in every generation of theatregoers since the bard lived and wrote (up until he died in 1616) have pretty fairly worshipped him.