Historic low interest rates that have led to a flood of mortgage refinancings in recent months have by accident exposed a marked trend of slumping property values on the Vineyard.

In roughly 75 per cent of June home reappraisals conducted on behalf of Martha’s Vineyard Savings Bank, the Island’s largest lender, properties were found to be below their assessed values.

According to bank president Chris Wells, it is an Islandwide, evolving trend.

Of course, when you are working on the largest cooperative project in the history of marine biology, a 10-year, $600 million census of all the world’s marine life, you need to know something about the tax regime in 14th century Czarist Russia.

Let professor Jesse Ausubel, cofounder of the project, explain.

With rising concern over the health of Sengekontacket Pond, an application to build near the shore of the pond may fail where others, grander in scale and more intrusive in scope, have succeeded.

The latest in a series of town conservation commission hearings on a plan by John Lacroix to build a modest home on his waterfront property on The Boulevard drew vocal opposition from neighbors and the Friends of Sengekontacket, a nonprofit group dedicated to protecting the pond.

To reduce its environmental impact, Cronig’s Market has teamed up with Eco MV to replace all its styrofoam packaging. Styrofoam is a byproduct of petroleum and has a landfill life of over 3,000 years, and while it has been touted as a light and well-insulating material, more sustainable alternatives abound. For Cronig’s Market, the more environmentally friendly alternative is unbleached bulrush fiber.