High on Gay Head Cliffs, a Land Bank Beauty

New System of Trails May Result from Sale in Aquinnah

By CHRIS BURRELL

In a move that could resurrect a long-lost museum in Aquinnah and create a network of trails over a dramatic south shore seascape, the Martha's Vineyard Land Bank has agreed to buy the six-acre Vanderhoop homestead just south of the Gay Head Lighthouse.

CDs, Concerts Are in the Mix Aboveground

By CHRIS BURRELL

When Mike Mackey informed his boss Wednesday that he was going to a Foo Fighters concert and would be late to work the next day, he probably knew he wasn't going out on a limb.

At most any other workplace, such a declaration might brand the employee a slacker, but at Aboveground Records in Edgartown, store owner Michael Barnes lives - and works - by a whole different set of standards.

"That's okay," he told his 19-year-old staffer. "We support the rock."

Marguerite A. Bergstrom Left Her Mark on Island Hospitality, Housing and Politics

By MANDY LOCKE

Marguerite A. Bergstrom, a celebrated Island humanitarian, died in her Wing Road home Tuesday at the age of 81.

Better known by those who loved her as Bergie, Ms. Bergstrom was a war veteran, a retired nurse and hospital administrator, former innkeeper, veteran Tisbury official, affordable housing champion and prominent church leader.

How Two Islands View Boat Line

It Threatens to Become an Issue: Nantucket Is Feeling Isolated, After Long Run of Unity with the Vineyard

By JULIA WELLS
Gazette Senior Writer

Fresh fault lines at the Steamship Authority these days may threaten to undermine the traditional bedrock of unity between the Vineyard and Nantucket.

The 43-year-old public boat line is chartered to provide dependable year-round ferry service to the two Islands.

Fire Safety Ratings Slide to a New Low, Insurance Costs Up

By MANDY LOCKE

As insurance bills make their way into the post office boxes in West Tisbury this month, homeowners are facing some steep premium hikes.

The increases - reported to be as low as eight per cent and as high as 100 per cent - come less than two months after the town's fire safety rating dropped to the lowest possible score.

Vineyard Question: Would Paramedics Save More Lives?

By JONATHAN BURKE

A proposal by Island medical personnel would establish a regional squad of paramedics on Martha's Vineyard.

Unlike the Island's basic and intermediate emergency medical technicians (EMTs), paramedics can dispense prescription medication and perform other advanced skills. The Vineyard and Nantucket are the only two communities in Massachusetts that do not have access to paramedic care.