In Defense of Yo-Yoing

Editors, Vineyard Gazette:

In view of the fact that I am already considered by many in the “sport” fishing community as one of those dirty commercial bass fishermen, it will do little to hurt my reputation to shed some light on the history and practice of yo-yoing that has been conveniently overlooked in the knee-jerk and poorly considered reaction to lead weights being found in several derby fish this year.

Of Bells and a Thousand

Years of Peace

The calendar points to the moment of Monday midnight, to the tolling of the Island bells, to that time in our lives when old becomes new and we wonder what lies ahead. These are the days just before and just after the first bell strikes that we find most appropriate for that old and familiar greeting spoken so comfortably and without rancor. Happy New Year is the refrain now heard across the Island, in every corner of every Vineyard township.

STRANDED WITHOUT CAUSE

Editors, Vineyard Gazette:

This is an open letter to the board of governors, management and unions of the SSA.

Conflict and Turmoil

From the Vineyard Gazette editions of December 1982:

Martha’s Vineyard Community Services is the largest human service provider on the Island with roots established in 1961, when a community mental health center was formed to serve the Island population. Today, we employ more than 120 full and part-time employees and serve approximately 6,000 residents and visitors each year through our Early Childhood Programs, Island Counseling and Disability Services, the Visiting Nurse Service and Women’s Support Services.

Editor’s note: On Dec. 5, Lanny McDowell and Sam Low (aka The Two Cousins) went to Art Basel Miami Beach — the huge art fair that in sheer size trumps everything on the annual art circuit (Paris, Shanghai, Tokyo, London, everything) They filed this report.

“Vineyard Gazette? What’s that?” said someone checking our press credentials at the Art Basel fair in Miami — “some kind of wine magazine?”