On the evening of March 28 we received a phone call from a doctor at the Aspen, Colorado Medical Center. He listed numerous injuries our son, Eli, had received after being struck by a snowboarder while skiing, which sent him flying into a boulder. His injuries were severe enough to airlift him to a trauma center in Grand Junction, Colo.

From the Vineyard Gazette editions of April, 1933:

Captain Reginald Norton has blossomed forth as an inventor this week, having built a windmill near his bait house, which he has geared to a storage battery charger. The windmill has eight-foot fans, and in anything above a moderate breeze performs in a very satisfactory manner. Needless to say, there is no lack of batteries for this skipper in charge, and all fishermen are praising his ingenuity in thus harnessing the wind in the interests of economy.

Eat more shellfish. Your mother might not have told you that, but she could have, at least on the Vineyard. Here shellfish is a readily-available and abundant source of inexpensive protein. You can buy it at your favorite fish market or go get it yourself in your favorite pond (shellfish permit required). And if you don’t eat shellfish you can still love them. These filter feeders, especially oysters, are known for their ability to remove pollutants such as nitrogen from saltwater ponds.

There are few things as enduring in American politics as the tension between individual freedom and community values. In Washington this week, the defeat of an amendment on background checks for gun owners marked a startling victory for those who don’t want government infringing on their personal rights.

The stakes are somewhat lower, but the core issue isn’t all that different in Chilmark, a town of about fifteen hundred year-round residents, where voters will decide on Monday whether to adopt a bylaw regulating the size of houses.

So is Vineyard Haven now the Taos of the East? I knew two years ago there was something very special about what lured us to permanent living in Vineyard Haven, but who knew it would be nationally noted?

Our Chamber of Commerce announced on April 3 that Vineyard Haven was named one of America’s best small town art places for 2013. In fact, it’s in the top 12.

Next Monday night voters in Chilmark will have the opportunity to decide whether the town should better protect the community’s character by regulating the size of new residential construction.