There is probably no simpler illustration of the dominant news themes of Martha’s Vineyard, 2007, than that of the friendly Rhode Island red rooster owned by Jessica Rose Seidman, of West Tisbury.

Chickie, who Ms. Seidman hatched from an egg almost five years ago when she was 11 and then kept as a pet, had won four firsts at the annual Martha’s Vineyard Agricultural Society Livestock Show and Fair.

Fed up with petty internal politics, Dukes County voters this fall decided to take another look at the structure of their regional government. Hoping to prevent another divisive land use dispute, town and tribal leaders in Aquinnah spent months negotiating a potential peace accord. And with a solid financial footing, Martha's Vineyard Hospital trustees closed the year by securing approval for a new state of the art facility.

The blizzard, the worst snowstorm in decades, came roaring across the water, burying Martha's Vineyard under more than two feet of snow.

Moments before seven Island teenagers set to sea this June in a 28-foot wooden vessel bound for the Hudson River, the students speculated that the

Now that heavy rain and snow have arrived, last year's dry summer is a distant memory. In fact, the Island ended up with more rainfall than usual in 2002.