At its halfway point, the 69th Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby is going strong, with 2,793 contestants and 1,481 entries as of Thursday, including 468 in the week ending Saturday.

If funding is approved at upcoming town meetings, the Martha’s Vineyard Refuse District will expand its central facility beginning next year. The Vineyard produces thousands of tons of trash annually, all of it shipped off-Island.

The question of whether Oak Bluffs should continue to fluoridate its water supply drew strong opinions on both sides of the issue at a public hearing before the board of health last Thursday.

Two filmmakers have been on-Island for about three weeks following around sword maker Michael Craughwell for a show which will air on the Discovery Channel.

Determined to populate the Martha’s Vineyard Airport Commission with fresh faces, the Dukes County Commission this week voted to expand the airport commission from seven to nine members. The next day, the airport commission went to court to block the move.

Conservation groups around the Island are struggling to protect piping plovers and other shorebirds from an abundance of skunks and crows, which have learned to seek food on Island beaches during the summer.