Julia Rappaport
It is what you read when you don’t have to that determines what you will be when you can’t help it. So said the Irish playwright Oscar Wilde.
Island voters will not decide whether to make minor modifications to Dukes County government until the fall, but the county commission has already taken the first steps toward change.
Julian Barbosa was raised on a farm where he learned to cook with vegetables grown in his backyard. When he moved to Martha’s Vineyard four years ago, he continued cooking, both at home and later at Zephrus Restaurant in Vineyard Haven where he is the sous chef.
Massachusetts fell prey this weekend to the tainted tomato scare which has taken the vegetable off store shelves from Florida to California.
The Department of Health and Human Services announced Friday that 12 cases of salmonella in Massachusetts have been linked to the national salmonella outbreak associated with certain varieties of tomatoes.
No cases were reported in Dukes County.
The boom years are over, the Island population is aging at a rapid rate and an underground economy — conservatively estimated at $34 million in unreported wages — threatens to undermine the stability of the Island community.
This is the conclusion of a recent study prepared for the Martha’s Vineyard Commission by John J. Ryan, a consultant with Development Cycles in Amherst.
The seeds are planted and the first hay harvested. Across the Island, farms are full of activity and, just as their farmers are busy with animals and crops, farming advocates are working tirelessly to protect the agricultural tradition here.
Despite all this hard work, there is little to no coordination of agricultural activities on Island.