Julia Rappaport
It’s a bad time for business. Shoppers are spending less and economists are predicting the worst. But veteran Island businessman Elio Silva said the timing could not be better for opening Tisbury Farm Market, his new fresh produce stand on State Road. “More people are looking to cook from scratch and are looking to get a good price,” Mr. Silva said last Friday.
He has yet to hold a press conference in his front yard, hold forth on foreign policy regarding Israel, or hire a publicity management agent, as Ohio’s Joe Wurzelbacher has. But Joe Guerin, an Edgartown plumber with nearly 30 years experience, has seen his local fame skyrocket in the two weeks following the final presidential debate thanks to Mr. Wurzelbacher and the three little words he inspired: Joe the Plumber.
Amid the heap of state and national issues on Tuesday, Island voters will be asked one local question: whether to reduce the terms of the seven-member Dukes County commission. A yes vote on ballot question number four will reduce terms from four years to two. A no vote will leave commission members serving four-year staggered terms.
Health and human service agencies on the Vineyard are already feeling the effects of severe state budget cuts made last week by Gov. Deval Patrick and are bracing for more in the months ahead.
State funding to Family Planning of Martha’s Vineyard and Martha’s Vineyard Community Services was slashed in the cuts, while directors at the Island Health Care Rural Clinic in Edgartown and the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital were busy this week preparing for spending and hiring freezes.
Thirteen years ago, Maggie White packed her things and moved from Colorado to the Massachusetts Island of her childhood summers. She left behind a booming and profitable business to run a small Edgartown inn. She had no experience in the hospitality industry and she knew not a soul on the Vineyard, save the herd of cows she brought with her.
Thirteen years ago, Maggie White packed her things and moved from Colorado to the Massachusetts Island of her childhood summers. She left behind a booming and profitable business to run a small Edgartown inn. She had no experience in the hospitality industry and she knew not a soul on the Vineyard, save the herd of cows she brought with her.
The last day to register to vote in Massachusetts was Wednesday, and the deadline saw a flurry of activity in town halls across the Island.
“I’m working fast and furious,” reported Edgartown town clerk Wanda Williams yesterday morning. Ms. Williams said nearly 60 new voters registered in Edgartown on Wednesday. Because she is still entering figures, the town clerk was unable to report the new total number of registered voters in town at press time.