Fewer beach closures are expected this summer due to changes in state regulations governing swimming safety. Under the new rules, water samples will have to show high bacteria counts on two consecutive days before a beach is closed.

Cats, both feral and domestic, pose a threat to the Island’s fragile piping plover population, biologists say. But an effort to humanely trap the cats has raised concern among members of an Island group that finds homes for unwanted cats.

In the second regular meeting since their recent reorganization, members of the Martha’s Vineyard airport commission sparred with each other and airport staff over procedures and policies governing the Island’s only commercial airport. Two attorneys participated in the meeting by conference call.

The Island may be busier this summer, if advance reservations on the Steamship Authority are an indication.

Reservations for vehicle passage from Woods Hole to the Vineyard are up 3.5 per cent over last year, and bookings in the other direction are up 4.6 per cent, according to data collected by the Steamship Authority at the end of April.

In an effort to stall the deterioration of an eroding bluff in Oak Bluffs, the town may keep the seaward side of East Chop drive closed for the summer.