When Katy Smith saw the scholarship advertised under Diana Bardwell’s name, she was inspired to try for it. “She was always very warm, always willing to help . . . she was the kindest woman you would ever want to meet,” Ms. Smith said, recalling Mrs. Bardwell as a “mother figure” to the students of the class of 2013.

Most Islanders who pursue higher education opportunities leave the Vineyard. Some move away permanently, some temporarily and some on a day-to-day-basis, commuting to the mainland for classes. The new president of Cape Cod Community College is making the Vineyard a priority in the institution’s plans to increase enrollment, which may enable a growing number of students to learn closer to home.

The West Tisbury selectmen voted this week to approve a request for proposals (RFP) for a study of the Mill Brook watershed. Drafted by the town conservation commission, the RFP seeks consultants qualified “to prepare and deliver a study of the watershed of Mill Brook,” which includes Mill Pond as well as Fisher Pond, Crocker Pond, and Priester’s Pond and several tributaries. The RFP limits the cost of the proposed study to $15,000, the amount approved by voters at the annual town meeting in April.

The polished hardwood floors, outdoor showers, stone countertops and crisp white paneled walls would be unrecognizable to Captains Bradley, Luce, Collins, Morse, Osborne, Rowley and Huxford, the whaling captains for whom the cottages at the Harbor View Hotel are named. Nor would the hotel employees who rented rooms in the cottages in the 1960s recognize them now.

SQuire Rushnell’s latest book, Divine Alignment (2012, Simon & Schuster Inc.), is the fifth book in his Godwink series, the term he coined to describe how life’s un-coincidental coincidences all come together to create a purpose in our lives. Once again he rejects the idea that we are all “twigs floating down a river to destinations unknown.” Instead, he believes these coincidences, or godwinks, have divine underpinnings.

In 2004, Michael Collins read a letter that changed his life. It was signed by 35 witnesses and concerned a double murder trial in the Philippines. While most people might feel badly after reading about such an event but do little more to help, Mr. Collins was moved to act. The defendant, Paco Larrañaga, had been imprisoned for seven years despite 35 witnesses, dubbed the “unheard 35,” who put him at a cooking lesson the day of the murders,