Remy Tumin
A solar array panel at the Aquinnah landfill is on track to be fully operational this spring, after the town and energy cooperative Vineyard Power signed a final lease and power purchase agreement last week.
Voters approved the array at a special town meeting in December, and selectmen, town counsel and Vineyard Power have been hammering out the final details of the agreement since then. Removal fees for the panels, the length of the lease and concerns about Vineyard Power going bankrupt have now been resolved, the selectmen said.
A new grant landed by the Farm Institute in Edgartown will make it possible for Island farmers to experiment with innovative crops. The Pilot Parcels Project will make five one-acre plots available to both beginning and experienced farmers this summer.
Farm Institute executive director Jon Previant said this week it doesn’t matter how much experience the farmer has — only that they have a good idea.
“This project is aimed at increasing the amount of knowledge of alternative methods and alternative crops on the Island,” he said.
The Dukes County commission launched a search for a new county manager this week.
At a special meeting Wednesday morning the county commissioners decided to advertise for a full-time position and said they will look for someone with strong leadership and communication skills, grant writing abilities and financial management skills.
As the price of gasoline climbs across the country, putting economists and travel analysts on watch for the coming summer season, Vineyard gas prices that famously top the charts suddenly have good company.
Will gas prices reach $5 a gallon, the national experts ask? On the Island they are almost there.
The American Automobile Association (AAA), which tracks gasoline prices around the country, reported yesterday the national average for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline was $3.73. Mid-grade fuel was $3.88 and premium gas was $4.01 a gallon.
A new emergency management protocol for use of the Code Red system has drawn criticism from the Chilmark selectmen, who say the reverse 911 phone system should be streamlined and used only in extreme circumstances.
By the end of the grand opening night last Friday, it was standing room only at the Pit Stop.
The newest Oak Bluffs music venue that’s housed in a converted Dukes County avenue garage echoed with jazz, folk and rock and roll as Vineyard musicians took the stage to celebrate the first official concert. The past mingled with the present — old concert posters lined the walls from the garage’s previous incarnations — but the pulse was new.