If we want to save the right whale, let’s follow the evidence
Martha’s Vineyard was the most recent scene of a tragedy that has been playing out up and down the Eastern Seaboard, from Canada to Florida.
A dead female North Atlantic right whale, just 3 years...
A sign of the times?
First came the high winds. They blew hard against the “MV Times” sign above the entry to our newsroom, leaving it hanging by one rusty nail, twisting in the wind.
“A sign of the times,”...
Support body cameras for Island police
George Floyd’s 2020 murder at the hands of Minneapolis police changed the way America thinks about policing. We only know what happened because an iPhone video captured the nearly 8 minutes a police officer...
Build smart in storm aftermath
“There is a rapidly closing window of opportunity to secure a livable and sustainable future for all.”
That's a line from the latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a group of scientists...
Ballot measure a chance to end the turf wars
What may have been lost in last week’s excitement surrounding the turf field was a vote by the MVRHS School Committee to support a nonbinding ballot question for voters to say whether they would...
Focus on education, not a field
MVRHS Principal Sara Dingledy deserves praise for standing up and speaking her mind in front of the high school committee this week, asking to please find a way to compromise on the turf debate.
She...
Stay focused on Sankaty errors
There are several takeaways from the Steamship Authority’s internal investigation into the untethering of the Sankaty at its Woods Hole slip — one that uncorked a not-so-flattering narrative of the SSA. The response so...
Fun Police alert: Tread carefully when restricting private parties
Leave it to Edgartown to try to pass a bylaw restricting parties. Next they might require everyone’s trim to be the same color, or their nighttime lights dimmed so as not to offend any...
Preserve community while preserving water quality
Island coastal embayments, as have we’ve reported many times before, have issues with water quality.
While not nearly as problematic on the Island as some parts of the state, such as Cape Cod, high nitrogen...
In-law apartments a boost for housing, supporting seniors
America has an infrastructure and housing problem, and the Vineyard is right in the thick of it: Baby boomers are aging, and the infrastructure isn’t there to meet the demand.
The New York Times reports...
Sankaty documents raise concerns of a cover-up
The records obtained by The Times from a Steamship Authority internal investigation into what caused the freight vessel Sankaty to become untethered from its Woods Hole slip certainly do not make the authority look...
Seastreak, a noble and hopefully successful business venture
It’s ironic that Seastreak officially launched its new commuter service to the Island last week on the same day that Steamship Authority ferries were riddled with issues. Steamship passengers had up to hourlong waits;...
Support needed for permanent winter homeless shelter
The need for a program to house the homeless in the winter on Martha’s Vineyard is undeniable. Just last week, we received reports that homeless veterans without housing were camped in Island woods; individuals...
Veterans continue to need our help
Voices is a series the Martha’s Vineyard Times has pursued as a way to give the public a platform to tell their own stories in their own voices. In a way, it’s a self-conscious...
Transfer fee won’t make attainable housing more expensive
Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey’s administration yesterday finally announced a significant housing bond bill. There’s a lot to it, what the administration says is the largest investment in housing by a governor to date.
Perhaps most...
Give pickleball a chance; all we are saying is respect our neighbors
Pickleball has been the fastest growing sport in the country, seemingly, for the past several years. It’s popular. It’s fun to play for all ages. You don’t need to be the most athletic or...
End unwarranted exemptions for immunizations
This week’s report that a number of schools on the Island have high exemption rates for vaccines is troubling.
According to the latest data from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Dukes County has the...
Airbnb tax should go to funding housing
Chilmark is considering setting aside $200,000 annually to help ease the lack of housing on the Island.
On its face, it’s a terribly inadequate amount of money. It’ll take several years of providing $200,000 to...
No one wins with recent turf court decision
Last week’s Massachusetts Land Court ruling in favor of the Martha’s Vineyard Regional School District and its proposed synthetic turf field is definitive in its opinion, but it does nothing to ease Islanders who...