MV Times July 30, 2026

Big crowd turns out for Jewish Culture Festival A2

Living legacy of a Harlem Renaissance artist B1

Gimme that old-time baseball

19th century traditions of baseball were celebrated at Waban Park this Saturday. Two

and

Tisbury sued for workplace retaliation allegations

Amy Upton, former planning board administrator, alleges the problems stemmed from issues reported against town officials in 2024.

BY EUNKI SEONWOO

Aformer Tisbury employee is suing the town over allegations of workforce retaliation with a complaint that is resurfacing conflict-of-interest questions over properties connected to an offshore wind developer.

The complaint, filed in Dukes County Superior Court on Friday, seeks compensation for Amy Upton, former administrator of Tisbury planning board, over alleged retaliation, wrongful termination, and disability discrimination by Tisbury officials. A demand for a jury trial was also filed the same day.

The four Tisbury officials named as defendants are Town Administrator Joseph LaCivita, Building Inspector Greg Monka, and select board members Roy Cutrer and John Cahill.

“The town has no comment on pending litigation,” LaCivita said in a Tuesday email. Cutrer and Cahill also declined to comment on the suit. Monka was not immediately available to comment.

Chasing shadows offshore

Biologist Greg Skomal on his four-decade odyssey to understand the white shark.

BY HAYLEY DUFFY

Cthe sky to help guide the team.

HATHAM — The water looked like glass as the center-console fishing boat left Ryder’s Cove at 9 am. It motored past Chatham Bar through a natural inlet that moves with the shifting tides, and entered what those on board call “shark country.”

Greg Skomal made his way out to the pulpit, carefully and quietly walking to the end of the narrow plank that hung out in front of the boat, and peered through polarized sunglasses at a large, lurking shadow below the surface of the water.

Fondly referred to as the modern-day Matt Hooper, who was the iconic marine biologist in “Jaws” played by Richard Dreyfuss, Skomal, who is a Ph.D.-level senior biologist at the Division of Marine Fisheries, raised his arm like he was wielding a harpoon, but he was, in fact, lifting a GoPro attached to essentially a very, very long “selfie stick.”

He was not hunting sharks, but he is part of a team trying to tag them for research. At the helm of the boat was Capt. Josh Higgins, who works in tandem with Skomal and a pilot, who spots dark shadows from

It only took about 15 minutes from the dock to enter the open ocean on Monday, July 20. And only another minute or two went by before Wayne Davis, hundreds of feet above the ground in his two-seat, high-wing propeller plane, suddenly appeared and radioed to the boat that he thought he spotted a shark off the beaches of Chatham on Cape Cod. Davis, a Vietnam War veteran and a former fish spotter, said he saw a dark shadow against the whitewashed sand, near the south end of North Beach Island. Davis’ plane holds a belly tank, Higgins said, and he could spend up to 12 hours in the sky, eyes always peeled for sharks. Monday was the fourth tagging excursion for the nonprofit Atlantic White Shark Conservancy (AWSC) team this summer, and as Higgins navigated toward the shadow, the boat passed several receivers that run parallel to the coast to pick up on tagged sharks. The receivers are placed out in the open ocean by the conservancy, and sense tags placed on the animals by the team. The goal Continued on A8

The complaint lists a series of alleged issues in the town that date back to 2024, many of which stem from a property with ties to offshore wind developer Vineyard Wind, which recently finished construction on a 62-turbine wind farm 15 miles south of the Island. Development of workforce housing planned to house Vineyard Wind workers previously brought up concerns over whether an unfair

The

baseball teams in heavy wool uniforms with knee-high knicker pants, using handmade wooden bats

vintage baseballs, brought the 1800s back to life in a doubleheader that included an underhand game played by 1864 Civil War–era rules, and an overhand game played by 1886 rules. SEE A16 FOR FULL STORY.

Greg Skomal on the pulpit.

HAYLEY DUFFY

Joy, energy, and spirit come together at Jewish culture festival

The festival celebrated the art, food and tradtions that bind the Jewish community together.

BY SARA CREATO

Music, both sacred and joyous, floated on a summer breeze across a field in West Tisbury Monday night as attendees of all ages mingled in tents dotting the field during Chabad on the Vineyard’s fourth annual Jewish Culture Festival.

The festival, which took place at the residence of David and Deborah Reed near the Martha’s Vineyard Agricultural Society, brought together about 400 people, according to Chabad on the Vineyard CoDirector Rabbi Tzvi Alperowitz.

“Jewish life on Martha’s Vineyard is thriving,” Alperowitz said. “Being Jewish should be a joyful experience, and that’s what our goal is with this festival. To bring some joy, energy, spirit, and vibrancy.”

The rabbi’s hope seemed to be brought to life at every turn, with arts and crafts, and workshops on everything from weaving challah bread to tracing one’s ancestry all taking place around a bountiful table of delicious Jewish food. It culminated in a dialogue with Lior Raz, an Israeli actor who founded and stars in the Netflix streaming series “Fauda,” as he shared insights and stories that reflected the complexity of the show, which is enormously popular not only in Israel but across the Middle East and around the world. But Raz and the show are

and everyone’s invited,” Moully said. “Of course, it’s not Friday night tonight, but it’s always a good time to think about one thing that you’re grateful for in life and to pour.”

Moully explained a common Yiddish saying, “S’iz shver tsu zayn a Yid,” which translates to “It’s tough to be Jewish.” And he hastened to refute it.

“It’s a joy to be Jewish,” he said. “We’re here today celebrating the joy of Judaism, the joy of community, the joy of the culture, and the joy of the ceremony.”

Nearby, Rabbi Dovid Gutnick led a Havdalah set-making workshop in his tent, which consisted of creating a braided beeswax candle and personalized spice blend in a glass jar.

Gutnick explained how Havdalah, a ritual marking the end of Shabbat, involves the lighting of the candle to symbolize the creation of the first fire and the smelling of the spices to comfort the soul.

“On the Sabbath, you get a second soul. It’s like a friend that comes to hang out. When Sabbath goes and finishes, that soul leaves … so your regular soul gets sad,” Gutnick said. When smelling the spices, “you take a deep breath. You go, and you say, ‘Don’t worry, it’ll come back next week.’ It calms the soul down, and it’s able to go into the week like that.”

not without their critics, and a small group of protesters showed up at the gate.

Staged in the center of the field, a rotating sculpture of a Kiddush cup dripping in vibrant paint slowly spun. Titled “Overflowing Blessings,” the interactive exhibit invited festivalgoers to say something they felt grateful for before dumping a small cup of colored paint on top of the sculpture.

Rabbi Yitzchok Moully said that the exhibit was inspired by the Shabbat custom of overfilling the Kiddush cup with wine to bless the day.

“This is a visualization of those overflowing blessings. We’re just taking it one step further,

At the Makor Map station, festivalgoers could mark the regions where their ancestors originated on a shared virtual map of Central and Eastern Europe. Jewish genealogy experts Sallyann Amdur Sack and Marlis Humphrey also guided participants through a questionnaire to learn about their family history.

Sack recalled believing as a child that she couldn’t learn about her family’s history, an idea she said that many Jewish Americans believe.

“For years and years, most Jewish people in the U.S. thought that they couldn’t learn anything about their ancestry,” Sack said. “I heard about family trees at school. I asked [my mother], and she said, ‘Oh, nothing to be learned. Hitler killed everybody. It’s all gone.’ So I grew up thinking Jews didn’t have family trees.”

Over time, Sack said, she has noticed increased interest in family history among the Jewish community. “It’s an amazingly enriching topic, and with each passing year, it becomes more active,” Sack said. “People realize that they can learn about their past and their families.”

Stars in the Arts, a coalition of Jewish and Israeli artists formed in the aftermath of the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks, displayed their art. Co-founder Annette Back said that she launched the coalition to depict Jewish happi-

ness in the wake of the attacks. “We wanted to bring positivity and Jewish joy into the world and into your eyes,” Back said.

Baker Mandy Silverman performed a live demonstration of baking challah bread. Silverman, who baked a variety of loaves ranging from cookies and cream to apple fritter, said that Jewish culture unites people of all practicing levels. “No matter what we’re doing, we’re all sort of interwoven together,” Silverman said. “It’s like challah. We’re all interwoven, and we love to eat.”

Beneath the main tent, more Jewish flavors could be found. From a rich chicken matzo ball soup to brisket and babkas, the array of cuisine highlighted Shabbat meal staples from across the diaspora.

The evening culminated with a conversation between “Fauda” star Raz and reporter Maya Sulkin from the Free Press. The show explores the complexities of the Israel-Palestine conflict, and draws from Raz’s time as an undercover commando in an elite unit of the Israeli Defense Force (IDF). He recalled a conversation he had with co-creator Avi Issacharoff in Ramallah about writing the show to depict the psychological toll of the conflict felt by Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza. “‘Yes, Avi, I have a dream. I want to write something about those kids that we see now in front of us doing crazy things. But not just about them, but about the mental price that they are paying, and that their friends and families are paying, for what they’re doing exactly right now,’” Raz said.

Raz, whose father is from Iraq and mother is from Algeria, reflected on how his father reminded him about his mixed identity as both Arab and Jewish.

“He said, ‘In our house, you will listen to Farid al-Atrash, but also to Bach and Tchaikovsky and Mozart,’” Raz said. “‘The culture that you have is mixed. It’s Arab culture but also Israeli culture.’”

Raz, who was in Romania when the Oct. 7 attacks began, recalled receiving a frantic phone call from his sister, who was trapped in a shelter and holding a knife to protect herself, and how he scrambled to fly back to Israel.

“It was very hard to catch a flight to Israel on Oct. 7, because in Israel it’s the opposite of any other country in the world,” he said. “When there is a danger, instead of people running out of Israel, everybody wants to come back to Israel.”

Raz expressed his hopes for the upcoming season of “Fauda,” which focuses on the aftermath of Oct. 7, to offer his audience a chance to better understand the Israeli response to the attacks through the character, Doron.

“This season is going to be the hardest season ever, but it is such an important season, because there are hundreds of millions of people who are watching ‘Fauda’ in the world,” Raz said. “When you see Oct. 7 through the eyes of Doron, a woman from Colombia who’s watching ‘Fauda’ loves Doron. In Lebanon, she will see him going through Oct. 7 … she will feel for the Jewish people and for Israel.”

In regard to the attacks of Oct. 7 by Hamas in Israel along the border with Gaza, Raz also expressed his uncertainty about the possibility of peace between Israel and Palestine. “It changed because you see how vicious they are, and how it’s going to be very hard to have peace,” Raz said.

During his talk, Raz gestured with his middle finger in a crude expression of his feelings about a small group of demonstrators across the street from the event; they also demonstrated at the West Tisbury Town Hall. The group, which comprised roughly 15 people, who said they were protesting in

opposition to Raz headlining the festival due to his IDF background, carrying placards that read “Jewish culture? Yes! IDF? No!”

“I hope that everyone that went through those protesters, and you did something like that,” Raz said, after lowering his middle finger.

Following the talk, the audience rose for the recitation of the Tefillah L’Chayalei Tzahal, a traditional Jewish prayer that asks God to protect and bless the soldiers of the IDF. As the attendees left the tent, Shulem Lemmer returned to the stage to sing more.

Standing outside of the tent as Lemmer sang “Piano Man” by Billy Joel, Brookline-based Rabbi Mayshe Schwartz, whose brother was a festival organizer and whose sister was visiting from Israel, emphasized the rarity of safe spaces for Jewish people like the festival.

“We thought it’d be a fun thing to do, be with 500 Jews, enjoying life, celebrating, not living in fear,” he said. “Today, that’s a big commodity in America, and I wanted to take advantage of that and be a part of that.”

PHOTOS: TESSA SCHULZ Maya Sulkin interviews Lior Raz at the festival.

news in brief

Traffic builds up in Tisbury as drawbridge malfunctions

A mechanical issue that closed the Lagoon Pond drawbridge for hours and a vehicle crash near the bottom of Main Street caused severe traffic in Vineyard Haven Tuesday.

At around 4 pm, The Times heard reports from several people that the automated safety barriers at the drawbridge, located between Oak Bluffs and Vineyard Haven, were stuck down and prevented any vehicle traffic from crossing. Traffic backed up on both sides of the bridge along Beach Road near the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital and M.V. Shipyard, and Vineyard Transit Authority buses were rerouted and delayed. Cars were turned back from the bridge for hours.

John Goggin, a spokesperson for MassDOT, which manages the bridge, sent The Times a press release at around 5:30 pm that stated the bridge was “stuck open” and “closed to vehicular travel due to a mechanical issue.” This closure remained in place until repairs were completed shortly after 7:50 pm, and the bridge was reopened, Goggin later told The Times.

“There was an electrical issue with the motors powering the bridge gates. Repairs have been completed, and the gates are operational,” Goggin wrote in an email.

Separately, around the same time that the drawbridge closed to traffic, a Tesla drove into a building across from the Martha’s Vineyard Bank in V.H. on State Road. Traffic was temporarily stalled on Beach Street and at the intersection of Edgartown–Vineyard Haven Road and State Road while the car was towed.

Tisbury Police confirmed the incident that led to the crash was caused by a medical issue with the driver. No major damage or injuries occurred as result of the crash, police said.

Bus driver union threatens strike

As negotiations proceed for a contract for Vineyard Transit Authority (VTA) bus drivers, the union representing these workers is threatening to call a strike to get better pay.

Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 1548 announced last Friday that its members, which include local VTA drivers, voted to potentially hold a strike if a satisfactory contract isn’t reached with Transit Connection, the private operator contracted to hire, train, and schedule vehicle operators and staff for the Island’s public bus line.

The release also stated that union members voted to turn down a contract offered by Transit Connection on top of the strike.

“It’s always pay when it comes to the Island,” Charles Ryan, the union president, told The Times. “Everything’s so expensive out there.”

In a story titled “Eight decades of fellowship” from June 25, a caption on a photograph of a piece of art was incorrectly labeled “Doug Henry’s ‘Into the Water, Humanity,’” and has been corrected to say “Annette McCarty’s ‘Where the Sun Meets Us.’” correction

But whether a strike will occur isn’t set in stone yet. Ryan said the current contract expires on July 31, after which a strike can happen “legally.” Ryan said the current contract prohibits walkouts and strikes.

Ryan highlighted in the release that drivers have had small wage increases since 2019, roughly equating to $6,240 since that time, or a raise of around $1 an hour per year.

Meanwhile Angie Gompert, the VTA administrator, has had higher raises, Ryan stated. According to the VTA payroll documents, Gompert received a pay increase of nearly $30,000 in 2025 from the previous year. Angie Gompert, the VTA administrator, was not immediately available for comment.

The pay raise the union wants to secure for drivers is a 6 percent annual increase for the next three years, Ryan said. The counteroffer was a 3.5 percent annual increase for the same time period.

Ryan said that it is harder to hire drivers on the Island due to high living costs, complex commercial drivers’ license rules, and seasonal demands. He also pointed to the VTA’s recent route cuts. In June, the bus line announced that extended evening services on seven routes would be cut “due to a labor shortage.”

Vineyard drivers also receive lower wages than some other transit authorities, which he said adds to recruitment issues. The starting pay for VTA drivers is $28 an hour, which he said “tops” at $32 an hour after five years. Meanwhile, at the Cape Cod Regional Transit Authority, another public bus line Ryan’s union represents, drivers start at $31 an hour, which increases to $38.29 after 90 days.

Wages, while the central issue, aren’t the only issue on negotiators’ minds. Ryan said the union is also attempting to make Memorial Day and the Fourth of July a holiday for drivers, as it is for other workers of the Island’s public bus line.

The last time a bus driver strike occurred on the Island was in 2019, after negotiations collapsed with the VTA and Transit Connection. Union members eventually got higher wages.

As of Tuesday afternoon, the VTA had not reached out regarding negotiations, according to Ryan.

Island Autism 5K shatters participation record

Music blared and spectators cheered during Island Autism’s annual 5K race on Saturday morning. The race, which was a joint effort with the Doug Flutie Jr. Foundation for Autism and was sponsored by Vineyard Wealth Group, saw record-breaking enrollment this year.

Kicking off at the West Tisbury School, more than 250 runners sprinted, jogged, and walked the course before finishing back at the school. The race’s proceeds go to Island Autism, a nonprofit that provides life skills, programming, job training, and therapies for individuals with autism living on Martha’s Vineyard.

Kate DeVane, executive director for Island Autism, estimated that participation in this year’s race was three times last year’s enrollment.

Island Autism is currently raising money as part of its multiphase capital campaign.

Phase One, which included purchasing 7.5 acres and constructing facilities at 515 Lamberts Cove Road, is complete, but some funding for phase two, construction of a second four-bedroom house, and all funds for phase three, three additional housing units and an endowment for programming and operations, are still needed. Though more funds are necessary to achieve the center’s long-term goals, DeVane expressed her satisfaction about the race’s turnout.

There isn’t an official dollar amount raised from the race yet, DeVane said. “We’ve got a long way to go, and we’re halfway through our capital campaign, but it’s fantastic,” she said.

This year’s race marks the first time that the organization collaborated with the former professional quarterback’s foundation. After receiving the 2026 Dougie Award for autism advocacy during the Boston Marathon, Casey O’Connor, race director, said that a foundation official contacted him about involvement with Island Autism’s race.

“It’s gonna really help get [Island Autism’s] name out there, and the time is now for them to raise money,” O’Connor said.

Joe Katusich, Flutie Foundation development manager, who mainly works for its fundraising race branch, Flutie 5K for Autism, explained the reasoning behind the foundation’s partnership with Island Autism.

“We have an organization, like Island Autism, [that] already has a great market for a race, and they’re looking to us to find a way to raise a little bit more money throughout the year,” Katusich said. “A 5K is a great way for us to empower them to do that.”

Crossing the finish line first, Sam Fetters, 21, ran the course with a time of 16:12.5. Fetters, who works at Island Autism, expressed his joy about the race’s turnout. “As someone who’s part of the autistic community, there are few things more meaningful and more fulfilling I could be doing on a weekend like this,” Fetters said. “I’m just so happy to see so many people in the community coming out to support such a good cause.”

Grant Joiner, Vineyard Wealth Group founder, said that he was inspired to sponsor and participate in this year’s race to support his 6-year-old son with autism, and because of his passion for running.

“It’s sort of a cross-section of a lot of things that are important,” Joiner said.

Michael Palmer, adaptive runner and Flutie Foundation board member, said that the race’s sense of community encourages him to be more open about his autism.

“I’m still at that point where I’m afraid to tell people I have autism, which shouldn’t be the case now,” Palmer said. “But communities like this make it easier to tell people that I have autism. It really means a lot that a lot of people came out for a good cause and just to show our inclusiveness.”

At races, Palmer hopes to provide representation for the autistic community. “It means more being at these events, to show what it’s like to have autism, because people think of autism and it’s always negative for some reason,” Palmer said. “That’s just not the case. We can do everything that others can do, just in a different way.”

A wonderful update on Nolan and Michael

BY DOLORES BORZA

I have been given permission to post this update.

Today our hearts are overflowing with gratitude and hope. Nolan spoke his very first word since the accident ... “Vanilla!”

It was actually his birthday, and he was enjoying some ice cream. As he picked up his spoon and started eating, someone asked him, “Which one is your favorite?” And then came the sweetest, most beautiful word … “Vanilla.”

I don’t think there was a dry eye in the room.

To most people it’s just the name of an ice cream flavor. To our family, it was the sound of hope, healing, and answered prayers.

Nolan is recognizing the people he loves, participating in rehab, and making wonderful progress every single day. We

know there is still a road ahead, but every small step feels like a giant leap forward.

From the bottom of our hearts, thank you to every single person who has prayed, shared a kind word, sent a message, or simply kept Nolan and Michael in your thoughts. We truly believe those prayers have surrounded this little boy with love and strength. Watching people from our Island, across the country, and even beyond come together has been nothing short of incredible. We will never forget it.

As for Michael, he is feeling a little better today. His healing journey will be a long one, but he continues to move forward one day at a time. Please continue to keep him in your prayers as his body recovers from so many serious injuries. Today, we are celebrating. We’re cel-

ebrating one simple word. One brave little boy. One incredible family. And the power of hope, faith, love, and prayer. Please keep those prayers coming. We are filled with hope, and so incredibly grateful. Thank you all for walking this journey with us.

One word … vanilla … And it meant everything!

Happy Birthday, Noli! God is great!

Michael Ellis and his son Nolan were in an accident and suffered serious injuries earlier this month when their electric dirt bike collided with a pickup truck on Sea View Avenue in Oak Bluffs. Dolores Borza, Michael’s mother and Nolan’s grandmother, posted this update to Facebook on Friday, July 28, and gave The Times permission to publish it.

SARA CREATO

Runners kick off from the starting line of Island Autism’s annual 5K race.

CHACE LEWIS

The Lagoon Pond drawbridge was stuck open Tuesday evening for around three hours.

EDITORIAL

Keep the buses rolling

The epic traffic jams that clogged the Island after the Lagoon Pond drawbridge malfunctioned on Tuesday were just one more reminder — as if we needed one — that we have too many cars on the Island. There are just too many of us rushing around to work, to buy groceries, to hit the beach, or to race over to what feels like an endless array of events.

Enduring bumper-to-bumper traffic on the Island’s congested roads is of course a common occurrence during the tourism season, when the population balloons tenfold. But there are several critical public transportation systems that we all need to commit to using more if we want to reduce the level of congestion.

There are all kinds of options, but one that is less often spoken of but crucial for many, is the free bus rides offered through the Vineyard Transit Authority. Yes, in case you forgot, the buses on our Island are free.

Islanders, and even some commuters from the mainland, rely on the VTA daily to get to work. Whether coming from home, the ferry, or work, it is unquestionably the most affordable way to get around the Island for those without a car

LETTERS

Killing is never the answer

To the Editor:

Fear can do terrible things. It can build into hate, and translate into killing. Many now spray their green spaces in the hopes of suppressing ticks — and while doing so, other insects the wild world needs get smothered too. A chain of food is broken, so much is lost — what will birds eat? Where have the lightning bugs gone?

As I read the paper and see fullpage ads to obliterate deer on this Island, or see the letters to the editor filled with vitriol, eradication, culling, killing, I feel we here are in our own ICE stronghold, where the targets are tawny-colored, four-legged deer. (Ticks will be here with or without deer; there are many other vectors.)

I’ve lived here most of my life, and always have dogs and cats. A routine borne of decades of dealing with ticks has been to prepare for walks: spraying tick repellant, checking all over when the outing is done, checking at night. I don’t pretend to know what the answer is, if there is one.

I just know killing is never the answer. We humans have sanitized so much of the world — to make it “better” for us — seemingly disregarding what is best for the ecosystem that holds us all.

Don’t live in fear of ticks and deer. Get a responsible deticking routine in place. Enjoy the natural world; it can help our humanness be more humane.

Susan Jones

Vineyard Haven and Chilmark

Why has signage for the lone star tick taken so long to post on the Island?

To the Editor:

After visiting the Island in June, I wrote to 24 select board and department of health members, voicing my concerns about the lack of signage for the lone star tick. This tick has been on the Island since 2011. While there were only two alpha-gal cases in 2020, cases jumped to 523 in 2024, then 724 in 2025. The New York Times, NPR, the New Yorker, the Gazette, and The MV Times have all written extensively on this tick. Restaurants added AG on their menus by food items that people with alpha-gal syndrome could tolerate.

The Island boards of health, Tick Free MV, M.V. Hospital, Patrick

or physically incapable of riding a bicycle. You can’t beat the price of free, right? But access to this public transportation is now under threat as a possible bus driver strike looms.

Last week, Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 1548 announced that its members had voted to hold a strike if a satisfactory contract isn’t reached with Transit Connection, the company contracted to hire, train, and schedule vehicle operators and staff for the VTA. While there are other snags, like holidays, the main issue holding up negotiations is the question of fair pay. From what we’ve heard so far, the union is asking for a 6 percent annual raise for the next three years. The counteroffer, so far, was a 3.5 percent annual raise during the same period.

And the clock is ticking. Charles Ryan, the union president, states that if a resolution isn’t reached by July 31, when the current contract expires, drivers will be freed from the restriction that prohibits walkouts or strikes.

We back the investment in drivers. After all, good wages attract good candidates. But we’re calling on both parties to avoid a situation in which one of the Island’s most critical transportation systems is disrupted.

If negotiations stall to the point a strike hits, people without cars will be forced to find

Roden Reynolds, and countless others have worked tirelessly to control and research the lone star tick. Where I think the community has fallen short is educating visitors coming to the Island. It’s mid-July, and posters have finally begun to be put up.

Alexa Arieta, the health agent for Oak Bluffs, wrote that the parks department put up signs, with more to be posted. Martina Thornton, the Dukes County manager, confirmed that the Tick Communications Task Force said, “Posters are already up on M.V. and Island Home.”

A vital point for posters is on the ferries and at its terminals. I asked Ted Gavin, the Vineyard’s representative to the Steamboat Authority, to bring signage up at his next meeting. On July 21, Gavin told us, “The posters will be on the boat this week or, at the latest, next week.”

I still ask myself why has it taken so long to post signage when the data clearly pointed to a significant health crisis. How many tourists now have alpha-gal syndrome because they were not alerted? Or were their doctors able to pinpoint their symptoms to the lone star tick? Hopefully Realtors and Airbnb rentals are being upfront with renters, and also are leaving information about these ticks.

Thank you to Martina Thornton, Ted Gavin, Bill Cleary (a member of the Oak Bluffs Select Board), and all the others who have answered my barrage of emails. I’m thankful to all who have been putting up tick posters. It will take an Island, and all Islanders, to educate and get this tick under control.

Maria Mabee Mason Bainbridge Island, Wa., formerly of Vineyard Haven

$1 million to the Boys & Girls Club

To the Editor:

On behalf of the Martha’s Vineyard Boys & Girls Club, our board of directors, staff, families, and the hundreds of Island children we serve, we extend our deepest gratitude to the Martha’s Vineyard Bank Charitable Foundation for its extraordinary $1 million gift to our new clubhouse.

This remarkable investment helps close the final funding gap, and brings us one step closer to opening the doors of a space built to serve generations of Vineyard children and families. More

alternate travel methods, likely costing them money on an already expensive Island. It’d also halt the free bus rides, made available through state subsidies.

And the drivers’ contract negotiations are coming to a head as we’re about to enter August, traditionally the zenith of activity on the Vineyard. The last time bus drivers went on strike was in 2019. While they ultimately got the pay raise they were looking for, the picketing lasted a month.

Islanders can also look to a more recent example of how strained contract negotiations impacted travel at another transportation service. Last year, the Steamship Authority signed a contract with the unions representing its crewmembers after fraught negotiations over work schedules. And while Steamship captains who spoke with The Times denied the existence of a strike against overtime, as first reported by the Nantucket Current in 2024, there was a notably steep decline in cancellations related to crew shortages after the contract was signed.

The countdown to July 31 continues, and it’d benefit everyone for cool heads to prevail and keep the buses rolling. We believe the drivers deserve a fair wage, and Islanders deserve a robust and functioning public transportation system.

than a building, this clubhouse represents opportunity, belonging, safety, and hope for young people across our Island.

The Martha’s Vineyard Bank Charitable Foundation has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to our community, and to the belief that creating opportunities for children is one of the greatest investments we can make. Their generosity will have a lasting impact for decades to come.

To the foundation, the bank, and everyone who has joined us on this journey, thank you for believing in our mission and in the future of Vineyard kids. Together, we are building something that will strengthen our Island for generations. Our pride and gratitude are immense.

The Capital Campaign Committee and Board of Directors Martha’s Vineyard Boys & Girls Club

Katama Meadows is a ‘giant step backward’

To the Editor:

The Katama Meadows project that the Martha’s Vineyard Commission is currently considering proposes 26 market-rate houses. The last Vineyard subdivisions approved with that many were Deer Run and Bold Meadows, 40 years ago. Approving Katama Meadows would be a giant step backward.

We hope that all Martha’s Vineyard Commissioners who will be voting on this matter will read this letter, and that, following deliberations, they will vote no.

Every market-rate house that is built on Martha’s Vineyard needs diverse services, and therefore increases the need for a larger workforce. That need exacerbates our severe year-round stable housing crisis. Every marketrate house that gets built on Martha’s Vineyard increases the need for expanded infrastructure. Every marketrate house that is built on Matha’s Vineyard increases environmental degradation. That is especially true of Katama Meadows.

Most market-rate houses built on Martha’s Vineyard increase the percentage of our housing stock that is unoccupied much of the year (currently about 60 percent).

Subdivisions of market-rate houses are exactly what the Vineyard doesn’t need. Market-rate houses will continue to be built on undeveloped buildable parcels, and to replace existing houses, but concentrated subdivisions are un-

necessary and highly detrimental. Despite his family’s needs for stable housing (Katama Meadows may provide some opportunities), a young fisherman said at one of the Katama Meadows hearings, “Our ponds can’t handle development like this so close to them. We’re potentially sacrificing a lot of livelihoods and resources.”

This proposal, if approved, will cause harm to our home. Therefore, it will cause harm to each of us.

John Abrams and Kimberly Angell West Tisbury

I vote no on Katama Meadows

To the Editor:

I want to add my name to others who have written to oppose the Katama Meadows subdivision. It’s a bad idea with no real benefit to the land or to the year-round population.

Clark Myers

Vineyard Haven

Katama Meadows does not meet Vineyard community’s needs

To the Editor:

As a year-round resident and concerned citizen of Edgartown for more than 45 years, I rely on the Martha’s Vineyard Commission (MVC) to look out for the best interests of our Island community. I support the MVC decision to deny Katama Meadows. I worry that we are losing our talented young people and skilled professional workers, essential to keeping our Island health, well-being, and economy thriving. We do urgently need low-income and affordable housing opportunities that meet the interests of maintaining a healthy community. What we do not need is development primarily benefiting those who wish to invest in housing potentially designed for seasonal short-term rental property.

A development like Katama Meadows is exactly what we do not need.

The consequence of allowing developers with financial interests and investment (i.e. greed) in exploiting this beautiful community is ruining our environment and acting against the real needs of community residents, nonprofits, and businesses here!

Lynn Ditchfield

Edgartown

Charles M. Sennott • Publisher

BY LINSEY LEE

For more than four decades, I have preserved the stories of Martha’s Vineyard. In this collection of voices spanning generations, Islanders reflect on the many meanings of freedom — through war, immigration, civil rights, music, childhood, and the enduring spirit of community.

Since I was 12, my dream was to move to Martha’s Vineyard, where I hoped to write, illustrate books, and grow in the freedom of the Island’s natural beauty. After moving here in 1972, I spent decades collecting the stories of Islanders. Through those conversations, I discovered that freedom has never meant just one thing. Here are a few of those voices.

Eileen Robinson (1929–2025), librarian, 2004 interview

I remember the day the war ended, church bells started ringing. We knew what was imminent as soon as we heard those bells. We went up to Oak Bluffs to where the Tivoli Building was. Everybody was there, blowing horns, and all the bells were ringing. A feeling of freedom (though at a great expense and sorrow). But it felt glorious. That was the end of World War II, August 14.

Capt. Charles Vanderhoop Jr. (1921–2001), master mariner, 2000 interview

My great-grandfather’s house was a link on the Underground Railway. My greatgrandmother Beulah would help escaped slaves find their way free. She was one who believed in freedom. She’d hide them in the barn — there was a false cellar underneath the barn floor. My grandmother told of the big sailing ships in Holmes Hole and how they got them here. Then they could get them out on the boats going back and forth to New Bedford carrying fish. I think it was a total of eight slaves that she saved. Then when the Emancipation Proclamation was signed and the slaves were free, one of the women she helped came back one summer and say thank you in appreciation. My great-grandmother was deathly sick, and her husband was sick. The woman went back to New Bedford, and she come back with about 18 people, and they done all the haying and cleaning up of the barns and tending the garden. They stayed about two weeks and left everything in perfect order. So, although she done a great deal for them, they turned around and paid her back, and I think that’s a wonderful thing that they done this.

Eladio Falcoã, swimming pool technician, 2017 interview

I got a phone call from my lawyer; it was actually the Fourth of July weekend on the Island, and I was at my sister’s house. My sister is married to an American guy, and they have two kids. But I was in their back porch,

LETTERS

Continued from A4

Katama

Meadows is not the development the Island needs

To the Editor: I am writing to express my opposition to the proposed Katama Meadows development. It’s clear that many Islanders share the view that this development is not the answer to any of our problems. This project would result in the deforestation of a 54-acre lot, destroying areas designated by the state as “priority habitat.” This development would also further strain the already fragile Edgartown Great Pond ecosystem through additional wastewater and fertilizer runoff. Yes, we are experiencing a housing crisis, and I do believe that there are times when it’s worth sacrificing undeveloped

Freedom, in their own words

and they were barbequing, and my phone rings, and I look and it’s my lawyer. I’m like, why would he be calling me on the Fourth of July weekend? And I remember telling my brother-in-law Frank, “Man, this will either make my holiday or absolutely destroy it.” So that’s when I answer the phone and he said, “Welcome to the United States.” So I literally got my green card on July Fourth. We both got our independence together. And so, it was finally freedom; I could go back to Brazil and visit my family. I was told it would take two years, as I had everything in order. But it took 11 years, and now it’s getting more and more difficult for immigrants.

Carly Simon, singer, songwriter, and author, 2014 interview

I first realized that singing would make me able to communicate — because of my stammer, I had such a hard time speaking. When I was young, I had such a bad stammer — it still is there, but when I was younger, it was very, very difficult to get out a full sentence. And when I sang, I could. You don’t stammer when you sing. So, it was freedom for me. It was my mother who sort of told me when I couldn’t say a sentence, to add a rhythm to it, and if I added a rhythm to it, a melody would come and I could just say it much more easily if I could tap — you know — “Pass the butter, pass the butter …” If I couldn’t speak a “p” that day, I could still sing it.

Ham Luce (1905–1998), farmer, 1984 interview

Growing up on the Island, I think we had an enchanted childhood. The beaches were so easily accessible if we wanted to go swimming, and we weren’t that far from the woods. Never that far from nature. We were so close to it all the time. I’m just as enthused about what is going on outdoors as I ever was, and I enjoy every minute of it. There’s so much to see and hear. I love to hear the surf and walk the beach. There’s something wonderful about living near salt water. You know, the ocean is almost like a living thing in a way. It has so many moods. It can be placid some days, and other days it’s ugly-looking and mean. But what a tremendous thing it is.

Phronsie Conlin (1919–2020), teacher, artist, 2011 interview

One day, Howard Hart, who taught all us cousins sailing, decided that we were good enough to go into the harbor, which was over our heads. And that was wonderful. It gave us so much freedom. And so much fun to be able to go to so many different areas. We would pack picnic lunch, and think we were going off to China or something. That was great! And then finally we were allowed one day to go out into the ocean. Oh, God, it was wonderful — just feeling that wonderful bit of freedom.

land to provide affordable housing. However, with more than 40 percent of the Island permanently protected as open space, and roughly another 30 percent already developed, the Vineyard has a limited amount of land remaining to build on. We are also seeing signs that the Island is approaching its carrying capacity, including increased traffic and growing strain on our public systems. All that said, we should do our best to ensure that new developments aren’t just more summer homes. New housing should serve the teachers, first responders, service workers, fishermen, tradesmen, and small business owners who keep the Island running year-round. Unfortunately, I do not believe that the Katama Meadows project will do any of that: 2.8 acres out of the 54 will be gifted to the town of Edgartown for potential future affordable housing. The developer himself is not building any affordable housing, making it difficult

Dorothy West (1903–1998), writer, 1983 interview

My parents decided I was smart, and my father said I was going to be a little businesswoman. And my mother said I was going to be a pianist. Then they argued back and forth. My father said, “She’s my child.” And my mother said, “She’s my child.” And I’ll never forget — I was 5 years old, and I looked at my father and I said, “I don’t belong to you.” And I looked at my mother and I said, “I don’t belong to you.” I said, “I belong to myself.” I remember they stared at each other, and their jaws dropped. And I’ll never forget that, because I couldn’t understand what had happened to their mouths.

Anne Lesnikowski (1921–2018), World War II WASP, librarian, 2007 interview

We were decommissioned in December of ’44. One day, they said, “You’re out. Get home the best way you can.” No transportation, no benefits, nothing. We got paid, but it wasn’t much. I can remember 38 girls were killed overall during the program, and on one occasion at least, we girls took up money to send the body home, because her parents didn’t have the money. Military wouldn’t have anything to do with it, so we shipped the body. “You’re through. Thank you very much.” All the women WASPs, the entire organization was shut down. But we had proved ourselves. We had a very good record. It was during Jimmy Carter’s reign as president that we finally received benefits and recognition. So now I’m a military veteran. But it took 37 years. I’m proud of the fact that the WASPs made a real contribution to the war effort. I think they did. But I am most proud of the fact that the WASPs broke the glass ceiling in aviation for women. Women do everything now, flying. They’re on commercial airlines. They run their own businesses flying. They’re in all forms of the military now, commissioned, and are flying. I’m very proud of that. We provided an opportunity.

Nancy Whiting (1925–2007), civil rights activist,one of the Vineyard Five, 1993 interview

At that time, people I knew here on the Vineyard were following Martin Luther King’s course closely, and enormously interested and hopeful about it. His relationship to politics and religion and nonviolence was really terribly exciting. Henry Cox and Paul Chapman from the Vineyard started going down to Williamston, N.C. — the place that we wound up — joining with the civil rights activists to protest conditions there. These were people we knew; we saw them here on the Vineyard. It was so real. We wanted to do something to help from here. We knew it was dangerous. We certainly knew that. We knew we might go to jail. And we didn’t know if we would come back alive. I certainly thought it through very carefully

to see how this proposal meaningfully addresses the Island’s housing shortage. Reflecting on my experience growing up on the Island relative to stories my parents tell of their childhood here, I am struck by how much of the Vineyard’s character has been preserved. I believe one reason we’ve stayed cool, while many other tourist destinations have not, can be attributed to the Martha’s Vineyard Commission. It’s a unique regional body that has done a good job at slowing the pace of change and taking the time to make sure any DRI goes forward in the Island’s best interests. With that in mind, I hope the threat of litigation from the developer will not affect how the commission votes on this issue.

This is not the development the Island wants or needs. I support the MVC in voting no on the Katama Meadows proposal.

Silas Abrams Chilmark

before leaving. But quietly — I didn’t talk to anyone about it. What I wound up thinking was that I wouldn’t want my grandchildren to know that I’d had a chance to influence people in this way and turned it down. I’m not sure how the others decided, but something similar I would suspect.

Driving into Williamston, we were aware that we were being watched as we came into town. Sort of the vigilante scene. It was scary. Oh, they — the white people — hated us. And the Black people were so nice. They warmly welcomed us and fed us. They had a church where they met every night. The church had bullet holes in it, and that frightened us. They prayed and sang, and they asked each one of us to say something. And I remember feeling a kind of warmth and comfort I’d never felt before in my life. It started to become something bigger. It was palpable, like the glow of a fire or a light spreading, that kind of thing, so that being together somehow made it all right. Amazing.

The next day, we registered voters out in the country. They — they being the white townsfolk — they sure as hell didn’t want us to be doing any registration of the voters. And the fact that we were doing it with the Black organizers made us more than suspect. I just remembered the sense of real terror that the Blacks experienced — and we had it. The organizer — activist and Southern Christian Leadership Conference Field Secretary Golden Frinks — wanted to do a demonstration outside of Sears Roebuck for unfair hiring practices and asked us to join. And we agreed. We knew that we were in for it, because there’s no way five white women and a bunch of Black people were going to be able to protest on May Day outside of Sears Roebuck with placards without getting arrested. Which is what happened.

Afterwards, I think we felt we’d been empowered, we’d been strengthened. That’s one of the great pleasures of it, because you really lose your sense of self-consciousness. You are a part of something. That changes your own boundaries. And the Civil Rights Bill passed into law. I remember finding myself astonished to be sitting up there in the Tabernacle in chairs alongside of Roy Wilkins, Kingman Brewster, Kivie Kaplan, all these important people. There we were in this wild, largerthan-life kind of thing — the feeling that a person or group of people can have a real influence and effect on the course of events.

These short vignettes are part of a continuing series by The Times titled “VOICES on Freedom” commemorating the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. You can find the full series, curated by VOICES columnist Sharisse Scott-Rawlins, at mvtimes.com or by scanning the QR

Rejecting Katama Meadows is not a rejection of housing

To the Editor:

After calling Martha’s Vineyard home for the past 27 years, I feel it’s time for me to speak up for the Island I love. I strongly support the creation of housing that truly serves Island residents, including those who live and work here as part of our community. But community housing should not require the sacrifice of the natural resources that sustain us all.

The proposed Katama Meadows development would threaten Edgartown Great Pond, wildlife habitat, forestland, groundwater, and the environmental health of the Island.

Once these resources are damaged or destroyed, they cannot be restored.

This is why the Martha’s Vineyard

Commission is so important. We need a body willing to look beyond the interests of a single development, and consider what is best for the Island as a whole.

Denying this particular subdivision is not a rejection of housing. It is a call for housing that meets the real needs of Island residents without permanently degrading the homeland that we are trying to preserve. I respectfully urge the Martha’s Vineyard Commission to deny the Katama Meadows subdivision.

Lynn Thorp Oak Bluffs

Spinning for a century and a half

BY MARIA BARROS

The painted and handcarved wooden horses and chariots at the oldest operating platform carousel in the country galloped into their 150th year of operation on Saturday, July 25, which also celebrates National Carousel Day, to fanfare and crowds.

Colorful balloons and paper lanterns hung from the ceiling, and vibrant carousel music filled the iconic red building of the Flying Horses in celebration of one of the Island’s historical sites.

Nonprofit Vineyard Preservation Trust (VPT), an entity responsible for restoring and managing more than 20 historical landmarks on Martha’s Vineyard like the Flying Horses, hosted the event. The idea of celebrating the carousel’s 150th year with a birthday party was spearheaded by Jaime Hiltz, general manager of the carousel, and Nevette Previd, who is executive director.

“It was a milestone that we wanted to make sure that we had a family-friendly event that brought the community together, and I think we did what we said we set out to do,” Julie Hatt, event and program manager for VPT, said, adding, “We wanted a big party, and it definitely was a big party.”

Beyond the thrill of collecting golden brass rings and

riding the carefully crafted antique horses, families were also able to participate in activities that took place at the Flying Horses building, Union Chapel, and other places all across Oak Bluffs. This included a dance party, a cornhole challenge, and singing “Happy Birthday.”

The main attraction of the day was the scavenger hunt, which spanned 23 local Oak Bluffs businesses.

For the price of $5 each, families set out across town, searching for the prizes: 20 stuffed animal horses.

“All the money that we raise and all these fundraising events that we do, all the money goes right back into the buildings to make sure that they can keep standing,” Hatt said.

Crafted by Charles Dare of the New York Carousel Manufacturing Co., the Flying Horses stands today as one of only two surviving Dare carousels. It arrived in Oak Bluffs in 1884 after operating for eight years in Coney Island, N.Y. Since then, the Flying Horses has been regarded as a timeless summer attraction for generations of locals and seasonal visitors on the Vineyard.

Elizabeth Mohan, a longtime summer resident who attended the event, said she appreciates the carousel for its ability to bring people of

all ages together. “I remember my grandparents bringing me here 30 years ago, and the fact that I get to bring my kids, with their grandparents — I think it’s just really exciting,” she said.

Mohan, who currently lives in Jordan, also finds the unchanging nature of the carousel comforting. “For us, because we live overseas — we’re traveling, and we move a lot — it’s nice to have a place and memories that are grounded in where you’re from,” she said.

Hatt echoed a similar sentiment. “When you stand in there, so many people will say, ‘I rode this when I was a baby,’ and so many families bring in their grandmother, their mother, and their child. So there’s three generations all riding on the horses, and everybody has a story,” she said.

And while the Flying Horses is a familiar landmark for those who live here, the reaction from new visitors was also on display on Saturday. Lila Taylor is 8, and visited the Flying Horses for the first time during the event. She rode a gray horse, which she kindly named “Boat Snacks.”

“My favorite part was going fast. And I got three rings,” Taylor said.

Collecting rings is a Flying Horses tradition, and

Zoning appeal reignites

Cape Poge beach debate

An appeal questioning whether the Trustees of Reservations have the proper permitting to allow oversand vehicles in areas of Cape Poge managed by the conservation nonprofit has once again stirred up discord in Edgartown.

While the Edgartown Select Board holds no decisionmaking power over this matter, it held a listening session on July 20 during its regular meeting. The appeal is expected to be taken up by the town’s zoning board of appeals on August 5.

“The select people have no decision to make,” Smadbeck said. “We’re here to listen.”

The discourse was sparked by an appeal filed on June 24 to the Edgartown zoning board of appeals by William Gazaille, who lives in the Cape Poge area on

Chappaquiddick. In the appeal, Gazaille called for the enforcement of the zoning board’s 2024 decision to require a special permit for the Trustees of Reservations, also referred to as TTOR, to allow recreational use of its Cape Poge properties. In 2024, the zoning board of appeals made a decision that required the Trustees to file for a new special permit from the Edgartown planning board to allow oversand vehicles onto its properties. This issue came from a permit that was approved in 1990, according to town records, but the actual document was nowhere to be found. The Trustees would also challenge the zoning board in July 2024 in Massachusetts Land Court over the permit issues.

Management of the Trustees’ properties also appeared

separately settled by an April superseding order of conditions from the state Department of Environmental Protection, which set parameters like the number of cars allowed on the beaches of Cape Poge Wildlife Refuge and Leland Beach. But the tug of war between beach access advocates and some Cape Poge property owners was reignited by the appeal. While the Trustees did receive permits from the planning board in May regarding the construction of structures, like a seasonal ladder, and recreation on Cape Poge, Gazaille questioned whether the Trustees held the authority to allow oversand vehicles, and the “growing scale of TTOR commercial operations” in residential zones. He also requested a cease and desist against the Trustees.

though it used to be a standard feature of carousels around the country, it is now more rare. There’s a local legend about collecting the rings that comes from the first owner of the carousel, Hatt said. Back in the 1800s, an Islander taught his children how to ride a horse with only one hand, using the other to fight. Allegedly, visitors from off-Island started to line up to attempt the challenge. Eventually, this Islander bought the barn down Circuit Avenue

This isn’t the first time that the Trustees’ permit was questioned. In 2024, a Cape Poge property owner named Victor Colantonio filed a cease and desist against the Trustees over what he called an intensification of use on the properties, including beachgoers driving in oversand vehicles. Colantonio argued that the increased use of the Trustees’ properties required an amended or new special permit.

Mary Dettloff, the Trustees’ public relations director, told The Times that the organization has “all of the state and local approvals required” to allow continued public enjoyment of its Cape Poge lands.

“We are confident that we are in full compliance with all state and local requirements governing Cape Poge, and that these requirements and the Trustees’ stewardship are more than adequate to protect this special place now and for future generations,” Dettloff said.

But disagreement brewed among Islanders. Martha’s Vineyard Beachgoers Access Group (MV BAG), a local organization that advocates for the preservation of pub-

where the Flying Horses is now located. Now, passengers on the carousel hold on with one hand to their seat of choice and reach out with the other to an arm that dispenses steel and a singular brass ring; a brass ring means a free ride.

A local teen, Gianni Navarrete, has worked at the Flying Horses for the past four summers. He explained that his favorite part of the job is the iconic music played at the carousel. “I’m a musician, so

lic beach access, decried Gazaille’s appeal, fearing it could set back progress made in keeping beaches publicly accessible. In this case, it was the area north of the town jetty to Cape Poge Lighthouse.

“What many in the community find frustrating is not that another appeal has been filed, but that the process never seems to end,” Peter Sliwkowski, president of MV BAG, wrote in a July 13 statement. “At some point, it is also reasonable to ask: When does a decision become final?”

Town officials have received over 120 letters on this matter. The vast majority expressed support for the Trustees, but some called for a balance between enforcement and recreational access.

Compared with the overwhelming support for the Trustees shown in the letters, the board meeting on July 20 had split representation from people who backed the zoning board’s decision to require a special permit.

Cape Poge property owners, like attorney Rachel Self, argued all of the review should be completed before further activities are allowed by the Trustees.

for me, the music is kind of a big part of it, because it’s amazing seeing this 150-year-old piece of music technology still running to this day, and making such beautiful music,” Navarrete said. “The popcorn isn’t half-bad either.”

The Flying Horses’ 150th celebration will continue at the Carnegie Heritage Center in Edgartown through an exhibit called “The Flying Horses Carousel: An

“This case therefore goes much further than Cape Poge,” Self said. “It’s about whether local government will be allowed to perform responsibilities assigned to it by Massachusetts law.” Those who support the Trustees argued that there were already numerous reviews, from the town level to Massachusetts Land Court. “You’re just recycling administrative cycles,” Sliwkowski said.

Darci Schofield, the Trustees’ islands superintendent, highlighted the value of Cape Poge as an important ecosystem protected by the organization, but also a contributor to the Island’s tourism economy by attracting visitors.

“Decisions regarding Cape Poge should be guided by facts, science, regulatory determinations and the public interest, not the relentless pursuit of a small group of individuals’ rancor against the trustees,” Schofield said. But Schofield said she was happy to see Cape Poge residents at the meeting, inviting them to negotiate the issues privately rather than using public town resources.

American Treasure” that closes on Oct. 18.

The Vineyard Preservation Trust held a birthday party for the Flying Horses.

The Trustees of Reservations’ authority again under question.

BY EUNKI SEONWOO

MARIA BARROS

COURTESY MV PRESERVATION TRUST

Crowds gathered for the 150th birthday celebration of the Flying Horses.

The Flying Horses on July 4, 1912.

Hospital to launch Island’s first alpha-gal research center

The effort comes in the wake of a rising number of cases on the Island.

BY SARA CREATO

As cases of alpha-gal syndrome continue to rise on the Island, the first local center to study the condition is set to be opened by Martha’s Vineyard Hospital, in partnership with Boston’s Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH).

The multi-million-dollar research center, the cost of which the hospital didn’t specify, is scheduled to open Oct. 1. It will focus on alphagal diagnosis, treatment, and research and be located in West Tisbury at the former location of the Indian Hill Medical Center, which the hospital purchased for $1.85 million on Oct. 31, 2025.

Claire Seguin, Martha’s Vineyard Hospital president and chief operating officer, said she wants to establish the center as part of the hospital’s efforts to increase its healthcare options for tick-borne conditions and reduce strain on the emergency room. Another effort spearheaded by Seguin is the hospital’s new Express Care and Tick Clinic, which opened on June 15 and primarily provides treatment, through appointments, for individuals bitten by ticks. As of July 22, the clinic has seen 175 patients for tick bites and 136 for minor injuries and ailments since it opened.

“We noticed that a lot of the care was landing in our emergency department. As we get busier and busier, we want to avoid that if we can and keep the emergency department for true emergencies,” Seguin said about tick-related visits. “It was really to bring more access to care in general for our Island community.”

This research center, how-

ever, will be focused only on the emergence of alpha-gal.

Alpha-gal syndrome, an allergic response to mammalian products like meat and dairy that can occur between three and 12 hours after consumption, is caused by the transmission of the alpha-gal sugar molecule into an individual’s bloodstream through a lone star tick bite. The molecule, which is naturally found in most mammals besides humans, can be perceived as a threat by the immune system, which then develops immunoglobulin E (IgE) antibodies. The presence of these antibodies can trigger an allergic reaction when mammalian products are consumed.

Individuals that suffer from alpha-gal syndrome can experience mild to life-threatening symptoms — from hives, rashes, and gastrointestinal issues to anaphylaxis. The syndrome can last a couple of years or become chronic, and this detail, along with other unknowns, is a part of the information gap that the hospital seeks to fill.

In 2020, the hospital cataloged two positive alpha-gal test results, and in 2025, positive results spiked to 742. And in recent months, as the allergy has garnered national attention, efforts have sprung up from both locals, such as through Tick Free MV, and politicians as high up as the secretary of Health and Human Services.

In an email to The Times, Seguin outlined the details of the two-phase research plan for the center. The first phase involves a prospective cohort study, which will enlist 300 subjects who have been bitten

3D Scanning & Modeling

by a lone star tick. The emergence of alpha-gal symptoms and IgE antibodies will be monitored, and the subjects’ symptoms, exposure, and demographics collected. The first patients are set for enrollment later this month.

The second phase entails a seroprevalence survey, done through blood tests, to study the presence of IgE antibodies in people on the Island and compare those levels to those in other communities in Massachusetts. Approximately 1,000 individuals will participate, and the study is set to begin later in the summer.

The research will be

to handle it, so having some research done on it would be useful.”

Susan Austin, 73, described her hives from alpha-gal as being like “a mouse was underneath [her] skin running.” She said that she hopes for the center’s success. “It’s hard for them, because different people have it differently and different extremes of it. I’m interested to hear if they have solutions.”

Others, however, expressed uncertainty about the center’s success.

Deana Ahearn, 55, who founded the Facebook support group “MV Alpha gals”

funded through private donations to start, Seguin wrote, which she hopes will help the center secure grant funding in the future.

Many Islanders who suffer from alpha-gal syndrome are optimistic about the new center.

Greg Clark, 23, who was diagnosed with alpha-gal four years ago, emphasized how many of his friends with the condition struggle to cope. “Half of my friends have it now, and they don’t really know how to deal with it,” Clark said. “A lot of people don’t know how

in 2024, expressed worry about some of the staff’s lack of expertise. Although she said she’s appreciative, Ahearn is wary after a past experience with a nurse practitioner who did not know about the possibility of fume reactions from cooking mammal meat.

“A lot of us are petrified to go to the hospital, because most everything in there has mammal [products] in it and can really make us sick,” Ahearn said. “I really am grateful to be able to have this clinic. But I really hope they pull from all resources

and really educate people and keep following what’s going on with alpha-gal. We need it more than ever here.”

The issue of ticks is multifaceted, and the new center at the hospital is one of a few large and well-funded efforts to mitigate the presence of the small arachnids.

The center’s physician research lead is Dr. Jacob Lemieux. He’s a Harvard Medical School graduate and infectious disease doctor at Mass General Brigham (MGB) who focuses on Lyme disease. Lemieux heads up MGH’s multidisciplinary Lyme and infectious disease clinic. He told The Times that he wants to apply the methods of the Boston clinic to address the rising numbers of alpha-gal cases on the Island.

“[Boston] is really not a hot spot for tick-borne disease, so our urgent care clinic is actually not in the right place,” Lemieux said. “We had this ready-made concept, and a lot of the pathways were ready to be modified and then deployed [to Martha’s Vineyard]. I’m thrilled that this sister clinic approach has worked effectively.”

Lemieux emphasized the importance of both research and clinical care at the center. “The reality is that we have to walk and chew bubblegum at the same time,” he said. “Which is to say we have to deal with the emergence of the disease.”

Lemieux said that one of his research objectives is to understand the prevalence of alpha-gal syndrome and its antibodies. “There’s so much in the news about how severe things are — from tick sightings to the number of alpha-gal tests being sent — but what we don’t have complete information on is truly how common at a population level these antibodies are.”

Lemieux also wants to investigate the risk factors of development of alpha-gal after a tick bite, such as the

duration of time that the tick was attached to the host, the tick species, the lifecycle stage, and the types of pathogens carried by the tick. “Understanding these risk factors is important to predict who’s at risk from developing the syndrome,” Lemieux said. “Hopefully we can modify [the risk factors] to prevent the development of the disease.”

Lea Hamner, the Island’s only tick epidemiologist, said that she has consulted with officials from the Island hospital and MGH about the center. She expressed enthusiasm about the project.

“I’m very excited that they’re entering the research space,” Hamner said. “Being able to leverage the quality of clinical research that [the MGH] system can support here locally is huge.”

Hamner highlighted the general openness of individuals with alpha-gal on the Island and said she also hopes to discover more about the syndrome from its prevalence on-Island.

“People want to tell you about their tick-borne experience and help find answers. There’s no stigma attached to tick-borne illness, and so people are really participatory when it comes to this field compared to other lines of work that I’ve been in,” Hamner said. “The lemonade out of lemons is to learn more about the allergy from what’s happening [on the Island] … and to derive some meaning from this experience.”

Hamner, who also runs the Alpha-gal Syndrome Support Group, underscored the negative psychological toll that comes from the condition. “If you have reactions, especially severe reactions, you start then being more cautious and having more adaptive behaviors to keep yourself safe, which then can lead to less participation in social activities … because you’re concerned for your own safety.”

Lone star ticks.

Chasingshadowsoffshore

Continued from A1

of the conservancy, in part, is to study white sharks, which are now a protected species. For generations, they were hunted as trophy fish for anglers, and despite conservation efforts, their official stock status remains uncertain. To this day, not much is known about their behavior — even how or when they reproduce.

The shadow that Skomal eyed from the pulpit, at Davis’s direction, didn’t move much, and he realized that what Davis spotted really was just a shadow, an optical illusion created by the sun, waves, and whatever manner of sealife lay beneath the water. Skomal’s used to that, though; his book about great white sharks is literally called “Chasing Shadows.”

Less than 10 minutes later, though, Davis, who could see through about 25 feet of water, radioed again. This time, through clock-bearing directions (“1:30 westbound”) and some “3 boats ahead,” Davis brought the boat right next to a 10.5-foot dark mass that moved.

Upon initial inspection, it appeared as a dark, unassuming shadow against the ocean bottom. But as it gradually came up to the surface, and bits of churnedup life forms, sand, and dirt started to clear, that mass became a great white shark named Pearl — whose width was almost more impressive than his length.

Pearl was first identified in 2019, and tagged by Skomal and the conservancy at the end of September 2022; since then, through an array of acoustic receivers located from Monomoy Point to Provincetown, he’s been detected more than 7,000 times, according to the conservancy’s Sharktivity app and White Shark logbook. Because Pearl was already tagged, Skomal only used the GoPro to get some underwater footage.

“Animals in general, fish in general … they’re creatures of habit, and it really boils down to how successful they are in feeding in an area,” Skomal said about Pearl, who’s migrated back to the Cape seemingly year after year. Some individuals are transient, he added, and don’t stay long, probably because they don’t successfully feed, so the habitat isn’t “energetically beneficial.”

The team saw four other sharks besides Pearl that day — three white sharks, another of which was already tagged, and a basking shark. It was a good day in terms of sightings, Skomal said. In previous years, they’ve had some very slow Julys.

Sharks typically “overwinter” much farther offshore or down South, and come up to Massachusetts waters as temperatures warm, much like fish, and move back down

or out in early November. Skomal said they typically trickle in, and noted a “very credible report” of a sharkbitten seal that washed up on Lucy Vincent Beach in Chilmark in May. Still, the bulk of the white shark population, especially the larger ones, doesn’t come through until July or August.

Skomal said there’s a chance, however, that some of the white sharks now bypass Cape Cod and move straight up to the Gulf of Maine or Canada. “We’re going to look at this,” he said. There are data that demonstrate that sharks move up to Canadian waters more and more, and he wants to know the reason — water temperature, climate change, or restoration of natural prey to the area. Since 2009, Skomal has tagged 400 individual sharks, though probably only 250 tags are still active; others either died or were eventually shed by the animal. Skomal uses a tag technique developed in the early 1960s by Jack Casey, a pioneer in shark research, and places a small intra-

are added to the app and logbook, and from then on, live detections are marked across a map of the Cape as the acoustic tags emit highfrequency sounds that are picked up by the receivers. Skomal also takes a post-tag video to check on his deployment of the sensor. The team alerts beach managers, each of whom has their own set of protocols, whenever they spot a shark close to shore as well.

As the boat glided alongside Pearl and another tagged white shark, an 11foot male named Baobab, whom Davis found because he followed the shark’s

as 70 other tall spar buoy acoustic receivers that are placed from Rhode Island to New Hampshire. The data on the nonlive receivers are collected when they’re hauled for maintenance at the beginning of every year.

There were receivers on either side of the Vineyard placed by Skomal, who used to live on the Island and studied sharks there for more than two decades, in some of the earlier years of his research, but they never indicated that there was a residency of sharks, those that stay for a few months, near the area. It wasn’t until the 2000s that white

Skomal said. “There’s no real number of seals to concentrate white sharks long.”

Even near Nomans Land, where Skomal said he’s heard there are a lot of seals, his old receiver didn’t pick up many detections, which was a surprise to him.

Recently, a 13-foot, 9-inch shark called Contender was in the news as the largest male white shark tagged in the Atlantic. But Skomal has tagged larger ones. James, first tagged in 2014, is a 14-foot male. Meanwhile, Skomal said he’s tagged 16and 18-foot females.

And Luke, a 13-foot white shark, was tagged

White sharks are large pelagic animals, which live in the water column of the open ocean, that travel great distances across the ocean.

“It’s incredibly challenging to get an understanding of their basic biology,” Skomal said. “That’s why many shark species have lagged behind other species” in terms of human knowledge of them.

Skomal’s interested in fine-scale behavior of sharks: What do they do — not just day to day, but hour to hour, minute to minute, and second to second? What drives their behavior? How does that relate to their age and life stage? Also, how do

muscular dart at the base of the shark’s dorsal fin. Casey started the Cooperative Shark Tagging Program, a collaborative effort between fishermen and NOAA Fisheries, which has tagged more than 300,000 sharks across more than 50 species since the 1960s. The tags can tell Skomal when the shark is going up or down, left or right, as well as speeding up and slowing down.

On Monday, he tagged a shark that was about 300 yards off the beach in 12 feet of water. It was a 10-footer that was logged as MA2602. All tagged sharks, with photos and demographics,

algae track (a trail that follows a shark after he swims through an algae or seaweed bloom), Dr. Lauren Brewster, assistant professor of fisheries oceanography for School for Marine Science and Technology at UMass Dartmouth, let out the cord of a hydrophone that broadcast the tag’s sound back to the boat. Patrick Rex, a research scientist for the conservancy, was then able to identify the white shark by the tag’s frequency.

Skomal and the conservancy have five live receivers, marked yellow and with solar panels, along the east side of the Cape, as well

sharks were seen in New England or in Island waters; a 13-foot female was found trapped in a small pond on Naushon Island in 2004.

“We really haven’t been able to start intensively studying white sharks in the Atlantic until they became predictably present off Cape Cod,” Skomal said; seals, which represent sharks’ preferred prey, made a comeback after a near extinction. Previously, scientists relied only on dead specimens that were brought in by fishermen; now, they can track their movements through tag technology.

Sharks use the waters off the Island as a highway,

June 24, 2016. Skomal said he named him in honor of Luke Gurney, who died that year fishing in his boat No Regrets off Nantucket. The shark’s been detected more than 30,000 times, one of the highest number of detections, Skomal said. Skomal also participated in the ninth annual Fluke For Luke tournament this month.

Skomal works for the state, which pays his salary, but the conservancy, co-founded by Cynthia and Ben Wigren in 2013, funds the at times costly expenses of his research. Skomal needs to either hire a boat and plane, or at the very least pay for the fuel, to study sharks in the wild.

And despite deep interest from experts, like Casey before him, white sharks remain incredibly elusive, even for Skomal.

they reproduce?

“Nobody on Earth can tell you where that happens,” Skomal said. The white sharks are very solitary, lone wolves, but at some point, they have to mate. “That’s my fascination,” Skomal said.

“The more time I spend with these animals, the better understanding I’m getting of them,” he said, even just their behavior around the boat when he goes out to tag them. When one white shark saw Skomal’s GoPro, he or she turned toward the boat and then shot away. Skomal called that one “squirrelly,” and he wasn’t able to tag the animal.

“The bottom line is we don’t know a heck of a lot. Although we’ve studied them hard, there’s so much we still need to know,” Skomal said.

Pearl

A view from the pulpit of Pearl.

Luke

Greg Skomal and a hydrophone to hear tagging sensors.

HAYLEY DUFFY

HAYLEY DUFFY

COURTESY ATLANTIC WHITE SHARK CONSERVANCY

COURTESY ATLANTIC WHITE SHARK CONSERVANCY

advantage was provided to the building owner, as well as allegations of conflict of interest regarding a former town administrator.

According to the complaint, the retaliation allegedly began after Upton raised issues in 2024 about Xerxes Aghassipour, a developer who purchased and allegedly rebuilt various buildings in Tisbury without the planning board’s oversight. One of the projects Aghassipour led was the controversial 97 Spring St. house, which faced significant pushback from Tisbury residents concerned about the transient nature of those who might live in the building, such as Vineyard Wind workers.

The timeline provided in the complaint states that the issues started in 2024 after several Tisbury residents came forward complaining that Aghassipour was doing work on properties without going through the proper processes.

The complaint states Upton raised the issue about a lack of a special permit to the planning board and the former town administrator, Jay Grande. The document states Upton was “shocked to discover” that Monka, who was tasked with referring projects to the planning board in his role as building inspector, recorded board reviews for Aghassipour’s projects as completed when they hadn’t been.

Upton filed an ethics complaint with the state against Grande in October 2024. At the time, Grande was preparing to retire and was training to join Sourati Engineering Group, a firm that did surveying work for Vineyard Wind and 97 Spring St. Grande’s job trajectory was under scrutiny for an apparent conflict

of interest over his part in overseeing town departments that were in charge of permitting the Vineyard Wind maintenance and operations building on Beach Road, a property where Sourati conducted survey work. The select board previously told The Times that Grande had been cleared to transition to Sourati, and they didn’t see an issue. The complaint was under review by the State Ethics Commission, and the status of that probe still remains undetermined despite repeated requests to state officials. The commission previously told The Times in 2024 that it doesn’t confirm, deny, or share details regarding pending complaints or investigations. And the denial of details about the ethics complaint’s status was reiterated on Tuesday.

Upton was also the target of a public-records request by Aghassipour the same month, in which a text from Upton to planning board member Ben Robinson said, “It would appear that Jay, Greg, and [X]erxes are all in a big circle jerk,” after which the developer claimed he was targeted by town planning officials.

Upton was placed on leave pending a review, which the complaint alleges was based on this text. She was allowed to return in November 2024. According to the complaint, Upton requested an independent investigation in December 2024 into a hostile work environment, and filed a Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD) complaint against Monka with allegations that his treatment of female coworkers was “markedly different” than toward male colleagues. Months later in March 2025, after LaCivita became town administrator, Upton received the town’s re-

sponse, which backed Monka, according to the complaint.

Afterward, Upton was allegedly “repeatedly” questioned about her use of overtime. She would also be directed by LaCivita in October 2025 to report directly to Monka rather than the planning board chair, a move the complaint states created a conflict of interest and prevented Upton from doing her job to the “best of her abilities.” The decision was also met by resistance from planning board mem bers, and there was tension between the planning body and the town administrator and select board members at multiple public meet ings, some of which can be viewed on MVTV. Ben Robinson, planning board chair, told The Times that the “long, drawn-out saga” described in the complaint was “pretty accurate.” He added that there’s remained a level of distrust and mis communication between planning and select boards. “We have a fairly dysfunc tional town,” he said.

The complaints cited fric tion between Monka and Up ton in the workplace, and she was disciplined with two un paid suspensions in January 2026. The document states Upton filed multiple grievances with AFSCME Local 93, a labor union, in response to disciplinary actions beginning in 2024, but they were ultimately ineffective.

board member. The report also questioned Upton’s use of overtime hours and her ability to do her job.

The “hostile work environment” allegedly caused Upton’s vasovagal syncope, a condition in which a person’s nervous system overreacts from certain triggers like stress and causes them to faint, to flare up, and become unsafe, according to the complaint. The com-

plaint also states she needed surgery for cervical spinal stenosis and myelopathy, and Upton alleges the town didn’t provide reasonable accommodations for her health conditions.

The complaint states Upton was put on indefinite suspension on March 11, and she resigned “in protest” on May 1.

Robinson said between March and June, planning board members had to per-

form the tasks previously handled by Upton. While a temporary administrator, Shawna Lima, has since been hired, the issue of who supervises that position remains contested. The planning board has even retained a separate attorney, Jack Collins, to review disagreements they have with the select board.

See full story at mvtimes.com.

Upton also asked the town last December that an investigation be done on Casey Hayward, a former planning board chair, and her conduct toward Upton as the former planning board administrator. The request resulted in a report from Boston-based KP Law that admonished Upton for insubordinate behavior toward Hayward and instead sided with the planning

Featuring the legendary music of the Temptations, Supremes, Martha Reeves and the Vandellas

**NON-CDLDRIVERSAND LABORERS**

Bruno'sRolloff,Inc.iscurrently seekingfull-timeandpart-time NON-CDLDriversandLaborersfor bothyear-roundandseasonal positions.Applicantsmustbe availableforearlymorningshifts andseasonalovertime.Weoffer competitivewages,excellent bene ts,andyearlybonuses. Applicationscanbepickedupatour officeat11EastLineRoad, Edgartown,orrequestedby emailingadmin@brunosmv.com. Forfurtherinquiries,pleasecontact usat(508)693-5454.

BOOK KEEPER/ OFFICE ADMINISTRATOR

The Martha’s Vineyard Refuse District is accepting applications for the position of Book Keeper / Office Administrator. This is a full time year round, with a benefit package that includes health insurance paid leave and enrollment onto the Dukes County Retirement System. Duties include: performing the District’s routine accounting functions including payroll and monthly warrants, posting and verifying accounts payable and receivable, posting

cash receipts and expenditures, reconciling accounts and balances and trial balances, prepared District correspondence and assisting the general public with information, etc. The applicant should have experience with Quick Books, Microsoft Word, Excel and posses experience and familiarity with principals and practices of bookkeeping and municipal finance. Pay range is $40.13$50.78 per hour. Applicants should respond with a resume and cover letter to: Martha’s Vineyard Refuse District P.O. Box 190, West Tisbury, Ma 02575. or by email to mvrefuse@ comcast.net

CIRCUIT ARTS SEEKS A DIRECTOR OF FILM PROGRAMMING TO LEAD THE MARTHA’S VINEYARD FILM FESTIVAL AND YEAR-ROUND FILM PROGRAMMING.

This leadership role combines curatorial vision with filmmaker relations and community engagement. Learn more and apply: circuitarts.org/jobs. COMMUNITY PRESERVATION COMMITTEE ADMINISTRATOR, TISBURY

For Tisbury Community Preservation Act Committee (CPC). Part-time, year round, independent contractor work status, varied hours weekly, from home. Bulk of work August through January. Minimum three years office experience including clerical, computer, and financial skills. Ability to write clear prose, take minutes and work independently. Excellent organizational skills required.

College graduate preferred. Excellent pay, commensurate with experience. Send resume to: tisburycpc@gmail.com or by mail to Tisbury CPC, PO Box 1239, Vineyard Haven, MA 02568. Deadline for applications is noon, August 7, 2026.

DEPT. OF PUBLIC WORKS AND CG LICENSED CAPTAIN Need at MV Oceansports. Now til September 15th

$37.50 hour plus tips and end of season bonus. Housing provided. Call 508-627-2838 Or apply in person at MV Oceansports.

WASTEWATER EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT

Town of Tisbury seeks individual to perform assistant duties. Administrative support for the activities and operations of the Department of Public Works and Wastewater Department. Some duties include: Answering phones, tracking expenditures, Wastewater Billing, and LDO related duties including record keeping and trash collection. Full-time (40 hrs/weekly) year-round, starting pay $36.57 /hour, Grade 4 step 1 or commensurate with experienced and generous benefits package under union contract including retirement. Application available on website under Human Resources. Qualified applicants should submit application and resume by July 31, 2026 open until filled to pbennett@tisburyma. gov. Town of Tisbury is EOE.

DUKESCOUNTYSHERIFFS'OFFICE CORRECTIONALOFFICERS

$1,000MonthlyHousingStipendfor FullTimeIslandResidents Lookingtokick-startarewarding careerwhileservingtheIsland community?

CorrectionalOfficersattheDukes CountyJail&HouseofCorrection areresponsibleforthecare,custody, controlofinmates,aswellasother assignedduties. Mustbeatleast19yearsofage withavalidMADriver’sLicense, haveeffectiveoralandwritten communicationsskills, exibilityand willingnesstoadapttochanging environmentandpriorities;positive attitude,integrity,andexcellent judgment.Workscheduleincludes assignmentstotheday,eveningand night,weekend,andholidayshifts. PaidCorrection Academytraining(maybehostedon oroff-island)withastrong commitmenttosupporting employees’ongoingprofessional growth.

Full-timepositionwithagenerous bene tpackage,includingpaid leave,insurance,state pensionanddeferredcompensation matching.Fulltimepayrangeis $65,516.88-$70,933.46 annually,plus$1,000monthly housingstipend.Candidatesmust passinterview,background check,andpost-conditional-offer medicalevaluationsandmeetthe physical tnesstesting requirements. Applytoday!Downloadapplications andjobdescriptionsat dukescountysheriff.com/careers

FamilySupportWorker–MV

FamilyResourceCenter ($23.00-$28.50/hour)

Helpconnectfamilieswith communityresourcesandsupport serviceswhileassistingwithparent andyouthprogramming,support groups,familyevents,andvolunteer coordination.Responsibilities includeprovidingreferrals, maintainingprogramdata, participatingincommunity outreach,andsupportingFamily ResourceCenteractivities.Evening andweekendhoursrequired. Quali cations:Backgroundinsocial servicesoramentalhealthsetting preferred.Strongcommunication, organizational,andteamworkskills required.Abilitytomaintain con dentialityandworkeffectively withdiversepopulations.Valid Massachusettsdriver'slicenseand reliabletransportationrequired. Applyat:mvcommunityservices.org/ employment

FELIX NECK IS HIRING!

Full time/seasonal position: Felix Neck is looking for a dedicated Property Steward to help manage buildings, trails, and grounds, assist with animal care, support staff and volunteers, and maintain clean facilities. Full job description and application at https://www.massaudubon. org/about/careers

OFFICE ASSISTANT

Established landscape company in West Tisbury is seeking an office assistant to help with office and admin tasks. Typing skills, bilingual- Portuguese and experience with QBO, Excel, and Word is a plus but not a must. Good pay with benefits. Call 508-696-8869 or e-mail oakleafmv@ gmail.com.

COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE TELECOMMUNICATOR-INTRAINING

$500 Monthly Housing Stipend for Full Time Island Residents Looking to kick-start a rewarding career while serving the Island community? Duties include, but not limited to receiving, processing, and dispatching emergency and non-emergency calls for police, re, emergency medical, and other public safety services. Requires effective oral and written communications skills, high integrity, positive attitude, sound judgement, and the ability to handle con dential material and adapt to changing environments and priorities. Essential functions include rotating assignment to the day, evening and night, weekend, and holiday shifts. Paid on-site training, plus off-island Academy training. Full-time position with a generous bene t package including paid leave, insurance, state pension and deferred compensation matching. Full time

Telecommunicator-In-Training pay range is $73,986.64- $81,687.06 annually, plus $500 monthly stipend. Candidates must pass skills-based aptitude testing, interview, background check, and post-conditional-offer medical and audiology evaluations. Apply today! Download applications and job descriptions at dukescountysheriff.com/careers

FamilySupportCenterService Navigator

($23.07-$27.40perhour) Doyoulovehelpingfamiliesthrive? We’reseekingacompassionateand resourcefulServiceNavigatorto supportfamiliesinidentifying resources,solvingproblems,and buildingstrongcommunity connections.Joinateamthat valuesfamilystrengths,diversity, andself-directionacrossthe lifespan.Experiencepreferredbut paidonthejobtrainingmaybe provided.Sign-OnBonusavailable toemployeesingoodstanding! Applyat:mvcommunityservices.org/ employment

SEEKINGELECTRICIANFORFULL TIMEYEARROUNDEMPLOYMENT. Self-starterswithexperienceinboth residentialandcommercial installationsdesired. Pleasecall508-693-7786orforward resumeto office@warrenelectricmv.comfor moreinformation.

for more information.

VineyardGardensLandscapingand GardenCenterinWestTisburyis seekinganexperienced,in-person Bookkeepertomanageday-to-day nancialoperations. TheRole:Accountspayable/ receivable,payrollprocessingforup to50seasonalemployees,POS retailreconciliations,jobcosting, andCPAtaxprep.

Requirements:3+years bookkeepingexperience,advanced Excel,andabsolutepro ciencyin QuickBooksOnline(QBO). ExperiencewithADPand CounterpointPOSisamajorplus. Highattentiontodetailand discretionrequired. Bene ts:Competitive compensation,comprehensive healthinsurance,PTO,and retirementoptions.Islandhousing maybeavailablefortherightlongtermcandidate.

ToApply:Emailyourresumeand coverletterto mv@vineyardgardens.net.Please include"bookkeeperposition+your favoriteplant"inthesubjectline. Foramoredetailedexplanationof thepositionpleasevisit www.vineyardgardens.net

JoinOurTeam–Insurance AccountManagerSterling InsuranceGroupisgrowing! We'rehiringmotivatedindividuals forourMartha'sVineyard&Boston offices.Noinsuranceexperience required—we'lltraintheright person.Competitivepaystartingat $62,400witharaiseuponlicensure. Full-time.Applyat insurewithsterling.com.

MARTHA’S VINEYARD

REGIONAL HIGH SCHOOL PAD Accompanist MVRHS PAD seeks a piano accompanist for the 2026-2027 school year. This person would play for the four department concerts (October, December, March, May), Graduation (June), and possibly more events. Rehearsals are held during the school day, depending on class schedules, ahead of each concert. Classes to be played for may include choruses, orchestra, band, and/or theater classes. $50/ hr, $2,500 for the year. mail interest and ualifications to achandler@ mvyps.org. Minnesingers Costumer The MVRHS Minnesingers seeks a costumer for the 2026-2027 school year. deal candidate is organi ed, has sewing ability, and interest in working with teenagers in a sometimes intense performance setting. Availability leading up to concerts (December and May) for fittings, organi ing, and help during the shows. Work with the director and student costumer on concepts for each show and ordering of pieces. This is an Appendix A position. mail interest and ualifications to achandler@ mvyps.org.

OAK BLUFFS SCHOOL

Seeking a one year only part-time (.2) less than school year

Administrative Support Personnel

To view a brief description and submit an application visit www. mvyps.org under mployment new obs corresponding Schoolspring Job d 5855947

Deadline August 10, 2026 starting September 8, 2026

No person shall be excluded or discriminated against on the basis of race, color, sex, age, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability.

O .

salary health insurance discounted dental plan and a full retirement package based on years of service. Dukes County is an ual Opportunity mployer. Full ob descriptions and ob application available at https //www.dukescounty.gov/ employment-opportunities

SEEKINGAFULL-TIME, YEAR-ROUNDLISTINGMANAGER &OWNERLIAISONTOSERVEAS PRIMARYCONTACTFOROUR HOMEOWNERS.

Responsibilitiesincludeowner relations,listingonboarding, propertyvisits,rateconsulting, marketing/photography coordination,andinventory performancetracking.Ideal candidateisteam-focused, organized,detail-oriented,and skilledatbuildingstrong relationships.Pleasesubmit interestto info@sandpiperrental.com.

SEEKING CAREGIVER

Seeking a compassionate and dependable caregiver for approximately 5 6 hours per day. Responsibilities include assisting with dressing, bathing, and light housekeeping. References are re uired. Competitive compensation offered. Please call Jackie at (617) 697-8617

StaffGeneralistatDaybreak Clubhouse ($23.00-$27.60perhour) Lovesupportingothersasthey grow,learnandconnect?We’re lookingforadynamicteammember toprovidevocational,educational, andsocialsupporttomembersin ourDaybreakClubhouse.Wevalue livedexperienceandstrongly encourageindividualswithpersonal experienceofmentalhealthillness toapply.Applyat: mvcommunityservices.org/ employment

TEMPORARY RECEPTIONIST/ ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT

Greet clients, answer phones, and provide basic office assistance to the staff at the Dukes County Health Care Access office. Bilingual preferred ( nglish/Portuguese). Health Care Access Specialist- bilingual preferred. The Health Care Access Specialist provides public health insurance application and enrollment services for state and federal systems including MassHealth and Medicare. xcellent interpersonal and communication skills re uired. Proficiency with office e uipment, MSO 365 and re uisite software programs, ability to input/manage data, and maintain confidentiality re uired. Must be able to work independently and be a positive team member in our busy multicultural Health Care Access office. 40-hour/week position, Portugueseand or Spanish-speaking helpful. Benefits include a competitive

Send letter of interest to manager@ dukescounty.gov

THE MARTHA’S VINEYARD COMMISSION SEEKS A FULL-TIME MVP 2.0 COORDINATOR FOR A 10-MONTH PROJECT TO BUILD THE COMMUNITY PREPAREDNESS NETWORK.

Apply with a cover letter, resume, and three professional references to isomichi@mvcommission.org.

Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. earn more https // thevineyardway.org/island-mvp-2-0coordinator/.

JETSKI INSTRUCTORS / BOATCREW NEEDED FOR SUMMER 2026 AT MV OCEANSPORTS

Great pay/ great tips Will be sub ected to random Coast Guard testing. xperienced boater preferred. Start immediately and work through abor Day. Please text or call 508-627-2838.

KITCHEN MANAGER UP-ISLAND COUNCIL ON AGING

General Duties Manages the foodservice and nutrition program for the p- sland Council on Aging. Provides for the planning, preparation, serving, and cleanup of meal programs to clients of the COA both on site and COA sponsored events in the community. Minimum Qualifications High school education or e uivalent one to two years food handling experience or any e uivalent combination of education and experience.

FUR NISHED OFFICE

VH 600 SQ FT.Suitable for office use only. ncludes conference room, 2 offices reception area. tilities not included. ncludes 2 parking spaces. 508-221-0858.

Onebedroom575sqftgarage apartmentavailable9/1/26.No smokingandnopets.Parking, washer&dryer.Referencesneeded. Yearroundonly.I'dconsiderastaff housingoption.$2700/month utilitiesinc.Owncableandinternet ifcoaxisneeded.Twoweeksin Augustof'27itwillneedtobe vacant.508-944-5188.

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SEEKING GENTLY USED TRUCK deally, a smaller, 1/2 ton, non-4x4, no cab necessary. Thank you for calling sland Alpaca Company 508-423-1443

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ISLAND ALPACA ENTHUSIASTS WANTED! Seeking outgoing individual. Parttime position for this upcoming season Ticket sales farm store. Tell us about yourself To re uest an application, email us info@islandalpaca.com or stop by pick one up SEEKING RECEPTIONIST FOR BUSY MEDICAL PRACTICE Summer or year round, part time work Monday- Thursday. Must be prompt, detail oriented, patient and kind with elderly persons, and have computer skills. Summer students welcome. Contact Michelle @ 508-560-1174.

Special Re uirements ServeSafe Certification, CPR/First Aide/A D certification preferred or ability to obtain upon hiring. Valid driver s license re uired. Hourly rate $26.05 - $28.72per hour. 10 hours per week. The Town anticipates hiring at Step 1 ($26.05). The Town may offer a higher starting step, up to Step 3 ($28.72) depending on ualifications and experience. Full ob description and re uired application can be found on the Town of West Tisbury s website atwww.westtisbury-ma.gov. Resume application must be received by August 12 th 2026 at 4p.m. by mailing to p- sland Council on Aging, P.O. Box 3000,PMB 3174, West Tisbury, MA 02575, or hand delivered to the Council on Aging located at 1042A State Rd., West Tisbury, or e-mailing to coa-director@westtisbury-ma.gov. Must complete a Criminal Offender Record nformation check. This is a benefited position. The Town of West Tisbury is an ual Opportunity mployer.

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WelcometoLagoonRidge,Oak Bluffs’newestandmostsoughtafterneighborhood.Buildyour3bedroomdreamhomeinthis elevatedenclave,set95feetabove LagoonPondandcapturing sweepingskyviews,colorful sunsets,andrefreshingsea breezes.Thisexceptionalhomesite representsoneofthe nal opportunitiesinthisthrivingnew community.Tobebuilt—The Naushon—features3bedrooms, 3.5bathrooms,andover2,400 squarefeetofthoughtfullydesigned livingspace.Agrandwrap-around coveredporchprovidesawelcoming entryandtheperfectplacetoenjoy morningcoffeeorcoolevening breezes.Inside,theopen-concept oorplanconnectsthechef’s kitchenwithspaciouslivingand diningareas,idealforentertaining familyandfriends.Eachbedroom suiteincludesatileden-suitebath withcustomizable xturesand nishes,andthesecond- oorsuites mayofferprivatebalconiesfor addedrelaxation.ClassicOakBluffs cottagearchitecturemeetsmodern comfortandenergyefficiency, makingTheNaushonanidealyearroundorseasonalretreat.Lagoon Ridgeoffersdirectaccessto conservationlandswithwalkingand bikingtrails,andnearbyLagoon Pondinviteskayaking,sailing,and shell shing.Allutilities—electric, townwater,andaprivate,state-ofthe-artAmphidromewastewater system—arelocatedatthestreet. Thisinnovativesystemservesthe entireneighborhood,providing convenienceandpeaceofmind. LagoonRidgeisacovenantprotectedcommunitywith architecturalreviewand professionalmanagementbyFirst PropertyManagementCo.This beautifulhomesiteisreadyforthe constructionofyourVineyarddream home.Elevenlotshavesold—only tworemainavailable.Callfor details!

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WelcometoUnitB-12atthe

CausewayCondominiums,aturnkey studioofferingcomfortable,lowmaintenanceislandlivingjusta shortwalktothecharmingvillageof VineyardHaven.Thoughtfully designedtomaximizespaceand functionality,thisinvitingresidence featureswarmbamboo ooring throughout,acustomMurphybed, andabeautifullycraftedcustom mahoganyclosetandstorage system,providingexceptional organizationwhilemakingthemost ofeverysquarefoot.Thebright, openlayoutis lledwithnatural lightandoffersanidealblendof comfort,style,andefficiency. Residentsenjoyabeautifully maintainedin-groundswimming poolwithanexpansivesundeck andloungeseatingtheperfect placetorelaxafteradayatthe beachorexploringMartha’s Vineyard.Theaffordablemonthly HOAfeeofjust$221includeswater, on-sitedumpsterservice,grounds maintenance,snowremoval,pool maintenance,andmasterinsurance, providingexceptionalvalueand worry-freeownership.Ideally locatedwithinwalkingdistanceof theSteamshipAuthorityferry, VineyardHavenHarbor,Main Street’sshopsandrestaurants, beaches,andthebikepath,this move-in-readystudiooffersan exceptionalopportunityasayearroundresidence,islandgetaway,or investmentproperty.Enjoyallthe convenienceandcharmofVineyard Havenwitheasyaccessto everythingthatmakesMartha’s Vineyardsuchaspecialplacetocall home.Withonsiteparkingavailable immediatelyandstrongrental incomepotential,thisproperty presentsacompellingopportunity forinvestorsseekingbothlifestyle andreturnanaffordablegemina highlydesirablelocation.

Aquinnah

July 20, Hope Morgan, also known as Hope E. Morgan, sold property off 0 State Road to the Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank Commission for $9,174. July 21, David Tiersten sold 382 Lighthouse Road to Tlyamy Family LLC for $2,650,000.

Chilmark

July 22, W. Temple Jorden and Eleanor Haller-Jorden sold 1 Wooton Bassett Road to Marion Telva Jorden for $1,800,000.

Edgartown

July 21, Marjorie Dure, Pierre-Alexandre Lubin, and Andromar Lubin sold 0 Harborside Inn Condo Unit 407 Week 21 to Antoinette Truppo, Joseph A. Truppo, and Anne-Marie Brennan for $5,300.

July 23, Andreas Schmidt and Allison D. Schmidt sold 17 Oakdale Drive to Sandpiper Holdings LLC for $2,210,000.

July 23, Kevin R. Hughes, trustee of Harborside Inn Condominium Trust, sold 0 Harborside Inn Condo Unit 209 Week 18 to Janet Kent

Otovic for $1,245.

July 23, Lisa P. Rollins and Joyce H. Pantalone sold 0 Harborside Inn Condo Unit 204 Week 43 to Michele Chiles-Hickman and Stanford Hickman for $2,500.

July 23, Adrienne G. Silbermann, Seth G. Gelsthorpe, and Benjamin J. Williams Jr., trustees of Allen D. Slater Jr. Trust, sold 109 Litchfield Road to Christopher Thomas Derose and Lara Goodwin Derose for $1,600,000. July 24, Phillip G. Young Jr., Uncle Nearest Inc., and UN House MV LLC sold 471 West Tisbury Road to Ivery Hill Property LLC for $2,595,000.

Oak Bluffs

July 20, Airton J. Athayde and Catia F. Athayde sold 66 Barnes Road to OBMV LLC for $1,150,000. July 21, Bucky’s Summer Estates Inc. sold 27 Island Inn Road Unit 7 to Agnes P. Green and Alicia R. Isaac for $235,000.

West Tisbury

July 20, Keith McGuire, trustee of Mary M.U. McGuire Living Trust, sold 651 State Road to James Feiner for $1,375,000.

CLASSICOAKBLUFFSVICTORIAN

OAKBLUFFSWATERVIEWLOT FORSALE

$2,575,000MARILYNMOSES 617-462-0381

OCEANPARKREALTY,INC

Builtin1875byrenownedarchitect SamuelPratt,thisclassic4bedroomVictorianisjustoneblock fromthebeachandmomentstothe harbor,ferries,shops,and restaurants.Enjoywaterviewsfrom themahoganywrap-aroundporch andprivatebalcony.Historiccharm iscomplementedbythoughtful updates,includingmini-splitheating andcooling,Harveyreplacement windows,arebuiltmahoganyporch, newerroof,updatedelectrical, outdoorshower,andtownwaterand sewer. Establishedrentalhistorywith2026 bookingsinplace.Partially insulated3-seasonhome.

IMPROVEDPRICE:$1,795,000** CONTACTMARILYNMOSESAT 617-462-0381FORMORE DETAILS!

OCEANPARKREALTY

Discoverthebeautyof**THE PRESERVEatTHEWOODLANDS** inthehighlycovetedOakBluffs community!Thisisyourchanceto ownoneofthelastremaining buildinglotsinthisprimelocation, justmomentsawayfromtown, beaches,harbor,ferryports,andthe FarmNeckGolf&TennisClub. Undergroundutilitiesarealreadyin place,makingthisrareoffering perfectfordevelopingyourdream familycompound.Enjoyapeaceful andprivatesetting,surroundedby conservationlandandtrailsidealfor hiking,walking,andbiking. Don’tmissoutonthisincredible opportunitytoembracetheOak Bluffslifestyle!

$1,200,000

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Welcometo#0TemahiganAve& DoverStreet,OakBluffs.BuildYour Martha’sVineyardDreamHome. Rareopportunitytoownalevel, clearedcornerlotindesirableOak Bluffs,withpavedroadsbordering twosides,readyforconstructionof yourMartha’sVineyarddream home.Approvedforupto6 bedrooms,thisexceptionalproperty includesanapproved6-bedroom septicdesign,withroomfora possiblefuturepool.Locatedinthe sought-afterEastvillearea,where manyhomesenjoybeautifulwater views,thislotoffersthepotentialto capturestunningviewsofVineyard Soundandbeyondfroma thoughtfullydesignedhome.Create a customresidencethatembraces allthebeautyandlifestyleMartha’s Vineyardhastooffer.Enjoyashort walktoEastvilleBeach,whereyou cantakeinspectacularsunsets, watchtheferriescomeandgo,and experiencethecharmofisland living.Justashortdriveaway,you’ll haveaccesstoeverythingthat makesOakBluffssospecial— additionalbeaches,shell shing, swimming,boating,andthevibrant energyofCircuitAvenue,featuring boutiqueshopping,diverse restaurants,andconvenientferry servicetoandfromtheislandvia theiconicOakBluffsHarborand nearbyports.Thisismorethanjust land—it’sanopportunitytocreate somethingtrulyspecial.Don’tjust dreamit—makeitreality.Owninga pieceofMartha’sVineyardisan investmentinalifestyleyou’llnever regret.Pleaseincludeapreapproval orproofoffundswithoffer.Selleris offeringabuyersbroker

PRICEIMPROVEMENT

$1,350,000

CALLORTEXTALANSCHWEIKERT 508-221-1708ORMICHAEL SCHWEIKERT774-563-9112

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ThisexquisiteVictorianhome, lovinglypreservedbythesame familyforoverageneration,stands inoutstandingconditionandis perfectlysituatedinthevibrant heartofOakBluffsCenter.Enjoythe convenienceofbeingjuststeps awayfromthePublicBeach, SteamshipAuthority,OakBluffs Harbor,asupermarket,andavariety ofcharmingrestaurantsandshops thatcontributetoOakBluffs'allure asapremiersummerdestinationon Martha'sVineyard.Thisdelightful three-seasoncottagehasbeen carefullymodernizedovertheyears, offeringarareinvestment opportunity.Locatedwithinthe highlysought-afterB1Zone,this residencehasbeencherishedasa familyhomewhilealsoprovidingthe potentialforcommercialendeavors. Thepropertyfeaturesawelldesigned oorplanthatincludes fourbedrooms-oneconveniently locatedonthe rst oor-alongwith a fullbathroom,twohalfbathrooms, a laundrystoragearea,aneat-in kitchen,andacozylivingroom.The homeisadornedwithstunning wood ooringthroughout,brightand a iryroomswithoriginalwindows,a newhotwaterondemandsystem, andacharmingfrontporch,perfect forleisurelyafternoons.Withits fourbedroomsandprimein-town location,thispropertyoffers substantialrentalpotential,making itanexceptionalopportunityfor bothpersonalenjoymentand investment.

PRIVACYMEETSCONVENIENCEIN

OAKBLUFFS

JAYNEISFORD|203-962-4317

$1,795,000

Nestledattheendofaquietstreet, thisroomyandspaciousCape-style homeoffersprivacyand conveniencejustashortdistanceto theOakBluffsSchool,towncenter, andwithinwalkingdistancetothe Lagoon. Sun- lledmainlevelwithopen oor plan,largewindows,andagenerous kitchenwithamplecounterspace, openingtothediningarea.Sliders leadtoabackdeck,yard,and bluestonepatio..perfectfor entertainingorrelaxing. Radiantheated oorsintheprimary suiteandlower-levelplayroom.Twocargaragewithbonusspaceabove. Beautifulstoneworkdriveway. Updatedfurnace(2020)andwater heater(2024).

SOLD$1,150,000

MARILYNMOSES617-462-0381

OCEANPARKREALTY, OAKBLUFFSCLASSICCAPE

Charmmeetsmodernefficiencyin thismove-in-ready3-bedroom home.Thoughtfullymaintainedand beautifullypresented,thehome featuressun- lledlivingspaces,an updatedkitchen,andcomfortable bedroomsdesignedforeasy everydayliving.Enjoyyear-round comfortwithenergy-efficientminisplitsystemsprovidingbothheating andairconditioning,offeringcosteffectiveclimatecontrolinevery season.The nishedbasement addsvaluablebonusspaceidealfor amediaroom,homeofficeor workoutroomgivingyouthe exibilityto tyourlifestyle. Outside,aprivateyardoffersthe perfectsettingforrelaxingor entertaining.Awonderful opportunityforayear-round residence,vacationgetaway,or investment...thisclassicCape blendstimelessstylewithmodern upgrades.

NEWLISTING INEASTCHOPOAKBLUFFS MARILYNMOSES 617-462-0381

$1,199,000.52ACRES

66MunroeAvenueand17Madison AvenueOakBluffsEastChop~Build yourcustomislandretreatin covetedEastChoponthisoveronehalfacreparcel.Offeringthe potentialfora6+bedroom residence,thisexceptionalhomesite includesatopographicmapand featuresexpansivegroundsthat mayaccommodateapool,subject tolocalapprovals.Ideallylocated justminutesfromtheEastChop BeachClub,OakBluffsHarbor, beaches,ferries,restaurants,shops, andvibrantdowntownOakBluffs. Buyersshouldperformtheirown duediligencewiththeappropriate townagenciestoverifyall informationregardingbuilding requirements,approvalsand intendeduse.Alloffersshould includeproofoffunds.

HOUSES-VINEYARD HAVEN

SOLD$2,400,000MarilynMoses 617-462-0381,Michael Schweikert774-563-9112,Alan Schweikert508—221-1708 15MainStreetVineyardHaven $2,900,000 PrimeCommercialBuilding–Main Street,VineyardHavenExceptional opportunityintheheartof downtownVineyardHaven.This well-maintainedmixed-useproperty offersover3,100sqftofversatile space,featuringtwoground- oor retailstorefrontswithexcellent streetvisibilityandtwoupdated1bedroomapartmentsabove—ideal forstaffhousingorrentalincome.A fullbasementprovides exible storageorutilityspace,anddeeded rearaccessallowsfordeliveriesand logisticalease.Recentupdates includeplumbingimprovementsand a fullyrenovatedapartment. Whetheryou'reaninvestorseeking steadyincome,abusinessowner lookingfora agshiplocation,ora developerexploringmixed-use potential,thispropertydelivers exceptionalvalueinoneofMartha’s Vineyard’smostdesirable commercialcorridors.

HOUSES-WEST TISBURY COZY NORTH

RENTAL SEPT 10-JUNE 20TH. Dates are exible. 3BR, two baths, ADVAC air & AC. $3,000.00 a month plus electric and propane heat. WIFI included. Call 203-988-3728

A crossing of the Muskeget Channel

Ten swimmers completed a second successful journey from Nantucket to Martha’s Vineyard. BY HAYLEY DUFFY

For the second year in a row, a group of yearround and seasonal Islanders swam from Nantucket to Martha’s Vineyard as both a feat of endurance and a fundraiser for the Island’s youth swim programs.

It took between seven and a half and eight hours for two relay groups, each with five swimmers, to make the trek from Eel Point on the west side of Nantucket, past Tuckernuck Island and Muskeget Island, through the Muskeget Channel, and over to East Beach on Chappaquiddick.

It was around 5:30 am Friday when swimmers, blearyeyed but full of adrenaline, and their entourage walked down the long, newly reconstructed Owen Park Pier to pile onto three boats and head over to Nantucket as the sun rose over the horizon.

Once the three boats reached the waters of Nantucket, a horn sounded at 7:38 am to indicate the start for a swimmer from each relay — seasonal Island resident Doug McConnell and full-time resident John O’Connell — who stood on

the beach and entered the 67° water. Geoff Gibson, who wasn’t able to join the swim but provided waypoints, or specific coordinates, said that based on the tides, the ideal start time was 7:30 am.

The swim, which would end between 3:22 pm and 3:41 pm for each of the relays, was done by English Channel rules: standard swimsuits, swim cap and goggles permitted, 30-minute rotations, and no physical contact between the swimmer and escort vessel or another person. Turnovers were completed every 30 minutes, and swimmers were tagged out by the next person, who was directed to start behind them.

A relay from Nantucket to Martha’s Vineyard was successfully completed last year for the first time ever, and once again, participants included some who had never competed in the open ocean.

July 30, 2026

The teams were split between two boats: McConnell, Jon Chatinover, Luke Lefeber, Brook Katzen, and Emmett Silva on paramedic and U.S. Coast Guard Capt. Eamonn Solway’s Island Queen and

Real Estate

OPENHOUSE WEDNESDAYJULY29THAND SUNDAYAUGUST1 10:00AM-12:00PM 145VineyardMeadowFarmsRoad WestTisbury$1,399,000CallorText MarilynMoses617-462-0381 Coastalcontemporaryresidenceis locatedonaprivate1.60-acrelotin WestTisbury,withconvenient accesstoLongPointWildlife Refugeandaccessto"Coveted" Lambert'sCoveBeach.Thehome featuresfourbedroomsandtwofull bathrooms.Onthe rst oor,you'll ndtwobrightbedrooms,a modernizedbathroom,andsliders fromthelivingareathatleadtoa newAZEKdeckandenclosed fencedgardens,perfectforoutdoor enjoyment.Theopen oorplan includesattractivebeadboard ceilingsthatcreateasenseof spaceandlight.Recentupgrades featurearemodeledkitchenwitha tiledbacksplash,granite countertops,andanLGinduction stovealongwithmatching stainless-steelappliances.The rstoorbathroomhasbeenfully renovatedwithatiledshowerand glassdoor,tiled oor,newtoilet, vanity/mirror,rainfallshowerhead, andallnewhardware.Additional updatesincludeanewerroof,Azek windowtrim,anoutdoorshower enclosure,andgutterswithleaf guards.Thebasementhasa9-foot ceilingwithfourwindows,providing potentialforfurther nishingwith townapproval.Otherimprovements includeupdatedplumbingand electricalsystems,anewwell pressuretank,newCulliganWater FiltrationandConditioningsystem, andaGeneracwhole-house generatorinstalledin2022.

O’Connell, Bill Ritter, Jen Passafiume, and Andy and Gabby Carr on Lou Quatrucci’s Cottage City Charters boat. Kyle Gatchell of Cheap Therapy Charters was also there as a support boat. Dana Gaines and Tucker Cosgrove, on kayaks, paddled next to the kayakers for the long swim and directed them toward Martha’s Vineyard.

Ritter, who is currently a pilot for Cape Air, but previously flew for the military and UPS, said that he joined the venture because he was on the “crazy list” of swimmers. Passafiume, a high school swim coach who runs aquatics programs at the YMCA, was a part of the swim last year, and was joined for this round by three swimmers she’s coached; she even taught Cosgrove.

By 9:45 am, swimmers were already 2.79 nautical miles (about 3 miles on land) away from Eel Point, and at 10:07 am, the boats started to slowly turn left as the surface water temperature went up to 73°. By 10:54 am, they were about 5.5 nautical miles (about 6 miles on land) away from the start, and as they came up

WESTTISBURY

NEWLISTING$1,399,000

CallorTextMarilynMoses 617-462-0381

Coastalcontemporaryresidenceis locatedonaprivate1.60-acrelotin WestTisbury,withconvenient accesstoLongPointWildlife Refugeandaccessto"Coveted" Lambert'sCoveBeach.Thehome featuresfourbedroomsandtwofull bathrooms.Onthe rst oor,you'll ndtwobrightbedrooms,a modernizedbathroom,andsliders fromthelivingareathatleadtoa newAZEKdeckandenclosed fencedgardens,perfectforoutdoor enjoyment.Theopen oorplan includesattractivebeadboard ceilingsthatcreateasenseof spaceandlight.Recentupgrades featurearemodeledkitchenwitha tiledbacksplash,granite countertops,andanLGinduction stovealongwithmatching stainless-steelappliances.The rstoorbathroomhasbeenfully renovatedwithatiledshowerand glassdoor,tiled oor,newtoilet, vanity/mirror,rainfallshowerhead, andallnewhardware.Additional updatesincludeanewerroof,Azek windowtrim,anoutdoorshower enclosure,andgutterswithleaf guards.Thebasementhasa9-foot ceilingwithfourwindows,providing potentialforfurther nishingwith townapproval.Otherimprovements includeupdatedplumbingand electricalsystems,anewwell pressuretank,newCulliganWater FiltrationandConditioningsystem, andaGeneracwhole-house generatorinstalledin2022.

on the Nantucket Shoal, where water depth goes from as high as 32 feet to as low as 4.9 feet, the swimmers were slightly ahead of Gibson’s recommendation that they cross that threshold by five hours in.

The difficulty around this swim, which McConnell has experienced numerous times, is that the current runs north to south, while the swimmers want to travel east to west, and it varies throughout the tidal cycle.

As the co-founder of A Long Swim, a nonprofit that designs and manages openwater swimming events to raise funds to research amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, McConnell is the organizer of the now-annual swim. McConnell lost his father, Dr. David McConnell, and sister, Ellen, to ALS.

The reverse way is a lot easier, McConnell said, and because no one’s ever successfully made this swim

before, “there’s a lot of unscientific judgment and guess calls along the way.” Live calls were made based on how fast a swimmer moved and various weather patterns.

The weather this year was just as good as last year, McConnell said, and the primary change was the 30-minute increments instead of onehour ones. He said this was a good call because each person was able to swim five separate times; he and O’Connell were even able to swim in a sixth leg to complete the last stretch.

Though some swimmers started to fade — between the hot sun and demands of continuous exercise — as the day went on, the current was mostly always on their side.

In the middle of the trek, O’Connell decided to quote and draw inspiration from William Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar,” which said, “There is a tide in the affairs of men, which, taken at the

Legal Notices

scheduled meeting to consider live music.

The West Tisbury Planning Board will hold a virtual public hearing on Monday, August 10, 2026, at 5:15 pm, on a Form C application from Vineyard Land Surveying on behalf of Mckacou Realty Trust, under the Rules and Regulations Governing the Division of Land, to create four (4) building lots that include one Homesite Lot under Section 4.4-7 of the zoning bylaws, with direct access to Island Farms Road on Assessor’s Map 16, 125, 0 Old Holmes Hole Road, RU District.

Interested parties are invited to send comments and/or attend the meeting via ZOOM:

For more information and/or to review the application please contact or visit the Planning Board office on the second oor of the Town Hall. Please address any comments to:

Leah Smith

Planning Board

P.O. Box 278 West Tisbury, MA 02575

Time: Aug 10, 2026 05:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting https://us06web.zoom.us/ j/88128519218?pwd=MajqFw3Emj8XsaNOPk2ZKbHazSl0R5.1

Meeting ID: 881 2851 9218

Passcode: 370057

1 646 558 8656 US 1 646 931 3860 US

TOWN OF TISBURY

OFFICE OF PLANNING BOARD PO BOX 602

VINEYARD HAVEN, MASSACHUSETTS WWW.TISBURYMA.GOV

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING

Locus: 52 Beach Rd., Tisbury, MaAssessor’s Parcel 09-C-08

Property Owner: Acme Vineyard Haven MA LLC

Applicant: Milan Basnet Join Zoom Meeting https://us06web.zoom. us/j/84473018696

Meeting ID: 844 7301 8696

Passcode: 475649

One tap mobile +16468769923,84473018696# US (New York) +16469313860,84473018696# US

A copy of the application and plans are available to review. Please send an email to tisburyplanningboard@tisburyma. gov with your request. Interested parties are invited to send comments and/or attend the virtual meeting.

TOWN OF WEST TISBURY INVITATION FOR BIDS

The Town of West Tisbury is soliciting bids for the installation of an enhanced septic system at the Public Safety Building located at 454 State Rd.

To receive a detailed description of specifications, go to the town website https://www.westtisbury-ma. gov/bids

Contact: Jennifer Rand, Chief Procurement Officer

Town of West Tisbury PO Box 278, 1059 State Road West Tisbury, MA 02575

Telephone: 508-696-0102

FAX: 508-696-0103

townadmin@westtisbury-ma.gov

LEGAL NOTICES OAK BLUFFS

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING

RE: Balbino Appeal

Room, 56 School Street, on the application of the referenced petitioner seeking:

A Special Permit within Oak Bluffs Zoning By-Law section 3.5.5, or any action related thereto, to expand an existing structure on a pre-existing/non-conforming lot in the R3 District.

Relevant documents and/or proposed plans will be available on the Town of Oak Bluffs’ web site: https://www.oakbluffsma.gov/443/ ZBA-Regular-Meetings

Written correspondence can be addressed to the Board of Appeals via email: zbaadmin@oakluffsma.gov or mailed to: PO Box 1327, Oak Bluffs, MA 02557

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING RE: Johnson Appeal

Eugene Johnson 37 Menahan St Map 7 Lot 153

The Oak Bluffs Zoning Board of Appeals will hold an In-Person Public Hearing on Wednesday, August 19, 2026 at 6:00PM in the Oak Bluffs Town Hall Downstairs Meeting Room, 56 School Street, on the application of the referenced petitioner seeking:

A Special Permit within Oak Bluffs Zoning By-Laws 3.5.5 and 4.2.7, or any action related thereto, for: construction of a 17x20 carport with footings placed no further than the existing extents in the R1 District.

Relevant documents and/or proposed plans will be available on the Town of Oak Bluffs’ web site: https://www.oakbluffsma.gov/443/ ZBA-Regular-Meetings

Written correspondence can be addressed to the Board of Appeals via email: zbaadmin@oakbluffsma.gov or mailed to: PO Box 1327, Oak Bluffs, MA 02557

flood, leads to fortune; omitted, all the voyage of their life is bound in shallows and miseries. On such a full sea are we now afloat; and we must take the current it serves, or lose our ventures.”

Both teams eventually reached the beach and surprised beachgoers, who asked, “What were they doing?” (“We just swam from Nantucket.”) Then the swimmers reboarded boats to motor around Cape Poge for a ceremonial swim in Edgartown Harbor toward the lighthouse. A celebration was then held at Nomans in Oak Bluffs.

A Long Swim plans to make a donation of $10,000 to Passafiume’s learn-to-swim scholarship program at the Island’s YMCA. McConnell said he plans to organize the swim again next year, and hopes to recruit swimmers from Nantucket’s endurance group as well.

2026 at 6:00PM in the Oak Bluffs Town Hall Downstairs Meeting Room, 56 School Street, on the application of the referenced petitioner seeking: A Special Permit within Oak Bluffs Zoning By-Law 4.4.5.2(2), or any action related thereto, for: setback relief for a swimming pool in the R3 District.

Relevant documents and/or proposed plans will be available on the Town of Oak Bluffs’ web site: https://www.oakbluffsma.gov/443/ ZBA-Regular-Meetings

Written correspondence can be addressed to the Board of Appeals via email: zbaadmin@oakbluffsma.gov or mailed to: PO Box 1327, Oak Bluffs, MA 02557 NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING RE: Riordan Appeal John Riordan and Caitlin Riordan 84 Washington Ave. Map 22 Parcel 103 The Oak Bluffs Zoning Board of Appeals will hold an In-Person Public Hearing on Wednesday, August 19, 2026 at 6:00PM in the Oak Bluffs Town Hall Downstairs Meeting Room, 56 School Street, on the application of the referenced petitioner seeking: A variance within Oak Bluffs Zoning By-Law 10.2.2 for a project consisting of permitting an existing basement access into a pre-existing,

Pursuant to MGL Ch. 40A, s. 9; and section 06.06.03, 06.06.08 of the Tisbury Zoning Bylaw, the Tisbury Planning Board will hold a hybrid (zoom link below) public hearing on August 19th, 2026, at 5pm at the Town Hall Annex at 66 Highpoint Lane and via zoom at a regularly

Silomar Balbino 6 Sachem Way

Map 50 Parcel 72

The Oak Bluffs Zoning Board of Appeals will hold an In-Person Public Hearing on Wednesday, August 19, 2026 at 6:00PM in the Oak Bluffs Town Hall Downstairs Meeting

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING RE: Neptune Appeal

Maxwell & Brenda Neptune 26 Double Ox Rd. Map 27 Lot 21

The Oak Bluffs Zoning Board of Appeals will hold an In-Person Public Hearing on Wednesday, August 19,

HOUSES-WEST TISBURY HOUSES-WEST TISBURY

NICHOLAS VUKOTA

Swimmers elated after finishing the swim from Nantucket to Martha’s Vineyard.

David M. Alton

David M. Alton, 78, died on Thursday, July 23, 2026, at his home in Edgartown. He was the husband of Coreen Alton. A celebration of life will be held at a later date, and a complete obituary will follow in another edition of this paper. Visit chapmanfuneral.com for online guestbook and information.

Otis P. Jeffers III

Otis P. Jeffers III (“Peter”) passed away on June 18, 2026, at the age of 66, surrounded by his family, after a courageous battle with mesothelioma.

Born in Oak Bluffs to the late Otis P. Jeffers II and Barbara Jeffers, Peter lived life with energy, humor, and a deep appreciation for a good time. He had a gift for making people laugh, bringing people together, and turning ordinary moments into unforgettable memories. Whether he was on the golf course, at a Bruins game, out on the water, or dancing in the kitchen, Pe-

ter’s presence was impossible to miss and difficult to forget.

An electrician for more than 50 years, Peter took tremendous pride in his work, and helped bring countless homes to life across Martha’s Vineyard. Beginning at just 12 years old, he developed the skill, determination, and work ethic that would define him for decades. He believed in doing things the right way, earning the respect of colleagues, customers, and friends alike.

Peter loved coaching youth sports, listening to music, dancing, boating, Bruins hockey, and spending time with family and friends. His beloved Friday golf group affectionately called him “the Commish,” a title he wore proudly.

Most of all, Peter loved being surrounded by the people he cared about, and in the end, he was. He leaves behind countless stories, inside jokes, and memories that will continue to bring laughter and comfort to those fortunate enough to have known him. The world is a little quieter without him, but the stories will never stop being told.

Peter is survived by his beloved wife, Rita Jeffers, whose unwavering love, strength, and care carried him through the most difficult chapter of his life. He is also survived by his daughter, Meaghan Jeffers, whom he shared with his first wife, Karen Dutton; his son and daughter-in-law, Mason and Ally Jeffers; his daughter, Mia Jeffers, and his loyal companion Rosco; along with his brother and sister, David and Jackie Amaral; and many nieces, nephews, cousins, extended family members, and dear friends.

A graveside service was held on June 27 at the Oak Grove Cemetery in Oak Bluffs.

For those wishing to honor Peter’s memory, the family is establishing a scholarship for students entering the skilled

obituaries

trades — a fitting tribute to a man who dedicated his life to his craft, believed in the dignity of hard work, and took pride in helping others build their futures. Donations may be made to: Martha’s Vineyard Community Foundation, Attn: Peter Jeffers, P.O. Box 243, West Tisbury, MA 02575.

Services Thursday for Nicholas Tuminaro

It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of Nick Tuminaro (“Nick”) on July 22, 2026. Born on April 1, 1970, Nick was the beloved eldest son of Dominick and Virginia Tuminaro, and big brother to his three siblings, Dave, Cynthia, and Jonathan. Nick spent nearly 30 years working alongside his father in the family’s pharmacy, and then went on to own his own business through MedXwaste. In both these ventures, Nick built lasting relationships with customers through his work ethic, kindness, dedication, and genuine care for others.

Married on Sept. 30, 2011, Nick was the devoted husband of Susan (“Cherry”) Tuminaro and the proud father of Michael, affectionately known by Nick and Sue as “Smiley.” Michael was Nick’s greatest joy in life. Nick was a loving father, and enjoyed nothing more than spending time with Smiley. Nick passed on his passions for fishing and basketball to his son. They spent countless hours together on the water and shooting hoops.

Nick and Sue created a life together in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., full of love, laughter, and adventure. They enjoyed spending time on the boat, going into town for dinner, taking family vacations, riding bikes together, and making memories with family and friends.

An avid outdoorsman, Nick loved hunting and fishing. He treasured every moment surrounded by nature. As a passionate sports fan, Nick was a lifelong supporter of the New York Yankees and the Dallas Cowboys. Nick also loved to cook and eat. He enjoyed going out to eat, preparing meals for family and friends, experimenting with recipes, spending hours tending to his smoker, and creating delicious food that brought everyone together around the table.

Perhaps Nick’s greatest gift was his connections with people. His superpower was his ability to create a unique

and cherished relationship with each person in his life. He had an incredible way of making you feel welcome, valued, and truly loved.

Nick is survived by his wife, Sue; their son, Michael; and their dog, Chloe, of Saratoga Springs; his parents, Dominick and Virginia Tuminaro of Chambersburg, Pa.; his brother, David Tuminaro, and his wife, Eve Heyman of Oak Bluffs; his sister, Cynthia Rife, and her husband, Ed, of Chambersburg, Pa.; his brother, Jonathan Tuminaro, and his wife Helina of Potomac, Md.; his mother-inlaw, Blanca Cherry of Garner, N.C.; his sister-in-law, Laura Cherry Haggett, and her husband, Jim, also of Garner; and his 13 nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his father-in-law, Walter, and his brother-in-law, Stephen. He also leaves behind many extended family members, dear friends, and countless people whose lives were enriched by knowing him. Nick fought hard against cancer, but ultimately, he was at peace because of his faith in Jesus.

A wake will be held on Thursday, July 30, from 4 to 8 pm at McHoul Funeral Home, 895 Route 82, Hopewell Junction, N.Y. The funeral service will be held on Friday, July 31, from 12 to 2 pm at Valley Christian Church, 1072 Route 82, Hopewell Junction, N.Y. Following the funeral service on Friday, a reception for everyone will be held at Whortlekill Rod and Gun Club, 536 NY-376, East Fishkill, N.Y.

To read the complete obituary, go to mvtimes.com.

Calhoun Vail Ludlow Howard

On the rain-filled morning of July 7, 2026, as the clock struck noon, Cal Howard of Oak Bluffs peacefully entered larger life, surrounded by his loving family. He was 68. Everything that Cal was lives on in his children as a legacy of love, loyalty, devotion, generosity, and integrity. He was a hero, and will be remembered by all who knew him as a man who could — and did — make everything possible.

He is survived by his wife, Janet Howard; his daughter, Maggie Howard of Vermont; and his son, Calhoun J.B. Howard of Oak Bluffs. He is also survived by his mother, Dorothy Johnson Howard, sis-

ters Craigin Howard Salsgiver and her husband, Jim; and Susan Blair Howard; six beautiful nieces; and many extended family members and dear friends. Cal was predeceased by his father, Calhoun Ludlow Harper Howard.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Cal’s memory to Hospice and Palliative Care of M.V., online at bit.ly/HPCMV_donate, and to Martha’s Vineyard Cancer Support Group, online at mvcancersupport.org.

A celebration of life will be arranged for a later date.

Fay Elizabeth Butler Greene

Fay Greene, 91, of Boston and Edgartown, died on July 18, 2026, in Peabody, surrounded by her husband and children.

Born at the Martha’s Vineyard Cottage Hospital on August 2, 1934, she was the daughter of James Henry Butler Jr. and Gertrude Fay Butler. The Butler family was from Charlestown, where Fay’s grandfather, James Henry Butler, was a figure in Charlestown and Boston politics.

Fay grew up in Norwood, with her brother, James Henry Butler III. She graduated from Norwood High School as valedictorian, and attended the French-speaking École Champlain in Ferrisburgh, Vt. She was a counselor at the St. Pierre School of Sport on West Chop and Lagoon Pond, and a sailing instructor at the Vineyard Sailing Camp. She raced successfully in Vineyard Haven Fifteens and Menemsha one-design keelboats.

Fay matriculated at Wellesley College in 1952, and studied European history and French. Fay met her future husband, Reginald Greene, at a Harvard-Wellesley mixer. They graduated simultaneously in 1956, and were married in 1957 at Our Lady Star of the Sea Church in Oak Bluffs.

The couple lived with their growing family in New York, New Jersey, and California while Reginald served as a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy Medical Corps. In 1966, they returned to Massachusetts for his residency at Massachusetts General Hospital, where he would serve for 55 years.

In 1968, a research fellowship took the family to Holland Park in London. They made the Atlantic crossing aboard S.S. United States, and

would cross two more times by ocean liner, aboard S.S. France and Queen Elizabeth 2. Fay immersed the family in British life in London and in Midhurst, Sussex. Returning from England, they settled on Little Farm Pond in Sherborn. In summer, the children attended the St. Pierre School of Sport, and sailed their mother’s Menemsha, Sweet Sixteen. Fay was an amateur of art, architecture, and design. Her characteristic position was seated at the table, reading the New Yorker or a French novel over coffee, open for discourse with anyone present. During President Clinton’s stays on Martha’s Vineyard, she hosted Hillary Clinton, a fellow Wellesley girl, at the family house on Oyster Pond. She was a voracious reader in French and English, with an extensive library, and studied Italian in her early days in the North End. She had a keen eye for postmodern art, which covered the walls in Boston and at Oyster Pond. Fay fought a degenerative disease with poise and remarkable gentility. She was predeceased by her brother, James Henry Butler III, of Midland and Houston, Texas. Fay is survived by her husband of 69 years, Dr. Reginald Greene, founder of the MGH pulmonary radiology section and professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. She also is survived by her five children, Reginald Greene Jr. (Susan McAndrew) of Southampton, Charles Greene (Sarka Havlatkova) of Chilmark, Andrew Greene (Alexandra Briggs) of London, Elizabeth Greene (Michael MacWilliams) of Marblehead, and Adam Greene (Jane Longson) of Chappaqua, N.Y.; 13 grandchildren, Shane, Erin, Hilary, and Hannah Greene; Dylan, James, and Eliza Greene; Hannah, Sophie, Nina, and Livia Greene; Owen and Gillian Greene; and 13 great-grandchildren. Her memorial Mass will be held on Tuesday, Sept. 15, at 11 am in Our Lady Star of the Sea Church, on Massasoit Avenue in Oak Bluffs.

To read the complete obituary, go to mvtimes.com.

Monarda punctata ‘Spotted Bee Balm’

Singing the blues, singing for joy fishing report

BY LISA BELCASTRO

Iwant to talk about the Derby, or more accurately, the amazing new Derby grand prize. But, we should probably talk about fishing first. Then again, the Derby prize is a Jeep Gladiator, which happens to be my favorite vehicle along with a classic Shelby Mustang (’64, ’65, ’68).

OK, I’m hitting pause on my Derby winning fantasies for a moment to talk about bluefish. Last week, we finally saw a few flashes of blue.

Last Thursday night, phones were pinging with texts of decent-size bluefish, as in not a school of rat blues, busting in Vineyard Haven Harbor. I was at a beach picnic and missed the action. I did, however, fall asleep with a smile on my face, knowing that I would be driving to Eastville for sunrise in eight hours.

Friday morning, I popped a rod in the holder and drove over the drawbridge. I parked by the jetty and took a walk, casting every few feet. I couldn’t see anything breaking, didn’t feel a hit, and there wasn’t a boat motoring nearby. Then I spied movement across the water toward Owen Park. One small boat, then another glided toward the marina. I walked back to my truck and drove toward town.

Since I was the only vehicle on the road, I moved at a snail’s pace and continued to glance at the water for signs of breaking fish. Just as I reached the first pier, I saw boats working a school of fish. Bingo!

I parked the truck, jumped over the stone wall, and waded into the water. Problem: I was a good five casts away from the fish. I hung out for about 30 minutes, first hoping a ferry would push the fish toward me, then continued casting in case a big rogue blue swam by.

No such luck. I had a plan, however. Kayak fishing for the last three hours of daylight. I texted my friends Sal and Julie Tummino to see if they were having any luck on Chappy and to let them know I’d seen fish in Vine-

yard Haven. Julie replied that they’d been fishing all day and not even a nibble.

The wind had picked up in the afternoon, so kayaking was out. I thought about heading out to Chappy for sunset with Julie and Sal, but stopped into the grocery store, and then it was 6:30 and felt too late to go to Chappy.

A little after seven, Julie texted me a picture of Sal holding an eight-pound bluefish. I gave a shout and cheered Julie on to go catch one. For better or worse, Sal’s fish was the only one.

“It was weird. The water was calm and flat. It was dead high and almost dark,” said Sal. “I had on an Island X [lure] but went back to metal and a nice slow retrieve. Then I got that hit.”

“I was in the truck texting,” said Julie. “I looked up, and Sal had this look on his face. I knew he didn’t think he was going to catch anything, so he didn’t have any pliers or scale.”

“I turn around, and she’s running with the scale and the pliers,” said Sal.

That’s true love, in my book!

I chatted with Sal and Julie on Sunday. They had arrived on-Island on June 26. The next day, Sal caught a four-pound bluefish, which he weighed into the Martha’s Vineyard Surfcasters Association (MVSA) in-house derby. At that point, Sal’s blue was one of only three fish weighed in for the month of June. On June 30, Sal and Julie each caught a bluefish, 6.75 pounds and 5.3 pounds respectively, to become two of the four MVSA members to weigh in fish in June.

On July 1, Sal reeled in a little guy, only 3.65 pounds. But get this: For over three weeks, that little bluefish was the only one weighed in. It’s now July 27 as I’m typing, and Sal has the only two fish on the board.

Around five, 10 years ago, I was on Chappy with Janet Messineo all the time, and

it was a rare day we didn’t catch fish. Now it’s a rare day when we do catch fish. Where have the fish gone?

“Oh my gosh. We were there 30 days, fishing four to six hours a day easy,” said Sal. “I knew I was leaving, so I fished extra hard the last couple of days. Not even a bump. The last four days, we haven’t even seen anyone catch a shark. Lots of people casting, but nothing.

“I threw top water. I threw metal. I was jigging. I couldn’t catch a fish for 30 days,” he said.

As we stand on Chappy and look out at the horizon, we see one telltale difference: hundreds of wind turbines.

“I believe the windmills have a lot to do with it. They’re setting up an artificial reef,” said Julie. “It’s scary, and I don’t know what to think about it.”

“There’s no bait in the water,” added Sal. “We never saw bunker. We saw silversides way up, but we’re just not seeing any bait. And there are so many sharks combing the water.”

None of us know the answer, but we’re all concerned with the declining numbers of fish over the last few years.

All right, I’m done singing the blues. I’m now gonna spend a hot minute singing for joy.

Have you seen the pictures of the new Derby grand prize? Repeat after me: Customized 2026 Jeep Gladiator Mojave X wrapped in an exclusive “Vineyard Slam” camo.

I want to shout out a huge thank-you to brothers Shep and Ian Murray of Vineyard Vines, who for decades donated our awesome Derby hats, and now have sponsored the best grand prize ever!

Each second is one closer to the moment we can start casting to win the Gladiator. I’m not wishing away summer, no never, just stating a truth about a point in time as constant as the northern star.

I hope to see you on the beach, and I hope we’re singing for joy.

JULIE TUMMINO

Sal Tummino caught the only two bluefish weighed into the MVSA in-house derby.

Two dozen men in vintage baseball uniforms sauntered onto the field at Waban Park to turn back the clock by over a century on Saturday morning, carrying wooden bats and periodaccurate baseballs in hand, ready to play the game as it was done in the 1800s.

Baseball fans filled Waban Park in Oak Bluffs on Saturday morning to witness how the game used to be played, complete with old-school rules and heavy wool flannel uniforms with knee-high knicker pants. The two teams, who came to the Island for a historical re-enactment of a doubleheader, set up the field with measured base paths, painted foul lines, vintage canvas bases, and a portable backstop. Crowds of baseball lovers from across the Island came out to the makeshift diamond to watch living history.

The Westfield Wheelmen and the Providence Grays, the two vintage baseball teams who met for the doubleheader, play not for glory or trophies, but to honor the history of the sport.

“The glory we play for is to honor the game. There is no trophy. This is my family. That's why we do it,” Brian Traverse, captain and CEO of the Providence Grays, said. Vintage baseball is a historical re-enactment of how the game was played when it first became popular in America, using equipment, rules, uniforms, and etiquette of the 19th century.

The matches’ venue also played a role in the history of local baseball on the Island.

Dan (“Gunner”) Genovese, who founded the Wheelmen 20 years ago, said Waban Park once served as the Island’s main hub for the baseball scene from 1880 to around 1910, when teams like the Cottage Citys, also known as the Cottage City Nines, and the Martha’s Vineyard Herald team competed in Oak Bluffs.

The Grays, who historically sported gray flannels instead of white back when the team was part of the National League from 1878 to 1885 — which now forms one-half of modern Major League Baseball — won the first “world championship” between two teams from the National League. The Providence Grays that play today were established in 1998, and continue to carry on the history of the team. The Grays donned their signature gray uniforms on Saturday.

The Wheelmen earned their name from highway bicycle riders, who rode big-wheel bikes in the 1880s

Gimme that old-time baseball

America’s favorite pastime celebrated in 19th century fashion. BY NICHOLAS VUKOTA

and 1890s, said Genovese.

The bikes, known as pennyfarthings, were famously made in factories in Westfield. The bikers historically took on the responsibility to scare horses, livestock, and wild animals off the road.

A penny-farthing made an appearance at the game on Saturday, ridden around by Wheelmen pitcher Andres (“Andale”) Conde.

The Wheelmen and the Grays, who travel all over New England to compete in roughly 40 to 50 games a season, split the doubleheader on Saturday. In the first game, which started at noon and used underhand pitching and Civil War–era rules of 1864, the Grays had a walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth inning to narrowly win the game, 16-15.

Genovese said in an inter-

view with The Times that the old rules force players to master baseball as it was played in the 19th century. Seven balls is a walk; a foul ball is not a strike; and if a player gets hit by a pitch, it’s only a ball. In the underhand game, if a fly ball hits the ground, it can still be caught for an out after the first bounce. Genovese also said

or triple play. Under the old rules, catchers could drop the third strike intentionally when bases were loaded, forcing baserunners — including the batter — to advance. The catcher can then pick up the ball, step on home plate, throw to third base, and turn a dropped third strike into a double or triple play.

Genovese previously told

Batters in the overhand game also have the unique option to call a strike zone. When approaching the batters box, batters would say “high” or “low,” and the umpire, Chris (“Grit”) Moran, who wore a historically accurate three-piece suit, would call strikes only in that specific zone.

Genovese said that while

“The glory we play for is to honor the game. There is no trophy. This is my family. That's why we do it.”

vintage baseball creates more room for manipulation of the game, since it has less regulations than modern ball.

Just like in modern baseball, a dropped third strike gives the batter a chance to run to first base, but in vintage baseball, it can be turned into a strategic double

The Times that fielders don't wear gloves either, so players take their bumps and bruises throughout the game.

In the second game, which started around 1:30 pm, the two teams played 1886 overhand rules, and the Wheelmen edged out the Grays 23-14.

Many of the bats used at the game were hand-crafted by the Wheelmens own Kipngetich (“Batman”) Rutto, founder of Rutto Bats, a family-owned business in Holyoke.

Unique baseballs accurate to the time period used in the game were manufactured by vintage baseball brand Hanford Baseball Co. The balls used in the underhand game had a slightly softer texture than the harder balls with thinner threads used in the overhand game.

“Everybody contributed,” Genovese said after the game. “I don t think I came up with one particular star in mind, and that s what it's all about.” He did, however, single out Conde, the pitcher for the Wheelmen, calling him “relentless” and “spectacular.”

Traverse called the underhand game the kind that everybody loves to watch, with a lot of back-and-forth scoring, and plenty of home runs. Traverse said he couldn’t “think of a better thing to do on a nice, sunny Saturday” than play old-time baseball.

“We got to spend some

1. Andres "Andale" Conde pitching in the underhand game.

2. Out at third.

3. Providence Grays get an out at first.

4. Andres “Andale” Conde hits the ball.

5. Robert “Bubba” Rudolph gets up to bat.

time on the field with our brothers,” Traverse said after the game.

Traverse highlighted that while the Grays and the Wheelmen are competitive, the camaraderie created when the two teams face off is more akin to a family gathering. “This is family beyond anything else,” said Traverse. Both teams thanked local hosts Oak Bluffs parks and recreation for the hospitality, and the Island for welcoming them. Genovese added that they would definitely return for another game in the future.

–BRIAN TRAVERSE

many other sports have grown in popularity throughout the country, baseball and its history are still important to American culture.

“It's still America's game. You can have football, you can have soccer coming on, but this is America s game, and … it’s beautiful,” said Genovese.

Robert (“Bubba”) Rudolph, a longtime Islander who housed the Wheelmen in his yard in Katama in tents during the days before the game, said it was great having the team visit. Rudolph also plays for the Wheelmen, batting and pitching for the Westfield team.

“I couldn t ask for a better group of guys to come down here,” Rudolph said. “It was great to come along and play; I just wish I was a little younger, and I could play a little bit more.”

PHOTOS: NICHOLAS VUKOTA

THURSDAY, JULY 30, 2026

the Center of Knowhere Art Gallery.

" Loïs Mailou Jones’ Sphere of Influence” at

LATOYA HOBBS

BEHIND THE BAND

Wolf trap

The word that best describes the bluegrass- and folk-inspired musical duo of Bailey Mae Gardener and Miguel Samuel de Bragança, known together as their group name Wolftrap, is “harmony.”

Harmony is the throughline of their partnership, one of the core values they live by, and the blend of their voices as they sing. And Wolftrap began on the Island. Gardener and Bragança first met in the sand-swept parking lot of the Mermaid Farm & Dairy stand in Chilmark, and soon, they’re coming out with an album named after that meeting place, called “Mermaid Farm Blues.” Their music is an homage to their home, their perspectives of the world, and their life together. The duo got married last fall.

“One of the joys of having a sustained musical relationship with somebody,” Bragança said, is that you “learn how to communicate in ways that reach each other.” Wolftrap’s original songs

BY SARAH SHAW DAWSON

also toe a careful line between music that is enjoyable to listen to and lyrics that pack a meaningful message. They workshopped their band name the same way they write their songs: by communicating with each other.

Wolftrap also pays homage to a tattoo of a wolf that Gardener has. The harmonies they wind together are an amiable backdrop for some of the more difficult themes they tackle, such as federal immigration enforcement tactics, systemic and governmental issues, and a rise in AI usage — topics similar to ones folk musicians have broached for many years, but with a modern twist.

“Music, for me, has helped me process the crazy world that we live in,” Bragança said. He described creativity as a way of sitting with discomfort and uncertainty: “If I can ground myself in music, I can be a better family member, community member, and human being.”

The pair were married at the Captain Flanders House last fall, and moved back to the Island full-time shortly after. Their relationship blos-

whim, when Bragança rode his motorcycle into the Mermaid Farm & Dairy stand parking lot, where Gardener was the head cheesemaker. With starry eyes and musical collaboration in sight, the pair met up to sing a cover, called “Life Crisis” by River Whyles, and it was more than their voices that clicked.

“We just couldn’t stop laughing,” Gardener, 33, said. “Neither of us were looking for romance. It was this puzzle piece that just [fit],” she added as she motioned the making of a puzzle with her hands.

“I’ve described it before as I could feel the universe yawning,” Bragança, 40, said. “It was a very cosmic feeling.”

The pair continued playing together, started dating, and eventually both enrolled in an online songwriting course called the “School of Song.” It was through this course that they made connections in Los Angeles, and in 2022, they decided to move there together and pursue music more seriously. In L.A, the duo worked with musicians who were developing their style and sound.

were not long unattended. She described the summer: art supplies strewn on the front porch; one person playing guitar nearby; a singing voice drifting from the outdoor shower. Gardener’s even voice and lilting notes were formed in the energy of that place, and molded further through collaboration with other artists.

Bragança’s family life was similarly music-driven. He was raised with the sounds of ’60s musical icons like the Beatles and Bob Dylan, and styles he became obsessed with, like jug bands, which are a bluegrass/folk/ jazz blend with washboards, spoons, and empty jugs as horn instruments. One of his favorites was Jim Kweskin, an iconic jug band leader in the 1960s who has

In the city, Bragança worked at a recording studio and started performing at art and music shows. He and his friends began a collective called Yes.Oui. Si, which was a multimedia project in a commercial space in downtown Boston, where he invited Island musicians like Nina Violet and Willy Mason to perform. The project needed someone to learn how to grow the small business, and Bragança decided to take it on.

Their first in-person connection was when Bragança rode his motorcycle into the Mermaid Farm & Dairy stand parking lot, where Gardener was the head cheesemaker.

Both Bragança and Gardener grew up surrounded by folk and bluegrass. They were raised in musical families who have been coming to these sandy shores for decades.

“Music has always been a part of my family and my history,” Gardener said in an interview. She said they called their home up-Island “Camp Sheldon,” which is her family’s last name (Gardener is a stage name).

deep Vineyard ties as well. Bragança said he would listen to his favorite artists on cassette tapes from an oldschool receiver when he was a child. If he heard something he liked, he would climb to the top of the shelf, where the receiver was, record it, and create mixtapes. He started playing the guitar when he was 12 years old, and “got the bug” for playing often and in community.

“At that point, I kind of stopped playing music,” he said. He devoted his time instead to art dealing, concert promoting, and the business side of his longtime passion. After four years at the art collective, he got a job at a marketing agency, where he worked for the next seven years. It was only at dinner parties that his guitar and bluesy voice would make an appearance. Then, in 2019, he was mountaineering in the French Alps, and in the whitecapped landscape, he said he “almost died” in a solo skiing accident. He reflected on the moment, and said it spurred him to consider his life and mortality in a totally new way. He came to the realization that his biggest regret if he hadn’t made it off that mountain “would’ve been not developing musicianship into what I always believed it could become.”

So he moved back to the Island, centered music, and started gigging again at local bars like the Ritz and the Loft. It wasn’t long after that he rode his motorcycle up Middle Road in Chilmark to get a yogurt lassi, and met his future partner in life and work.

somed by the crashing waves of local beaches and the bright flower stands at Island farms, and to the sound of their shared music. They met in 2020, when Bragança was looking for another vocalist for his band on Martha’s Vineyard, and he reached out to Gardener over text after their mutual friend, John Stanwood, suggested they meet. They met in person after that initial connection on a

It was a place where extended and immediate family would convene in the warmer months, and was the “heartbeat,” she said, of their time on the Vineyard. Gardener’s grandmother went to college with Trudy Taylor (mother of James, Kate, and Livingston), and they moved here in tandem. She described the families as “intertwined,” both socially and musically.

At that home, instruments

His first musical collaboration was working on a record with the photographer and music producer Peter Simon. That led him to opening for artists like Livingston Taylor and Tom Rush. He even collaborated with his early idol, Jim Kweskin. He attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, and played in a jug band during those years called the Mission Hill Hog Stompers.

Now, the pair are readying for a show at the Tabernacle in Oak Bluffs on August 15, where Wolftrap will open for the Wallflowers, a rock band headed up by Jakob Dylan, son of Bob Dylan. While they spend much of their time playing music, they also are enmeshed in Island life. Bragança works a few days a week at the Ruel Gallery in Menemsha, and plays frequently with local groups like the Dock Dance Band. Gardener, appropriately, gardens. She also caters, is a session musician with L.A. artists, and is a yoga teacher on the side. They’re gearing up for their record release of “Mermaid Farm Blues.”

“At the end of the day, we’re here because we love playing music. We try to be …” Gardener said as she looked toward her partner. “Who we are,” Bragança finished.

Sarah Shaw Dawson is a reporter at the Martha’s Vineyard Times and a musician. She played with Miguel Samuel de Bragança and Bailey Mae Gardener at a show this summer.

The duo of Bailey Mae Gardener and Miguel de Bragança on finding harmony.

LARISA STINGA

Bailey Gardener and Miguel de Braganca of Wolftrap.

Gardener and Bragança of Wolftrap. COURTESY

BOOKS

Who wouldn’t want to eat Sadness-Smashing Potatoes? OK, so the full name is Sadness-Smashing Potatoes and Brussels Sprouts, but these are no ordinary Brussels sprouts. Nor are any other foods in Lisanna Wallance’s new vegan cookbook, with recipes developed entirely on the Vineyard during the lockdown of COVID-19.

Each of the 120 recipes comes with a purpose — for example, inflammation relief (cucumber and asparagus salad), oxygenation (seaweed and beet salad), or passion (mushroom pizza).

The format for each recipe is consistent: first the name, purpose, and allergen status (gluten-free, nut-free, no sugar). An enticing paragraph follows, describing what’s in the dish — and what’s in it for you (“rich in healthy plant fats … bursting with protective antioxidants … natural antihistamine properties”). Then comes standard cookbook material: ingredients, directions, serving size, tips.

The final written element of each entry is a little sidebar titled “Magic Benefits.” For instance, Chocolate Cake (“for lucid dreams”) offers adaptogens, magnesium, and acetylcholine. If you want to learn why chocolate cake is good for you, go to page 67 for a scientific explanation.

But these recipes are not just words. The photos of each finished dish are to die for — or given the message of the book, to live for. If

Island readers recognize that the ingredients in the recipes — and in those luscious photos — are available from local farms: “My gravity is centered around this place; it’s what formed my relationship to nature and the energy of the forest.”

Wallance emphasizes the importance of eating seasonally. “When I cooked these recipes over the pandemic, it was every other day going to Island farmstands,” she recalls. “I would pick out all the ingredients that looked delicious, and try to figure out how to pair them together and optimize what was available. So in the book, I really emphasize how seasonality gives us what our body needs to help get us through that season.”

But even more than this, she emphasizes,

If you want to learn why chocolate cake is good for you, go to page 67 for a scientific explanation.

An edible portal to better health

you think mushrooms are not for you, look at the image that goes with Creamy Baked Portobellos, and tell me you wouldn’t reconsider. Not a fan of roasted vegetables? Your mouth will still water looking at the final glory of the Rainbow Antioxidants (for immunity, with the magical benefits of glucosinolates, natural nitrates, and betanin). And your eyes might roll at the concept of Spiced Sweet Potato–Hibiscus Pie — but those same eyes will pop when they see that translucent ruby slice of magical benefits like manganese.

“Plant-Based Magic” by Lisanna Wallance. BY NICOLE GALLAND

I am an aspirational cookbook user. I’ve bought scores of cookbooks in my time, and use precisely three of them with any regularity. But the premise — and the photos — of this book convinced me to try anew.

Wallance made a point to focus on fresh ingredients that could be sourced on the Island. All the same, certain items can be hard to find (culinary-grade flower petals), or expensive (lion’s mane mushrooms), or just not something I find appetizing (yellow squash). That is not a problem. You can freely sub-

stitute nearly anything. “I originally proposed this as a flexitarian book,” says Wallance in an interview. “I want to teach people a technique system that they can then take and make their own. That’s very important to me. What matters is understanding a technique, like the science of searing versus steaming.”

Martha’s Vineyard was central to the writing of this book. Wallance is a third-generation summer visitor, and cook-tested each recipe in its appropriate season here, during the pandemic. She finds it meaningful that

“I’m using each recipe to teach about how adaptogens can help.” Adaptogens are plants — chiefly herbs and mushrooms — that have positive impacts on our nervous system, helping to alleviate stress, fatigue, and other imbalances. Adaptogens are becoming more popular and therefore easier to find online, at health food stores, and even some pharmacies. For households with limited budgets, Wallance points out an advantage of our local ecosystem: “Foraging is an option on the Island. There are so many native and invasive plants — goldenrod for instance, or dandelion, but specifically goldenrod, because it’s everywhere; it’s invasive.” The point, she emphasizes, is to seek opportunities to add adaptogens to one’s diet in general, rather than making sure you’re using a specific ingredient in a recipe. “Even if I’m not going to go buy reishi mushroom powder, I know that I can forage or source this other plant,” she says as an example. “If you don’t want to include ashwagandha root in the chocolate mousse, that’s OK. If you want to add cream, add cream. If you don’t have gluten-free flour, use wheat flour — simple. The important point is that if we want to be healthier, we encourage people to eat more plants, so the real core of this book is to take this fact and adapt it to your needs.”

“Plant-Based Magic” is available widely online, and at Edgartown Books and Bunch of Grapes, which will host an author event with Wallance on August 22.

COMMUNITY NOTES

‘Available Light’: Emily Drazen photography

“Available Light” is a collection of photos taken on Martha’s Vineyard and beyond for the past 20 years. People may remember Drazen’s work from the Old Sculpin Gallery or e’Kaya Gallery, or her assignments published in The MV Times. After a 10-year gallery hiatus, raising her two kids and freelancing on the Island, her work returns with more refinement and vibrancy, showcasing the abundance of the Island’s moods and movement.

Opening reception: Thursday, August 6, from 6 to 8 pm. The show runs through August 21. Miner Family Gallery, 13 Beach St. Ext., Vineyard Haven.

The Wallflowers to headline Tabernacle benefit concert

The Martha’s Vineyard Camp Meeting Association (MVCMA) announces the Wallflowers as the headliner for the 2026 Tabernacle live annual benefit concert. The Wallflowers will mark the 30th anniversary of their landmark album “Bringing Down the Horse” by performing their classic album in its entirety, in sequence. The Wallflowers will pay tribute to the 50th anniversary of Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers by also playing Petty’s 1982 album “Long After Dark” in its entirety. Jakob Dylan, the band’s chief songwriter, remains a vital performer in American rock music.

The opener for the Tabernacle concert will be Martha’s Vineyard band Wolftrap. Wolftrap was formed at a dairy farm by Miguel Bragança and Bailey Mae Gardener. Their harmony-driven songwriting is rooted in folk tradition while also embracing a philosophy of musical time-travel that has drawn comparisons to Dr. Dog, Fleetwood Mac, and Woody Guthrie.

The Tabernacle benefit concert supports the MVCMA's work to offer a robust calendar of religious, cultural, and community programs, and its ongoing commitment to preserve and protect the grounds and structures of this National Historic Landmark. August 15, 7:30 pm. Tickets are now on sale, and 100

percent of the profits will support the MVCMA. For more information, visit mvcma.org.

The Summer Institute speaker series: Van Jones

The Summer Institute hosts speakers who are deeply and actively involved in politics, economics, science and the arts. Featured speakers have included Nobel laureates, Pulitzer Prize-winning authors and journalists, and political leaders.

Van Jones: “We Need Each Other: Rebuilding the Black-Jewish Alliance for the Next 100 Years.” Social commentator and cultural observer Van Jones is a political analyst, lawyer, civil

rights advocate, bestselling author, CNN host (“Crossfire,” “Messy Truth,” “The Redemption Project”), President Obama's special advisor for green jobs, visiting fellow at Princeton University, founder of the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, Color of Change, and the Dream Corps, social justice accelerator, and more. He discusses the daunting topic of growing anti-Semitism, and the intersection of Jewish and Black bias in America. August 6, at the Martha’s Vineyard Hebrew Center in Vineyard Haven. 130 Center St., Vineyard Haven. mvsummerinstitute. org/2026-speakers.

Also on Monday, August 3, at 7:30 pm, the film “I Have Sinned (Al Khet)” will be showing at the Martha’s Vineyard Hebrew Center. The

film’s runtime: 90 minutes. Released in 1936, “I Have Sinned (Al Khet)” was the first Yiddish sound film made in Poland, and marks the film debut of the PolishJewish comedy team Dzigan and Schumacher (known as the Yiddish Abbot and Costello). “I Have Sinned (Al Khet)” blends melodrama with a bissel of comedy and music. Set in a small Jewish town during World War I, the film follows Esther (Rachel Holzer), a rabbi’s daughter who abandons her child after her lover dies in battle and the Russians invade. Complications unfold as Esther’s friends, played by Dzigan and Schumacher, attempt to reunite mother and daughter many years later. mvhc.shulcloud. com/form/2026-SI-FilmSeries#purchase.

Lisanna Wallance

TOWN COLUMNS

Tisbury

By Taylor Stone tisburycolumnist@gmail.com

Enjoy these last few moments of July! One more week until First Friday V.H. on August 7. Only five short weeks until Labor Day weekend. Or if you are one of those counting down to quieter times: fifteen weeks left until November. If you haven’t walked along Main Street in Vineyard Haven lately: There have been a few midseason changes made over the past few weeks. Toccopuro (located where Mocha Mott’s previously was) has finished

installing its new awning: a deep green color that blends in nicely between Seven Sisters and Trust’s blooming front gardens. Additional shoutouts to S&S Kitchenette repainting its exterior a bright seafoam color, Rinpo updating its signage with hand-painted details on their building, and CB Stark installing a new shade cover over Stark Park too. Also, the public restrooms by the Stop & Shop parking lot have extended their hours for the summer season. But let’s be honest, the

Edgartown

By Marnely Murray marnely@gmail.com

We blinked, and July is almost over. Not really sure how that happened, but I’m scared to blink again — what will it be next? Thanksgiving. OK, I’m getting ahead of myself; August is creeping up on us, and we’re ready to welcome it with open arms and a hospitable smile on our faces. This last week reminded me of something that I think we can all benefit from: Staying consistent in your actual behavior rather than in symbolic gestures goes a much longer way. Whether your consistent behavior is going to the gym, shopping local, or reading daily — no matter what it is, it will al-

ways be better than symbolic gestures that have hopes and dreams. You know what’s not a symbolic gesture? Heading to the FARM Institute for its “Adult Cow Connection.” I’m not sure how I’ve missed this event, but it’s happening July 30, and August 6, 13, and 20. Basically, you get to meet, cuddle, brush, and walk with their hand-raised cows! Enjoy a 45-minute Cow Connection session with year-old cows, Brian, a blind Holstein, and Carl, a Guernsey. Enjoy both the scientifically proven physiological benefits as well as the relaxing effects of being outside in the

Oak Bluffs

By Joanne Lambert joannelamber@gmail.com

“August is the border between summer and autumn; it is the most beautiful month I know. Twilight is the border between day and night, the shore is the border between sea and land.”

– Tove Jansson

We are somehow always astonished when August arrives. It is such a mix of feelings here — it is truly a beautiful month, filled with garden and sea abundance, long summer days, and beautiful sunsets. But for us, the pace

biggest update to our town’s Main Street this month is the reopening of the Vineyard Haven library at 200 Main. I was lucky enough to get a sneak peek before the official reopening, and am so proud that our town has this updated space for our community to use. Currently closed on Sundays and Mondays (and reminder, Friday hours are 1 to 5 pm), this beautiful new space has been completely transformed, and is meant to be used by residents and visitors alike. Check out the ongoing schedule of events, and to stay updated

throughout the season, visit the website at vhlibrary.org. Big welcome home to Newton Waite, chef-owner of Vineyard Caribbean Cuisine in Oak Bluffs! If you’ve been following along with this local story over the last year, mark your calendars this Friday for “Island Visions”: an art showcase, marketplace, and fundraiser on July 31 (6 to 10:30 pm) at the Strand Theatre in Oak Bluffs. Organized by Better Than Yesterday Social, Vineyard Caribbean Cuisine and the Martha’s Vineyard branch of the NAACP, this event will

feature creatives of color performing, selling their work, and discussing art and mental health.

On Saturday, August 1, from 5 to 7 pm, stop by the Workshop Gallery for the opening reception of “Greatest Hits,” a solo exhibition by local photographer Matt Cosby, showing his best and favorite photographs from the past two decades.

Did you know that Maker Café on State Road hosts live music in its garden every weeknight, 6 to 8 pm, throughout the summer? The full schedule of perfor-

mances can be found on its website to help make sure you don’t miss your favorite local musicians.

Happy belated birthday to Mike Sellitti on July 28, and future birthday balloons to Elysha Joy Sideman and Seniel Hannagan, who share birthdays on August 2. Reminder: Do you have an upcoming birthday, event, or just something you want shared in a future Tisbury column? Email me at tisburycolumnist@gmail.com with your own stories of our town, or upcoming events you’d like to see spotlighted here.

Let’s be honest, the biggest update to our town’s Main Street this month is the reopening of the Vineyard Haven library at 200 Main.

open air on the scenic, historic farm. Register on the Trustees website.

In that same calming energy, I suggest you sign up for the Full Moon Yoga Nidra class that YogiJay will lead on July 30 at 8pm at Bend in the Road Beach. It’s a program that is generously sponsored by the Friends of the Edgartown Free Public Library and the Friends of the Oak Bluffs Public Library. This class is a guided practice that leads to a deep state of relaxation and healing, perfect for just before bedtime. Register on the Edgartown library website.

This week, make sure to stop by Art by M-C Lamarre Pop-Up Shop at MV Botiga

(15 Church St.), starting July 31 from 10 am to 6 pm. It will feature artwork created by island artist M-C Lamarre, maker of both BasketCaseMV, nautically inspired, handmade rope totes and vessels, as well as MV Potluck Prints, handcarved, hand-stamped, and hand-colored tiny prints dispensed from a mini art vending machine.

On July 31, head to the Old Whaling Church from 7:30 to 9 pm for a concert: “Celebrating Joy, Justice, and Resilience,” where composer Mark Miller and singer Julian Wamble will perform original art songs featuring Black poets. Suggested donation is $20.

Last, but certainly not least, let’s talk about Larry Glick. Larry Glick is quite simply one of the kindest people on this Island, and now he's sharing his eye for beauty with all of us. His new show, “Reflections,” opens August 2 at Old Sculpin Gallery. The opening reception is 4 to 6 pm, with the show running through August 7, daily from 10 am to 6 pm. Inspired by the natural beauty of Martha's Vineyard, these photographs capture the Island the way Larry sees it, quietly, warmly, and with so much heart. If you know Larry, make it a point to put this on your calendar, and attend the opening. I will be

there, and hope our Island friends will join in supporting him and his work! And now for the birthday wishes! Happy birthday to some of the amazing people who make Edgartown so special! Wishing a fun year ahead to Jess Shai on August 3, and her husband Evan on August 6. Big birthday cheers to Melanie Rankow and Mairead MacClarence, celebrating on August 6 and 5 respectively; thank you for all you do in our community! And sending lots of love to the talented photographer Mila Lowe, turning another year older on August 8. Here’s to sunshine, cake, and all the good things this week to you all!

On July 31, head to the Old Whaling Church for “Celebrating Joy, Justice, and Resilience,” where composer Mark Miller and singer Julian Wamble will perform original art songs featuring Black poets.

of life accelerates, the traffic gets worse, and it is easy to find it annoying. I observed two reactions when the bridge was up the other day as I tried to get to Vineyard Haven: Some people sat back and relaxed for a few minutes to enjoy the view, while others got nervous, moving their cars closer or turning around. Best thing we can do is stay calm, and don’t let the little annoyances take away from the beauty around us. There will be a benefit to welcome Chef Newton Waite back from 10 months

in ICE detention, and to support his family as they rebuild their life and business, Vineyard Caribbean Cuisine. On Friday, July 31, at the Strand Theater, the community will come together with local artists and vendors, live performances, and speakers. This is from 6 to 10 pm. Every ticket, donation, and purchase will support this Island family and favorite Oak Bluffs business. The Tabernacle will host the annual Craft and Artisan Fair on Saturday, August 1, from 9 am to 2 pm. Then, come back on

Monday, August 3, for the popular All-Island Art Show, from 9 am to 1 pm. This show provides a venue for amateur and emerging artists to display and sell their art, and for the public to see amazing and unique artwork. Additional information may be found at allislandartshow.org. On the 6th, there will be a family dance party at the Tabernacle, put on by WMVY and the Cottagers. It’s free, it’s fun and it starts at 6 pm! Monday, August 3, brings Island favorite Entrain back to the stage at Featherstone.

And note: The music will start at 6 pm through August and September.

Get excited! Built on Stilts, the island’s homegrown, free, community dance festival is coming back! Mark your calendars for August 6–9 and 14–17. Remember, every night is different, every night begins with a drum circle, and every night is magic. This is the 30th year for Built on Stilts, and the linup looks amazing. Check it out at builtonstilts.org.

Happy Birthday to you, Bob Laskowski, on Au-

gust 1! You share the day with Maureen Farrissey and Kim Wadleigh – and birthday hugs being sent to Edgartown to Alison Convery on the 1st. Seniel Hannigan celebrates on the 2nd – hope all those boys celebrate you in style! Sing a birthday song to music man Brian Weiland on Aug. 3rd. Barack Obama, Freedom Cartwright and Zak Martellucci all have their day on the 4th. Happy Birthday to James Franklin Blue and Melanie Rankow Prescott on the 5th. Send me your news!

There will be a benefit to welcome Chef Newton Waite back from 10 months in ICE detention, and to support his family as they rebuild their life and business, Vineyard Caribbean Cuisine, on Friday, July 31.

TOWN COLUMNS

Aquinnah

By Kathie Olsen aquinnahcolumn@gmail.com

Igrew up in a family that revered reading. My parents saw the local library as a place where the world would become available to us kids. Every other week my mom would lead all four of her children on what was a long walk to the Carnegie-built public library. Once there, she would let us loose to find whatever books struck our fancy. The librarians standing behind the big desk by the front door were awe-inspiring goddesses who sternly reprimanded us if we returned books after their renewal date, but who

always knew where we could find just the right thing to read, or the tome that would answer a question. I never stopped going to libraries, whether it was in pursuit of fiction or to find out how to repair a light fixture. I have never stopped loving and respecting librarians.

The Aquinnah library book group met last Saturday. We sat on the deck, enjoying the sunny and mild weather, waving to neighbors driving by, glad to be together sharing thoughtful talk. I am so grateful to our “library ladies,” Rosa and Vera.

Chilmark

By Claire Ganz cganz@live.com

Thank you, Alex Karalekas, and everyone else who produce the beloved off-season highlight of the wintertime in the Chilmark Community Center; community, food, and music, the Potluck Jam for giving us one last night. There is no place like home. Thank you to everyone who set up the tables set with

cloths and flowers and comfy chairs. Our town knows good food and how to cook. And there were oysters on the half shell. But best of all was the music. We didn’t catch everyone’s name, and wanted to call out the person who was in charge of the sound (following Steve Mack’s years; hope he was in the audience) and perform-

West Tisbury

By Hermine Hull hermine.hull@gmail.com

The Friends of the West Tisbury Free Public Library open their 66th annual Book Sale this morning, July 30. It is one of the most anticipated events of the summer, a cherished West Tisbury tradition. Many people plan their vacations to coincide with its opening and duration.

I started thinking about the history of the book sale. I knew a little from my years on the library board, and working on the Book Sale some years ago. I wasn’t sure what was actual fact. It seemed a good idea for this week’s column, and so my research began. The original book sale was indeed Jane Newhall’s idea. It was still at the Grange, a.k.a. the old Ag Hall, in the 1980s when I moved to town. Both of those facts remain.

Lynne Whiting set me on a productive path that led

Every month they suggest interesting books to read, and lead our discussions with humor and grace. Their jobs are complex, requiring deep knowledge of their varied “products,” which are composed of items that will interest anyone from babies to seniors, and answering whatever questions are presented to them. They walk a complex administrative path, serving the town as employees, their trustees as advisors, and the state library system as professionally required. They also provide a community hub, where people know

they will be greeted with grace, a cup of coffee if requested, knowledge to share, and kindness. You gotta love your librarians. There are other public places here in Aquinnah that lift our spirits, of course. Come to the Cliffs on Thursday evenings, and you can get a taste. There you will find good takeout food from Cliffhangers for your supper, live music by local musicians, and picnic tables filled with tourists and locals visiting and soaking up the beauty right along with their meal. If you have children,

either your own or visiting, you should know that Aquinnah has a terrific playground hidden away behind our Town Hall. It’s the result of a lot of hard work by a small committee of visionaries. They’re still working at it, with a basketball court in the works. The Aquinnah infrastructure committee is working on the parking lot, but for now you can park outside Town Hall and then take the path between town offices and the Police Department building to get there. Adjacent to the playground is an

If you have children, either your own or visiting, you should know that Aquinnah has a terrific playground hidden away behind our Town Hall.

ers Lydia Fisher, Alex Karalekas, Mark Lovewell and Molly Conole, Ben Taylor, Isaac Taylor, Sarah Shaw Dawson, Ryan Montbleau and Phil daRosa, and a late and wonderful surprise visitor from San Francisco, Martin Luther McCoy. We wanted more from those who closed it out, even though some like us had to be up and out by 6 am. Thanks to all who stayed and pitched in to help with

cleanup, including Michelle O’Connor and Katie Carroll.

The Chilmark Community Church continues its Lobster Roll sales, Tuesdays 4:30 to 6:30 pm (or until they sell out). And the Chilmark Flea Market is on Wednesdays and Saturdays, 9 am to 2 pm. On Wednesdays you can visit the church’s traditional secondhand treasures table.

The wonderful folks at

North Tabor Farm are looking for a part-time kitchen assistant (northtaborfarm.com).

Check out Ronni Simon’s art at the Chilmark Library through August 2. The next exhibit features art of many ages and styles curated by Chilmark artist Virginia Stone. That opening is Saturday, August 8, at 2 pm.

Sig Van Raan reports, “Another beautiful Sunday

The Chilmark Community Church continues its Lobster Roll sales, Tuesdays 4:30 to 6:30 pm (or until they sell out).

to an online reunion with Francine Woods, Prudy Noon, and Terry Meinelt. All of them generously shared their stories. The first book sale was held in 1958 on the Grange porch during the Agricultural Fair. Books had been donated to the library by Kenneth Jones when he closed his bookstore in New Rochelle, N.Y. Duplicates of books already in the library’s collection became the inventory for the first sale. Library trustees reportedly thought the idea was “crazy,” but Miss Newhall persevered, and the board was mollified when she announced that the sale had raised $250. In subsequent years, Terry Meinelt and his sister, Kam, helped lay out the books by categories in bays in the Grange Hall. Terry said, “Jane would price them all

by hand in pencil, most for 10 to 25 cents.” Harold Tinker, an English master at Choate School, renowned bibliophile and collector of 19th and 20th century American first editions, and West Tisbury summer resident, was called in to price rare or specialty books. Polly Meinelt and Lillian Magnuson were the cashiers. Terry delightedly mentioned that “they added up sales in their heads (pre-calculators) and made change the oldfashioned way!”

Terry remembered the hall “being filled with books on the day of the sale, with a crowd waiting to come in and make their purchases. As I recall, the hall opened at 1 or 2, and the sale ended at 5. Whatever books didn’t sell, Jane would box up, and move to her barn next to Alley’s

store. She would then set up a booth on the front porch of the Grange Hall during the annual Agricultural Fair. I remember helping move boxes from Jane’s barn to the hall and back. She was always so proud of the money that this event raised for the library, and she always wanted to break ‘her record’ for sales with each successive year!”

The book sale moved to the West Tisbury School in 1997, where Sharon Estrella had the gym ready, as Harry Athearn had always prepared the Grange Hall. The Friends purchased long folding tables that were laid from wall to wall, laden with books. Art and Architecture were on the stage, sorted and priced by Ellen Weiss. Betty Haynes took over the cookbook section after she retired from

the Post Office. Tom Vogl, Heidi Schultz, Hallie Mentzel, and Roberta Hearn were among the volunteers I remember. Betty Franklin, Lee Revere, and Katherine Long ran the sale, one after the other, before Susan Wasserman took over. Her grandson, Henry Bassett, was a stalwart volunteer, spending his boyhood and teenage summers handling every task requested of him.

In 2012, the year after she died, a number of Miss Newhall’s oil paintings were donated to that year’s sale, the money to be donated to the library. She had been an avid plein air painter with friends Ted Meinelt, Dorothy Wetmore, and Irene Salmon.

During the pandemic year, 2020, the Friends set up bookcarts outside the library to give away hundreds of free books to children and adults.

Library trustees reportedly thought the idea was “crazy,” but Miss Newhall persevered, and the board was mollified when she announced that the sale had raised $250.

area that is being developed by the Aquinnah Cultural Center as a food forest, featuring plants that are natural to this ecosystem and thus part of the Wampanoag heritage. This is still being built, so stay tuned. The Up-Island Council on Aging is having an open house on Thursday, August 6, from 4 until 6 pm. Bring your family and guests to enjoy a tour of Howes House, and hear about renovations, meet the staff and neighbors, and enjoy a drink and snacks. If you want to attend but need transportation, give them a call at 508-693-2896. I only have one name on my happy-birthday list for this week, and that is Jamie Vanderhoop, who celebrates on July 30. Let me know if you have names to add.

morning, and a full complement of the regulars. The game was held up for a while as we attended to an injured player who pulled a hamstring; it made us realize that yes, it's a fun game, and played with an exuberance and occasional laughs at the gaffes, but it does have its risky side — errant throws, line drives, fluke plays that can cause injuries — even simply running to first base.

“So the game did pick up again, and was a well-played and usual game of mighty drives and brilliant fielding.

“This week's game was a low-scoring affair — final score something like 4-3.”

By 2021, the book sale was back at the school. The school was unavailable to them in 2022, so the Friends held pop-up book sales outside the library every summer Sunday, with weekend sales in November and December. Since then, they have set up a great, white tent in the school parking lot, filled as always with books, puzzles, games, etc. The sale has grown bigger every year.

This year’s sale runs from Thursday, July 30, to Monday, August 3, open from 9 am to 3 pm. Books are as priced the first three days. Sunday sales are half-price. On Monday, everything is free, although donations are appreciated. Proceeds from the Book Sale supplement the town budget for books and materials, pay for the Summer Reading Program, staff training, museum passes, community programs, planning and construction, and the Halloween hayride. As in Jane Newhall’s day, the Friends take great pleasure in announcing that “this year’s sale beat last year’s record.”

A verseful birthday celebration

Dionis Coffin Riggs Day of Poetry.

BY MICHAEL WEST

On Thursday, August 6, the West Tisbury library celebrates the sixth annual Dionis Coffin Riggs Day of Poetry, observed on her birthday to commemorate her work and the Cleaveland House Poets, the poetry group she established 60 years ago.

Fan Ogilvie, a longtime member of the Cleaveland House Poets, recalled, “She blessed my home in West Chop several times with George Mills and Lee Maccormack and Galway Kinnell. She was elegant, and her cultivated voice unforgettable.”

Dionis Coffin Riggs was descended from Athearns, Mayhews, Butlers, Looks, and old Island families, according to the New York

Dionis Coffin Riggs’ poems were clear and evocative, plainspoken and full of familiar details.

Times. She was born in Edgartown, but lived much of her early adult life off-Island in Brooklyn, N.Y., and in New Jersey with her husband, Sidney Riggs, a high school principal. However, Riggs always spent her summers on the Vineyard, and she and her husband retired here in 1954. After his death in 1975, she transformed her family home into Cleaveland House, a bed and breakfast inn catering to poets.

Riggs was very active in West Tisbury town life, and she shared her poetry with young and old alike, volunteering in schools and in nursing homes. As well, she regularly published poems in the Christian Science Monitor. Her first book of poems, “Sea Born Island,” appeared in 1969, followed by “The Collected Poems of Dionis Coffin Riggs,” a rare and collectable volume of 684 pages, in 1998. It is said she published well over a thousand poems during her highly prolific writing career.

Dionis Coffin Riggs’ poems were clear

and evocative, plainspoken and full of familiar details. Here is a good example of her poetry, from “The Collected Poems of Dionis Coffin Riggs”:

Just once each year

I can recapture something

Of childhood’s summer-scented magic

When, on Illumination Night,

The band plays in the park.

And one by one, instead of stars, The Chinese lanterns light the dark Tree-sheltered sky.

The shadows of the oak trees, dwarfed And twisted by the wind, Loom giantlike among

The little houses made of wood, Or gingerbread.

At last each house is hung

From porch to peak

With lanterns, and the people

Sit in rocking chairs, or walk

Around, around the circle.

Wind-stirred sea air, Marigolds and popcorn,

The smoke of candle wicks.

How brief the flame!

Family, friends, and the community are invited to come together and read their favorite Dionis Coffin Riggs poems, or an original poem inspired by the Vineyard.

Dionis Coffin Riggs Day of Poetry is on Thursday, August 6, at the West Tisbury library. This event is free and open to the public.

Cribbage Club results

We are almost through the summer! Potential members still thinking about it — feel free to try us out!

Eighteen members of the Vineyard Cribbage Club met on to play our favorite game at the American Legion in Edgartown. The results from last night are as follows:

First, Sebastien Bennett-

BY MARY ALICE RUSSELL

Rock with a 10/5 +19 card

Second, Paul Humphrey with a 10/5 +17 card

Third, Byram Devine an 8/4 +69 card

Fourth, Tim Hurlburt with an 8/4 + 33 card

Fifth, Mary Alice Russell with an 8/4 +17 card

We had two 24-point hands this week, played by Bill

Russell and Byram Devine. Sebastian Bennett-Rock also had the rare flush crib!

If you are interested in cribbage, give us a try! We meet at 5:30 pm on Wednesdays. Call 508-524-1220 for more info, or email me at maonmv@mac.com.

Allison’s zucchinibanana bread

With some additional treats. BY ALLISON ROBERTS

Originally, I used a recipe titled, “Mom’s zucchini bread” for this treat. And it was tasty, but lacked a little "je ne sais quoi.” So I messed around a bit and added a bit of flair. No offense to the mom who came up with the original recipe — moms are notoriously safe for good reasons — but she left out all the fruit. Come on. Live a little.

Come to think of it, though, if my idea of living a little is adding dried fruit to zucchini bread, I should probably get out more.

ZUCCHINI-BANANA BREAD

3cups all purpose flour (I use gluten-free flour or my sensitive wallflower of a stomach)

1tsp salt

1tsp baking powder

1tsp baking soda

1Tbsp cinnamon (I used 2 Tbsp, because I love cinnamon)

3large eggs

1cup vegetable oil

1or2cups brown sugar or coconut sugar, depending on your personal sweet tooth index

2 mashed ripe bananas

Handful or so of raisins, craisins, dried cherries, chocolate chips — or all of them

3tsp vanilla or almond extract

2cups grated zucchini

options: chopped walnuts, salted chopped almonds, chopped apples

Heat oven to 325°F. Grease a loaf pan or, if you’re making cupcakes, prepare your cupcake pans.

Stir together flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon in a large bowl. Beat eggs, oil, sugar, and vanilla or almond extract in a separate bowl, then mix in with the dry ingredients. Beat well. The dough will probably look crumbly, especially if you are using gluten-free flour. Stir in mashed bananas and mix. Add in zucchini and fold in well, then add your dried fruit. If you notice that the dough is still a bit dry — gluten-free flour

pared pan or cupcake tins. Bake in a preheated oven until a toothpick or knife inserted into the center comes out clean. This is roughly 40 to 60 minutes. Run a knife along the edges to loosen. Set on a wire rack to cool a bit. (Note: If you have a large dog like I do, who can very easily counter-surf, put your bread in your microwave or cupboard to let it cool.)

Slice a piece while it is still warm, make yourself a nice cup of tea or coffee, and sit down and enjoy.

Bread fresh out of the oven and cooling.

Some of the essentials for making zucchini bread.

Bread ready to go in the oven.

Slice of zucchini bread plated.

PHOTOS: ALLISON ROBERTS

The Summer Institute, held at the Hebrew Center, hosts speakers from the frontlines of politics, economics, science, and the arts. Featured speakers have included Nobel laureates, Pulitzer Prize–winning authors and journalists, and political leaders who have played important roles on the world stage. And that tradition continues for 2026.

“It’s been 27 years of success,” said Summer Speaker Series co-chair Marc Levine. “The success of it is partly due to the reputation of the people we’ve had. People see the caliber of the previous speakers, and say ‘Wow.’”

The Speaker Series began in 1999, when founder Stanley Snider created the forum for the community. The presentations are live, but are also available through Zoom, for any sponsors or Hebrew Center member ticketholders unable to attend.

On the night I attended, former CNN White House Correspondent John Harwood

Exposing Epstein and other heroics

Summer Speaker series at the Hebrew Center.

BY ALLISON ROBERTS

was in conversation with Miami Herald investigative reporter Julie K. Brown, who exposed the Jeffrey Epstein sex-trafficking story, and was awarded a Pulitzer Prize Special Citation for her work.

The Hebrew Center was nearly at capacity — only one vacant seat left. “When I asked John who he’d suggest, he immediately said, ‘Julie Brown.’ Julie tracked down 80 accusers and found eight victims willing to open up,” said second co-chair Jim Dale in his introduction.

Brown wrote a book, “Perversion of Justice:

The Jeffrey Epstein Story,” in 2021, and in 2026 she won the Pulitzer Prize for her tenacious work as a journalist. Her 2017 and 2018 reporting was cited at the awards ceremony.

Harwood started the evening off by asking Brown how her investigation began.

“The story was always a big question mark to me,” Brown said. “He [Epstein] had gotten a sweetheart deal back in 2008. It became a bit of a celebrity story. He had gotten away with a crime. No one knew how or why he got away with it, or what went wrong in the criminal justice system. I looked at it like a cold case detective, and started from scratch.”

Epstein was arrested in 2006 and then released after serving only part of his sentence in 2009. In 2008, former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Alex Acosta approved a secret nonprosecution agreement for Epstein, which allowed him to plead guilty to state prostitution charges and avoid federal prosecution for sex trafficking. This deal allowed Epstein work-release privileges. He was allowed to leave his cell for up to 12 hours, six days a week, to go to his office and

work, and was reportedly separated from the general jail population.

“He was given a fake office in his lawyer’s suite,” Brown said. “He had his own valet who picked him up to go to his office. Women were allowed to come in and out. It was incredible what he got away with. Acosta said there wasn’t enough evidence, but someone told him to stand down,” Brown said.

Brown shared that the methods Epstein used to build his sex-trafficking network became clear as she read through the files.

“He targeted girls from broken homes, girls who were homeless ... he made them believe he would help them ‘make it,’ or help them with other needs. He told one girl whose mother had cancer that he’d pay for her mother’s treatments. As these girls got older, he lost interest in them, and began trafficking them to other men.”

Brown said that many of the survivors are fearful to come forward: “Epstein had very powerful people helping him. A lot of the victims looked at Virginia Giuffre’s suffering, and didn't want to go through it. Some have families, and just want to move on.”

Harwood asked Brown if she was still discovering more information on Epstein. “I think the story will outlive me,” she said. “I have a whole list of stories around this. Including Epstein’s death. Like the prison guard. He had been indicted for extortion.” Brown wondered why a guard indicted for extortion would be responsible for monitoring Epstein.

The prison guards on duty when Epstein died were Tova Noel and Michael Thomas.

According to PBS, prosecutors accused Noel and Thomas of faking jail logs to make it look like they checked on Epstein every 30 minutes, but video surveillance showed they left his wing unmonitored for about eight hours. The guards received 100 hours of community

1. John Harwood asked Julie K. Brown to describe the network of lawyers, financiers, and high-profile individuals who were involved in Jeffrey Epstein's sex-trafficking scheme.

2. The audience were shocked upon hearing some of the details of the Jeffrey Epstein sex-trafficking case.

3. The audience at the Hebrew Center gave Brown and Harwood a standing ovation at the conclusion of their talk.

4. Podcaster and former CNN White House Correspondent John Harwood and Miami Herald investigative reporter Julie K. Brown.

service and supervised release. The criminal charges were officially dismissed.

When asked if she thought Epstein’s death was a suicide, Brown said, “He had butlers tying his shoes every day. I don’t think he was capable of killing himself.”

Though there are thousands of sex-trafficking victims, it is a worldwide network, making the exact number of victims unknown. “I still get tons of emails from both Epstein survivors and other sex-trafficking victims every day,” Brown said. “Even if I can’t help them, I answer every email. They want someone to hear them.”

The Summer Speaker series continues through August 13. To see the list of speakers, visit mvsummerinstitute.org/2026-speakers.

PHOTOS: DENA PORTER

Event spotlight for the week of 7•31 — 8•5

FRI 7/31 SUN 8/2

Sankofa

The Oak Bluffs Library celebrates the first week of August with an African American Literature and Culture Festival. This is in honor of “Oak Bluffs: Power of Place,” a permanent exhibit in the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture. The library’s annual tradition, now called the Sankofa Fes-

tival, is a day of speakers, writers, scholars, artists, and performers. 10 am to 4:30 pm. Oak Bluffs library, 56R School St, R.

SAT 8/1

Art by M-C Lamarre Pop-Up Shoppe at MV Botiga will feature the whimsical artwork created by Island artist M-C Lamarre. Lamarre is the maker of both BasketCaseMV, nautically inspired,

handmade rope totes and vessels, and MV Potluck Prints, hand-carved, hand-stamped, and hand-colored tiny prints dispensed from mini art vending machines. 10 am to 6 pm. MV Botiga, 15 Church St., Edgartown.

TUES 8/4 MON 8/3

Art

en

Blanc by E&S Gallery and Black Crown Art Auctions

Join E&S Gallery & Black Crown

Art Auctions (as featured in Forbes) for Art en Blanc, an historic week of fine art, educational workshops, and a live fine art auction. An extensive collection of original paintings, sculptures, graphics, and quilts by Jacob Lawrence, Richard Mayhew, Elizabeth Catlett, Dean Mitchell, Sherry Shine, Leroy Campbell, Yolanda Ward, Yvette Watson, Joseph Holston, and many others will be available for purchase. A portion of the proceeds will go to the Cottagers, Inc., Oak Bluffs African American Home Owners Association. Through August 8. 10 am to 8 pm. Free and open to the public, but due to limited space RSVP is required. eventbrite. co.uk/signin. The Cottagers, Inc., 57 Pequot Ave., Oak Bluffs.

THURSDAY, JULY 30

Dance Fitness and Strength

Training with Kris Martin

7-8 am, Airport Fitness, West Tisbury. A creative blend of rhythmic resistance, cardio conditioning, manageable mobility and core strength exercises all set to crazy-FUN music. 508-696-8000, workout568@aol.com

Polar Bears MV Celebrate Their 80th Season on 4th July

7:30-8:30 am, Inkwell Beach Oak Bluffs. The Polar Bears of MV, a historic African American swim/ water aerobics club, open their 80th Birthday Season on 4th July at 7:30 AM. 617-710-9312, jazzze3@aol.com. Art Show - Full Run: “Seasonal Impressions” by A.F. Cook

8 am-4:30 pm, Martha’s Vineyard Bank - Chilmark branch. The full run dates of the “Seasonal Impressions” show by A.F. Cook, 7/23 - 8/5 This is a SEPARATE listing from the single-event reception on July 24. 508-627-4266, acook77@msn.com. Morning Pages Mornings 8-9 am, West Tisbury Library. Meets on the library porch. Writing prompts and inspiration with Kate Feiffer. No sign up required. 508-693-3366, wt_mail@clamsnet.org.

Early Birders Walk 8-10 am, Felix Neck Wildlife Sanctuary, Edgartown. The early bird gets the worm, and early birders, the binoculars. Walk with our birders to listen to and observe the sanctuary’s avian residents. 508-6274850, felixneck@massaudubon.org. Kaiut Yoga

8:30-9:30 am, Peaked Hill Studio, Chilmark. Kaiut Yoga works through chronic pain and injuries, general aches and stiffness, and is good for the inflexible, hyper flexible and the aging body. 774-563-8282, valerie@peakedhillstudio.com. Kayak & Stand Up Paddle Board Quest

9 am-3:30 pm, Felix Neck Wildlife Sanctuary, Edgartown. Enjoy Sengekontacket on this self-guided kayak tour. Clues lead you through the pond. Call to reserve for up to 3 hours; returning the boats by 3:30. 508627-4850, felixneck@massaudubon.org. Annual Friends of the West Tisbury Library Book Sale

9 am-3 pm, West Tisbury School. Located in a tent at the WT Elementary School parking lot. All proceeds from the sale go to the West Tisbury Library. 508-693-3366, wt_mail@clamsnet.org.

Bruce Hornsby and the Noisemakers

A13-time Grammy nominee, Bruce Hornsby has released 23 albums selling more than 11 million copies worldwide, and has contributed to more than 100 records. Known as a soughtafter collaborator, Hornsby has worked with artists including Bonnie Raitt, the Grateful Dead, Bob Dylan, Stevie Nicks, Willie Nelson, and Bon Iver. 7:30 to 10:30 pm. MVC-

MA Tabernacle, 80 Trinity Park, Oak Bluffs. Martha's Vineyard Concert Series Memberships on sale now at mvconcertseries.com.

Misty Meadows Summer Benefit

Head to Misty Meadows, meet its herd, see exciting programming in action, and enjoy decadent light bites and cocktails. Islander and Pulitzer Prizewinning author Geraldine Brooks will also be in conversation with celebrity guests. $150. 5 to 7:30 pm. Misty Mead-

ows Equine Learning Center. 55 Misty Meadows Lane, West Tisbury. secure.givelively.org.

WED 8/5

Midsummer Celebration with Allie and Paryss

usband-and-wife

Hduo Allie and Paryss are back to perform at the annual Midsummer Celebration as part of the Global Rhythms Summer Concert Series at the Martha’s Vineyard Museum. Allie and Paryss bring a rich blend of gospel, R and B, and soul shaped by decades in the music industry. Their partnership is both personal and musical, grounded in a shared commitment to performance and connection. The evening includes two drink tickets and light bites, offering a relaxed and celebratory summer gathering. 5:30 to 7 pm. Martha’s Vineyard Museum Bodman Courtyard. $20. 151 Lagoon Pond Road, Vineyard Haven. mvmuseum.org/ event/mid-summercelebration.

2026 Legacy Week on the Vineyard 10 years??!!

9 am-11 pm, Oak Bluffs. events.eventnoire.com. Balletics

9-10 am, Up Island Council on Aging, West Tisbury. Total body conditioning, learning body’s strengths & weaknesses, how to prevent injury. coa-staff@westtisbury-ma.gov, 508-693-2896. Art Exhibition: MVAA Permanent Collection and MVAA Members

9 am-6 pm, Old Sculpin Gallery, Edgartown. Art Exhibition: MVAA Permanent Collection and MVAA Members 508-9394092, art@oldsculpingallery.org. Active Arts Preschool Camp

9 am-1 pm, Island Children’s School, West Tisbury. We know that chidlren learn best while having fun... and what better way to do that than outside with your friends! 586-943-5559, activeartsmvy@gmail.com. Tennis Morning Clinic Level 3.5+ 9-10:30 am, Airport Fitness, West Tisbury. 1.5 hours of group instruction with a focus on strokes, volleying, strategy and drills. Advance registration required, please call to reserve spot 508-696-8000, workout568@aol.com.

Free Fairy Sculpture Trail at Island Folk Pottery

9 am-6 pm, Island Folk Pottery, Chilmark. The enchanting Island Folk Pottery Fairy Sculpture Trail meanders 1/4 mile through a magical wooded landscape populated with whimsical sculptures. 508-955-9944, islandfolkpottery@gmail.com. Docent-Led Arboretum Tours

9:30-10:30 am, The Polly Hill Arboretum, West Tisbury. Learn about the incredible history, people, and plants that make the Polly Hill Arboretum a local and global landmark. Free with admission! 508-693-9426, info@pollyhillarboretum.org. Exhibit: Margot Datz: Recreator 10 am-3 pm, THE CARNEGIE HERITAGE CENTER, Edgartown. This exhibition highlights the creative process of muralist Margot Datz, whose work transformed the Old Whaling Church and Flying Horses Carousel. 774-5499107, THECARNEGIE@mvpreservation.org.

Artists Premiere: New Work by Traeger di Pietro, Mary Moquin, Nick Patten 10 am-5 pm, North Water Gallery, Edgartown. Artist’s premiere featuring new work by Traeger di Pietro, Mary Moquin, Nick Patten. continues through August 5, 10-5 Mon-Sat, 11-4 Sun. 508-627-6002, info@northwatergallery.com.

Artists’s premiere: Terry Crimmen, Heidi Lang, Kenneth Vincent

10 am-5 pm, Granary Gallery, West Tisbury. Artists’s Premiere. 508-6930455, info@granarygallery.com.

Library Volunteers 10-11 am, Oak Bluffs Library. For ages 11-14. Come learn skills and help the library during this 2-day program. 508-693-9433, mlynch@clamsnet.org.

Goat Yoga MV 10-11 am, Native Earth Teaching Farm, Chilmark. Slow Flow Yoga with baby pygmy goats. goatyogamv@gmail.com

29th Annual Vineyard Artisans

Summer Festival

10 am-2 pm, The Grange Hall, West Tisbury. Meet island artisans and browse a multitude of mediums, all handmade on Marthas Vineyard. For more information visit our website- vineyardartisans.com artisan02557@yahoo.com.

Carnegie Heritage Center

10 am-3 pm, the carnegie heritage center, Edgartown. Carnegie Heritage Center reopens Easter weekend, Friday and Saturday, 10 AM – 4 PM. Admission: $5 (ages 12+). vineyardtrust.org/events/ 774-549-9107, thecarnegie@mvpreservation.org.

Origins -Drum Circle with Roots 10-11 am, Milokan Cultural Center and Drum Museum, Chilmark. More than just a jam.... 774-563-0870, rick@drumrol.org.

Art En Blanc in Oak Bluffs, by E&S Gallery & Black Crown Art Auctions 10 am-8 pm, The Cottagers, Inc., Oak Bluffs. Collect the Culture. Own the Legacy. trinity@eandsgallery.com. Workshop: Reconnecting with Your Natural State of Mind Through Meditation 10 am-12 pm, Stillpoint, West Tisbury. Join renowned meditation master Orgyen Chowang Rinpoche. info@stillpointmv.org. Kayak Dreams at Sea Level

10 am-5 pm, Turpentine Gallery, West Tisbury. Kayak Dreams at Sea Level oil paintings show takes you on a meditative journey along the costal plains 508-6935963, mitch@turpentinegallery.art. Art by M-C Lamarre Pop Up Shoppe at MV Botiga

10 am-6 pm, MV Botiga, Edgartown. Island Artist, M-C Lamarre’s Pop Up Shoppe at MV Botiga. 617-794-5515, mc@mclamarre.com.

Continued on B9

Art by M-C Lamarre Pop-Up Shoppe

Love of music at a cellular level: ‘Bernstein’s Wall’

BY ABBY REMER

Watching Leonard Bernstein conduct was beyond exciting. The renowned composer and conductor threw every cell of his body into making the music come alive. He was the embodiment of dedication to his craft. We see this and so very much more in the wonderful documentary playing at the M.V. Film Center on Monday, August 3, and Tuesday, August 4, followed by a Q and A with director Douglas Tirola. Bernstein addresses us throughout the film, narrating his life, holding nothing back. Tirola intersperses the interviews with archival footage, still photographs, and, unsurprisingly, a fantastic soundtrack, as Bernstein shares his most private thoughts about America, politics, race, family, media, sex, and religion.

“I loved music long before the age of 10,” Bernstein says. He recounts his early encounter with his aunt’s old upright piano: “I touched it, and that was it. I immediately screamed for piano lessons.” Rapidly advancing, Bernstein’s authoritarian, wild-tempered father, an immigrant from a shtetl — a traditional, predomi-

Continued from B8

Loïs Mailou Jones: Sphere of Influence

11 am-5 pm, Center of Knowhere, Oak Bluffs. Group Exhibition - Lois Mailou Jones: Sphere of Influence 917-9609344, info@knowhereart.com. Paul Beebe & Gwen Marcus Show Summer Show

11 am-5 pm, Louisa Gould Gallery, Vineyard Haven. New works by: Carol Caradimos, Wooley Dutton, Nadia Mahfuz, Joseph McCarthy, Donna Nyzio and Nick Paciorek. 508-693-7373, louisa.gould@gmail.com. Fault Lines

11 am-5 pm, Knowhere Art Gallery, Oak Bluffs. Group Exhibition: Fault Lines 917-960-9344, info@knowhereart.com. Family Yoga Play

11-11:30 am, West Tisbury Library. Playful, fun yoga for littles & their caregivers. Rec. for ages 0-5! Free and no registration needed. Thursdays 11:00-11:30 WT Library 508-693-3366, hburbidge@clamsnet.org.

Tech help

11 am-1 pm, Up Island Council on Aging, West Tisbury. Free tach help 508-6932896, coa-staff@westtisbury-ma.gov.

Pokemon Club

11 am-12 pm, Oak Bluffs Library. Bring your Pokémon cards to show to others! This is a club to talk about Pokémon, look at cards, and draw! No trading allowed. Ages 5-11. 508693-9433, mlynch@clamsnet.org.

Children’s Afternoon Art: Printmaking (ages 9+)

1-3 pm, Featherstone Center for the Arts, Oak Bluffs. These classes will introduce young artists to some printmaking techniques, while encouraging them to find their artistic voice. 508693-1850, featherstone@featherstoneart.org.

nantly Jewish market town, then part of the Russian Empire — was adamantly opposed to his son’s pursuit of music. Bernstein refused to take over his father’s beauty-supply business, knowing that music was his life. Describing the first time he conducted, Bernstein says, “It’s incredible … No one can understand what it’s like to stand in an orchestra.”

He takes us through his studies with various great composers and conductors, including Aaron Copland. In their letters to one another, we read of Bernstein’s romantic love for his mentor as the text scrolls across the screen. The tension related to his sexuality and marriage, as well as his dedication to his children, plays out against the backdrop of his rising fame. It turns out Bernstein is not just personable; he can be funny. For instance, he shares that when he became the assistant conductor at the New York Philharmonic, he had three strikes against him: He was American, while at the time, all the famous conductors were foreign; he was an unheard-of 25-year-old; and he had “a ghastly Jewish name.”

Urged to change it at the time to something less ethnic sounding, Bernstein refused.

Farmer for a Day –Child Drop-Off Program

1-3 pm, The FARM Institute, Edgartown. Spend the afternoon on the farm with this hands-on program. 508-627-7007, thefarminstitute@thetrustees.org.

Dinosaur Day

2-4:30 pm, Oak Bluffs Library. Drop in from 2-4:30 for dinosaur themed games and activities. Great for kids ages 3-8. 508-693-9433, mlynch@clamsnet.org. Adult Cow Connection at The Farm Institute

2:15-3 pm, The FARM Institute, Edgartown. Come meet, cuddle, brush, and walk with our cows at The Farm Institute! 508-627-7007, thefarminstitute@thetrustees.org. Chair Yoga

2:30-3:30 pm, Up Island Council on Aging, West Tisbury. Chair Yoga 508-693-2896, coa-staff@westtisbury-ma.gov.

Community Knitting Circle

3-4:45 pm, Chilmark Library. Join us for a relaxed afternoon of knitting. Our knitters love to share their knowledge and beginners are welcome! 508-645-3360, chil.programs@gmail.com. Opera Appreciation Lecture Series with Susan Grunthal

3-4:30 pm, Edgartown Library. Susan Grunthal will delve into the fascinating history and music of four operas 508-627-4221, programs@edgartownlibrary.org. Ukulele Jam

3:30-5 pm, West Tisbury Library All ages and abilities. The library has ukuleles to borrow, or bring a guitar or banjo, or come to sing. wt_mail@ clamsnet.org, 508-693-3366.

While there are many splendid scenes of him conducting classical music, Tirola reflects Bernstein’s breadth. We hear about the conception of “West Side Story,” with the original idea that the lovers came from Jewish and Catholic families, which Bernstein knew wouldn’t fly. There is also fantastic footage of a 1956 televised concert at New York’s Lewisohn Stadium, where Bernstein conducts the New York Philharmonic along with Louis Armstrong and His All-Stars in a "Concerto Grosso" arrangement of the classic blues song "St. Louis Blues.”

Bernstein’s dedication to the betterment of humanity runs throughout the film. “I want to make a contribution not just to music, but to people,” he tells us early on. An activist at heart, he performed at the Stars for Freedom Rally at the request of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., to inspire participants in the historic Selma-to-Montgomery march; conducted in Russia during a legendary U.S. State Department–sponsored tour with the New York Philharmonic; and also in East Germany in 1989, after the Berlin Wall came down. In fact, the latter “Ode to Freedom” concert of Beethoven’s “Symphony

Events

RISD Alumni Panel

4 pm, Featherstone Center for the Arts, Oak Bluffs. JoinFeatherstone CEOAnn Smith andRISD PresidentCrystal Williams for a panel discussion with Featherstone artist instructors and RISD alumni! 508-693-1850, featherstone@featherstoneart.org.

Table Tennis

5 pm, Tisbury Senior Center, Vineyard Haven. Table tennis for all ages and skill levels. 508-728-5898, raeobmv@gmail.com.

As You Like It

6 pm, Tisbury Amphitheater, Vineyard Haven. As You Like It 508-696-6300, boxoffice@circuitarts.org.

Music in the Square -Bobby Alu 6-8 pm, Eisenhauer Gallery, Edgartown. Eisenhauer Gallery presents “Music in the Square” with Bobby Alu 508-6277003, eisenhauergallery@gmail.com.

Cartooning with Jarrett J Krosocza 6 pm, Vineyard Haven Public Library. Meet at the Vineyard Haven Library for a live zoom with Jarret J Krosoczajrapuano@clamsnet.org.

Meditation 6-7 pm, Bodhi Path Buddhist Center, West Tisbury. Group meditation available both in person at Bodhi Path in West Tisbury, and online via Zoom. marthasvineyard@bodhipath.org.

Maker Café: Live Music in the Garden

6-8 pm, Maker Cafe, Vineyard Haven. Live Music in the Garden at Maker Café 508-687-9794, eat@makercafemv.com.

Walls of Respect: Norman Parish and the Parish Gallery

6:30-8:30 pm, Center of Knowhere, Oak Bluffs. Walls of Respect Documentary Screening & Discussion 917-9609344, info@knowhereart.com.

For tickets and more information, visit mvfilmsociety.com.

No. 9” closes the film. For the performance, Bernstein famously changed the word "Freude" (joy) to "Freiheit" (freedom), with an orchestra composed of musicians from both East and West Germany, as well as musicians from the U.S., Great Britain, France, and the USSR.

“I believe in the potential of people,” Bernstein says. The resulting performance raises goosebumps

with its momentous beauty, and Bernstein’s full-throttle passion while conducting, reflecting his lifelong dedication to creating social change and bringing people together through his work.

“Bernstein’s Wall” screens at the M.V. Film Center on Monday, August 3, and Tuesday, August 4, followed by a Q and A with director Douglas Tirola.

Author Talk: Sally Mann — Art Work

7-8:30 pm, Martha’s Vineyard Performing Arts Center, Oak Bluffs. Join renowned artist Sally Mann for a conversation on Art Work: On the Creative Life. 919-2195834, info@mvbookfestival.com. MV DOCUMENTARY WEEK

7:30-10 pm, Martha’s Vineyard Film Center, Vineyard Haven. Doc Week - 5 nights of award-winning new documentaries and speakers at the MV Film Center. 774-392-2972, rich@mvfilmsociety.com

Summer Institute: Jeh Johnson

7:30-9 pm, Martha’s Vineyard Hebrew Center, Vineyard Haven. Former Sec. of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson addresses the state of national and international security (and insecurity) in today’s fragile world. 508693-0745, mvsummerinstitute.org.

A Soulful Evening with Jeffrey Osborne Benefit Concert

8-9:30 pm, The Strand Theatre, Oak Bluffs. The legendary Jeffrey Osborne joins The Cottagers’ 70th anniversary celebration with a soulful evening of song. 312-4978515, mcgheeosse@gmail.com.

[Off-site] Full Moon Yoga Nidra

8-9:30 pm, Bend in the Road Beach, Edgartown. Join us for a serene yoga class under the moon and stars at Bend in the Road Beach 508-627-4221, programs@edgartownlibrary.org.

FRIDAY, JULY 31

Barre Fusion with Kris Martin

7-8 am, Airport Fitness, West Tisbury. Ballet styled flows, barre work, balance and weights incorporating disks, loop bands and Bender balls. Come with sneakers, barre sox, or bare feet. 508-696-8000, workout568@aol.com.

Polar Bears MV Celebrate Their 80th Season on 4th July

7:30-8:30 am, Inkwell Beach Oak Bluffs. The Polar Bears of MV, a historic African American swim/ water aerobics club, open their 80th Birthday Season on 4th July at 7:30 AM at Inkwell Beach. 617-710-9312, jazzze3@aol.com.

Art Show - Full Run: “Seasonal Impressions” by A.F. Cook

8 am-4:30 pm, Martha’s Vineyard Bank - Chilmark branch, Chilmark. The full run dates of the “Seasonal Impressions” show by A.F. Cook, 7/23 - 8/5 This is a SEPARATE listing from the single-event reception on July 24. 508-627-4266, acook77@msn.com. Pumped Up Intervals with Maria McFarland

8:30-9:30 am, Airport Fitness, West Tisbury.

A class alternating cardio intervals and weight work intervals using heavier weights, body bars, loops bands, and weighted balls. 508-696-8000, workout568@aol.com. EFF’n Move Series with Tuni 9-10 am, Stillpoint, West Tisbury. EFF’n Move is a mindful, low-impact training approach focused on why you move, not just what you do. info@stillpointmv.org. 2026 Legacy Week on the Vineyard 10 years??!!

9 am-11 pm, Oak Bluffs. events.eventnoire.com.

Annual Friends of the West Tisbury Library Book Sale

9 am-3 pm, West Tisbury School, West Tisbury. Located in a tent at the WT Elementary School parking lot. All proceeds from the sale go to the West Tisbury Library. 508-693-3366, wt_mail@clamsnet.org

Kayak & Stand Up Paddle Board Quest

9 am-3:30 pm, Felix Neck Wildlife Sanctuary, Edgartown. Enjoy Sengekontacket on this self-guided kayak tour. Clues lead you through the pond. Call to reserve for up to 3 hours; returning the boats by 3:30. 508-627-4850, felixneck@massaudubon.org.

Art Exhibition: MVAA Permanent Collection and MVAA Members

9 am-6 pm, Old Sculpin Gallery, Edgartown. Art Exhibition: MVAA Permanent Collection and MVAA Members 508939-4092, art@oldsculpingallery.org.

Edible Garden Tour with Laura Silber 9:30-10:45 am, Location to be provided, West Tisbury. This garden tour will give you a great insight from Laura Silber 508-693-9549, programs@mvagsoc.org.

Art by M-C Lamarre Pop Up Shoppe at MV Botiga

10 am-6 pm, MV Botiga, Edgartown. Island Artist, M-C Lamarre’s Pop Up Shoppe at MV Botiga will host handmade whimsical art, MV Potluck Prints, & BasketCaseMV’s rope totes and vessels. 617-794-5515, mc@mclamarre.com.

Library Volunteers

10-11 am, Oak Bluffs Library. For ages 11-14. Come learn skills and help the library during this 2-day program. 508-693-9433, mlynch@clamsnet.org. Sankofa 2026

10 am-4:30 pm, Oak Bluffs Library. Sankofa - African American Literature and Culture Festival 508-693-9433, cphelan@clamsnet.org.

Carnegie Heritage Center

10 am-3 pm, the carnegie heritage center, Edgartown. Carnegie Heritage Center reopens Easter weekend, Friday and Saturday, 10 AM – 4 PM. Admission: $5 (ages 12+). vineyardtrust.org/events/ 774-549-9107, thecarnegie@mvpreservation.org.

Seashore Discovery

10-11:30 am, Felix Neck Wildlife Sanctuary, Edgartown. Head to the edge of Sengekontacket Pond to net, catch, and release marine life and discover the coastal creatures that live in local waters. 508-627-4850, felixneck@massaudubon.org.

Exhibit: Margot Datz: Recreator 10 am-3 pm, THE CARNEGIE HERITAGE CENTER, Edgartown. This exhibition highlights the creative process of muralist Margot Datz, whose work transformed the Old Whaling Church and Flying Horses Carousel. 774-5499107, THECARNEGIE@mvpreservation.org. Kayak Dreams at Sea Level 10 am-5 pm, Turpentine Gallery, West Tisbury. Kayak Dreams at Sea Level oil paintings show takes you on a meditative journey along the costal plains 508-6935963, mitch@turpentinegallery.art.

Artists’s premiere: Terry Crimmen, Heidi Lang, Kenneth Vincent 10 am-5 pm, Granary Gallery, West Tisbury. Artists’s Premiere: New work by Terry Crimmen, Heidi Lang, and Kenneth Vincent 508-693-0455, info@granarygallery.com.

Events

Artists Premiere: New Work by Traeger di Pietro, Mary Moquin, Nick Patten

10 am-5 pm, North Water Gallery, Edgartown. Artist’s premiere featuring new work by Traeger di Pietro, Mary Moquin, Nick Patten. continues through August 5, 10-5 Mon-Sat, 11-4 Sun. 508627-6002, info@northwatergallery.com.

Art En Blanc in Oak Bluffs, MA by E&S Gallery & Black Crown Art Auctions

10 am-8 pm, The Cottagers, Inc., Oak Bluffs. Collect the Culture. Own the Legacy. trinity@eandsgallery.com

Kid’s Music Class

10:30-11 am, West Tisbury Library. Sing fun songs and play instruments with friends! Ages 0-5 508-693-3366, hburbidge@clamsnet.org iPad Workshop with Kathy Lavieri 10:30-11:30 am, Edgartown Library. You have an iPad and you’re excited to use it—but where to begin? 508-627-4221, programs@edgartownlibrary.org. Fault Lines

11 am-5 pm, Knowhere Art Gallery, Oak Bluffs. Group Exhibition: Fault Lines 917-960-9344, info@knowhereart.com.

Bobby Alu live at Behind the Bookstore

11 am-12 pm, Behind The Bookstore, Edgartown. Bobby Alu live at Behind the Bookstore 508-627-7003, eisenhauergallery@gmail.com.

Summer Show

11 am-5 pm, Louisa Gould Gallery, Vineyard Haven. New works by: Carol Caradimos, Wooley Dutton, Nadia Mahfuz, Joseph McCarthy, Donna Nyzio and Nick Paciorek. 508-693-7373, louisa.gould@gmail.com.

Toddler Time

11-11:30 am, Chilmark Library. We’ll read classic and current children’s literature, and sing, move, and play together. Ideal for preschool ages. chilmarklibrarykids@gmail.com 508645-3360, chilmarklibrarykids@gmail.com.

Paul Beebe & Gwen Marcus Show

11 am-5 pm, Louisa Gould Gallery, Vineyard Haven. Paul Beebe, Fellow ASMA, and view his new selection of Vineyard realist oil paintings along with award winning bronze sculptures by Gwen Marcus 508693-7373, louisa.gould@gmail.com.

Loïs Mailou Jones: Sphere of Influence 11 am-5 pm, Center of Knowhere, Oak Bluffs. Group Exhibition - Lois Mailou Jones: Sphere of Influence 917-9609344, info@knowhereart.com.

Online Balance with Kanta Lipsky 11:30 am-12:30 pm, West Tisbury Library. To strengthen our connection to Earth and maintain balance. To sign up, email wt_mail@clamsnet.org. 508-693-3366. Seasonal Crafting 12-4 pm, Oak Bluffs Library. Craft projects for ages 3-11. New craft each week! Drop in. 508-693-9433, mlynch@clamsnet.org. Children’s Afternoon Art: Ceramics (ages 7+) 1-3 pm, Featherstone Center for the Arts, Oak Bluffs. From decorative planters to dragons to mugs, students will learn and experiment with multiple techniques in construction and decoration. 508-693-1850, featherstone@featherstoneart.org.

Book Signing: ‘The Mismeasurement of America’ by Gene Ludwig 2-4 pm, Edgartown Books. Gene Ludwig will be signing copies of ‘The Mismeasurement of America’, which explains what’s really happening in the American economy. 508-627-8463, info@edgartownbooks.com.

Adult book bedazzling (ages 18+) 2:30-4:33 pm, West Tisbury Library. Adult book bedazzling program - space limited - email to sign up 508693-3366, lhearn@clamsnet.org.

Tabletop Roleplay Group: Monster-Sized Summer Road Trip 3-6 pm, Edgartown Library. Throughout the campaign, you’ll experience highs and lows as you roadtrip across the country 508-627-4221, programs@edgartownlibrary.org.

Grace Church Lobster Rolls 3-6 pm, Grace Episcopal Church, Vineyard Haven. Grace Church Lobster Roll Fundraiser 508-693-0332, rector@graceepiscopalmv.org.

Sound Bath

5-6 pm, The Red House PRSC, Vineyard Haven. Relax in a peaceful environment while immersed in calming sounds 508-6932900, jtau@mvcommunityservices.org.

As You Like It 6 pm, Tisbury Amphitheater, Vineyard Haven. As You Like It 508-6966300, boxoffice@circuitarts.org.

Maker Café: Live Music in the Garden

6-8 pm, Maker Cafe, Vineyard Haven. Live Music in the Garden at Maker Café 508-687-9794, eat@makercafemv.com. Friday Nights with Johnny Hoy and the Bluefish

6:30-8 pm, Featherstone Center for the Arts, Oak Bluffs. Join us and Johnny Hoy and the Bluefish this summer for Friday night musical performances on our outdoor stage under the trees! 508-693-1850, featherstone@featherstoneart.org.

Film Screening: Knife: The Attempted Murder of Salman Rushdie 7:30 pm, Martha’s Vineyard Performing Arts Center, Oak Bluffs. Film Screening: Knife: The Attempted Murder of Salman Rushdie 508-6966300, boxoffice@circuitarts.org. Concert celebrating joy, justice & resilience

7:30-9 pm, Old Whaling Church, Edgartown. Composer Mark Miller and singer Julian Wamble perform original art song featuring Black poets.e ellen@ellenwingard.com MV DOCUMENTARY WEEK

7:30-10 pm, Martha’s Vineyard Film Center, Vineyard Haven. Doc Week - 5 nights of award-winning new documentaries and speakers at the MV Film Center. 774-392-2972, rich@mvfilmsociety.com Drive-In Movie: Sinners 8 pm, The Vineyard’s Drive-In at the YMCA, Oak Bluffs. Drive-In Movie: Sinners 508-696-6300, boxoffice@circuitarts.org. Bobby Alu live at The Ritz 8-10 pm, The Ritz, Oak Bluffs. Bobby Alu Live at The Ritz 508-6277003, eisenhauergallery@gmail.com.

SATURDAY, AUGUST 1

Polar Bears MV Celebrate Their 80th Season on 4th July

7:30-8:30 am, Inkwell Beach Oak Bluffs. The Polar Bears of MV, a historic African American swim/ water aerobics club, open their 80th Birthday Season on 4th July at 7:30 AM at Inkwell Beach. 617-710-9312, jazzze3@aol.com

Dance Fitness with Kris Martin

8:30-9:30 am, Airport Fitness, West Tisbury. A creative blend of rhythmic resistance, cardio conditioning, manageable mobility and core strength exercises all set to crazy-FUN music. 508-696-8000, workout568@aol.com

Kaiut Yoga

9-10 am, Peaked Hill Studio, Chilmark. Kaiut Yoga is works through chronic pain and injuries, general aches and stiffness, and is good for the inflexible, hyper flexible and the aging body. 774-563-8282, vsonnenthal@gmail.com

Beginner Pickleball Clinic

9-10 am, Airport Fitness, West Tisbury. Curious about pickleball? Join a session to learn the basics! Advance registration is required, call 508-696-8000 or go to our website to register. 508-696-8000, workout568@aol.com

Greenhouse Soil Therapy!

9-11 am, Community Greenhouse of MV, Oak Bluffs. Get your hands in the soil and help the community greenhouse. Seeding, transplanting, and harvesting; gardening chats and advice are a bonus! 774-563-8417, smiller8690@gmail.com

Chilmark Flea Market

9 am-2 pm, Flea Market Field, Chilmark. Chilmark Flea Market 508-6453100, chilmarkflea@gmail.com

Vinyasa Power Yoga

9-10 am, Edgartown Library, Edgartown. Free and open to the public. Registration is required. Sign up at edgartownlibrary.org. 508627-4221, programs@edgartownlibrary.org 2026 Legacy Week on the Vineyard 10 years??!!

9 am-11 pm, Oak Bluffs. events. eventnoire.com

Free Fairy Sculpture Trail at Island Folk Pottery

9 am-6 pm, Island Folk Pottery, Chilmark. The enchanting Island Folk Pottery Fairy Sculpture Trail meanders 1/4 mile through a magical wooded landscape populated with whimsical sculptures. 508-9559944, islandfolkpottery@gmail.com

Annual Friends of the West Tisbury Library Book Sale

9 am-3 pm, West Tisbury School, West Tisbury. Located in a tent at the WT Elementary School parking lot. All proceeds from the sale go to the West Tisbury Library. 508-693-3366, wt_mail@clamsnet.org

Annual Craft & Artisan Fair at the Tabernacle

9 am-2 pm, MVCMA Tabernacle, Oak Bluffs. Annual craft fair featuring jewelry, pottery, glass & fiber art, ornaments, prints, pillows & more. Handmade treasures rain or shine! obmvshop@gmail.com

Tween STEAM: Science Through Art

9:30-11:30 am, Slough Farm, Edgartown. Tween STEAM: Science Through Art 508-6277222, kendall@greatpondfoundation.org

Barnyard Buddies

Artists’s premiere: Terry Crimmen, Heidi Lang, Kenneth Vincent 10 am-5 pm, Granary Gallery, West Tisbury. Artists’s Premiere: New work by Terry Crimmen, Heidi Lang, and Kenneth Vincent 508-693-0455, info@granarygallery.com. Sankofa 2026

10 am-4:30 pm, Oak Bluffs Library. Sankofa - African American Literature and Culture Festival 508-693-9433, cphelan@clamsnet.org

Mini-Maker Craft Club

10 am-3 pm, Edgartown Library. A differentthemed craft will be offered every week, drop in and get creative! 508-627-4221, programs@edgartownlibrary.org.

Art En Blanc in Oak Bluffs, MA by E&S Gallery & Black Crown Art Auctions

10 am-8 pm, The Cottagers, Inc., Oak Bluffs. Collect the Culture. Own the Legacy. trinity@eandsgallery.com.

Misty Meadows Saturday Pony Rides

10 am-12 pm, Misty Meadows Equine Learning Center, West Tisbury. Enjoy a 15 minute Pony Ride on our beautiful property! Each child must be booked into a separate time slot for a ride, and our weight limit is 150lbs. 508-3387198, info@mistymeadowsmv.org. Family Kayak Adventure 10-11:30 am, Felix Neck Wildlife Sanctuary, Edgartown. Fun for families and friends, paddle on Sengekontacket Pond for an active investigation of the Pond’s history, culture, and wild residents. 508-627-4850, felixneck@massaudubon.org.

Kayak Dreams at Sea Level

10 am-5 pm, Turpentine Gallery, West Tisbury. Kayak Dreams at Sea Level oil paintings show takes you on a meditative journey along the costal plains 508-6935963, mitch@turpentinegallery.art. The Fabulists 10 am, Tisbury Amphitheater, Vineyard Haven. The Fabulists 508-696-6300, boxoffice@circuitarts.org.

9:30-10:30 am, Farm Institute, Edgartown. Spend your Saturday morning exploring the farm and meeting our friendly animals in this program for families! For ages 2-5, pre-registration required. 508-627-7007, thefarminstitute@thetrustees.org

Artists’s Premiere: Jennifer Christy & Jhenn Watts

10 am-5 pm, Field Gallery, West Tisbury. Artists’s Premiere: Jennifer Christy & Jhenn Watts 508-693-5595, info@fieldgallery.com

Artists Premiere: New Work by Traeger di Pietro, Mary Moquin, Nick Patten

10 am-5 pm, North Water Gallery, Edgartown. Artist’s premiere featuring new work by Traeger di Pietro, Mary Moquin, Nick Patten. continues through August 5, 10-5 Mon-Sat, 11-4 Sun. 508-627-6002, info@northwatergallery.com.

Art Exhibition: Jemison, Hoeft, Cohan, Glick, Joseph, Fane 10 am-6 pm, Old Sculpin Gallery, Edgartown. Art Exhibition: Jemison, Hoeft, Cohan, Glick, Joseph, Fane 508-9394092, art@oldsculpingallery.org. Art by M-C Lamarre Pop Up Shoppe at MV Botiga 10 am-6 pm, MV Botiga, Edgartown. Island Artist, M-C Lamarre’s Pop Up Shoppe at MV B otiga will host handmade whimsical art, MV Potluck Prints, & BasketCaseMV’s rope totes and vessels. 617-794-5515, mc@mclamarre.com. Saturday Storytime 10:15-10:45 am, Oak Bluffs Library. Join us for a fun-filled storytime with stories, songs, scarves, shakers and a parachute. Stories are geared toward kids ages 1.5 to 5 years old. 508-693-9433, mlynch@clamsnet.org. Pilates Flow with Camille Beauzile 10:30-11:45 am, Stillpoint, West Tisbury. This upbeat Pilates class blends preventative medicine, mind-over-matter focus, and joyful movement info@stillpointmv.org. Paul Beebe & Gwen Marcus Show 11 am-5 pm, Louisa Gould Gallery, Vineyard Haven. Paul Beebe, Fellow ASMA, and view his new selection of Vineyard realist oil paintings along with award winning bronze sculptures by Gwen Marcus 508-693-7373, louisa.gould@gmail.com. Colonial Storytime 11 am-12 pm, Chilmark Library. Colonial Storytime with Norah Van Riper 508-6453360, chilmarklibrarykids@gmail.com.

BUSINESS DIRECTORY

A monthly newsletter from your local Councils on Aging and the Martha’s Vineyard Center for Living PO Box 1729, Vineyard Haven, MA Tel: 508-939-9440. By Mary Holmes

August 2026 - Vol. 30, Issue 8

SHINE NEWS

A great volunteer opportunity awaits!

The Cape Cod & Islands Regional SHINE program is now recruiting volunteers for our 2026 training class. No prior experience with health insurance is required — we provide comprehensive screening, training, and certification so you can become a Medicare expert.

As a SHINE volunteer, you can make a real difference by

• Counseling individuals one-on-one

• Speaking to community groups

• Providing office support

We’ll help you find the role that fits your skills and interests. All you need is integrity, a willingness to learn, and a desire to help others.

Medicare can be confusing. If you’ve navigated the enrollment process yourself, you know how challenging it can be. Now, you can guide others through their first enrollment, help them compare plan options, or troubleshoot issues.

CORE

Join the SHINE team and become a trusted resource in your community!

You know your community and neighbors best, that’s why your involvement matters. SHINE volunteers are highly trained and certified to assist with

• Original Medicare (Parts A and B)

• Medicare Advantage (Part C)

• Prescription drug coverage (Part D)

• Medicare supplement (Medigap)

• Programs that help reduce healthcare costs

Make a meaningful impact.

Become a SHINE volunteer today!

Please call the Cape Cod and Islands Regional SHINE Program Manager Kristina Whiton-O’Brien at 508375-6762, and choose option No. 2 to sign up!

Ann Baird • 508-693-7900, ext. 210 • mvcommunityservices.org

Counseling, Outreach, and Referral for the Elderly (CORE) at M.V. Community Services works with at-risk and mostly homebound seniors in the community,

addressing significant physical, behavioral health, social, and casemanagement needs of seniors age 60-plus, at no cost to the client.

Announcements

• The center is welcoming volunteers for all interests! Call or email today.

for both the caregiver and care recipient improves. Call Stacey Northrop (ext. 102) to learn about registration.

Respite Innovations

• Save the date, Oct. 17, 10 am to 3 pm for our first Mah Jongg Tournament to support dementia and caregiver services! Visit mvcenter4living.org for more information. Email katiev@mvcenter4living.org or scan the QR code to be added to Mah Jongg mailing list. Registration will open after Labor Day.

Regular programs

Mon-Fri: 9 am – 3 pm, Supportive Day Program

Wed: Memory Support Group, 10 am–11:30 am

Fri: 11 am – noon, Open House Fri: 10 – 11:15 am, Dementia Caregiver Support Group on Zoom. Call for a link!

Services

Fees may apply. Call for more information.

• Supportive Day Program - Activity and social program

• Respite Innovations - Home visits

• Dementia coaching - To make home life easier

• Support groups - Professionally led for both caregivers and those experiencing memory changes

• Resources and educationRemove stigma and learn strategies

The Supportive Day Program (SDP) is a daily program for older adults who may experience memory challenges or disability. Enriching activities and a family-style lunch create a day of community engagement, purpose, and meaning. Equally important is the respite provided for caregivers. When a caregiver has time for rest and self-care, the quality of life

Respite Innovations brings person-centered engagement into the home, and affords caregivers time to take care of themselves. Call Ann Baird at MVCL if you are a caregiver who would benefit from a break! 508-939-9440, ext. 105.

Resources and education

• The Family Caregiver Support Program

This program advocates for caregivers, providing memory screenings, family meeting facilitation, ongoing Alzheimer’s and dementia education, and referrals to programs that can support your caregiving efforts. Our services at MVCL provide meaningful tools and tips for a better caregiving experience. We support any caregiver living on Martha’s Vineyard, or who is caring from afar for someone living here.

• Caregiver counseling

We can help you navigate the system of public and private care for the best plan to meet your needs. Consultation can be provided in the home, at our office, or over the phone. We can meet with caregivers individually or as a family.

• Dementia Friends

Dementia Friends USA is part of a global movement that is changing the way people think, act, and talk about dementia. By providing a free, one-hour Dementia Friends Information Session for your staff, you are helping the community better serve our neighbors. Contact Mary Holmes, Dementia Friends champion, at maryh@mvcenter4living.org or 508-9399440 to arrange a free session today!

local Council on

Hospice & Palliative Care is proud to launch a new educational video designed to help Island residents better understand hospice and palliative care, dispel common misconceptions, and encourage people to seek information and support at any stage of serious illness. The video was created by Circuit Films, the documentary production company of

Play the video above or watch on the home page of our new website! https://youtu.be/ q79j3h3L2yY?si=2u_YynCYvgsueM2f

HEALTHY AGING MARTHA’S VINEYARD

Cindy Trish, Executive director • 508-618-5134, ctrish@hamv.org

A Matter of Balance is back!

Staying active and independent starts with feeling confident on your feet. Whether you’ve experienced a fall, or worry about losing your balance, A Matter of Balance can help. This award-winning, evidencebased program gives older adults the tools, strategies and support to build confidence, improve balance, and reduce the risk of falls.

A Matter of Balance consists of eight smallgroup classes (eight to 12 participants) led by trained coaches who provide practical strategies and gentle exercises to help participants stay active and maintain their independence.

What you’ll learn

• View falls as preventable and manageable.

• Set realistic goals to increase physical activity.

• Identify ways to reduce fall risks at home.

• Improve strength and balance through gentle exercise.

Who should attend?

This program is ideal for anyone who:

• Is concerned about falling.

• Wants to improve balance, flexibility, and strength.

• Has experienced a fall.

• Has limited activities because of concerns about falling.

Class details:

• Oak Bluffs Council on Aging

• Tuesdays, August 4 – Sept. 22, 2 to 3:30 pm.

To register, contact your local Council on Aging by phone or email. Space is limited.

Edgartown COA, 508-627-4368

Oak Bluffs COA, 508-693-4509

Tisbury COA, 508-696-4205

Up-Island COA, 508-693-2896

To learn more, visit https://www.hamv.org/ falls-prevention.

UP-ISLAND COUNCIL ON AGING

Bethany Hammond, Director • 508-693-2896

Mondays

• Balletics, 9 am

• Strength and Fitness – Virtual, 9 and 9:35 am

• Yoga – Virtual, 9:15 am

• Parkinson’s Support Group – second and fourth Mondays at 1 pm Tuesdays

• Strength and Fitness – Virtual, 9 and 9:35 am

• Keeping the Balance, 10 am

• Duplicate Bridge, 1 to 4 pm

• Silent Book Club, second Tuesday: July 14, August 11, Sept. 8.

Wednesday

• Attorney Conni Baker, second Wednesday by appointment, 508-477-4502

• Yoga – Virtual, 9:15 am

• Fitness with Margarita, 10 am

• Aging GREATfully, first and third Wednesdays, 10 am

• Mah Jong, 1-3 pm

Thursday

• Strength and Fitness – Virtual, 9 and 9:35 am

• Balletics, 9 am

• Tech Pro Help, first and third, 11 am-1 pm

• Weekly Luncheon 12:30 pm (sign up Monday before)

• Wellness Clinic with VNA Nurse, third Thursday, 12:15-1:15 pm

• Chair Yoga 2:30 pm Friday

• Strength and Fitness – Virtual, 9 and 9:35 am

• Yoga – Virtual, 9:15 am

• Keeping the Balance, 10 am

• Fitness with Margarita, 10:30 am

• Watercolor Art Group, 1 pm

SPECIAL PROGRAMMING

FRIDAY, AUGUST 14, AT NOON: OUR ANNUAL HOWES HOUSE PICNIC!

TISBURY COUNCIL ON AGING

Catie Blake, Director • 508-696-4205

Weekly activities

Mondays

• 8:15 am, Tai Chi with Shaka

• 9:30 - 10:30 am, Line Dancing with Catie

• 11 - noon, Chair Yoga with Kat

• 1-3 pm, Silver Quilters

• 1-3 pm, Mah Jong

Call on Monday to make a lunch reservation for Thursday: 508-693-4393, ext. 466. Tuesdays

• 8:30 - 9:30 am, Earlybird Fitness

• 10 - 11 am, Fitness with Catie

• 11:05 - noon, Chair Volleyball

Wednesdays

• 8:30 am, Town Walkers (meet at the Riverhead Frisbee Park on Barnes Road)

• 9 am, Playreaders with discussion

• 1 pm, Shredding with Cynthia (Living Room)

• 1 pm, Ukulele Players

• 1 pm, Pick-up Ping-Pong (lower level)

• noon, Knitting Studio

• 1:30 pm, Canasta

Thursdays

• 8:30-9:30 am, Earlybird Fitness

• 10-11 am, Fitness with Catie

• 11:05 - noon, Cornhole

• Lunch at Noon. Reservations are to be made on the prior Monday; call Nicole at 508-693-4393, ext. 466. There is a $4 suggested donation.

Fridays

• 9 - 9:50 am, Yoga with Kat

• 10 - 11 am, Chair Yoga with Kat

• 11:15 - 12:15 pm, Chair Volleyball

• 1 pm, Tai Chi with Shaka Announcements

Visit our website, tisburycoa.com.

• Free Legal Advice with Atty. Bergeron, Thursday, August 13. Please call 508-696-4205 for an appointment.

• Blood Pressure Check, Friday, August 21, at noon (third Friday of each month)

• Food Rescue, every M-F 9:45 am

• Heart of Art, featured in the Living Room.

• Help us transform our deck into a comfortable three-season gathering space for everyone to enjoy! Our goal is to raise $15,000, and thanks to matching funds, every dollar donated helps the mercury rise even faster toward our goal. To contribute, please make checks payable to Tisbury COA Friends, Inc.

• Please call 508-696-4205 to borrow or donate medical equipment. We have a large supply. Before you buy, check with us.

• Call for information on legal help, the home modification program, shopping assistance, and more.

EDGARTOWN COUNCIL ON AGING

Lyndsay Famariss, Director • 508-627-4368

Weekly events

Monday

12:30 pm: Bridge

2 pm: Katama Walk

Tuesday

Edgartown Shopping Shuttle; call the Anchors to register.

10 am: Knitting

12 pm: Tuesday lunch

1:15 pm: Mah Jongg

Wednesday

12:30 pm: Bridge

Thursday

9:30 am: Opera with Susan Grunthal

12-1 pm: Souper Thursday. Free! 2-4 pm: Canasta

Friday

9-11 am: Men’s Group

12 pm: Friday Cafe

1:15 pm: Mah Jongg

August calendar

Please visit edgartowncoa.com for more information on programs & services. All are welcome! Register for programs in advance by calling 508-627-4368.

Tues. and Fri. lunches: Meals served at noon. Call by noon the day before to register. Visit edgartowncoa.com for our menu.

VTA/ECOA Shuttle on Tuesdays. The bus will pick up residents at their homes, take them to Stop & Shop, pharmacy, Post Office, and/or the ECOA, and then take them home. Please sign up by Friday at noon for Tuesday shuttle.

August 3, 17, and 31: Cuts for Seniors by Dee Dee, by appointment only. Call the Anchors. Cuts for $20, or Cut and BlowDry $30.

August 4: Wellness Clinic and blood pressure checks during lunch. Drop-in, 12-1 pm.

August 6: 1 pm, Vineyard Sound and annual Ice Cream Social. All are welcome to join us for the fun. Call to register. August 10: 1-3 pm, Sight Loss Support Group at the Anchors.

August 11: 11 am, Coffee with a Cop. Come learn what’s new at the EPD.

August 12: Hearing checks with Shawn Woodbrey of At Home Hearing. Call for an appointment.

August 14: Drop-in Tech Help with Rizwan Malik.

August 19: SHINE virtual consultations with Bill Redmond at the Anchors.

August 21: 12 pm, Birthday Cafe to celebrate August birthdays.

OAK BLUFFS COUNCIL ON AGING

Rose Cogliano, Director • 508-693-4509

Weekly activities

Daily: Beverages and Snacks All Day, 9 am-3 pm

Mondays

• Exercise with Patience Campell and Marilyn Miller. In person or on Zoom. 9 am.

• Chair Volleyball, 1-2 pm

• Blood Pressure Clinic with Nurse Faith Laskaris, 12-1 pm, August 10 and 24. Tuesdays

• Cornhole, 1-2 pm

• Crochet and Knitting, 1-3 pm

• Peticare with Debbie, biweekly at 10 am. Dates: August 4 and 18. Call for a reservation. All pets must be leashed or crated.

• Wellness Clinic, August 11 at 12:30 pm. This wonderful program has returned to OBCOA in collaboration with the Oak Bluffs board of health and the VNA!

• OBCOA and OBPD Luncheon, August 11 and 25 at 12 pm. Call to make your reservations. At our August 25 luncheon we will offer the second of our “Summer of Healthy Aging on Martha’s Vineyard” programs, jointly with the Wellness Collaborative. This presentation promises to be educational, exciting, and informative!

• NEW PROGRAM AT OBCOA: A MATTER OF BALANCE 2-3:30 pm.

A collaboration between HAMV and Island Councils on Aging, this wonderful program is now at the OBCOA. Lauren Bagnall is our trainer, and will share her knowledge and expertise regarding balance, exercise, and health. We are at present full, but plan on offering the program again in 2027.

Wednesdays

• Coffee with a Cop, August 5 at 10:30 am. Come join Chief Searle for informative and interesting conversation!

• Let’s Talk — Stroke and Memory Support Group. Weekly: 9:30 am August 5, 10 am August 12, 19, and 26.

• Bingo, 1-3 pm, August 5, 12, 19, and 26. ursdays

• Exercise with Bill White, 9 am, in person or on Zoom.

• Chair Volleyball, 1-3 pm, Aug. 6, 20, 27.

• Crochet and Knitting, 1-3 pm

• Pizza Party! Please call Rose at 508-6934509, ext. 3, to reserve your spot. No reservation, no pizza! August 6, 27: 1 pm

• Polar Bears’ 80th Anniversary Celebration, 12-3 pm. Please call Rose at 509-6934509, ext 3, for additional information. Fridays

• Tai Chi with Floyd Lifton, 9 am in person or on Zoom.

• Back to OBCOA! Cell Phone Mastery, 11 am to 1 pm, August 14 and 28

• Game Day, 12-3 pm Monthly programs

• August 5 ,Coffee, Tea, and Conversations with a Cop. Meet Chief Searle and his great team! Refreshments. 10:30 am

• Monthly board of directors meeting, 10:30 am in person on Thursday, August 20, and live on Zoom.

• Social Security Video Display program, August 24 at 9:30 am.

Call for an appointment.

• Open Enrollment/SHINE: Please contact us to schedule an appointment if you have any insurance needs, questions, updates. Call 508-693-4509, ext. 3.

• Outreach with Susan von Steiger, 508-693-4509, ext. 4.

• Applications and forms preparation

• Durable medical equipment

• Fuel assistance, by appointment with Susan

• Insurance assistance

• Lifeline

• Monthly Social Security Video Display program

• SNAP

• Reassurance phone calls

Rose’s Wish List

We need adjustable metal canes with rubber bases, metal canes with four prongs. Also bath and shower seats in gently used and new condition. Please consider donating them to us to provide them for our seniors’ use!

WELCOME AUGUST 2026! HAPPY SUMMER TO YOU AND YOUR FAMILY!

THEREACH OF HER BRUSH

''Loïs Mailou Jones’ Sphere of Influence" at the Center of Knowhere Art Gallery. BY ABBY REMER

Renowned artist and educator Loïs Mailou Jones (1905–98) had strong, lifelong ties to her beloved Vineyard, inspiring works such as the beautiful 1940 watercolor, “Beached” Menemsha. Jones’ maternal grandmother was an early settler who owned property in Edgartown, allowing the artist to spend her summers on the Island from childhood through the end of her life. She held her first-ever solo exhibition at the age of 17 in the garden of her neighbor and lifelong friend, Harlem Renaissance novelist Dorothy West. In 1988, Jones built a home on family land in Edgartown, opening the Loïs Mailou Jones Studio Gallery to exhibit her work and mentor other artists. It is fitting that Jones, who taught for decades at Howard University, is being celebrated locally during Legacy Week.

The exhibition, “Loïs Mailou Jones: Sphere of Influence,” at the Center of Knowhere Art Gallery on Circuit Avenue in Oak Bluffs through Sept. 13, follows the artist’s influence on others both during her lifetime and after her death. The diverse artists in this show reflect the breadth of Jones’ reach: students she mentored, peers, colleagues who worked alongside her, and contemporary practitioners creating within traditions she helped define. The gallery’s founding director and co-

owner, Valerie Francis, says, “What continues to inspire me about Loïs Mailou Jones is that she refused to be defined by a single medium. She embraced painting, printmaking, textile design, and illustration, allowing each discipline to inform the others. That breadth of practice, combined with her extraordinary command of color, pattern, and composition, produced a body of work that feels as relevant and visually compelling today as when it was created.” We see Jones’ relevance in the

work by the artists in the exhibition. Francis says, “Rather than emphasizing visual likeness, Jones’ legacy is one of transmission. ‘Sphere of Influence’ traces how her emphasis on a piece’s structure, surface, and composition continues to resonate with artists today.”

As a professor at Howard University for nearly five decades, Jones influenced generations of artists through her interest in form and design and her fascination with other cultures, informed by her experiences throughout the U.S., Europe, the Caribbean, and Africa. Francis explains how the broad theme of her show came about: “There has always been a light shining on Loïs Mailou Jones herself. I thought to take it from a different perspective about how, as a professor, she really poured into the students she taught. Because she worked in printmaking, painting, and textile design, she was open to trying different things, and I think that’s what shows up in the variety of the artists in this exhibit.”

Martha Jackson Jarvis was one of Jones’ students. Although Jackson’s sizable, completely abstract paintings don’t visually resemble any of Jones’ styles, Jarvis embodies her teacher’s conviction that artistic practice should be rooted equally in technical mastery and experimentation. In “Mandala Crossing II,” for example, we see Jarvis’ exploration of how

Loïs Mailou Jones, “Beached,” Menemsha.

Loïs Mailou Jones

Lisa Corinne Davis, “Voracious Tale.”

“What is most important is for people to absorb the creativity of all these artists who reflect the direct or indirect influence of Loïs, who both paved the way and also cultivated so many different types of media.”

— VALERIE FRANCIS

Continued from B14

different pigments such as oil, acrylic, watercolor, and homemade black walnut ink interact to create a varied surface that draws us in close to witness the fascinating results.

Jones’ mentee, David C. Driskell, whose figurative work includes the mixed-media “Two Faces,” shares a visual language with Jones’ figurative art, such as her serigraph “African Dancers.” Both artists use dynamic lines to animate their subjects.

We see echoes of Jones’ penchant for strong lines that capture the essence of her human forms in her good friend Dr. Samella Lewis’ lithograph “Diva.” Although their artistic paths developed independently, both women understood that making art alone was not enough. Each dedicated her career to expanding opportunities for Black artists, preserving African American art history, and ensuring that future generations would have access to the stories, scholarship, and institutions long missing from mainstream narratives.

Mathieu Jean Baptiste fashions his touching, large double portrait, “Synchronized Souls,” using acrylic, ink, and colored pencil on paper. Wrapped in swathes of designs, the two women sit, cocoon-like, blessed by the yellow sun above. Baptiste and Jones share an artistic sensibility rooted in Haiti. Jones’s many visits to the island profoundly influenced her use of color, pattern, and composition. Likewise, Baptiste draws deeply on his Haitian heritage, creating paintings that celebrate memory, resilience, spirituality, and community through richly layered surfaces and a vibrant palette.

The striking Black women in LaToya Hobbs’ captivating portraits, including Untitled (Neo Green), extend Jones’ legacy through her commitment to figurative print-

making and to elevating Black lived experience. Hobbs’ woodcut combines extraordinary technical precision with varied surfaces and deeply personal narratives that celebrate the everyday beauty of Black life.

We get delightfully lost in Lisa Corinne Davis’s “Voracious Tale.” Although it is an oil painting, the mesmerizing, asymmetrical, crazy-quilt-like patterning recalls Jones’ interest in textiles, where she incorporated traditional motifs as well as African- and Caribbean-inspired imagery. Even after shifting her focus to painting, Jones stated that her background as a designer made her highly attuned to composition and color, which is clearly true of Davis as well.

Francis notes, “Loïs Mailou Jones was far more than a remarkable artist. She was a teacher whose influence continues to shape generations of artists working today. This exhibition recognizes that her greatest masterpiece may not be a single painting, but the enduring legacy of artists, educators, and cultural leaders who continue to build upon the foundation she created.”

Francis adds her ultimate hope for the show: “What is most important is for people to absorb the creativity of all these artists who reflect the direct or indirect influence of Loïs, who both paved the way and also cultivated so many different types of media. I also want to leave space for people who don’t know Jones or her vast influence to seek out more information to learn more.”

“Loïs Mailou Jones: Sphere of Influence” is on view through Sept. 13 at the Center of Knowhere Art Gallery at 73 Circuit Ave., Oak Bluffs. For more information, including special in-person events, visit knowhereart.com.

Martha Jackson Jarvis, “Mandala Crossing.”

Loïs Mailou Jones, “African Dancers.”

LaToya Hobbs, Untitled (Neon Green).

BY ABIGAIL HIGGINS

Vitex, the delicious lavenderblue summer lilac, and trumpet vine, in shades of yellow to fiery, say August is right around the corner. They decorate shrubberies, walls, and fences. and are classic feasts for hummingbirds. The recent rains gave slowed-down plants and gardens the boost needed to refresh and surge into new growth. There is nothing like rain for gardens! Hoses and irrigation are lifesavers, but for plants they are but a substitute for the real thing.

The Ag Fair and Island life

Plan a fair entry, volunteer, show up. The M.V. Agricultural Society’s 164th annual fair, an integral part of Island summers, takes place early this year, August 13 through 16. Planning entries starts way before actual fair days. Linking the Ag Fair to Island identity and Island life requires participation, whether it is a fair entry, or showing up at M.V. Commission hearings.

Support the M.V. Commission. It exists to protect the Island’s identity. We are a real place with real, gritty people, real, gritty lives, and real, gritty values, not some disembodied chunk of overperfected suburbia seven miles out at sea.

Curating the garden

Many gardens suffer from hodgepodge plantings: everything we ever desired, all in one garden. Visiting other gardens is usually productive. Harder to achieve, discipline and simplicity are effective. Who has not bought a plant or plants on impulse?

Sometimes these are inspired acquisitions, sometimes they fail to live up to the original expectation. As the garden takes shape over time and seasons, some will be shown the door. (Dig, pot, and share it with someone who will appreciate it.) Others will be so successful that “more, more, more” is wanted! This is where propagating is fun — your secret power. I planted four dwarf hydrangeas in a bed, and then became bothered by the unbalanced look: Really, five was the ideal number. I pinned down a longer cane of one of the four until it rooted. Now, No. 5 is transplanted and growing where it should have been to start with.

Lifting and dividing is one way to make more plants. The digging can be laborious, and is another reason to work to improve garden soil. Good soil is easy to dig, and helps divisions to overcome transplant shock and to settle in well.

Observing and recognizing seedlings is another way to improve your garden. The cryptomeria seedling

has been transplanted. The wineberry seedling has been weeded.

Taking softwood and semiripe cuttings is slightly more involved, but not all that complicated. These links are to RHS information pages: bit.ly/RHS_SoftwoodCuttings are taken in spring; bit.ly/RHS_SemiripeCuttings are done in late summer to early fall.

as well. It is a hybrid plant that grows strongly, and whose wandlike flowering stems are intensely fragrant. In my own garden, it lines a sunny walkway. In heat and sunshine, its scent is intense and powerful, and plants are alive with insect life.

Learning the characteristics of the plants you choose helps to multiply them, or, alternatively, to keep them under control. Deciding what you want, and sometimes being able to produce it, is one of the creative “eureka!” aspects of gardens that captivate us. Everyone who tends a garden has these moments.

Wineberries

These and all lavenders benefit from being trimmed after the flush of flowers is over. In early August, trim away the flower stems and reduce the plants (shrubs, really) by six to eight inches. The aim is to renew them. Avoid overly old, woody growth on plants, which is weak and splits easily. Doing this in early August, there is still time for hardening off before cold weather.

In the garden

Wineberry season is here. Although wineberries, also known as thimbleberry, are juicy, superficially resembling raspberries, they somehow lack the more intense, distinctive flavor. Thickets of wineberry quickly form, and are loved by children and birds. But they then become home to rabbits and other wildlife, and crowd out native vegetation.

Wineberry (Rubus phoenicolasius) was introduced originally as an ornamental, and as gene stock for raspberry breeding. It grows fast and has spread, and is considered a noxious weed in many areas: It is on the Massachusetts Invasive Species list.

The seedlings are in gardens everywhere, evidence of how birds love them. While these are small, they are easy to pull: The juvenile thorns are soft. Look for them now, before roots become entrenched.

Lavender

Lavender is among the very favorite plants of gardeners. Sunny gardens, dry gardens, deer- and rabbitpressured gardens, in flower, and as a foliage plant: Lavender is attractive and wonderful. Top lavender choices are ‘Hidcote’ and Munstead strain.

I grew a plug crop of the recently introduced Lavandula x. intermedia ‘Phenomenal,’ and am impressed with this one

Expect sulphur polypores and other interesting fungi in the wake of recent rains. Lilac borer activity is past, so lilacs may be safely pruned. Stake tall Oriental bulb lilies, and remember that their pollen makes stubborn stains. Tidy daylilies by dead-leafing. Sparse populations of Oriental and Asiatic beetles are appearing. Along with Japanese beetles, confusingly named, all three are adult forms of white grubs disliked in garden and lawn soil. During midday heat, the small beetles are active, but morning and evening they are easy to knock into containers of soapy water. Likewise, cabbage white butterflies are flying. They seek out members of the Brassica family as caterpillar larval food. These and all lepidopteran caterpillars, such as tomato hornworms, may be controlled with regular spraying with Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt). Also, check out neem oil as a plant protector and insect control. Mix up one to two tablespoons of neem oil with a small amount of mild liquid soap and one gallon of water. Spray early or late, but avoid spraying in strong sunlight and the heat of the day.

Side-dress tomato, eggplant, and pepper plants with low-number organic fertilizer. Tick check, frequently!

PHOTOS: ABIGAIL HIGGINS

Wineberry seedling, weeded.

Vitex, delicious lavender-blue summer lilac.

Loved by wildlife: Wineberry thickets.

Fifth hydrangea, propagated and planted.