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2 weeks ago | 
vineyardgazette.com | Addison Antonoff |Katrina Liu |Gwyn Skiles
Memorial Day weekend has arrived on Martha’s Vineyard, bringing with it a mix of uncertainty and optimism as Islanders navigate the shifting political and economic climates. At the onset of the unofficial start to summer, more than a dozen business owners, hoteliers, and chamber of commerce officials said they have made adjustments for the season and continue to grapple with the rising cost of a vacation.
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1 month ago | 
vineyardgazette.com | Gwyn Skiles |Ethan Genter
A mainland high school principal with ties to the Vineyard has been picked to lead the Edgartown School after a months-long search. Vineyard public schools superintendent Richard Smith last week offered the Edgartown job to Kate Campbell, the current Attleboro High School principal. Ms. Campbell, whose family owns homes on the Island, is expected to start on July 1, taking over for interim principal John Stevens.
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1 month ago | 
vineyardgazette.com | Gwyn Skiles |Katrina Liu
At Flat Point Farm in West Tisbury, Christa Fischer greets her sheep like old friends. She also keeps a binder close at hand to catalogue family trees, an especially important detail during lambing season. Sometimes she will name a sheep after a writer and the offspring will carry that theme forward. “For example, all of Louisa’s [children] are named after Louisa May Alcott characters so we can keep track of the lineage,” Ms. Fischer said during a recent tour of the coastal farm.
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Mar 6, 2025 | 
vineyardgazette.com | Ethan Genter |Gwyn Skiles
The mass firing of probationary employees at federal agencies and other cuts by the Trump administration reached the epicenter of marine research for the Cape and Islands last week, leaving Vineyarders wondering about the potential ripple effects in the coming years. Several scientists in Woods Hole were terminated Feb.
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Jan 20, 2025 | 
vineyardgazette.com | Gwyn Skiles |Katrina Liu
The Vineyard remembered and paid tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King in a series of events during the holiday weekend. On Friday, the Martha’s Vineyard Hebrew Center held a service honoring Dr. King and his friend Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, a Holocaust survivor who also dedicated his life to fighting for peace and equality before he died in 1972. Rabbi Caryn Broitman told the congregation that Rabbi Heschel walked side-by-side with Dr. King during the Selma marches in 1965.
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Jan 16, 2025 | 
vineyardgazette.com | Gwyn Skiles
It was standing room only at an Edgartown select board meeting Monday as family, friends and police officers gathered to celebrate the swearing-in of police chief Chris Dolby. Mr. Dolby was born and raised in Edgartown, and he beamed as his daughters Ellie, 22, and Caroline, 18, pinned the gold badge to his chest, and the crowd cheered. “This is such a special honor for me, and I will not let you down,” he said at the ceremony.
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Jan 16, 2025 | 
vineyardgazette.com | Gwyn Skiles
The Edgartown Police Department is encouraging pet owners to keep a watchful eye after a dog was bitten by a coyote last week. Edgartown police Chief Chris Dolby said the owners witnessed the coyote attack their dog on Jernegan Pond Road. The dog is recovering from injuries and undergoing precautionary rabies protocol. The incident is being investigated by the state Environmental Police but Mr. Dolby said there’s no search.
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Jan 16, 2025 | 
vineyardgazette.com | Gwyn Skiles
The voices and personalities of the Vineyard Gazette’s outdoors columnists took center stage at the second edition of the recently revived Tuesdays in the Newsroom series. Columnists Lynne Irons, Suzan Bellincampi, Rob Culbert and bird photographer Lanny McDowell talked to a packed newsroom about their process, the flora and fauna they have studied over the years, and how the effects of climate change have impacted the natural places they frequent.
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Jan 16, 2025 | 
vineyardgazette.com | Gwyn Skiles
Every night for the past 30 years, Edgartown harbor master Charlie Blair has slept with a radio beside him. Now and then a voice would wake him up before the sun rose and Mr. Blair would quickly respond, heading out on the water to help a boater in distress. Patrolling the harbor and overseeing the moorings of Edgartown have been Mr. Blair’s life’s work for the past three decades. He said he doesn’t remember ever taking a sick day, but in March he will retire for medical reasons.
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Jan 9, 2025 | 
vineyardgazette.com | Gwyn Skiles
Frigid temperatures took hold this week, with ice forming at the ocean’s edge. But that didn’t deter the Island’s surfing community, which took to the water in 6 mm thick wet suits, resembling seals more than people as they paddled out in search of waves. Off the shores of Chilmark, 13 surfers representing various age groups and professions paddled out on Tuesday, battling winter winds. “Some people probably just don’t surf in the winter...
