Commentary
Protecting the Herring
More than one hundred fifty years ago, Henry David Thoreau noted the many rivers on Cape Cod named for herring. The day could come, he mused in his book Cape Cod, when people might find more Herring Rivers on the Cape than herring.
While that day has yet to come, the scarcity of herring in recent years from runs throughout Massachusetts, including on the Vineyard, has endowed Thoreau’s observation with an eerie prophecy.
FOOD FOR THE HUNGRY
Editors, Vineyard Gazette:
What follows is the text of recent remarks made by Captain Vanderhoop of Aquinnah before the New England Fisheries Management Council.
My name is Captain Buddy Vanderhoop and I am a Wampanoag Native American charter captain and commercial fisherman. I have run the Aquinnah Wampanoag herring run for 35 years.
If I had covered all bets on whether the Tisbury liquor question would wind up in a flat-footed tie, the drinks would certainly be on me. The rare outcome of a 690 to 690 pro and con vote is such as to drive one to drink, unless of course one resides in Tisbury where the question is still moot.
Boycotting The Olympics
By Jesse Shayne
The issue of boycotting the Beijing Olympics has been raised to a whole new level. Recently, when asked if he would attend the opening ceremony of the Olympics, President George W. Bush said he is not sure yet.
As organizations across the United States mark Cover the Uninsured Week (April 27-May 3), so will the five community health centers of Cape Cod and Martha’s Vineyard, which are working to implement the state’s landmark health care reform legislation. As a result of this legislation, approximately 340,000 individuals are newly insured statewide. Yet, 18.4 per cent of all Cape Codders are without health insurance coverage, according to The Human Condition Report 2007.