Housing Bank Comes to Rest

Advocates for the housing bank, who have worked long and hard for their cause, lost the battle last week when a bill to create a new tax on real estate sales — with the money intended to go into an affordable housing fund — died as a piece of unfinished business on Beacon Hill. The Massachusetts legislature is now in summer recess.

And the housing bank, first filed three years ago, has run out its string.

Island Baseball

The big turnout for the Cape Cod Baseball League game held two weeks ago at the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School is strong evidence that the league and Vineyard baseball enthusiasts should seriously explore creating a league team for the Island, or moving a league team here.

Shine a Light

On an Island where the dire lack of low and moderately priced housing is a perennial issue, the Martha’s Vineyard Commission is right to require a public hearing on an affordable housing proposal from the developers of the Field Club in Edgartown.

Sheriff’s Meadow: Tracking the Future

This has been a painful summer for the Sheriff’s Meadow Foundation, the venerable Island conservation organization that was rocked at the outset of the season by the revelation that two of its signature sanctuaries had been dug up by an Island landscaper who was transporting native plants to a private property on the West Tisbury North Shore.

Berrying Time

The Cost of Eating

In most places, a walk down a supermarket aisle does not lend itself to experiences of awe and incredulity. But Martha’s Vineyard isn’t like most places.

Consider Sunset heirloom tomatoes, which have been selling at Cronig’s Market for seven dollars and ninety-nine cents. The price of one large Sunset tomato is roughly equivalent to the cost of a passenger trip between the Island and Woods Hole, or to one hour of work at the Massachusetts minimum wage.