Downtown Vineyard Haven is in desperate need of revitalization, and Stop & Shop is in desperate need of a new modern grocery store. I think that through the years of good service to the Island, Stop & Shop has proven that they deserve this opportunity. I fully support this proposal.

Please accept this letter of endorsement for the Stop and Shop Company’s application for a new store in Tisbury. While some people have expressed concerns with the proposal, I am anxious to see it built.

The downtown area is in desperate need of revitalization. There is no doubt in my mind that a new supermarket on Water Street will help attract additional improvements to the area.

I hope that the members of the Martha’s Vineyard Commission will have the wisdom to ignore the naysayers and stick to the facts when it comes time to approve the new Stop & Shop in Vineyard Haven.

Anybody with an ounce of sense would immediately recognize that the current store is ugly and outdated and needs to be replaced. Why do we need to be so afraid of change, especially when this is exactly the kind of change that would help improved the downtown area?

Stewardship is defined as "the responsible overseeing and protection of something considered worth caring for and preserving."

As Vineyard House breaks ground on the construction of our new consolidated campus it is only appropriate to thank other Island agencies that also support our population and our mission. Primary among these is the New Paths Program at Community Services. This six-week day program offers counseling and helps those in early recovery from substance abuse develop coping and life skills that are necessary for continued sober living.

Thousands of cigarette butts observed (and many collected!) along the bike path at Joseph Sylvia State Beach on Earth Day. When a single smoker tosses his butt on the ground, thinking, this butt won’t cause any significant harm, his belief is no doubt true. But when thousands of smokers act on that same belief, it’s true no longer.