Now that we are in the new year, let’s think about how to make things different and better for living in Vineyard Haven in the summer. Let’s get a discussion going about traffic mitigation measures.

The following letter was sent to NStar: I just recently heard that the public has until Jan. 15 to write to you in protest the spraying of herbicides on Martha’s Vineyard to save your company the expense of trimming plants by hand. How absurd!

Should Ahold-Stop & Shop’s proposal for a greatly expanded store, the subject of a long hearing process before the Martha’s Vineyard Commission, be approved or rejected?

On Monday, Jan. 20, trained local volunteers working with the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) will begin a course for family members of individuals with serious mental illness. This is a free, 12-week series of classes on consecutive Mondays, through April 7, from 6:30 to 9 p.m. in Vineyard Haven.

Herb Foster’s article in the Jan. 3 issue of the Gazette has an interesting organization that braids together effectively but sometimes a bit confusingly several different time sequences.

The following note to the Gazette arrived handwritten from a third grader in Los Angeles seeking information for a school project about the state of Massachusetts. The project also involves resurrecting the lost art of letter writing. The school address is listed below for anyone who would like to help the student.