News
Four years ago this summer, Paul Gamson was married on the Vineyard to his partner of almost five years, Richard Knight. But as residents of Chilmark and Oakland, Calif., their marital status shifted as they moved between homes — until last Thursday.
“Not married? Married? At least I know what box to check in California and Massachusetts,” Mr. Gamson said following a 4-3 ruling from the Republican-majority California Supreme Court which struck down the statewide ban on same-sex marriage.
The hubbub of non-English voices stilled and everyone stood for the entrance of clerk magistrate Liza Williamson. Things began in the usual way: “Hear ye, hear ye . . .”
But from then on the proceedings in Edgartown district court on Tuesday were far from usual.
For a start, the proceedings were conducted in neither English nor Portuguese, but wholly in Spanish, and the 60-odd people who appeared before Mrs. Williamson were 14 or 15 years old.
Aquinnah failed to achieve a quorum Tuesday to finish its annual town meeting. The town now is planning to conclude the annual meeting and hold a related special town meeting, tentatively scheduled to start Thursday, June 19, at 7 p.m. at old town hall.
The Gazette office will be closed on Monday in observance of the national holiday. A list of events appears in the weekend section.
Author and Vineyard resident Tony Horwitz may have won a Pulitzer prize, written several best-selling books and worked for esteemed publications like The Wall Street Journal and The New Yorker magazine, but clearly he is still warming to the idea of being somewhat famous.
For someone more accustomed to conducting interviews for one of his stories or books, it’s still a bit peculiar to him that somebody would actually want to write a story about him.
The ferries are full, the weekend forecast bursting with good news — even the weather forecast is good for Memorial Day.