As Martha's Vineyard approached and then passed the millennium, the Island could rely on one wintertime certainty: Lola's, the restaurant at the be

Pat Jenkinson's lobster boat Solitude sits idle at the dock in Menemsha.

Silver Screen: Theatres Seeing a Mere Trickle of Moviegoers

By MAX HART

At the Edgartown Cinemas on a recent evening, the most popular movie in America plays to an almost empty theatre. About a dozen patrons enjoy a laugh as Ben Stiller and Robert DeNiro engage in madcap hijinx in Meet the Fockers.

Over at the Island Theatre on Circuit avenue in Oak Bluffs, Brad Pitt and George Clooney are scheming their way to riches in Ocean's Twelve, the fifth highest earner at the box office. But they, too, look down from the screen to a mostly empty room.

Controversial Road Plan Wins Approval in Edgartown Meeting

By IAN FEIN

Edgartown voters last night continued to back the Pennywise Path affordable housing project, turning a deaf ear to pleas that called for postponing the controversial taking of a second access road to the development.

Residents approved all 12 articles on the special town meeting warrant, including a $310,000 appropriation to bring water, sewerage and electricity to the project.

Island Takes Number One Spot in State for Lyme Disease Rate

By IAN FEIN

When it comes to Lyme disease on the Vineyard, either you've had it or you know someone who has.

The Health Report of Martha's Vineyard confirms what most Island residents have known for some time: Lyme disease, a debilitating bacterial infection transmitted by deer ticks, has reached epidemic levels on the Vineyard.

Ecology Map Aids Planning

Released By Nature Conservancy, Sophisticated Color Blueprint Shows Diverse Habitats End to End on Island

By IAN FEIN

A detailed map that identifies all of the ecological habitats on the Vineyard was released this week by the Islands office of The Nature Conservancy. The map is the first of its kind for the Vineyard.