There is a lot more need for a Vineyard connection with Cuttyhunk these days, Dukes County Commissioners heard on a visit to the island Wednesday.

Unlocking a Puzzle: Quality of Our Waters

By JULIA WELLS
Gazette Senior Writer

The diver goes over the side and disappears into the shallow saltwater pond with a small splash. Several minutes later he breaks the surface, cradling his prize: a clear plastic cylinder that contains a large plug of gravelly sand topped with pond water. A wisp of green algae waves gently in the watery top layer like a slender flag.

Bye Bye Birdie: Falcon Flies Off, Headed Toward Parts Unknown

By MATT PELIKAN

It's difficult to prove that something is absent. But it appears that the Vineyard's hottest celebrity flew the coop sometime Tuesday afternoon.

The flight was self-propelled, and the celebrity was a slate-gray, foot-long predatory bird, a red-footed falcon, the first member of its species ever found flying wild in North America.

SSA Rankles Tisbury Board

Boatline Pays Police in Falmouth; Town Selectmen Want to Know Why That Is Fair; Traffic Snarls at Vineyard Haven

By ALEXIS TONTI

Tisbury leaders this week charged Steamship Authority managers with employing a double standard by paying for extra police assistance and traffic control in Falmouth while refusing to do the same in Vineyard Haven.

Big Plans for Vineyard House Include a New Central Campus

By ALEXIS TONTI

The directors of Vineyard House Inc., the only Island program that offers housing to people in the early stages of recovery from drug and alcohol addiction, are now moving forward with a plan to purchase land and build a central campus for the organization with increased capacity for residents.

After nearly three weeks of turmoil and back-and-forth accusations, Vineyard school leaders officially severed ties with their school bus contractor, Island Transport, and have crafted a deal to hire the Vineyard Transit Authority (VTA) and a Florida company to run the school buses in time for the opening of the school year next month.