The Norton Point breach opened on Dec. 27 and followed a series of storms that had battered the south-facing shore of Martha’s Vineyard. The Chappaquiddick summer home owned by Sue and Jerry Wacks stands as a lonely sentinel by the sea these days.

Next Tuesday will be different. That was the pledge from the Steamship Authority this week after a series of website problems marred the opening day for online summer reservations on the Nantucket route.

September fourteenth. Summer was over and Martha’s Vineyard had already begun its annual downshift into fall. Children were back in school, the frenzy of August was a fast-fading memory.

The old farmhouse has a new front door. Actually only the wood storm door is new — made by a friend who is a skilled finish carpenter.

With a major project to rebuild the Bourne and Sagamore bridges in the pipeline, MassDOT will host two virtual public meetings this week.

The fourth lawsuit in as many months was filed this week against the Martha’s Vineyard Commission, an unprecedented volume of litigation that is driving up legal bills.