The Internet did not arrive on the Island by chance, like the skunk and the raccoon. It was deliberately brought here by an anxious group of like-minded computer enthusiasts. Twenty years ago, it wasn’t even known on the Vineyard as the Internet.

Today, business on the Island doesn’t get done without a byte or a bit being exchanged. The Internet today is in every town hall, most municipal buildings and in just about every household. The world is linked to the Vineyard and the Vineyard is linked to the world.

By MARK ALAN LOVEWELL

This is a summer of leatherback sea turtle sightings by local fishermen. Capt. Dick Smith of the charter fishing boat Patriot Too has seen quite a few of these large sea turtles in Vineyard waters.

“During the summer, the jellyfish come through Nantucket and Vineyard sounds,” Mr. Smith said. “Leatherback sea turtles are usually out there on the Gulf Stream, but their diet is jellyfish, so they are here.”

Earlier in July, the captain said, he saw quite a few sea turtles almost daily.

Overfishing may be the buzz word on the waterfront to explain the decline of many stocks of fish around Vineyard waters, but it isn’t heard often enough when it comes to explaining the loss of bait fish.

On Wednesday night at the Chilmark Public Library, a lone man stood before an audience of anglers and commercial fishermen to report the worst environmental tale needing to be told is the loss of one of the most valued forage fish in the ocean, which used to swim in abundance in these waters but is almost gone — menhaden.

Edgartown firefighters won Sunday’s annual Dukes County Firefighters’ Muster held in Oak Bluffs. Close to 100 firefighters and their friends participated in four competitive events that demonstrated skill and speed.

This is the second year in a row that Edgartown won. All Vineyard towns participated in the muster, and were joined by teams from Carver and Swansea in the muster’s firefighting event.