Martha's Vineyard Megan Dooley

Chappy Native Pens Kids’ Book, Talks About Growing Up Different

Megan Dooley | Thursday, December 17 2009 - 1:04pm

As a student at the Edgartown School, a counselor once told Chappaquiddick native Stephanie Duckworth-Elliott that she wouldn’t go to college, and implied that Ms. Duckworth-Elliott would not achieve in life. The young girl had a background and home life that already separated her from other kids her age — she was a member of the only Wampanoag family living on Chappy at the time, and raised primarily by her grandfather — and the counselor’s prediction made her feel even more detached from her peers.

Authors

Parents Share Coffee, Ideas With Principal

Megan Dooley

It’s 8 a.m. on a cold and rainy Tuesday morning and regional high school principal Steven Nixon is seated at the head of a conference table in the school’s library conference room. He leans back casually in his chair as he speaks to a room full of parents about enrollment and scheduling. These are some of the same topics wedged between business and budget discussions at high school committee meetings, which are held in the same room, but today’s event is decidedly less formal.

Washed Ashore, Lost Sea Turtle Found Friends

Megan Dooley

The long journey of a Kemp’s Ridley sea turtle named Shellbey came to a sad end early this month, when the turtle was found dead in an isolation tank at its temporary home at the University of New England’s Marine Animal Rehabilitation Center in Biddeford, Me.

Fortunately the family that found the turtle washed up on the Vineyard’s north shore shortly after Thanksgiving last year got one last chance to see Shellbey, when they visited the rehabilitation center in January.

Menemsha Fishermen Must Pay More

Megan Dooley

Menemsha fishermen will face tighter regulations and higher costs this year, following a decision by a sharply divided Chilmark board of selectmen to require them to carry a $1 million liability insurance policy that names the town in the event of a claim.

Newly Formed Institute in Chilmark Seeks to Carve Early-Stage Pathways to Art, Creativity, Writing

Megan Dooley

In person, Marianne Goldberg is evocative of the ocean that inspires her. From the soft waves of her hair and the deep turquoise shades of her flowing garments, to the translucent sea green frames of her eyeglasses, she seems perfectly at home in her secluded Chilmark home overlooking the water of the south shore. Even the stones set in her silver rings look as if they could have been treasures dug up from the sand.

Edgartown Pulls Plug On Plan To Hike Rooms, Meals Taxes

Megan Dooley

Responding to vocal protest from hotel and restaurant owners, the Edgartown selectmen voted this week to drop two articles from the annual town meeting warrant that would have increased the rooms tax and added a meals tax in town.

Allowed under a local option provision in state law, the town was considering increasing the room occupancy tax by two per cent, and imposing a meals tax of .75 per cent.

Salsa on the Soles of Her Shoes

Megan Dooley

I had my first taste of salsa dancing at a nightclub in Florida. A friend and professional dancer took the lead and spun me around a crowded dance floor, careful to catch me from crashing into other couples as my unreliable feet stumbled to maintain some sense of rhythm.