Oak Bluffs town administrator Michael Dutton resigned on Friday morning, capping weeks of tension and speculation over whether he would remain on the job. And as the dust settled over the weekend, the mood in town was decidedly bleak amid mounting financial problems and a workforce strained by low morale and uncertainty about the future.

The five Oak Bluffs selectmen met behind closed doors for an hour on Friday and then announced in public that they had accepted Mr. Dutton’s resignation, which is effective July 31.

It’s not surprising that Edo Potter’s favorite piece of conservation land is the next one. For decades she has been instrumental in acquiring plot after plot on her beloved Chappaquiddick for public use and enjoyment by future generations. She’s confident about the future of conservation on Martha’s Vineyard because of the health of the Island’s numerous environmental groups and their remarkable track record, both of which owe in large part to her tireless efforts.

To glimpse far into the future on the Vineyard, just visit the house of Ted Bayne in West Tisbury. Nothing levitates, lycra unitards are not standard and it is by all appearances much the same as any other typical Vineyard house circa 2011. The only difference is that, energy-wise, Mr. Bayne and his family are almost entirely self-sufficient, thanks in large part to a century-old and decidedly unsexy piece of equipment: the heat pump.

By PETER BRANNEN

For Jaws production designer Joe Alves, frights were in short supply on set during the early summer of 1974.

“My concern was the audiences might laugh at the shark,” he said in a telephone conversation from his Hollywood home on Tuesday.