After every snowfall you may have noticed a series of odd, tube-shaped slides, wending mostly through Island woodlands but also over roads and even into downtown Oak Bluffs or Edgartown. The creatures that left these mysterious trails are less easy to spot, but recent research carried out by two Vineyard scientists suggests they are abundant. They are coastal river otters.
The Massachusetts Department of Revenue has directed the town of Oak Bluffs to slash spending nearly $240,000 in the current budget in order to reduce a deficit that has plagued the town for two years. The town will schedule a special town meeting in the coming weeks to decide where it will trim the already strained budget.
A raging house fire marked a terrible end to an otherwise peaceful Christmas day for one family in West Tisbury.
By PETER BRANNEN
Frequent travelers off-Island will have more offsite parking options this off-season as the Steamship Authority voted on Tuesday to approve a $225 parking permit option that would run from January to May.
Opening a massive new front for offshore energy development around the Island this week, state and federal officials kicked off a federal leasing process that will see wind developers bid on blocks of the Atlantic south of the Vineyard and Nantucket.
Winter break always has been a time for reconnecting with old friends, convalescing from the scars of another year and, for a select few, settling old scores on the ice at the annual alumni hockey game. While some participants may have added pounds and wrinkles since their glory days, the years had done little to diminish the skills of the high school’s former frozen heroes on display at Sunday’s game.
