As a working task force on the Vineyard begins to prepare for a graying population in the decades ahead, the state Secretary of Elder Services paid a visit to the Island last week to hear about their work in tackling the issue of healthy aging.

Secretary Ann Hartstein said there are unique challenges involved in creating supportive services for the elderly on the Vineyard.

There are beetlebung trees and pinkletinks to identify, a heath hen sculpture to find and constantly changing landscapes to behold at either end of the Island. The Vineyard is a place of natural discovery and a new field guide hopes to capture just that.

A crowd of nearly 1,000 people filled the West Tisbury Agricultural Hall Wednesday afternoon for the memorial service for F. Patrick Gregory. Son Tim Gregory called his father a whistler and believer in the human spirit.

John Tiernan has the talk of a salesman, the walk of a local and the passion and energy to dream big for Oak Bluffs, which is perhaps why the Dockside Inn has flourished since he bought it in 2012. “I have a vision that Oak Bluffs should be that grand seaside resort it once was, with welcoming arms,” he said.

Film producer and environmental advocate Laurie David has a new message: cook or be cooked. Her latest documentary, Fed Up, was produced with longtime news anchor Katie Couric.

There’s no such thing as the talk anymore. And the awkward puberty book — that’s gone too. A new sex education pilot program at the West Tisbury School emphasizes normalizing the conversation about sexual health.