Catherine Norton was appointed by the Falmouth selectmen in mid-January. She pledges to listen to all the stakeholders in the state-chartered boat line that is the lifeline to the two Islands.

A $1.45 million budget approved by the commission last week for the coming fiscal year is an increase of nearly 10 per cent over last year.

A Martha's Vineyard Commission review of the grocery expansion plans in Vineyard Haven will go to a seventh public hearing in February. Sticking points remain amid growing frustration over a drawn-out process.

Nearly 173 years after she first set sail, the Charles W. Morgan has survived to earn a new distinction. She is the last surviving whaling ship and this spring she sets sail once again.

An overnight coastal blizzard swept up the East Coast late Tuesday forcing schools, businesses and government offices to close for a day in the middle of the week. Then the thermometer plunged to single digits.