Monthly Archives: October 2011

Friends

Posted on October 31, 2011 by

Politics on Martha’s Vineyard, as in any small town or close-knit neighborhood, are not only local but personal — sometimes intensely personal. It’s not quite true that “everybody knows everybody,” but if you’ve been around a couple of decades or … Continue reading →

Posted in Martha's Vineyard, musing, public life | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments

London Tries to Gag MVC

Posted on October 27, 2011 by

The following memo was sent to all members of the Martha’s Vineyard Commission and the MVC staff late Tuesday afternoon (5:44 pm to be precise) by Mark London, MVC executive director. Nearly all the commissioners are either elected by Vineyard … Continue reading →

Posted in Martha's Vineyard, public life | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

All Change Is Not Created Equal

Posted on October 27, 2011 by

Over and over opposition to the roundabout has been explained away as “people don’t like change.” To which I say that “people” — which is to say me — don’t like having change shoved down our throats by people who … Continue reading →

Posted in Martha's Vineyard, musing, public life | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Goofs Don’t Have to Be Forever

Posted on October 26, 2011 by

In our last installment about the roundabout proposed for the blinker intersection, things were looking pretty bleak for the home team. Not that the project’s proponents were looking especially good: at around 11 p.m. on October 6, after yet another … Continue reading →

Posted in Martha's Vineyard, public life | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Creative Living

Posted on October 19, 2011 by

An incomplete list of my interactions with Dan Waters, in no particular order but all from the current calendar year: I attended a performance at the Vineyard Haven library in which Dan and Jemima James performed a selection of songs, … Continue reading →

Posted in Martha's Vineyard, public life, writing | Tagged , , , , | 9 Comments

Occupy

Posted on October 17, 2011 by

Occupy-ay-ay Occu-pie-in-the-sky Since I’m blogging from the Seasonally Occupied Territories, you must have guessed I’ve had something to say about Occupy Wall Street, but my occupation – which is to say “editing” — has preoccupied me big-time for the last … Continue reading →

Posted in Martha's Vineyard, public life | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

They’d Rather Sue

Posted on October 16, 2011 by

For those following Ben Ramsey and Nisa Counter’s adventures in Massachusetts Land Court . . . In our last episode, Judge Sands encouraged the parties to consider mediating their dispute. Mediation encourages opponents in a dispute to work together to … Continue reading →

Posted in Martha's Vineyard, public life | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

It Ain’t Over Yet

Posted on October 9, 2011 by

My September 10 post about Nisa Counter and Ben Ramsey’s struggle to defend their small piece of Chilmark against a land grab by a Vineyard conservation organization was titled How the Story Ended . . . That ellipsis at the … Continue reading →

Posted in Martha's Vineyard, public life | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Bull’s Eye

Posted on October 9, 2011 by

Coming soon to an intersection near you? In yet another lesson in the banality of local politics, the Martha’s Vineyard Commission on Thursday night voted 7–6 to approve the roundabout, with a few conditions most of which had to do … Continue reading →

Posted in Martha's Vineyard | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

Weasels

Posted on October 4, 2011 by

Fresh back from a lovely if wet weekend in western Massachusetts with lots of dogs (mostly though not all malamutes) and dog people, tonight I did my civic duty and went to a land use planning committee (LUPC) meeting. Plus … Continue reading →

Posted in Martha's Vineyard | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment