Tag Archives: town government
Voting in the Age of COVID-19
For the first time in anyone’s memory, and maybe the first time ever, West Tisbury held its annual town meeting (ATM — and yes, cash gets dispensed here, but not the way you non–New Englanders may be thinking!) in another … Continue reading
This Ride Is Just Beginning
Sometimes you pick your issues. Other times — and I’m coming to believe that this is by far the more common scenario — the issues pick you. About a year ago news surfaced that drivers for the Vineyard Transit Authority … Continue reading
Tam Lin Goes to a Selectmen’s Meeting
How is writing about Martha’s Vineyard like a puppy chasing its own tail? Real life inspires fiction and fiction starts looking like real life and pretty soon you’ve forgotten which came first. Round and round and round . . . … Continue reading
Z is for Zoning #AtoZChallenge
When I moved to Martha’s Vineyard in 1985 I was as ignorant about zoning and land-use planning as I was about refuse disposal. (See “Unsustainable” for more about that.) My education started PDQ: In January of my first winter, I … Continue reading
Democratic State Convention
After many years as an unenrolled voter who voted Democratic and even occasionally worked for Democratic candidates, on January 30 I finally registered as a Democrat. Two weeks later, almost by accident, I became secretary of the Martha’s Vineyard Democrats, … Continue reading
Mid-Spring on the Line
It was like winning the lottery: I was almost out of underwear, laundry needed to be done, and Wednesday — two-for-one day at the Airport Laundromat — dawned bright and very breezy. Off I went, a little later than usual: … Continue reading
Candidates’ Night
There are only two contested races on West Tisbury’s town election ballot, and so far the buzz is not exactly overwhelming, but the turnout for Candidates’ Night on Wednesday was respectable enough. The event was organized and moderated by the … Continue reading
Calendars Rule
I used to pride myself on being able to keep all my engagements and deadlines in my head. My memory isn’t unusually capacious — it’s just that my engagements were few, and because most of my editing jobs are book-length … Continue reading
Small Town Nuts & Bolts
One of the few good things to come out of last November’s presidential election results is a renewed interest in how government works, or is supposed to work, and how we can go about influencing it most effectively. So Saturday … Continue reading
Listening Tour #1
Dylan Fernandes, state representative elect from the Barnstable Dukes Nantucket district, ran a campaign that emphasized “transparency, accessibility, and community engagement,” so it’s not surprising that a month before he takes office he was already conducting his first “listening tour” of … Continue reading
From the Seasonally Occupied Territories . . . 