The Martha s Vineyard Times
Coalition seeks to create housing bank
In 2005, one of our local papers ran a story: “The housing bank initiative has cleared its first major regional hurdle, now that all six towns have thrown their support behind the idea, which aims to create a bank of money for affordable housing using a transfer fee on most real estate transactions. The Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank is the model …”
Despite overwhelming support from voters in all six towns and the Vineyard real estate community, the effort failed in the state legislature due to lobbying by the Massachusetts Association of Realtors, which opposed the concept of transfer fees. At the time, the M.V. median home sale price was approximately $500,000.
The Martha s Vineyard Times
A tale of two galleries
Bringing new exhibits to light during a pandemic. Brookside Oxen. Colin Ruel
Exterior view of Winter Street Gallery in Edgartown. Courtesy Winter Street Gallery
Installation view of A group of more or less than 10, Winter Street Gallery. Courtesy Winter Street Gallery
Installation view of The Winter Exhibition , Winter Street Gallery, Edgartown, 2020. Courtesy Winter Street Gallery
2020 may not have been the ideal year to launch a business. Yet two local couples have found that on an Island as supportive of the arts as Martha’s Vineyard, even a pandemic couldn’t waylay their gallery aspirations.
The Martha s Vineyard Times
Harbor Homes takes lead in addressing homelessness
County contracts with nonprofit to provide shelter and other support services.
The Old Whaling Church in Edgartown is just one initiative being operated by Harbor Homes the Island’s central resource for homelessness prevention. Ralph Stewart
Harbor Homes of Martha’s Vineyard is officially taking the helm for homelessness prevention and remediation on-Island after becoming the umbrella organization for such services during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The mission of Harbor Homes is to ensure that low-income residents have access to safe, sanitary, and secure housing so they can function as healthy and productive citizens. In addition to housing, the organization offers life skills education and support services that help residents move toward greater self-sufficiency.
Leah Palmer, the Martha’s Vineyard public schools English Language Learning coordinator, has spent the past decade building cross-cultural channels of communication on the Island.
But when the pandemic hit back in March, schools, town halls, libraries, shelters, transportation services and almost every other public institution on the Vineyard had to close its doors within the span of days. Those bridges, built over the course of a decade, quickly began to crumble.
“I was at home, just beside myself, around how I am going to effectively communicate with families right now about the crisis,” Ms. Palmer recalled. “And everyone was in the same boat. Like, what are we going to do?”
The Martha s Vineyard Times
Rich Reinhardsen: âThe Salvation Army is in my bloodâ
Local volunteer continues family tradition by selflessly serving his community.
Rick Reinhardsen has headed up the Salvation Army on Marthaâs Vineyard for more than 15 years. â Lucas Thors
Rick Reinhardsen has headed The Salvation Army on Marthaâs Vineyard for more than 15 years, and has cherished every second of it.
As Reinhardsen stood in front of Edgartown Stop & Shop collecting money in his big red kettle, he told The Times the story of The Salvation Armyâs inception on-Island.
âAbout 15 or so years ago, I was doing some family research and I learned that my grandparents were involved in The Salvation Army in New York,â Reinhardsen said. âThey joined in 1888, and The Army had only really started in 1880, so they were around for the early stages.â Eventually, Reinhardsen said, his grandparents became Salvation Army officers, and his