Choose Granite Countertops in Martha's Vineyard, MA for Elegance and Durability

A federal judge in Boston has ruled that migrants flown from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard in 2022 can proceed with a lawsuit against the Florida company that took them there.

The judge also dismissed claims against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and other officials named in the suit.

Three migrants from Venezuela, along with an immigrant rights group, filed the lawsuit. They say that Florida’s governor, others in his administration and an air transport company conspired to mislead them and deprive them of their civil rights when they recruited and flew them to Martha’s Vineyard in 2022.

In their lawsuit, the migrants, identified as Yanet, Pablo and Jesus say they were told they were going to Massachusetts, but didn’t know their final destination was Martha’s Vineyard until shortly before landing.

The plaintiffs say a videographer hired by the DeSantis administration recorded them arriving and boarding vans. But apart from the videographer and van drivers, the plaintiffs say no one else in Martha’s Vineyard had any advance notice of their arrival.

In her order, U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs says the case can proceed against the air transport company, Vertol. Judge Burroughs dismissed claims against Gov. DeSantis and other members of his administration out of jurisdictional concerns, but did so “without prejudice.” That means the legal team representing the migrants can seek to bring DeSantis and others back into the case as it goes forward.

In the 77-page filing, Judge Burroughs had harsh words for those involved in the scheme. “Vertol and the other Defendants here were not legitimately enforcing any immigration laws,” she wrote, adding, “the Court sees no legitimate purpose for rounding up highly vulnerable individuals on false pretenses and publicly injecting them into a divisive national debate.”

Lawyers for Civil Rights, which represents the migrants, called the ruling “a major victory in the Martha’s Vineyard case, and it sends a crucial message: private companies can — and will — be held accountable for helping rogue state actors violate the rights of vulnerable immigrants through illegal and fraudulent schemes.”

But Brian Kelly, a lawyer representing Vertol said, “We are pleased that most of the case has now been dismissed and believe the Lawyers for Civil Rights are once again mistaken in their analysis of the situation.”

BOSTON - The first five wind turbines of the Vineyard Wind 1 project have been installed 15 miles off the coast of Martha's Vineyard.

The five turbines are expected to generate 65 Megawatts of clean energy to Massachusetts. They will be able to power roughly 30,000 homes and businesses.

Construction of the GE Haliade-X turbines began in late 2022, and they are the beginning of the first large scale offshore wind project in the United States according to Avidgrid.

"Today, we have fully installed the first five turbines of this historic project, representing a new frontier for climate action and the clean energy revolution in the United States," Avangrid CEO Pedro Azagra said in a statement Friday.

The turbines must complete several tests and milestones before being able to generate power, but the company said that they expect the turbines to deliver power before the end of the year.

"The Commonwealth is a leader in growing the offshore wind industry at the pace and scale necessary to address the climate crisis. Offshore wind is the single biggest lever we can pull to address the climate crisis while strengthening our regional economy, protecting ratepayers, improving public health, and creating high-quality jobs and equitable access to economic opportunity," President of the Environmental League of Massachusetts Elizabeth Turnbull Henry said in a statement.

Once its fully complete, the Vineyard Wind 1 project is expected to have 62 wind turbines, delivering 806 Megawatts of clean energy and power to about 400,000 homes and businesses in the state.

Avidgrid says that the project is expected to save Massachusetts residents $1.4 billion over the first 20 years, and reduce carbon emissions by 1 million metric tons, roughly the same as taking 325,000 cars off the road.

Riley Rourke

Riley Rourke is a freelance journalist based in Boston. She graduated cum laude from Emerson College with a degree in Journalism in 2023. She has previously worked for Emerson's student organizations: WEBN, and the Emerson Channel.

Four and a half years ago, I took to task the Martha’s Vineyard NAACP over a matter that goes to the heart of the organization’s work. I insisted it demand the removal of two plaques honoring Confederate soldiers located in a public park, maintained on the public’s dime in Oak Bluffs.

The plaques added insult to injury, I told the group at a March 2019 chapter meeting. And I warned them that to remain silent on the issue would make a mockery of its mission: “The Advancement of Colored People.”

The group heard me and agreed to demand that the plaques be removed immediately by its owner, the town of Oak Bluffs. The group, however, insisted on one caveat. Instead of tossing the markers, lawyer and then-MVNAACP executive committee member Arthur Doubleday wanted them donated to the Martha’s Vineyard Museum for their instructional value. The institution could better put things in historic context, Mr. Doubleday said. Three heated select board meetings later, and after a lot of press, the select board followed the chapter’s lead.

The plaques came down.

But whether the museum has been effective in putting things in historic context is another matter.

Last month, I made my way to the Island as I do every summer, this time meeting with Martha’s Vineyard Museum executive director Heather Seger. I followed her to an outbuilding behind the main museum, where the plaques and a brief explanation were relegated to a darkly-lit wall in the corner of the former barn. Ms. Seger assured me her team, including research librarian Bow Van Riper, had created a more comprehensive and robust exhibit online.

What I found there, however, was thin at best and less than contextual. At 30,000 feet, it failed to tell the whole story.

Let’s face it: one can’t talk about the Oak Bluffs Soldiers’ Memorial Monument, where the Confederate plaques were located, without talking about the Civil War. And one can’t talk about the Civil War without talking about slavery. And one can’t talk about slavery without talking about the institution, not piecemeal, but at 30,000 feet. Put another way: the story can’t be isolated to the South and its obsession with Black bodies and the free labor they produced. We have to also talk about the blood of the institution staining the hands of Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts and, indeed, New England.

To be sure, exhibit visitors need to come away clear on a few things. That Massachusetts, the first state to abolish slavery, was also the first to legalize it. That long before “Cotton was King” down South in the 1800s, Martha’s Vineyard and Massachusetts were importing enslaved Africans dating back to the 1600s. That by 1776, dozens of enslaved Africans were still working in bondage on the Island. That the colony’s shipyard built the vessels that transported us. Its distilleries produced the rum that incentivized our capture and sale. Its waters and fisheries produced the cod that sustained us as an investment. Its textile mills clothed us for the fields and our sale on the auction block.

And it doesn’t stop there.

One need only visit nearby Newport, R.I. — a short 39 miles away from Martha’s Vineyard by boat — to find God’s Little Acre, the largest intact colonial burial ground of enslaved Africans in the country.

Fourteen miles north of it sits the town of Bristol, home to the DeWolf family, the country’s largest and wealthiest trafficker of enslaved Africans in American history. It’s the same family that intermarried with the Colts, producers of one of the most important tools to facilitate the transatlantic and domestic trade of our people — guns.

And yes, museum visitors should be clear that Black history icons such as Prince Hall, Phillis Wheatley and Elizabeth (Mum Bet) Freeman weren’t enslaved in Virginia, the Carolinas or Georgia, but in Massachusetts.

Indeed, it’s time to stop stigmatizing the South, the Charles Strahans of the world and his compatriots, out of convenience. Time to stop the hypocrisy of promoting the false narratives that suggest only folks below the Mason Dixon line engaged and profited. Instead, Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts and New England must fully own its history of slavery in all of its inhumanity, especially as we navigate the issue of reparations.

Everybody — but especially Black folk — visiting the museum’s exhibit needs to come away clear that Martha’s Vineyard wasn’t always the summertime sanctuary of colored folk or the playground of the so-called Black elite. That unlike artist Lois Mailou Jones and writer Dorothy West, who the museum has curated exhibits around, you can’t put a bow on some stories. Our children need to know our time on Martha’s Vineyard didn’t start with the tent rivals at Oak Bluffs. Or fishing charters at Menemsha. Or lighthouse visits at Aquinnah. Or Greek Week. Or presidential compounds at Katama.

First came slavery. And slavery by any other name is still slavery.

So, let’s resist adulterating and abridging what happened. Otherwise, Martha’s Vineyard becomes as guilty as Ron DeSantis and Florida in coloring and corrupting history. Remember that only after sharing the truth can we reconcile. Only after exposing the theft of our labor can our children understand white wealth and the debt owed.

Tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Do it because it’s the right thing. And do it now. Thank you.

Clennon L. King is a journalist, filmmaker and historian. He lives in Albany, Ga.

A substantial amount of rain and storm surge overnight Tuesday led to coastal flooding in downtown Vineyard Haven, and strong winds on the south side of the Island led to continued beach damage.

On Wednesday morning, some local businesses were forced to close with flooding reaching their doors; Stop & Shop built a barricade of sandbags to keep lapping waters back on Water Street.

Several vehicles stalled on Beach Road, some requiring tow trucks to get out of the flooded street.

On Wednesday morning, Tisbury resident Douglas Burke was recording the flooding at Five Corners on his phone. Burke said that he has never seen storm aftereffects like this in Vineyard Haven. “I’ve been here 20-something-odd years, and I think this is the worst I’ve ever seen,” he said.

“It’s been an inconvenience. You can work around it, and go around the roads. And it’s part of the Vineyard charm,” Burke said.

In Edgartown, just as town officials have begun the process of rebuilding the areas hit hardest during last month’s storm, Atlantic Drive and South Beach dunes were once again devastated by Tuesday’s high winds and flooding, exacerbating the vulnerability of the Island’s south shore.

The National Weather Service reports that 2.3 inches of rain fell at the Vineyard Airport weather station overnight Tuesday, overpowering storm drains. The highest wind gust reached 50 miles per hour.

Five Corners and Beach Road

Reached Wednesday morning, Tisbury town administrator Jay Grande and DPW director Kirk Metell said that the flooding, while maybe worse than previous storms, was a decade-old problem.

Both said that Five Corners is below sea level, which causes issues when storm surge and rain swamp the area. And the outflow pipes have not been working properly to get water out of the area. Much of Beach Road and Five Corners were flooded until well into the afternoon Wednesday.

Grande says that the state should consider elevating Five Corners, even if only a few inches, so that water can drain better.

But both the town officials said that the state should also add mechanical pumps to the area, so that water can be pumped out of the road when there is a more substantial storm, like Tuesday night’s.

Grande pointed to two state studies that are considering improvements in the area. One is considering safety, and the other is a drainage study. While he is grateful that the state Department of Transportation is working on it, Grande is hopeful they can fast-track them, with that section of town seeing routine flooding.

“They need to start expediting a design-and-build process, because properties are at risk, and they get damaged during these events,” he said. “The drainage system is the state’s, and although we are grateful they are working on it, they need to expedite it.”

Mid-morning on Wednesday, a MassDOT worker who asked not to be identified was closing part of Beach Road.

“There are four outflow pipes at the end of this road on Water Street Extension that the town owns, and when they’re kept clean, the water flows pretty good,” the worker said, explaining one reason the flooding was bad that day. “But they’re not clean, obviously.”

While some offices and stores were closed — including The MV Times and Mobil station, because of the flooding — some businesses were open. “Shockingly, we do have some customers in here right now — that was somewhat unexpected,” said Chicken Alley thrift shop operations director Jessica Tartell.

Chicken Alley is also preparing for a comparable storm expected this weekend. “We will sandbag the areas that … are known to [have] flooding,” Tartell said. “We’re just trying to secure anything as best we can, with the anticipation of much higher winds … We want to make sure nobody gets hurt, and that our neighborhood stays as safe as possible.”

Jen Ingraham, owner of the Island Color Center, was not alarmed on Wednesday morning: “We’re up high — luckily.”

When asked how this storm compared with others she had seen, Ingraham had a particular date in mind. “It came up pretty high, but the last time it was this high was Jan. 17, 2022. I have a video of it, and I just showed someone earlier.”

Ingraham is not planning any preparations for this weekend’s storm: “No, I don’t really prepare for storms. It’s New England.”

Edgartown

In Edgartown, conservation staff were trying to shore up damage from last month’s storm, which resulted in significant beach erosion and a collapsed roadway on Atlantic Drive.

After the holiday season, the town began taking donations of used Christmas trees in order to help build up south shore dunes that had been destroyed. But with that work not yet completed, Tuesday’s storm brought with it tides that made their way over the South Beach dunes, flooding Atlantic Drive once again. The road will likely be closed for the next several days.

With help from the state, Edgartown Parks Department is working on a plan to mitigate the damage already done, and come up with strategies to prevent further erosion and devastation in the future.

Also, the town announced Wednesday that the Chappy Ferry would be out of service until midday.

SSA

The Steamship Authority experienced multiple cancellations on Wednesday morning due to the weather, including all the ferries up until the 9:50 am departure from Vineyard Haven. One trip, the 11:05 am departure from Woods Hole, is listed as being delayed by 30 minutes because of a crew shortage.

SSA spokesperson Sean Driscoll told The Times there were 14 cancellations on both of its routes between Tuesday night and Wednesday morning. Additionally, Driscoll said, “the current forecast calls for winds Friday into Saturday,” and the SSA is keeping an eye on the upcoming weekend’s weather.

Outages

While it is uncertain how many Islanders experienced power disruptions overnight, Eversource reported that about 40 customers in Tisbury — near where Ashton’s Way meets Herring Creek Road — were without power on Wednesday morning because of a tree limb. The power has since been restored.

An Eversource representative was not immediately available to comment on the extent of the storm’s impact on power.

“Our crews have been working to make repairs since the storm entered Massachusetts, bringing down trees and limbs, causing damage to the electric system,” Priscilla Ress, Eversource spokesperson, told the Times. “As we head into this weekend, we’re making the similar preparations as we did for this past storm, including additional crews to serve our customers on Martha’s Vineyard.”

Abigail Rosen and Eunki Seonwoo contributed to this report.