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THE MARTHA’S VINEYARD TIMES

Volume 43, Issue No. 31

3 Sections

Housing bank fails to pass in state legislature

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A “transfer fee” on high-end real estate sales was again not included in a comprehensive state bill. BY SARAH SHAW DAWSON

SOUL PATROL A journey into Vietnam at African American Film Festival.

DENA PORTER

The 24th annual African American Film Festival featured a documentary titled “Soul Patrol” last Saturday, about a Black special operations team in the Vietnam War, and was followed by a discussion moderated by Henry Louis (“Skip”) Gates Jr., host of “Finding Your Roots” on PBS, and former Secretary of State John Kerry, both pictured above with Jason (“J.M.”) Harper, director of the movie. Island summer resident Kerry served two tours of duty with the U.S. Navy as a Swift Boat skipper on the rivers of the Mekong Delta, and upon returning to the U.S., spoke out against the war. The culmination of the festival this Saturday includes a final trove of shorts and movies, and a party at Nomans in Oak Bluffs, placing the Island once again at the center of the celebration of Black excellence in film. All week, the lineup of acclaimed films and documentaries made by independent and established Black filmmakers and post-show discussions are at the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School’s Performing Arts Center in Oak Bluffs.

Trauma counseling for first responders A new $1 million initiative launches at M.V. Community Services. BY NICHOLAS VUKOTA

irst responders across Martha’s Vineyard — police, firefighters, and emergency medical services — regularly confront traumatic scenarios. Think about this summer alone: Lifeguards, police, and first responders rushed to a remote stretch of beach at Long Point Continued on A7

n ambitious piece of state legislation that would have created a funding source for affordable housing initiatives quietly failed to pass last month in the State House, even as housing prices soar and Islanders find it more difficult than ever to secure stable accommodation. Facing strong opposition from the state’s powerful real estate lobby, the legislation for the local option to institute a so-called real estate “transfer fee” was drafted in three separate bills in front of the Massachusetts House and Senate this current two-year session, which began on Jan. 1, 2025. Led by the Cape and Islands’ legislators State Sen. Julian Cyr and Rep. Thomas Moakley, the transfer fee initiatives quietly stalled on the House and Senate floor in July, which Cyr said was a setback for local proponents of affordable housing. Cyr and Moakley proposed the bills be included in a comprehensive bond bill called the Mass Wins Act, which was filed by Gov. Maura Healey on April 16, and seeks to address economic challenges and increase housing supply throughout the state. On July 9, the House of Representatives passed its version of the bond bill. Cyr said the transfer fee legislation was not adopted. On July 24, the Senate passed a revised version, which also didn’t include the bills. The two versions of the Mass Wins Act still have to be reconciled in a conference committee before the final compromise bill passes the legislature and lands on Healey’s desk to be signed into law. Cyr said it became clear during the legislative sessions in July that the initiative would Continued on A9

‘Why am I still here?’ Three years after surviving a crash landing at Martha’s Vineyard Airport, Robin Bonnist is writing her story. BY SARA CREATO

hree years to the day after the event that changed her life, Robin Bonnist sat on a bench outside the Martha’s Vineyard Airport’s General Aviation building facing the tarmac. Engraved on the black bench are the words, “In loving memory, Randolph Martin Bonnist, gone flying into the Mystic. 7/15/2023.” The site, which honors Bonnist’s late husband, served as a place for Bonnist and her editor, Jan Winburn, to reflect on the story that dramatically altered the flight path of her life, and the basis of the memoir she is writing. It was one of those moments the Island will never forget: Bonnist crash-landed a plane at Martha’s Vineyard Airport (MVY) after her

husband, the pilot, suffered a medical emergency midflight on their way to visit family in Aquinnah. In a flood of national media coverage, Robin Bonnist was celebrated as a hero and a survivor, and is widely considered a total “bada__” for the way she kept her calm. While the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) might classify her as “survivor,” the pink beaded friendship bracelet gifted to her by a Boston nurse working in the cardiac-care unit spells out that more scrappy and popular distinction; it was the second time a medical professional called her that after the incident. “She told me that she had worked the Boston Marathon bombing, and that someone Continued on A8

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