Black films matter at Everybody dance now: Thirty 2026 AAFF B9 years of Built on Stilts B14
Thursday, August 6, 2026
THE MARTHA’S VINEYARD TIMES
Volume 43, Issue No.31
2 Sections
A strain on public safety
Price $1.00
The summer struggle of overworked and understaffed first responders. BY NICHOLAS VUKOTA
COURTESY FOSTER FAMILY/MARJORIE DECKER
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Father dies trying to save two sons A tragedy in Long Point’s rip current. BY HAYLEY DUFFY AND NICHOLAS VUKOTA
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55-year-old Cambridge man died after getting caught in a strong rip current 100 yards off the beach at Long Point Wildlife Refuge Friday, the Cape and Islands District Attorney’s Of-
fice told The Times Monday. A sunny day on the beach with his wife and two teenage sons turned to tragedy when Kevin Foster swam out to his sons, “who were struggling to swim, and yelling
for help,” according to the District Attorney’s Office. West Tisbury Police responded to Long Point Friday after receiving a report of a party of swimmers in distress at Continued on A8
series of serious emergencies have strained the Martha’s Vineyard community this summer, and understaffed departments of first responders across the Island are raising concerns about public safety. Many local chiefs are saying the severity and complexity of the calls have increased, even though the total volume of calls, according to data shared with The Times by local departments, has not surged Island-wide. July brought some of the most severe incidents and emergencies so far this summer. A fight outside the Ritz Café in Oak Bluffs left a man paralyzed from the waist down on July 17; Kevin Agatep was charged after allegedly punching Daniel Serusa in the face during the incident. Days earlier, a woman had been struck in a crosswalk in Oak Bluffs, and on July 10, an electric dirt bike collided with a truck, sending the two bikers to the hospital, including a child, who was placed in an induced coma. The family of the young boy, Nolan Ellis, and his father, Michael Ellis, said they are doing better now, but the recovery journey will be long. Most recently, on Friday last week, at Long Point Wildlife Refuge in West Tisbury, a swimmer, Kevin Foster of Cambridge, died after getting caught in a rip current. Late in June, an alleged knife attack in Tisbury resulted in an attempted murder charge and an injured victim. The alleged attacker, Brandao Geraldo Alves Caldeira, was arraigned on June 20 in the Edgartown District Courthouse, where he seemed to still have blood from the attack stained on his shirt. The police report states that Caldeira released the victim only after he was physically separated from her by officers. Fire departments also responded to a series of car fires throughout July, including a box truck on Barnes Road, a fire in the beach grass at Inkwell Beach on July 4, and a fire on Chappaquiddick that burned a house to the ground in early June. On July 8, a 91-year-old woman crashed her vehicle on board the Steamship Authority Ferry into a side wall of the vessel after Continued on A9
Debate heats up on Katama Meadows The MVC to continue discussion on 52-lot development in Edgartown. BY SARAH SHAW DAWSON
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t remains unclear whether a final decision may be made today — August 6 — on the controversial and evolving Katama Meadows project, but if last week’s meeting is any guide to where this is going, the Island community and the Martha’s Vineyard Commission can expect more debate. There’s a lot at stake and alot of history here. In 2017, 54 acres off Meetinghouse Way and Division Road in Edgartown were purchased by Utah developers Richard Matthews and Douglas Anderson for $6.6 million to create a sprawling housing development. But the plan for that development has endured several stops and starts. The fourth iteration of a proposed subdivision of homesite lots for the acreage has been in front of the Martha’s Vineyard Commis-
sion (MVC), a regional planning committee and county land-use regulator, all year. Unlike previous proposals, the one before commissioners again this week has garnered town support for its potential to house moderate-income residents, who officials say are underserved due to state-subsidized income restrictions for affordable housing projects. Proposed conditions, deliberations, and an ultimate decision to approve or deny the projects have already taken longer than usual for a large-scale development. Last Thursday, commissioners spent more than three hours grappling with around 15 conditions, which are compliances the MVC can assign to the developer of a project that go into effect if approved, unless Continued on A7
The 54-acre site in Edgartown where the Katama Meadows development is proposed.
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