Federal funding cuts reach Vineyard libraries; MV Times, June 12, 2025

Eunki Seonwoo, MV Times ; Federal funding cuts reach Vineyard libraries

"Due to federal funding cuts, the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC), a state agency, announced in May it will discontinue freely providing 21 services, including a newspaper archive, certain peer-reviewed research journal databases, and career and education prep, after July 1. This decision followed an April announcementthat uncertainty stemming from federal cuts has led to various library services and trainings to be slashed. 

“Every library on the Vineyard is impacted,” said Allyson Malik, director of Oak Bluffs Public Library and president of the Massachusetts Library System executive board. 

The state agency’s decision stems from an executive order signed in March by President Donald Trump. The order directed a reduction in seven federal agencies, including the Institute of Museum & Library Services, which provided $3.6 million in fiscal year 2025 for Massachusetts libraries’ services and grants. The institute is also listed in Trump’s fiscal year 2026 budget request as one of several “small agencies” the president wants to defund or eliminate outright to “enhance accountability, reduce waste, and reduce unnecessary governmental entities.” The institute had also placed its entire staff on administrative leave in March."

Booming US gambling industry a ‘highway without speed limits’, top regulator warns; The Guardian, June 8, 2025

 Callum Jones, The Guardian; Booming US gambling industry a ‘highway without speed limits’, top regulator warns

"Artificial intelligence is, meanwhile, transforming the gambling sector. “If operators are using technology to target bettors, that technology can be used to promote healthy behaviors,” said Maynard. “And I believe that a way that happens quicker is for regulators to get involved on the issue.”"

'The ghosts are not happy': 2 Fall River businesses clash over use of Lizzie Borden name; The Herald News, August 21, 2023

 Audrey Cooney, The Herald News; 'The ghosts are not happy': 2 Fall River businesses clash over use of Lizzie Borden name

"Zaal’s company US Ghost Adventures, which operates ghost tours in dozens of cities across the U.S., bought the house in 2021.

Miss Lizzie’s Coffee opened two weeks ago, on the anniversary of the Borden murders. The Lizzie-themed coffee shop features bloody axes in the decor and other nods to the slayings, like a "Lizspresso" menu item. Owner Joe Pereira bills it as "the most haunted coffee shop in the world."

Now, Zaal says the coffee shop violates his intellectual property."

A Fight Over the Right to Repair Cars Takes a Wild Turn; Wired, June 17, 2023

 AARIAN MARSHALL, Wired; A Fight Over the Right to Repair Cars Takes a Wild Turn

"Amid competing letters, statements, and legal paperwork there’s a fundamental question, one that Massachusetts tried to find the answer to: Who owns the reams of data created by today’s increasingly software- and computer-chip-enabled vehicles?"

U.S. Attorney in Massachusetts to Resign Amid Ethics Inquiry; The New York Times, May 16, 2023

 Glenn Thrush, The New York Times; U.S. Attorney in Massachusetts to Resign Amid Ethics Inquiry

"The U.S. attorney for Massachusetts, Rachael S. Rollins, announced on Tuesday that she planned to resign, a day before a Justice Department watchdog was expected to release results of an inquiry into her conduct in office, including an appearance at a Democratic fund-raiser.

Ms. Rollins, 52, who was confirmed by the Senate in December 2021 after a bitter fight in which Vice President Harris cast the tiebreaking vote, will submit her resignation to the White House on Friday, her lawyer said."