06/20/09 - Help send the bombs bursting in air

July 3 is two weeks away and if we want the usual glorious display of fireworks on the town beach, we need to pitch in a few bucks.

The Double Ender Committee that arranges Independence Day events didn’t get funds from the town this year for the fireworks and it’s trying to make up a $6,500 gap and reach the ultimate goal of $15,000.

This is an appeal that touches all of us. The fireworks show draws visitors to the island, which helps businesses. It draws family and guests for a good-time holiday. And it draws all of us to the beach to enjoy the rockets’ red glare far overhead.

So the Double Ender Committee needs our help today. Send money to PO Box 808.

And leave the plovers alone

Corrie Heinz, U.S. Fish and Wildlife emissary to the Block Island beaches, reminds us once again to let the endangered piping plover chicks grow into adults.

She’s roped off two nests, somewhere on Mansion Beach and somewhere on the North End wildlife refuge — the vagueness is deliberate — and her message is, “Stay away, please.” And keep your dogs far, far away,

Thanks to the unremitting efforts of federal and state game officers, the plover population is slowly growing in New England. But we all need to be part of the effort.

A good taste of Block Island

That was a good promotion that Megan Moran of Interstate and Julie Fuller of the National put together last weekend with the help of friends and about 60 island business people. It was called “A Taste of Block Island” and you might think it was all about food. But no, for a $5 button, shoppers and visitors were eligible for all kinds of discounts and bargains in not only restaurants but also shops and galleries. In addition, there were events as diverse as a nature walk with Kim Gaffett and a beer-tasting.

More than 650 of the buttons were sold. That response, and the enthusiastic participation of the business community, suggests it’s an event badly needed to draw visitors in June, and deserves repetition.