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I'm Catholic Crossley and this is the Catholic Crossley Show. Every summer Martha's Vineyard makes front page news with the first family and no end of A-listers descending on the island. Most know the Vineyard as an oasis of opulence a rich person's playground. But in reality many of the locals who keep this island running year round struggled to find adequate and affordable housing with an average rental price increasing by 300 percent during the summer. Many residents are forced to participate in the perennial pastime. The vineyard shuffle relinquishing their homes to vacationers and scrambling to find housing elsewhere. This hour we look at this housing crisis and the creative initiatives of what to solve. But first it's our 2010 mass decision election coverage. Today we meet candidate Keith Lapore a Republican taking on the ninth congressional district. We top it off with our regular Monday feature local made good with fiddling. Nancy Jessica up next. First the news. From NPR News in Washington I'm Renee Dodger Blonsky. Federal officials say the

massive recall of eggs for a salmonella contamination may get even bigger. NPR's Paul Brown reports the source of the contamination still isn't known. The bacteria have made as many as 13 hundred people sick Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Margaret Hamburg says her agency is actively engaged in trying to find out how eggs are being contaminated. More than half a billion eggs have been recalled so far. Two big Iowa farms are linked to the salmonella bacteria outbreak affecting people nationwide. Hamburg says consolidation of the egg industry is an issue. A couple of farms sell to wholesalers distributors and service companies in multiple states and then those states may distribute across the nation. Hamburg says she wants legislation passed to expand FDA inspection and it Forsman powers it's before Congress now. Paul Brown NPR News Washington. BP is 20 billion dollar compensation fund for victims of the Gulf oil spill is now ready to pay out claims. Ken Feinberg is running that office and promises he'll be more

generous than any court he's establishing a controversial rule saying claimants can get between one and six months compensation without waiving their right to sue. Otherwise people who receive a lump sum payout after that amount of time will give up their right to go after BP. A dramatic and deadly scene in Manila today. Philippine police stormed a bus taken hostage by a former policeman the scene broadcast by news channels around the globe. Eight people are dead as Simone Oren Dion reports from Manila the hostage taker was fired from his job earlier this year. Police say a SWAT team sharpshooter killed former senior inspector Rolando Mendoza on board a tourist bus that he'd hijacked earlier in the morning. More than 20 people including Chinese and Hong Kong nationals were on the bus when Mendoza toting an M-16 rifle took control of it at a popular Manila park. By midday Police say nine hostages were released in the early evening several reporters at the scene

heard shots fired inside the bus to Manila hospitals reported six people were dead on arrival. Mendoza's brother told reporters he wanted his job back. Mendoza lost his retirement benefits when he was dismissed on charges of extortion. For NPR News I'm Simone Oren Dyne in Manila. The man suspected in the Grim Sleeper slayings of 10 women has pleaded not guilty before a Los Angeles judge. Lonnie Franklin Jr. His attorney entered pleas today to 10 murder counts and one charge of attempted murder. Franklin dressed in an orange prison jumpsuit. Did not speak. Corporate deal making is being tempered on Wall Street by ongoing concerns about the strength of the economy. The Dow is down seven points right now to ten thousand two hundred six. The Nasdaq is down 12 points. This is NPR. Rescue workers in Chile are reinforcing a small drill hole that will serve as a lifeline for 33 miners found alive after a cave in in the country's far north.

After 17 days trapped deep in a copper and gold mine the miners were able to send up a note tied to a drill yesterday saying everyone is OK. It could now take up to four months to get them out. Rescuers will use the bore hole to send down food and hydration gels. Tropical Storm Danielle is intensifying rapidly in the open Atlantic with winds nearing hurricane strength but as film lets men from member station WRNI in Miami tells us forecasters don't think Danielle poses a threat to the U.S. forecasters at the National Hurricane Center say Daniels winds have increased to 65 mph and they're expecting this system to strengthen into or hurricane by this evening. In a Category 2 storm by later in the week as it heads generally to the west the official forecast track though begins to carry Danielle well to the north by mid week before it threatens any interest in the U.S. or Caribbean even Bermuda appears out of its current path. Danielle is the Atlantic season's fourth named storm but as the hurricane

season begins its most active stretch. Government forecasters say coastal residents should not let their guard down. The busy season is still expected with up to six hurricanes category three strength or above. For NPR News I'm Phil Waxman in Miami. The search for a missing float plane goes on in Alaska. Authorities hope the pilot simply landed in a cove to wait out some bad weather but there's been no radio transmission from the small plane. Aircraft are checking an area about two hundred eighty five miles southwest of Anchorage. We need a few Blonsky NPR News Support for NPR comes from the George Lucas Educational Foundation creator of bed utopia a source for what works in education. Learn more at Ed eutopia dot org. Good afternoon I'm Cally Crossley and this is the Cali Crossley Show. Today we continue our 2010 mass decision election coverage with a look at the Ninth Congressional District.

The seat is currently held by Democrats Stephen Lynch. My guess Keith Lapore is running for the seat on the Republican ticket. He's Lapore welcome. Thank you very much Kelly. I'm pleased to be here. Now I've been asking all the candidates to start off by telling us why they decided to run. And I have to say you have a very interesting motivational reason so tell our listeners about it. Well thank you Kelly. Actually the principal impetus that led me to Rod and quite frankly I've always been very critical of politicians and I've always voted in elections but I've never run for political office because I've been quite cynical about the self-serving nature of a large number of politicians over. I've recently spent as you may know I'm a freelance photojournalist I specialize in guerrilla warfare and counterinsurgency. And my last. Significant assignment was working in Afghanistan for the International Security Assistance Force where my job was twofold. One I ran a team of Afghan print radio journalists in Regional Command East along the Pakistani border. But

secondly because of my work as a combat photojournalist I embedded extensively with frontline combat units in eastern and southern Afghanistan and this would include everybody from the hundred first and eighty second Airborne to the 3rd Marines French special forces British military Afghan National Army paramilitaries and police. And over the course of the year that I spent in Afghanistan I noticed an inconsistency a front line combat equipment and this was really for me brought to a head in September of 2008 when I was actually shot in the upper chest over the heart. But because of the special equipment that I had it actually blew out my sniper plate and I went down in the kill zone into Marines actually pulled me out and in fact you can actually see the footage of one of the Marines that dragged me out of the kill zone on YouTube which is linked from my website w w w dot Keith Lapore 2010 dot com. But because very compelling video analysts say what will thank you but I'll tell you it wasn't it wasn't one of the more dignified videos in my life but it was certainly the luckiest day of my

life and I will say that because of the special nature of the equipment that I had. I was actually up and fully operational in four and a half minutes and frankly I was the equipment that the other people don't have what would you know that they don't what I had that day was I had a special field shirt that had special mash that essentially what happened is when this high velocity round hit me. When you have back faced affirmation but there's a shockwave. And because of what I was wearing it helped dissipate that shock wave so I still went down and I wasn't of much use but within four and a half minutes I was up and you know I resume my my job and and frankly I thought that everybody should have that and I am perplexed as to why they did not but that's not the only piece of equipment tell me what they don't have how to make what they're using instead of what you what. Yeah let me tell you what I had that day. I had something. It was a Potomac field gear shirt with a special mesh that didn't look very attractive but what it did is it helped dissipate the trauma of the impact of the round. And and that

was the principal piece of equipment that they that I had that they did not have. And so I mean everybody had sniper plates or sappy plates but it was what I had underneath that which is what further dissipated the high velocity round. And I just think that if we're going to put our our men and women in harm's way they should all have everything that you know they could possibly be significant for them in terms of helping So you're running for office to make some of these decisions then. Well I'll tell you I make some of that was the initial impetus to lead me to run to run as well as a lot of concerns on national security related issues. But when I came back to the United States you know obviously we're in a in a real meltdown economically and so my principal focus here is jobs in the economy. But my initial impetus to get me in there in the issues that I'll be looking out for are you know helping ensure that the friends that I left behind the battlefields of Afghanistan and that are serving elsewhere in various theaters around the world have the best equipment available.

Now you are have some significant challenges in running in in this district. Stephen Lynch has been entrenched he's been there since 2001 that's one issue. The other one is that it's been a long held Democratic seat. And you know frankly nobody knows who you are and you don't have a lot of deep pockets so what are you doing to overcome those significant challenges so that people can hear the story you just told and be attracted to you as a candidate. Thank you Kelly. Yes indeed I mean it is true. I I'm not I'm an unknown quantity in Massachusetts politics. And frankly there's a double edge sword on the one hand the fact that I'm beholden to nobody. And I have no special interests backing me means that I can be and I will be my own man in Washington. The double edged sword nature of the equation though is that nobody knows who I am and I need to get my message out and frankly going up against a union backed incumbent. You know I think that one of the most interesting things I found is that there's a perception throughout the district. That Steven Lynch is the most conservative member of the Massachusetts delegation. They tell me he's a Republican and Democratic

clothing. But the reality is if anybody cares to actually look into it is that he votes lockstep with Nancy Pelosi 98 percent of the times and if you don't have to believe me but go to the Washington Post where they have statistical indexes but also the American Conservative Union right Stephen Lynch a 4 out of 100 for comparative purposes they write. Harry Reid and 8 so essentially Harry Reid is twice as conservative as Stephen Lynch and the other thing that you'll find that's of particular interest is that he does have a formidable war chest but 44 percent of the money that he's received his election committee has received in the 2009 2010 election cycle is PAC money political action committees. And in 2007 2008 cycle he actually his largest sole contributor was Fannie Mae. Well we all know what role Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac had in the meltdown. And I just like to know if Fannie Mae feels that they got their money's worth with Steven Lynch. Well let's talk about then what some of the some of the significant advantages you may have even though little money and people don't know you as you yourself have said is a double edged sword so there

is an advantage to having a new face but the globe this morning just had a piece I thought was interesting it was looking at state legislators but the point was that Democrats are tracking right because they sense a mood in the country that that's where voters are going. And so for you that would be a good thing at this point if you're if you're already right because that's where your position is. And I want to quote you from a letter that you wrote to the Red Mass group you said in the aftermath of Senator Scott Brown's historic upset. There are no safe seats. Lynch as a from a formidable adversary in the Democratic primary. But this makes him vulnerable in the general election. And we have a real opportunity for change in the Ninth Congressional District. Talk to us about that. Well what I meant to suggest is that Mark telethon DRO is a significant challenger for Mr. Lynch. And I think that in trying to appeal to the base that support that will be supporting telephone DRO Steven Lynch is going to have to come out in faith things that he might not otherwise want to

say that might come back to haunt him. But I think the bottom line with Mr. Lynch is that it's not it's not what he says it's what he does. And again look at his voting record. And I think that speaks volumes and I think that the electorate need to know they need to they need to assess that. And I think people are really concerned right now I mean we have an out of control. I mean the problem in Washington we don't have a revenue problem we have a spending problem. And with you know over thirteen point three trillion dollars in national debt you know people are looking for a response people who are going to be responsible in Washington. And I'm not going to be spending you know our money on. Excuse me I am not going to spend as you know I'm not going to spend in the same fashion that the Democrats have spending I think it's ludicrous. And I think we need fiscal responsibility and that's what I bring to the table. And I think what we need in looking at the private sector. I tend to be a laissez faire guy and I'd like to see less government regulation. Let the market dictate. I mean I think what we need to do is to fill it facilitate the growth of jobs in this country and do it more to help small and

medium sized businesses which generate 80 percent of the jobs in this country. And if we want to I'm sorry. I just want to just let me just interrupt for a second as do you agree then with the the. Gist of the article in The Globe today which suggests that a lot of Democrats are trying to. Oh undoubtedly or up some of the statements that you would make about taxes and spending to make themselves more palatable to voters they believe are tracking right undoubtedly or you have an advantage. Yes I mean they're hypocrites. They're going to say what they want to say now to get elected but people remember. And the advantage that I bring to this race. You know I've never run for political office and some people I mean one person said why would you hire a mechanic that doesn't have mechanic experience. Well I'll tell you I'll stack my experience against Stephen Lynch or anybody else. I mean I did my undergraduate work at Boston University. I did my graduate work in Middle East Studies and Karo in my post-graduate work at offered university and I've worked for many years in the private sector. And it's only been over the past six years that I've become a freelance photojournalist and I've spent a lot of time in the world's conflict zones

and you know nobody knows better than I do as far as the challenges that confront our country in the future. What do you want people to to to hear from you today that will make them check the box for your name. Because a lot of people think OK the guy has at last count four hundred fifteen dollars in his war chest so I don't want to quote unquote waste my vote. I want to make certain this is a guy that I think has a good chance. But first of all without going to specifics I will tell you that that figure that you just quoted was a misquote it was a mistake on the part of the publication because they didn't read the FEC report properly. And I will say again what I have I think right now you know I'm going up against an adversary with a significant war chest. And I think frankly in this election cycle Ordinarily it would be very difficult in Massachusetts to take on a union backed. Incumbent but I think this year money is not a factor I'm getting my message out

through the airways. You know I'm looking to get you on public access channels radio stations and when I'm just trying to get the point across is that look at my opponent if you want a guy who is if you're happy with where this country is going if you're happy with the out-of-control spending and taxes in Washington then I think then vote for the incumbent. But if you are looking for responsible fiscal responsibility if you're concerned about the future of this country and I've got to tell you we are at a tipping point then. I'm a I'm a clear choice. And I think that people should go to my website as w w w dot Keefe Lapore 2008 dot com I'd be grateful if people would follow me on Twitter if they would go to my Facebook account keep Lapore for Congress. And follow and see what I have to say I think you will realize that we can do a heck of a lot better than we're doing at the moment. And I and that answer I've been around the block and a lot of people have been touting the foreign policy credentials of my opponent well for 25 years I've been living traveling and studying abroad.

And I know these issues. You know I've been on the frontlines of combat I have not just been in the green zones but I've been in the front lines of combat. And throughout the Third World and again I will stack my experience against anybody. And I think what I do bring is a fresh face. I'm beholden to no special interest. What I intend to do if I go to Washington. I got into this race because of my concerns for frontline unit combat equipment related issues. I am going to look out for the best interests of my country. And if if if my party is behind me terrific. But if not I am going to be I mean for me United States of America is first and I suspect that philosophically I'm going to be you know I will my my interests will coincide with my party's interests most of the time. But I suspect there may be occasions when they won't. And I am going to do what I believe to be in the best interests of my country. Nobody is going to tell me what to do anybody that knows me knows my background knows that I have very thick skin and I'm not going to be beholden to any special interest and I will do again what I believe is in the best interests of my

country. I don't need this job. Perhaps Steven Lynch does he's you know he's been in since 2001. I'm happy to go back overseas but I'll tell you this is the most important thing I've ever done in my life and I have taken a year off. I'm living off of my savings and I will say my wife wasn't thrilled when I told her I wanted to run for Congress. But the alternative was I was going to go back to Afghanistan. Well now she's back think it's a little better now. Yes. Last question Senator Scott Brown who you know everybody is looking to as a model did very well in the Ninth District which is your district running against Martha Coakley. Everywhere except Boston. Is this something you can build on or you think you're building on. Oh by all means I must tell you I volunteer with the Scott Brown campaign I think it's outstanding that we have such an outstanding member of the Senate now representing the Republicans and giving an alternative view and then the good thing about Scott and Scott went into the saying he was going to be his own man he was going to do what he thought was in the best interest of the country and that's what he's doing. And I think the fact that he did win the ninth congressional

district. He received it was 54 to 46. I'm I'm extremely encouraged by that and I'm very pleased to have Scott Brown representing the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. I think he's an asset to the state. He's an asset to the country and I believe that I can build off of that. I think it's important that you know right now we have 10 members of the congressional delegation all beholden to the same party. And regardless what you think I think it's important a strong two party system where we have alternative voices. What I would tell everybody throughout the commonwealth of Massachusetts by all means support your respective Republican congressional candidates conservative congressional candidates. But it's important given the track record of electing Republicans in the state that we look and we hedge pick out a secondary candidate. Now I would like that secondary counted to be myself. But I but in the end I mean no one person is more important perhaps than the party. But I think that everybody should look for it to back a secondary candidate. And again I would encourage all those interested to go up to my Web site Keith Lapore 2010

dot com join my Facebook page. Keith a for for Congress and I will not disappoint you I will look out for your interests. I look out for the interests of this great country. You know all right we've been talking with Keith Lapore. He's running for the ninth congressional district. We'll be interviewing all the candidates running in this race. He's the boy thank you so much for joining us. Thank you very much for having me. Up next a look at affordable housing on Martha's Vineyard. Stay with us. The book. The boy. With the. Above. The book. With the. Support for WGBH comes from you and from Skinner

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You can renew your support online at WGBH dot org. On the next FRESH AIR NPR's Scott Simon tells us about adopting his daughters from China. There's no Hallmark card moment. When your little girl as is put into your arms under the circumstances because the only world they've known is behind them. It's the subject of his new memoir join us. August 30 1st marks the end of the fiscal year for WGBH. Eighty nine point seven it's dead line to secure enough listener support to kick off the next great year of public radio favorites and incredible music. Learn how you can help at WGBH dot org. Good afternoon I'm Kelly Crossley and this is the Calla Crossley Show. Today I'm hosting the show from Martha's Vineyard which is abuzz with the first family's presence. The vineyard always makes front

page news in the summer. What the world's A-listers descending on the island most of us know Martha's Vineyard as a rich person's playground. But in reality many of the local residents who live here year round struggle with adequate and affordable housing. Joining me to talk about the situation and the initiatives afoot to bridge the housing gap is ule Hopkins executive director of the island affordable housing fund. You all happens welcome. Thank you. It's good to be here. So let's dispel the myth we think you know we see all the people who come here and it just seems like you know must be everybody's living well right and that's just not the scenario. It's not and it's not to say that you know there are people who are on the edge more so than anywhere else but it's a real community. It's a community of individuals and we make up the full spectrum economically so there are Snick there is a significant working class group on Martha. Vineyard What are the challenges in providing affordable housing on the Vineyard.

Well I guess the thing that we have unique here being a destination community as you referred to earlier on is in other instances you can spill into different communities people can commute from other locations those communities may grow but you never really think about the plight of the working class in a exhort resort community on Martha's Vineyard we're surrounded by water so you can't have people doing essential services like fire and police and health care commuting to work on the book. They have to be here they have to be a part of the community so we need to figure out how to create a reality that embraces all economic classes or it impacts all of the economic classes. Well one of the things that I was looking through some of the materials was looking at this area medium income can you explain that and explain where people who are trying to just find affordable housing where they're at. You know what we're talking about in real numbers right. Those are numbers that are used in the federal and state level to really determine who qualifies for assistance or support or where housing

organizations can invest their efforts. So. If you look at tax credits or you look at any incentives as affordable housing organization you have to be able to prove your service seen people in need. So average mean income is that qualifier the yardstick to determine who can be a recipient of an affordable housing initiative and who can't. On Martha's Vineyard because the housing costs and the cost of living is so high we are able to increase that. Am I Number two a higher level and still qualify as an affordable housing project. But what is it what is the number I'm just what I'm trying to get to it's 80 percent. Am I your last. And for a family of four that is roughly $3000. And when you start talking about housing stock on this island what we you know the average price of housing I mean it's just just say it it's just it seems crazy. Well you were unique in that we have the largest gap in the Commonwealth in terms of

average home cost and average income. So the gap between the average income in the average home cost on Martha's Vineyard in Duke's County is greater than any other location in Martha's and and Massachusetts and the economic downturn that's hit everybody. The housing stock at at as high as I guess averages is right six hundred ninety five thousand dollars. It went down. To me this is only six hundred fifty thousand dollars. That doesn't seem like much of a drop you know. Absolutely correct. So if you're somebody just trying to work and you know there are many jobs here that islanders provide. There are people working in the restaurants there are people working in all the entertainment that it's a hard thing to. You can't afford a six hundred ninety five thousand dollar job based on that and you not be able to pay for that based on the wages you'd be earning doing those jobs. And don't lose sight of me in fact that we're just talking about housing at this point then you have to feed your family have to clothe your family have some form of recreation. All costs on the island are

great now that you ask. It's a voluntary situation you're here by choice. Now there are a lot of people that this is their home. There are multiple generations into Martha's Vineyard. And what's special about Martha's Vineyard is that it's a true community and there are people that have grown here who have been raised here who consider this home. So when you visit Martha's Vineyard you're not visiting a resort you're visiting a true community of real people. And I personally believe that that's one of the biggest draws to Martha's Vineyard. Yeah I was going to say a lot of people realize that many people who decide to vacation here come because they don't want to be in a resort situation they want to be a part of a community. Absolutely and to me that's the crux of the whole challenge we're facing. Do we want to preserve the fact that this is a true community of working people. Or do we want to become a resort. That is the ultimate question. All right so now what do you do when you have so many people in need of affordable housing and it's just not here. First describe this vineyard shuffle we've heard about.

Yeah that's the the reality of many families having to move out in the summer then put their children in multiple school systems or schools because they're living in different locations where the rents in the offseason is significantly less than in the summer. So when you need those workers the most. Their costs are the greatest and they're at greater risk. So in that situation you have people that are moving multiple times in a given year out of necessity and it creates instability in the home it creates other social issues and it's a challenge that we all experience as as residents of Martha's Vineyard. I am hosting Michelle from Martha's Vineyard and I am joined by you'll have kins who is the executive director of the island housing affordable housing. FUND And we're talking about affordable housing as an issue for many people who live here year round. Now you of course your whole job is to work on solutions. So I read about one Habitat for Humanity is build built three homes and then there was a state lottery for for people who wanted to

put their names in and bid for getting a house but aside from those what are other initiatives that are at work where you're trying to fix this problem. Yeah you bring up a very good point in the distinction of the I want affordable housing fund as we are an organization looking to stimulate giving whether that be public or private giving. There are several housing organizations on Martha's Vineyard that are doing a phenomenal job in the execution phase whether it be habitat that you mention or the island housing trust that is a land store and developer whether it be the Dukes County Regional housing authority which does a lot in administrating services and providing rental assistance. Our role at the fund is to bring attention to the need and to stimulate giving whether it be public or private. So one of the areas that I'm most excited about is the work we're doing called the brokers initiative and that is actually giving gas to the island the opportunity to understand the needs and contribute. Through their rental packages How does that work. Well when you

receive your keys in your information package in your home when you arrive for vacation you receive a solicitation letter from me that explains the plight of Martha's Vineyard and some of the the aspects the fragile aspects of Martha's Vineyard that need to be preserved. We often think of nature but we don't think a lot about the human condition and some of the reasons why people chose to come to Martha's Vineyard in the first place. So we have now a fantastic mechanism by which to get that word out to let people know that you may only be here for a week or two but the things you enjoyed about being here need to be preserved. You need to understand the economic and the social economic issues of Martha's Vineyard. That's the brokers initiative. In addition to that well how about what are you asking the vacationers to do other than be aware. We're asking them to contribute. In this case we're asking them to contribute 1 percent of the cost of rental towards affordable housing. So it averages 15 to 20 dollars when you get to you know very high and then popular you mention that the first family is here they're rental

we would be asking them for say $500 when you look at the cost that they incur on rental. So it's not a lot of money from any one person. It's asking the entire movement of rental transactions to contribute to stabilizing and preserving the human condition on Martha's Vineyard. Now you know you all I was trying to mention this initiative too. Some friends of mine yesterday were just chatting casually and I had two responses. One person said you know I know somebody who is living in his car in the summer that's how hard it is to find housing so I understand where you're coming from or where this program is coming from the other persons that well what's in it for me. Well I love I'd love to meet the person as the second question because what's directly in it is what I said was the key question before is why you came to Martha's Vinyard something special that you want to preserve. Do you want to go to a resort. I would say a soulless resort. Or do you want to come and vacation in a true community and be a part of a true community if you want to be a part of a true community you have to help preserve this community.

And we're in dire need at this point to find stable housing so that people have stable lives so that they can provide the services that you enjoy when you're here on vacation. I recall some years ago and you correct me if I'm wrong that the owner of Linda jeans a very popular restaurant in Oak Bluffs here on the island did his restaurant so he could build housing on top of it for his workers I mean this is what we're talking about in terms of having to create affordable housing where there really is none. Absolutely there are a lot of examples of creative work. The thing that I'm most encouraged by is there are so many solutions we're considered a model in so many respects globally and at lease across the country in terms of housing initiatives in terms of stimulating private giving And coming up with creative solutions. We have numerous examples of affordable housing partnerships with conservation and an ecological movements within energy and alternative movements. So we're not considering housing to be a solo or an exclusive effort. We're looking at the

other nonprofit initiatives on the island and working with them in concert the land bank has been a strong partner. And often you would consider people preservation and land preservation as being two separate and distinct initiatives but they are very tied together because with proper planning of housing you can do it in such a way that it has minimal impact on the ecological system. So the the Nature Conservancy and other movements on the island are very encouraged by the work that we're doing and have worked with us in many many examples. Now when you have a situation where you and I. A location like this that the housing stock is so valuable and continues to be valuable. What do you see happening over the next few years if you don't get a handle on this. You know sort of right now where people don't don't put into place something to address this problem because I don't know where you can go into some of these prices on the zones are through the roof already. What we'll see is we'll see a phenomena. It's disturbing to me is will see an artificial infrastructure being put in place in the summer meaning we'll have first responders will have

health care providers will have educators that are here for the summer and are gone in the off season because they can't afford to be here. So the quality of life you're around will deteriorate and then you'll find people with options moving off the island as well. So you'll see an increased transience population in the summer will just spiral and feed off of itself. And as I said it will track more towards what I call a soulless resort community where real people with real issues are not a part of the community. You'll find people being important for the summer to provide the services that are needed during the summer months and then leaving and the character of Martha's Vineyard will change dramatically and I believe that that's why most people are here. And if we lose it I think we're going to be competing against other areas resort and destination areas around the country that will be playing catch up too and will not be as attracted to and therefore it will have economic impact and local businesses will be a fact that not only this is not only a human condition or quality of life

condition it's an economic issue so it hurts us all. And I believe most of the businesses you gave Linda jeans as an example. Understand it we have to work together to resolve this problem because people can't. Endure 50 mile commutes to get to work every day. We have to figure out how to embrace our entire population. Well we'll all suffer. Well I think one of the big things maybe just getting people to understand all the people that come here to understand that it is an issue because I would say that most people really haven't thought about that. No and nor should they when they're on vacation you want to decompress you want to relax and that's why we're trying to find non-threatening ways to just inform people that we're not asking one person to solve all the problems were all we're saying is a small fraction of the investment you made to come to this beautiful resort leave some money behind so that we can do things and we can ensure that it's a beautiful place when you come back next year. I certainly wanted to stay that way because I love it. We've been talking about affordable housing with the usual Tomkins. He's the executive director of the island affordable housing

fund. Thank you so much for joining us. You're welcome. Happy to have been here. Coming up it's our regular Monday feature local made good. We'll meet Martha's Vineyard fiddling phenomenon. Nancy Jeffcoat. Stay with us. With the. Support for WGBH comes from you. And from Ace ticket. With tickets to

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The fiscal year is fast approaching for the month which means August 30 deadline to secure enough listener support to cover local production costs. And another great year of special events and live broadcasts. If you can imagine a day without public radio please don't go another minute without supporting it. This is eighty nine point seven. Boston's NPR station for trusted voices and a local conversation with FRESH AIR and the Emily Rooney show. Eighty nine point seven. WGBH. I'm Kelly Crossley and this is the Kelly Crossley Show. It's time for our regular Monday feature local made good where we speak with people whose creativity bring honor

to New England. My guest today is Nancy Jeffcoat. She's a singer songwriter fiddler and elementary school teacher here on Martha's Vineyard. Nancy Jeffcoat welcome. Well it's good to be here Kelly. Now you know I think if people think anything about music on Martha's Vineyard they're thinking Carly Simon but there's a whole other rich music scene going on here and you're part of it and your group is called the flying elbow. Tell us a little bit about your group and the music scene on Martha's Vineyard. Well the final bows are an old enough band that we've been recorded on vinyl right. And we made our first CD this year so we're real go getters working on you know stage and film careers. No. All right well whatever let's put it out there you never know who's listening. But on the other hand you know we have I am a career musician I have another CD as a singer songwriter and attracts a certain kind of person. You know the vineyard attracts people who would rather be the star and go after the star. And

if we really were stars you we probably wouldn't settled here but sometimes you know we kind of rise up and and make a difference all the same. So tell us the kind of music the flying elbows play. Well the flying elbows in a peculiar sense is a Southern old timey string band. By and large although we cover a lot of bases I learned to fiddle from Bob Hammond who learned a fiddle from his cousin Chad who learned a fiddle in South Carolina. And so you know with the fiddle style it sort of gets passed on so I it's not unusual for people from the Carolinas to come by when replying and say that sure sounds like home but you know how a girl from Iowa ended up sounding like that is just the mysterious folk process in the melting pot. United States today and you were trained classically So this is my link was not your first way to practice music. Well I was I was competing with Mozart in my mind. You know it from an early age and I was the third out of four daughters and it was a lot of competition.

And so then I figured out that I wasn't going to be a great classical player and anything less wasn't going to be good enough so I quit. And I grieved and I couldn't stand to hear classical music without crying and all this stuff and mysteriously you know for all that I tried to shrug it off. You know it just came right back in the back door and got me. So I met fiddlers who said you know those skills are useful for other things you could try doing this and the next thing I know somebody gave me a fiddle and this really I carried it around with me said I'm giving it to you on one condition that it doesn't just sit in the corner on played and of course it did sit in the corner and played quite a bit and it made me feel very guilty but once in a while I'd fool around with it. And then here we are. Yeah. So now we're going to hear a little bit of Nancy's fiddling I'm going to let her get her fiddle out of the case while I tell you a little bit more. The flying elbows just finished their big annual event at the agricultural fair here on Martha's Vineyard where people look forward to it. Years ago there was a

fiddle contests there that went away and the flying elbows were able to make their space yet and touch and excite people about music and this kind of music. At the fair fair is very popular here on Martha's Vineyard. I missed my corn this year I'm very unhappy but there you have it. And Nancy came to the vineyard in 1984 So first before she talks more here's a little bit of Nancy Jeffco master fiddling Phina. Yes.

I know that you know this morning. Wow that makes you want to dance. Yeah. What is that for. This is Nancy Jeffcoat she is a fiddling theme here at Martha's Vineyard and our local made good feature this Monday. We're thrilled to have her here and a member of the flying elbows Nancy is also a singer and songwriter you heard the singing of as

well as the fiddling and she writes songs. Tell us about the folk music scene here on The View on the Vineyard. Oh it's a rich music scene all around and the folk are doing it whether it's call of folk music and you know it's folk music as far as I'm concerned because everything on the island is kind of sized to who's here. You know we have but then we have this great title pull in and out of all the people who come and go and we get to draw on that too which is a real wonderful thing about being on the island. So you know we've got young people ballyhoo is a wonderful bluegrass group that's come up that you know those guys were little. When they used to hear us at the fair and they're making that kind of music but you know as far as I'm concerned you know the drumming groups that are playing that were playing over the built on stilts that's folk music you know it's African folk music played by a bunch of white folks on Martha's Vineyard and that's just the kind of melting pot that I'm talking about here you know you've got Irish music at the Katharine Cornell theater. They don't just do Irish but

it's a series all year round by Greg and Mary Harcourt. You know they bring people top class people from all around the country but a lot of those play right in the style So there's a lot of stuff going on Featherstone had a little festival this summer the best of the. Is there something that's no problem that I learn from inspirationally that oh you are music street right in West Tisbury you know and it's called that because there was so many pianos that you'd hear play in out the windows in the old days. When I first came to the island I got in a band called the stragglers and they said People used to say I thought you had to be born into that band. But the thing was that I didn't play I played fiddle there were five guitar players in the band and you know it was just a continuation of the musicale what they call a music Caliban with his Barry is a musical party where people all sing you know they have a potluck everybody comes and West Tisbury for those and when I was in another town

here on Martha's Vineyard where no bluffs right now but there is another down West Tisbury is you know used to be a part of history it was all one town. And you know they're still trying to patch it up today. But anyway you know but we're not going there. That's right but you know you got to say that a small community like Martha's Vineyard is sort of stunning that almost 200 kids grades one through eight place trends in the public schools while they play strings Nancy Jeffco because you're teaching them strings Let's talk about snow now because they did it before I got there I got rid of all that American all women talk about that. That's very unlikely. Well I am involved and many of them of Seen the music in their own living rooms and I think that's why they're so eager to have it it's just a part of life here. Other arts are a part of life you know the moms get out and do choreography you know it's a very interesting community that way. But me maybe my affect you know I've been a power of

example in you know I'm not trying to go anywhere I'm just trying to be who I am and who I am as a musical person I don't believe it's all about talent and being the number one person I think it's about being in a group of people that enjoy each other musically and that's why in the schools we have a mix of kids all the way up to some really powerful strong players right down to some real basic you know just do it because it's fun. And you like it and they don't last you know they're not doing feeling well you know so I'm feeling you know and you know if it was all classical I would have you know rock n roll we did the little first graders played we will rock you out. I went on the stage just this year and they were extremely psyched about it in their minds they were definitely rock stars. The audience has to lift listen with what I call the ears of love at a time like that. Because it's not sounding like rock out there but inside the little first grader that's what it feels like. So how many people come to this island and discover you all do you. You flying

elbows and others who are a heck of a lot. I have a little slide show I put together on YouTube. Well mule which is Gus Cannon song and it gives a little elbow knee and history you know knee I mean if you love that little boy in his day you know and there's a picture of Walter Cronkite sitting in on the washboard and there's another one of Hillary you know when I was out there you know there are people that jump in with you when you play often. Well yeah we're a little on the infectious side and we're not so professional we try and hold them at arm's length. OK. I think any good ones want to get any good oh heck no. You know he and his wife could dance pretty well and every time we were in the Fourth of July parade and we'd come around their corner and I go to town they'd hop right out of those lawn chairs right up to very late in their lives you know and jig right there on the street so that's another thing that I think is a traditional value on Martha's Vineyard is that we do mix. We don't you know there are limits to how much you mix with people with phenomenal amounts of money or fame but there is something here where the tradition is that we're all in the same boat. Which is the

name of the first vinyl records of the elbows were part of a compilation way back in the 70s. Oh wow. Yeah. How has the music changed for you since you first started out here and started playing till now. Oh well I've gotten older Yeah. But you know it's changed the same way that the culture has changed. We have become for better or for worse a much more digital society and a much more sit on the couch. You know I remember certain classical music concerts as a little girl and having to hold still and sit in my seat and you know it's a lot nicer in your barcalounger you know to listen to a piece and be able to be transported and people have discovered that they can listen. In fact classical music is starting to come back to larger amounts of listenership now that people realize they don't have to be the right kind of person who knows what to do and knows how to listen and sits in that chair in that concert that they can find out who Mozart is at no

risk. You know by going online and ditto for the folk music you can hear music from all the continents. You can see people who got their shaky little digital camera going and they're dancing and sawing away in the Balkans or out you know on the veldt. And it's it's enlivening and enriching some of the best fiddle I've heard in the last few years was was the. The indestructible beat of so wait though. And there was some fiddle on there that really got my attention. I like to talk about it because people don't realize that the elbow's tradition is really building on African music the banjo is an African instrument. You know the confluence of traditions in this country there are people I know it's good we have people who are traditionalists who keep their traditions separate and work on them and hone them. But there is also this Munder full thing that happens when we cross pollinate. And that's

what interests the elbows and on the island we have a lot of cross-pollination all the way around. It's harder to be frank it's harder to get people to come out to concerts it's harder to afford to rent concert halls. Some of our traditional venues have been purchased as historic buildings and renovated and unfortunately although the structures of preserved been preserved their functions have not been preserved. So. You know every year we notice things happening like well you know you can't play electric instruments in certain venues anymore and you have to be done by 9 o'clock and there's you know it's inevitable everyplace changes but there is a kind of preciousness to Martha's Vineyard that certainly wasn't the case in the 70s. Yes well I think that's true of a lot of places. I want to get another just a little small taste of your fiddling while we're talking I don't want to lose that opportunity and ask you also you know after you play this maybe you'll tell us

what you feel like when you just give us a little taste and you can answer that on the other side. Oh OK. What do you feel like when you're playing that Nancy.

Many many feelings hopefully many feelings that I'm sharing with people here. The first tune is an Irish tune called the little brown island in the sea and it's incredibly poignant tune. It is. And then I went to the blarney Pilgrim. Another Irish town now I don't play Irish tunes in an Irish style much because of just the mix of everything there are people who are specialists in Irish. And I'm not but you know the blarney Pilgrim. Well we know what the Blarney is. You know I went to something joyous and talkative because here we are talking and it's good to be here and there's nothing like live music I have to tell you Nancy Jeffco. It's just wonderful to hear. I have been speaking with Nancy Jeffcoat she is a singer songwriter fiddler an elementary school music teacher here on Martha's Vineyard. She is also our local made good feature of this Monday. Nancy thank you so much for joining us. KELLEY It's really nice that you had me in. OK. This is the Cali Crossley Show. We're a production of

WGBH radio Boston's NPR station for news and culture.