Adapted from Robert Whitcomb’s "Digital Diary,’’ in GoLocal24.com

In its last days, the Biden administration decided to block new rules that would have forced  some ferries to Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket and Provincetown to be slowed to 11.5 miles an hour at certain times of the year to protect North Atlantic Right Whales, of which there are fewer than 400 left. Humans are driving them toward extinction, mostly via hitting them with boats and entangling them in fishing lines. It’s unknown how their extinction would affect the ecosystems of the waters off the New England coast.

Many rich people, from around America and beyond, like to go to Nantucket and The Vineyard, where they have hyper-expensive houses. Indeed, in the last half-century, the very rich have taken over much of the islands, which has made them unaffordable for many of the natives. The Vineyard is well known as a summer place for well-heeled Democrats, such as the Obamas. Joe Biden, for his part, has favored Nantucket, as do many Republican plutocrats.