A few days after hanging the Port Hunter sign on Main street in Edgartown, new restaurateurs Patrick and Ted Courtney received a visit from an old-timer. The man showed the brothers numerous old photos of the space including one that featured the front of the brick building and a sign mounted on steel with white lettering which spelled out First National. The sign was almost identical to their new sign, down to the font size and style.

“It kind of came back around... It was nice,” Ted said. “We felt like we were doing the right thing.”

Edgartown officials will soon get their foot in the door of every rental property in town, the result of a selectmen-endorsed regulation which forces property owners to license rental properties and allow inspectors to ensure dwellings meet state habitation codes.

In a marathon annual town meeting, Edgartown residents voted down the Martha's Vineyard Commission's designation of Chappaquiddick as a district of critical planning concern (DCPC).

Voting 195 to 134 not to establish the boundaries of the Chappaquiddick district, the town eliminated the district designation in one fell swoop.

Seven minutes before midnight Tuesday, Edgartown town meeting voters wrapped up a long list of business - supporting a $19 million operating budget and killing proposed house-size caps on Chappaquiddick.

But the night's liveliest debates for those in the crowded pews at the Old Whaling Church, and perhaps the most interesting result of the week, centered around a funding request to hire a housing inspector to license the town's 1,500 rental properties.

Snapshot of a Changing Neighborhood: Now, Lights Go Out in Winter Months

By MANDY LOCKE

State High Court Upholds Edgartown

By JULIA WELLS

In an Edgartown case which is esoteric but has application for small towns across the commonwealth, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has ruled that a house on an undersized lot cannot be expanded without a special permit - even if the expansion itself conforms to the requirements under zoning.

Controversial Road Plan Wins Approval in Edgartown Meeting

By IAN FEIN

Edgartown voters last night continued to back the Pennywise Path affordable housing project, turning a deaf ear to pleas that called for postponing the controversial taking of a second access road to the development.

Residents approved all 12 articles on the special town meeting warrant, including a $310,000 appropriation to bring water, sewerage and electricity to the project.

Earlier this week, on a sunny, warm May afternoon, Main street in Edgartown resembled a ghost town.

Although year-round places like Edgartown Hardware were doing a moderate business, well over half of all businesses were closed while several storefronts were empty.

Go back a few decades, though, and the scene was quite different.

A s a longtime Edgartown resident, I was surprised to hear news reports that I might be paying more than my share to support the Martha’s Vineyard Commission.

As a member and present chairman of the MVC, I was more surprised to hear some people saying that things the MVC does for the Vineyard aren’t necessary for Edgartown.

Wearing both hats, I sat down and made a list of the ways my town has benefited over the years from the MVC’s work. What follows is part of it.

Protecting the Edgartown Great Pond and Sengekontacket: