A bill to reform and significantly strengthen the Massachusetts Public Records Law is attracting midsummer heat on Beacon Hill, as a bipartisan group of lawmakers backing the bill try to strike a compromise with an opposition group that represents commonwealth cities and towns, including on the Vineyard.

Four months after the Vineyard Gazette asked the town of Tisbury for public records surrounding the Stop & Shop expansion proposal, the town has complied. Executive session minutes and emails document private talks that went on for months among the selectmen, town administrator and Island attorney for the grocery chain.

More than three months after the Vineyard Gazette formally asked for public records from the town of Tisbury relating to the Stop & Shop expansion proposal, the town has provided only a portion of what was requested.

In many ways the 10-month review of the grocery chain's expansion plan followed a normal course for a development project in front of the MVC. But emails obtained by the Gazette show the process was unusual in other respects.

Stop & Shop withdrew plans Thursday to expand its Water street store in Vineyard Haven, abruptly ending a 10-month Martha’s Vineyard Commission review of the project that was closely followed and debated.

We applaud Stop & Shop’s decision this week to withdraw its proposal to expand the Vineyard Haven store. In a statement delivered to the Martha’s Vineyard Commission on Thursday, Stop & Shop pledged to step back, take another look at community reaction and evaluate alternatives. Their local representative, attorney Geoghan Coogan, added that it was the company’s “sincere hope” to come forward with another proposal in the future.

We are led to believe that we either have to live with the existing shabby Stop & Shop store, or accept a new building which most Vineyarders feel is inappropriate for that site.

I recall how much fun it was to see the sights at Five Corners with my grandmother. There was no congestion, just the slow pace, friendly laid-back people and a village setting.

A 10-month review of the Stop & Shop expansion plan came to a close Thursday night before the Martha’s Vineyard Commission. The plan has been a lightning rod for debate in Tisbury and around the Island.

With public sentiment running high on both sides of the issue, the Martha’s Vineyard Commission convenes a public hearing in Tisbury tonight on the Stop & Shop expansion plan.

The meeting begins at 6 p.m. in the Tisbury senior center.