Aquinnah

Aquinnah Takes Up Lighthouse Funding

A level-funded budget, a possible name change for State Road and a major spending request for the relocation of the Gay Head Light will come before Aquinnah voters at their annual town meeting Tuesday night.

It will mark the last annual town meeting on the Vineyard this year.

National Trust for Historic Preservation Declares Gay Head Light Endangered

The National Trust for Historic Preservation announced in a ceremony at the Gay Head Cliffs Wednesday morning that it had named the Gay Head Light to its 2013 list of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places.

Banner Scallop Year in Aquinnah Comes to Close

The Aquinnah bay scallop season ends Friday, marking what is believed to be the latest date for a bay scallop season closing in the commonwealth.

The scallop season usually runs from fall until the last day of March, but Aquinnah shellfish constable Brian (Chip) Vanderhoop said unusual circumstances led to the extension of the fishery this year.

Voters in Aquinnah Back Budget, Nix Marijuana Bylaw

Aquinnah voters approved a hefty hike in the town operating budget for the coming year and backed a spending package to help restore and ready the Gay Head Light for moving at their annual town meeting Tuesday, but balked at a town bylaw to ban public consumption of marijuana.

“Isn’t there a no smoking law in any public place?” said Juli Vanderhoop, who questioned the need for the bylaw. “Smoke is smoke.”

Aquinnah Approves Budget Hike, Nixes Marijuana Public Consumption Bylaw

Aquinnah voters wrapped up the annual town meeting season on Tuesday night, approving nearly all 30 warrant articles but stopping short at the final item of the night to defeat a measure that would have prohibited public consumption of marijuana.

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Aquinnah Ends Town Meeting Season With Override Approval

Voter turnout may have been low at the Aquinnah town election and annual meeting this week, but those that did turn out came prepared to approve large expenditures and voice their disapproval of the Oak Bluffs roundabout.

A total of 54 voters, or 14 per cent of registered voters, went to the polls Wednesday to approve a $175,000 Proposition 2 1/2 override for the annual budget. The override passed 33 to 19. Aquinnah was the only town on the Island to seek a general override this year.

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Affordable Housing Site Focus of Aquinnah Town Meeting

At a special town meeting this coming Tuesday night, Aquinnah voters will be asked to buy land for a new affordable housing site and approve a new tax amnesty program, among other things.

Moderator Michael Hebert will preside over the special session that begins at 7 p.m. in the old town hall. There are nine articles on the warrant.

The community preservation committee is asking voters to approve borrowing $240,000 to buy a 6.3-acre parcel of land at 45 State Road to be converted into either affordable homes or rental units.

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Longtime Moderator Recalls Skunks, Bumps in Aquinnah

Longtime Aquinnah moderator Walter Delaney remembers, years ago, spotting an unexpected visitor sneak into a town meeting. It was a warm summer night, and he had just gaveled the meeting to a close when a skunk strolled through the front doors and settled in beneath a chair in the back of the room. Calmly, the moderator directed the other meeting attendees out the side door, careful not to alert them to their curious guest and spark a potentially smelly panic.

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Aquinnah Town Meeting Sees Walter Delaney Give up Gavel

The Aquinnah selectmen expect a swift and easy special and annual town meeting on Tuesday, citing a noncontroversial warrant despite a long list of articles, and plenty of free cash to cover all the spending.

“I don’t see a single thing that’s controversial,” said selectman Camille Rose at Tuesday night’s selectmen meeting.

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