Vineyard Golf Club Plans Home Cluster

Owners of the Vineyard Golf Club, a private golf course in Edgartown, are now proposing to build a cluster of luxury homes for club members on the property's southeastern corner.

It's a request that some Island officials think they shot down five years ago.

"I thought if they wanted to build a golf course, fine, but no housing except for staff," said Lenny Jason, Edgartown building inspector who led the move to strike member housing from the project in 1999 during the Martha's Vineyard Commission development of regional impact review.

Talk of Oak Bluffs Is Those Tax Bills; Blame Them on Higher Values, Budget

Less than a month after the holiday season took its bite from people's bank accounts and credit cards, many property owners in Oak Bluffs took another financial hit in the form of whopping tax bills.

Island Filmmakers: Debuting Here, a Documentary on Lost Youth

Island Filmmakers: Debuting Here, a Documentary on Lost Youth

By JESSIE ROYCE HILL

He handles the direction and production. She, a playwright, tends to
the script. Together, Len and Georgia Morris of Galen Films have made
dozens of award-winning documentary films from their studio in Vineyard
Haven.

Development Plan in Chilmark Leads to Key Walking Trail Link

A Chilmark subdivision plan now being considered by the
Martha's Vineyard Commission (MVC) represents a golden
opportunity, conservation leaders said this week, to create a walking
trail connecting key public properties up-Island.

The property owners, Richard and Melanie Coleman, agreed last night
to open up their private property for Islanders hiking along the
southern side of Middle Road.

State's Order Is Posted in Southern Woodlands, Bars 'Further Activities'

Top state environmental officials stepped squarely into the fray
around the Down Island Golf Club this week, ordering developers Brian
Lafferty and Corey Kupersmith to immediately halt all tree cutting in
the southern woodlands section of Oak Bluffs.

Breaking Up the Boat Line?

Breaking Up the Boat Line?

Nantucket Rallies Around Idea; CEO Says It Would Be Costly; Representative and Senator Cautious in Remarks

By JULIA WELLS

A quiet move by the Nantucket Steamship Authority governor to
explore the breakup of the 42-year-old boat line grew legs this week, as
the people of Nantucket rallied around their representative and the
people of the Vineyard struggled to absorb the news.

Windemere Chief Is Being Replaced

Windemere Chief Is Being Replaced

By JULIA WELLS

Leaders at the Martha's Vineyard Hospital confirmed yesterday
that the administrator for the Windemere Nursing Home and Rehabilitation
Center will resign his post.

Philip Hickey, currently away on vacation, will remain in place as
administrator at the Island's only nursing home until early next
week.

Mr. Hickey took the helm at Windemere 18 months ago. He has a long
background in nursing home administration.

New Bedford Plan Retires Schamonchi

New Bedford Plan Retires Schamonchi

If Approved, Private Company Will Run Two Smaller Boats Instead,
Joining Fast Ferry

By JULIA WELLS

After a bumpy three-year journey that spawned some of the most
hostile politics in the history of the Steamship Authority, the New
Bedford passenger ferry Schamonchi will now become a surplus vessel,
boat line governors said yesterday.

Nantuckat SSA Governor Approaches Beacon Hill on Boat Line Break-Up

Nantucket SSA Governor Approaches Beacon Hill on Boat Line Break-Up

By JULIA WELLS
Gazette Senior Writer

A gulf of tension between the two Islands over Steamship Authority
issues grew noticeably wider this week, when news surfaced that
Nantucket Steamship Authority governor Grace Grossman has privately
approached state officials about the possibility of splitting the boat
line into two separate entities.

Marijuana at School Stirs Debate: How Big a Deal?

Marijuana at School Stirs Debate: How Big a Deal?

By CHRIS BURRELL

No big deal? That may be a widely held view about marijuana on this
Island, but a discussion this week about marijuana use by students of
the Martha's Vineyard High School turned into a big deal indeed.

Just three days after an article appeared in the Gazette about the
presence and use of pot on the high school campus, school leaders
reacted sharply, not just to the message but also to the messenger, high
school principal Peg Regan.

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