Edgartown town meeting

News Update: Tuesday, April 10 - Edgartown Backs Funding for New Library

Edgartown voters easily approved $4.9 million in funding for a new town library during a lengthy annual town meeting Tuesday night.

With a gathering of 305 voters at the Old Whaling Church, town meeting members approved most of the items on the 63-article annual town meeting warrant and a 12-article special town meeting warrant.

A town operating budget of $28.3 million was approved, as was a $272,000 Massachusetts Estuaries Project study for Poucha Pond, Cape Pogue Pond, Katama Bay and Oyster Pond.

Robert Whritenour

News Update: Tuesday, April 10 - Oak Bluffs Maps Fresh Path to Fiscal Stability

There were a few fits and starts along the way, but Oak Bluffs voters moved with speed — and even a bit of humor — to overwhelmingly pass a $24.1 million operating budget for the coming fiscal year at back-to-back special and annual town meetings Tuesday night.

selectmen

News Update: Tuesday, April 10 - Tisbury Voters Reject Connector Road

Tisbury voters defeated the controversial $3 million connector road at their annual town meeting Tuesday night.

A total of 221 voters turned out for the meeting at the Tisbury School gymnasium, completing just half the 33-article warrant before recessing at 10 p.m. for a second evening. The meeting reconvenes at 7 p.m. on Wednesday.

As expected, the connector road plan between Edgartown-Vineyard Haven Road and State Road attracted the most debate.

Town Meetings for Four Towns

Super Tuesday, the politically action-packed day when four of the six Island towns hold town meetings, is upon us. Edgartown voters will gather Tuesday, April 10 at 7 p.m. in the Old Whaling Church for special and annual town meetings. West Tisbury voters will gather at 7 p.m. in the West Tisbury Elementary School. Tisbury will hold both an annual and special town meeting at 7 p.m. in the Tisbury School gymnasium. And Oak Bluffs will hold a special and annual town meeting at 7 p.m. in the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School performing arts center.

Fire Warning in Effect

The National Weather Service has issued a red flag warning for critical fire conditions in a broad area of New England that includes the southeastern region and Dukes County. The warning will remain in effect through Monday night, the weather service said in an advisory. Low humidity levels and high wind conditions have combined to create hazardous conditions. “State fire weather managers have informed us that any fires that develop Monday will have the potential to spread rapidly. Outdoor burning is not recommended,” the advisory said.

mike wallace

News Update: Sunday, April 8 - Mike Wallace Dies at 93

CBS newsman Mike Wallace, a longtime resident of the Vineyard who had been coming to the Island since childhood, died late Saturday at the age of 93. The television anchorman was a familiar figure here in the summer months, where he had owned a home on Hatch Road in Vineyard Haven until late last year. The neighborhood where Mr. Wallace lived was famously dubbed Writers’ Row because the late Art Buchwald, John Hersey and William Styron lived there along with Mr. Wallace; all were friends.

Flying Horses Opens for Season

Catch the brass ring! By long tradition, the Flying Horses Carousel in the heart of Oak Bluffs opened its doors for the season on Easter weekend. This marks the 137th year of operation for the carousel, the oldest in the nation. Built in 1876 by Charles T. Dare, an amusement park manufacturer and hobby horse carver, it is one of only two Dare carousels left in existence. The other is in Watch Hill, R.I. The Flying Horses will be open on Easter Sunday and daily during school vacation week from April 16 to 22. Hours are 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

News Update: Saturday, April 7 - Bunch of Grapes Will Relocate

The Bunch of Grapes, the landmark Vineyard Haven bookstore that has been the go-to place for Islanders and summer visitors alike — including sitting U.S. presidents — to buy their books for more than 40 years, will relocate, owner Dawn Braasch said.

Ms. Braasch has signed a lease with the Hall family to take over the Bowl and Board building across the street from the bookstore. The move will be complete by Memorial Day or at the latest mid-June, she said.

News Update: Friday, April 6 - Retired Probation Chief Jailed on Drug Charges

The former longtime chief probation officer for Suffolk superior court was sentenced to three to five years in prison on Friday on drug charges that occurred on the Vineyard.

Milton Britton Sr., 66, pleaded guilty in Dukes county superior court to possessing class B drugs (cocaine) with intent to distribute.

Documentarian to Humanitarian

Last month documentary filmmaker Len Morris of Vineyard Haven accepted the 2012 Iqbal Masih Award for the Elimination of Child Labor from the U.S. Department of Labor at a ceremony in Washington D.C. But Mr. Morris does not have the luxury of basking in the afterglow of the award ceremony. His Kenyan Schoolhouse program, now in its tenth year, is currently putting 34 former child laborers and street children through secondary school, thanks mainly to Island donations, and on Thursday morning this week he got the bill for the latest semester: $4,125, due May 1.

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