Valuations Go Up in All Towns; Edgartown to Adjust for Flaws
By IAN FEIN
A strong real estate market sent property values across the Vineyard
skyrocketing this year, as four Island towns saw total valuations rise
by more than 25 per cent.
Tisbury assessments jumped 38 per cent from the last fiscal year,
from $1.7 billion to $2.3 billion; Aquinnah is up 35 per cent, from $450
million to $610 million; West Tisbury is up 29 per cent, from $2 billion
to $2.6 billion; and Edgartown is up 25 per cent, from $4.3 billion to
$5.4 billion.
General Manager Appointment Expected at SSA Meeting Today
By JAMES KINSELLA
Gazette Senior Writer
Wayne Lamson, tapped five times to head the Steamship Authority on a
temporary basis, will be put forward today as the best choice for
general manager for the boat line.
At the monthly SSA meeting in Woods Hole this morning a search
committee plans to recommend that Mr. Lamson be appointed to the top
post, according to a source.
Familiar North Tisbury Bakery Forced to Relocate Amid Feud
By JAMES KINSELLA
A family fight is heating up over Humphreys bakery in North Tisbury,
a store beloved by Vineyarders for such offerings as the Belly Bomb and
the Gobbler.
The landmark establishment, whose roots extend back to a founder who
walked the streets of Vineyard Haven selling pies for $10 a week, is the
subject of a dispute between its owner, Joyce Duarte, and the couple who
have leased the bakery since 1996, Mike and Donna Diaz.
Split Vote Names Mr. Hanover as Governor
By JAMES KINSELLA
Gazette Senior Writer
In a 4-3 vote, the Dukes County Commission on Wednesday opted for
stability over new ideas, choosing Marc Hanover of Oak Bluffs as the
next Vineyard Steamship Authority governor.
Commission members Leslie Leland, Leonard Jason Jr., Paul Strauss
and John Alley voted for Mr. Hanover, an Oak Bluffs restaurateur who has
served for the past two years on the port council, an advisory board to
the boat line.
Tapping the town's stabilization fund, Aquinnah voters
approved eight of nine funding measures presented by selectmen at a
special town meeting last night, effectively ending over six months of
fiscal turmoil.
"I think this chapter is finally closed," selectmen
chairman Carl Widdiss said after the voting. "I think the
townspeople wanted to resolve this, and for the most part they did
tonight."
Up until two years ago, Willy Mason had never played a gig off-Island.
Youth-Led Initiative Sparks January Opening for Teen Center in
Historic Cottagers Corner
By JAMES KINSELLA
Vineyard teenagers are about to have a solid solution to that
perennial complaint that there's nothing to do.
The Island's first teen center in more than 15 years is slated
to open in mid-January in the Cottagers Corner building in downtown Oak
Bluffs.
Ping-pong, pool tables, computers and lots of couches -
that's what the new center is banking on to draw teenagers.
School Board Picks Mainland Educator for Interim Position
By IAN FEIN
The All-Island School Committee unanimously selected Dr. Paul Dulac,
a former school superintendent from Newburyport, as the next interim
superintendent of Vineyard schools yesterday afternoon.
Candidates for SSA Governor Make Case for Appointment
By JAMES KINSELLA
Four candidates vying to become the next Vineyard Steamship
Authority governor made their respective cases Wednesday before the
Dukes County Commission.
Kenneth DeBettencourt, Marc Hanover, Robert Sawyer and Mark Snider
made opening and closing statements, and responded to the same set of
questions which they had been given in advance.
The commission will hold a special meeting at 5 p.m. Wednesday to
vote on the three-year appointment, which is unsalaried.
In a much-awaited decision that has far-reaching implications for the Vineyard and the commonwealth, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled 5-1 yesterday that the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) must abide by state and town zoning rules.
The ruling reverses a superior court decision that found the Wampanoags cannot be sued because of sovereign immunity - and it preserves the integrity of a historic 1983 Indian land claims settlement agreement that was the crux of the case.
