Against a backdrop of growing concern over use of alcohol and drugs by Vineyard teens, police will seek criminal charges against a West Tisbury couple who allegedly allowed underaged drinking to take place on their property during a teenage party last weekend off Lambert's Cove Road.

It's always been a one-way street: Students perform and
teachers judge. But some students at Martha's Vineyard Regional
High School can't wait to upend the system and put teachers'
performances under the microscope.

Sheriff's Department Deputies Seek Union for Employees at the
House of Corrections

By MANDY LOCKE

Complaining of inconsistent leadership and frequent deviations from
department policies, deputies at the Edgartown House of Corrections will
vote this month to seek union representation from the Massachusetts
Correctional Officers Federated Union.

According to many current and former correctional officers,
employee-management relations inside the jail have been strained for a
long time.

Thoughtful land planning, the end game in development, difficult decisions in the name of protecting the unique qualities of the Vineyard - values, values, values. These were the central themes this week when candidates for the Martha's Vineyard Commission squared off in a public forum one week before the biennial state election.

Vineyard voters will go to the polls Tuesday to help choose a new
Massachusetts governor along with nine members of the Martha's
Vineyard Commission, four county commissioners and a new district
attorney for the Cape and Islands.

Voters will also be asked to answer a series of ballot questions on
an array of issues from bilingual education to changing the way the
Island's Steamship Authority governor is appointed.

Brazilians Try to Repair Lives After Fire

By MANDY LOCKE

Three weeks after an Edgartown house fire destroyed the home of 14
Brazilians, the displaced immigrants still struggle to secure a new
foothold on the Island.

"A lot of the people are still recuperating. Much of that
money [they lost] was to get them through the winter. They are trying to
get on their feet again," said Elio Silva, a member of the
Brazilian community familiar with those who lost their home.

A federal mediator yesterday waded into the dispute between
officials in Aquinnah and the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah)
over the tribe's plans to form its own police force.

Top scientists at the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and
fish conservation advocates are reporting a significant increase in the
numbers of swordfish swimming in the North Atlantic. Although waters
around the Vineyard have yet to see any recovery, the numbers of
juvenile fish have improved significantly.

The purple and white bumper stickers are somewhat primitive,
produced on a home computer with no stickum, so they have to be fixed to
bumpers with Scotch tape. But if bumper stickers that fall off in the
rain carry a message about the group that made them, then in this case
the message is grass roots and underfunded.

Add to that, committed.

Edgartown Planning Board Faces Dilemma on Size of Mansions

By MANDY LOCKE

The Edgartown planning board is torn.

The fracture - slow yet certain - led to a tense clash
last week.

Only one item appeared on the board's agenda - a project
that has inched toward a vote since Richard Schifter filed his
intentions with the board last spring.