Beacon Hill Lawmakers Debate Housing Bank at Legislative Hearing

By IAN FEIN

BOSTON - With an affordable housing crisis spreading across
the commonwealth, state legislators on Beacon Hill this week took up a
controversial bill to create a Martha's Vineyard Housing Bank.
Senators from western Massachusetts to the Cape and Islands debated
whether the Vineyard housing predicament warrants special legislation.

Edgartown Businessmen Plan Luxury Club

By James Kinsella
Gazette Senior Writer

A high-end Edgartown investor group is proposing to build a
members-only recreational facility in Katama as part of an ambitious
effort linked to the reconstruction of the Navigator restaurant on the
town harbor, and a wider revival of downtown Edgartown.

Highway Officials to Close Drawbridge

Four-Day Shutdown Begins Tuesday to Repair, Replace Concrete
Decking; Alert Goes Out to Island Motorists

By MAX HART

Against the backdrop of a visit last week from the Massachusetts
Highway Commissioner and pledges of greater cooperation with the Island
community, state highway officials announced abruptly this week that the
Lagoon Pond drawbridge will be closed to traffic for four days while
repairs are made to the aging structure.

West Tisbury Voters Acquiesce on Bills

By IAN FEIN

West Tisbury voters at a special town meeting this week reversed
their previous opposition and agreed to pay $150,000 in legal bills
associated with the Graham property tax case against town assessors. The
vote came almost exactly two months after a town meeting where voters
rejected payment.

Abandoning Draft Pact, Town, Tribe Call Summit

By IAN FEIN

Town and tribal officials in Aquinnah this week agreed to set aside
a preliminary but controversial document that had outlined an unusual
joint land use regulatory venture. The two governments will instead
start anew and work together in an open forum to set out mutual goals
for their small town at the western edge of the Island.

The students manning the phones at the Hebrew Center on this January night are there to kick off the first night of the 2006 SafeRides season. The student-run program provides a free and confidential ride home to any student of the Martha's Vineyard Regional High School who is not in a condition to drive safely or who wants to avoid being a passenger with an unsafe driver.

Property Tax Bills Out, Also Up in Four of Six Vineyard Towns

By IAN FEIN

Property tax bills are out - and up - in four of the six
Island towns. But property owners in Edgartown and West Tisbury will not
see their new assessments or tax bills for another few months, as town
assessors work to determine values in the wake of previous appeals from
large landowners.

The long, slender vessel with the mast towering high above Edgartown is one part sailboat and one part floating workshop.

On the deck, old saw horses and scraps of faded wood are scattered around the stern, and multicolored patches of epoxy and resin stain the fiberglass. The coaming around the cockpit is under construction, and the scarred and sun-bleached wood around it suggests it has been that way for years. Rough plywood cutouts act as temporary hatches; they are shaded by the looming mast, fastened by thousands of gleaming rivets.

The Bird's Nest is not a house quickly forgotten.

Built in the Highlands section of East Chop 130 years ago, around
the time that the United States was celebrating its first century, the
whimsical cottage is painted green and embellished with Victorian
architectural details such as corbels, St. Andrew's crosses and a
three-story tower. An octagonal cottage sits out back.

County Boards Collide Again

Two Resignations Are Tendered, Two Appointments Rescinded on Airport
Commission; Confusion Now Reigns

By JAMES KINSELLA
Gazette Senior Writer

Resignations and rescinded appointments Tuesday shattered the
fragile peace between the Dukes County Commission and the Martha's
Vineyard Airport commission.