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.
Two of the three Catholic churches on the Island have closed down
for the winter season, leaving just one - Our Lady Star of the Sea
in Oak Bluffs - to serve the Vineyard's Roman Catholics.
The seasonal closures aren't for lack of interest. Church
leaders blame a critical shortage of area priests and a financial
deficit tied to rising heating oil costs and building repairs.
Words and emotions filled the air Monday night, when some 350 people
packed the Martha's Vineyard Regional High School Performing Arts
Center to air their views about the controversial Cape Wind project
planned for Nantucket Sound.
Opinion split nearly straight down the middle among the 50-plus
people who spoke at the public hearing, from local fishermen to high
school students to powerful politicians. All spoke with passion and
conviction.
Corps Hearings Begin Monday on Nantucket Sound Wind Farm
By IAN FEIN
Vineyard residents who want to weigh in on the controversial wind
farm proposed for Nantucket Sound will have their best chance when the
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and its entourage arrive on-Island Monday
for the first of four regional public hearings.
The Vineyard hearing will be held from 6 to 10 p.m. in the
Martha's Vineyard Regional High School Performing Arts Center.
Registration for those who want to speak begins at 5 p.m.
School Board Picks Three Interim Finalists
The all-Island school committee expects to finish round two next
Thursday, interviewing three finalists and hiring one to serve as the
next interim superintendent of Vineyard schools.
School board members made the cut this week, screening nine
applications and selecting two men and one woman for interviews.
