Following the discovery of a defective engine part, Cape Air
grounded its entire fleet of Cessna 402 planes this week, disrupting
travel plans for thousands of passengers and costing the respected
commuter airline hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost revenue.

Mariners beware. Tides and currents have changed dramatically in Edgartown harbor since the breach of Norton Point beach in April and the federal government has no plans to establish new tide or current tables soon. The power of the current in Edgartown Harbor is not only three times faster at Chappaquiddick Point, nobody yet knows with certainty when high or low tide takes place.

The entire Oak Bluffs side of Lagoon Pond was opened to shellfishing
this week, in response to the forced closure of Sengekontacket Pond late
last week due to high levels of bacteria.

Shellfish constable Dave Grunden said he had adjusted the management
regime for Lagoon Pond to open early one area which had been closed
until August, as well as another area which had been closed for
reseeding.

Walking along the shore of Black Point Pond in Chilmark, Richard
Johnson of Sheriff's Meadow Foundation is nearly dwarfed by a
thick stand of 12-foot high reeds.

Also called phragmites, the reeds are an invasive species that have
formed a dense monoculture over what was once an open diverse habitat of
native pondshore plants. Dead reeds crunch beneath his boots, covering
the ground so virtually nothing else can grow through.

School Lunches Not All Healthy

With Child Obesity Epidemic as a Backdrop, Island Schools Begin
Paying More Attention to Lunchroom Nutrition

By IAN FEIN

On any given school day, students at the Martha's Vineyard
Public Charter School are likely to eat a rather sophisticated lunch
- featuring Japanese seaweed salad with tofu and rice wine
vinegar, for instance, or Island-grown butternut squash soup. The
healthy meals are made almost entirely from scratch by a professional
chef who trained at Le Cordon Bleu in London and Paris.

What seemed like a simple, homespun plan to improve and expand the
baseball field at Veira Park in Oak Bluffs has evolved into an
acrimonious bureaucratic tangle pitting a group of Little Leaguers
against a group of neighbors worried about noise and traffic.

Appellate Tax Board Releases Findings in West Tisbury Case

By IAN FEIN

West Tisbury assessors did not discriminate against town resident
William W. Graham and their valuation system is fundamentally sound, the
Massachusetts Appellate Tax Board said last week in its long-awaited
legal ruling on a high-profile property tax case that attracted
attention across the commonwealth.

YMCA Backers Trumpet Plan to Build Pool, Youth Facility

By IAN FEIN

Boosters for the YMCA of Martha's Vineyard last week described
to the Martha's Vineyard Commission what they say will be a
life-changing new facility for the Island, providing young families,
high school students and the entire community with a long-desired pool
and gathering place.

Sengekontacket Pond has been closed to shellfishing due to high
levels of dangerous bacteria found in tests last week.

Water quality testing showed fecal coliform bacteria at levels well
above the safe level for shellfish consumption at eight of nine testing
stations on the pond. The contamination level at the ninth testing
station was right on the upper limit of safety.